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By Paul J Cella Posted in 2008 | congressional races | Immigration | Lou Barletta | Paul Kanjorski — Comments (6) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Lou Barletta is one of the good guys. An unsuccessful baseball player but very successful businessman, he entered local politics in his hometown of Hazelton, PA, as a Republican in a very Democratic place. Then in 2000 he was elected mayor, above all on his commitment to bring prosperity to his town, which he did, earning several state-wide awards in the process.

Mayor Barletta came to national prominence when he shepherded through a series of city ordinances designed to resist the mischievous and impoverishing effects of illegal immigration. These ordinances included provisions imposing a $1,000-per-day fine on landlords who rent to illegals, revoking the business license of any employer who hires them, declaring English as the official language and barring city employees from translating documents to another language without approval.

A federal judge overturned most of these ordinances in 2007, on the grounds that immigration is a federal matter. The ordinances, he wrote, “disrupt a well-established federal scheme for regulating the presence and employment of immigrants in the United States.” Whether the judge was aware of the bitter irony that the ordinances would be quite unnecessary if the federal government was not itself “disrupting” the “well-established” “scheme” of federal maintenance of America sovereignty, namely by its studious neglect of immigration law, is a question that remains unanswered.

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One question that does not remain unanswered is whether Lou Barletta possesses political courage and independence of mind. He does indeed. On perhaps no issue in all the wide vista of American politics is the weight of elite opinion more heavily weighted against popular opinion than immigration. To take a “populist” stand requires a certain taste for defiance of convention, a readiness to endure the most malicious of imprecations and insinuations, and power of perseverance in the face of mobilized, well-funded, and often dishonorable opponents.

We live in a republic where, to their shame, soi-disant conservative politicians go before an organization called The Race, to proclaim their love of mass immigration; and it’s their opponents on that issue who are most often slandered as racialists and nativists. No doubt Mr. Barletta has heard all the slanders.

Despite all that, he is running now for Congress, against an incumbent Democrat who has held the seat for a quarter century. Redstate’s Jeff Emanuel has been documenting his more recent shenanigans. Taking this seat will be an up-hill climb, made worse by the pitiful condition of the Republican brand. But Barletta is worth supporting. He has shown his quality, in private enterprise and in public service.

Donate here or volunteer at his website. Also see this blog dedicated to his candidacy.