The MASTER POLITICIAN

The perfect scenario for any defendant in a criminal trial would be for his lawyer to do all the talking, that the prosecutor was gagged, the jury was blindfolded and the judge was bought off. That's called having the only voice.

The Scranton Times wants it the same way in this election. They want to be the only voice in town. They want to control how we think and how we will vote. That's how it's been for a long, long time and they don't like it now that other voices have stepped forward to speak. That's why televised council meetings are the constant target of sarcastic and condemning Times' articles. The Times' attack on free speech is an attack on our voice, choice, the Constitution and the First Amendment. Free speech is the First Amendment for a reason, it's the most important one. It's what got us where we are and its intent was to keep us here. It's the very premise upon which our country was built. Millions have died for us to be situated as free people with the right to speak. To attack that is not only anti-constitutional, but it's unethical and outright immoral, and a disturbing disrespectful attack on those who died so we could be free. That's shameful. Despicable!

Unfortunately for the Scranton Times, the judge and jury in every election is the people, the voters, who cannot be blindfolded, gagged or bought off, at least not in numbers to absolutely guarantee the result of an election. However, they can be manipulated, and oppression is the weapon for the job. When the Times keeps the truth from us, or prints a half truth, or twists the truth to their political preference, they are trying to blindfold us. They've never tried so hard in any previous election to oppress the truth. This election means a great deal to them. They are very staunch supporters of Mayor Doherty. They don't hide it and have openly expressed that. Such political support for a newspaper in a one-newspaper town is grossly unethical and unacceptable.

It's ironic, and disturbingly so under these circumstances, that the Scranton Times' very existence depended upon the courageous fight for freedom of speech, paid for in blood, sacrifice and suffering, and here they are adamantly trying to take freedom of speech away from the public by supporting efforts to pull Ch. 61 out of the council meetings, and through repeatedly insulting those who step forward to speak their minds at council meetings. That's called trying to gag us.

The Lynetts of today have disgraced the dignity of Lynetts past, and many others who built the Scranton Times from scratch. Back in the 40's, its newspaper reporters went undercover to expose political corruption. Today, the Lynetts' integrity is measured by their refusal to expose the corruption of Chris Doherty. Instead, they protect him from it in every way possible and attack his opponent on shallow issues.

Why does the Scranton Times protect Mayor Doherty? Or, are they really protecting a lot of people who were involved in the political corruption that happened under Chris Doherty? Why do they shame their name, degrade their integrity and compromise their credibility to shield the mayor from the truth being told?

The fact of the matter is this; all the political issues that are raised at council meetings about the Doherty administration would not exist if not for the corrupt misconduct of Mayor Doherty. No other mayor in the history of the city has attracted so much negative factual criticism, and for good reason, they didn't have so much corruption in their administration. The people who speak at the council meetings are not making up stories. They're speaking facts, some more than others, but facts nonetheless. Some speakers are a little better prepared than others and some can articulate a little better, but freedom of speech doesn't come with rules relating to preparation or articulation, does it? And, it's a good thing it doesn't. Where would we be now? We have a constitutional right to just say what is on our minds, either spontaneously or by a prepared written statement.

One man could have stopped the speakers from repeatedly criticizing Mayor Doherty at council meetings. That person was Mayor Doherty. He only needed to appear there and prove that what speakers have said was not true. He didn't do that, did he? As a very young politician, and with his entire political life on the line, he does nothing to successfully oppose the facts that are stated about him at the council meetings. What does that tell us? He can't do it. The facts are true. Otherwise, not only would Mayor Doherty be at the council meetings defeating those facts, the Scranton Times would be printing it on their front page.The mayor can't defeat them and the Times can't print it. Those speakers are not going to appear at council and lie about things based upon material facts that can be proven false.

Oppression: Represented by The Scranton Times, a very, very wealthy, politically connected, powerful, far reaching, well-staffed and resourceful newspaper with extensive daily distribution and influence, heavily financially invested in Chris Doherty's career, and imposing oppression and manipulation of the truth to steal your choice on election day.

Seems like a pretty obvious mis-match, doesn't it? It is a mis-match, because no matter how wealthy, powerful, well-staffed, influential or resourceful a newspaper you are, and no matter how many people read your paper every day, the truth is going to win in the end. It always does........when it's told! There are some things that money and power cannot buy, and dignity is one of them.

Dignity cannot always be bought, like a crooked judge, and the Scranton Times cannot be allowed to steal this election for Chris Doherty. The mayor is campaigning virtually without a platform based on his record. He lost his prized "I Restored the Park" theme. He can't prove he brought anywhere near 3000 jobs to the area. He can't prove he paved 50 streets, let alone 500. Our debt load is four times what it was when he took office. City Hall is loaded with unqualified, overpaid crony friends. He threw the one-finger salute to the soldiers and vets, and the list goes on. His crony authorities went on spending sprees and we don't even know where the money went. He's been charged with corruption on many fronts and he illegally sold two public parks. And, there's more.

His entire political life rests squarely on the shoulders of the Lynetts now. It is up to them to manipulate the minds of the voters to trust Chris Doherty with our future for four more years. It's up to us to defeat the Scranton Times, and handily.

A vote for Mayor Doherty is a vote for the arrogance and betrayal of the Scranton Times. Don't surrender your dignity to the Times' disrespect, oppression and manipulation. Don't be blinded, gagged or bought by the Lynetts. Vote, even if you haven't voted in 25 years and don't want to vote for another 50. Vote this year. Our city was financially and unethically victimized by Chris Doherty's lack of loyalty to those who voted for him last time. Our dignity, each and every one us, has never been so disrespected by any mayor. We've never been lied to like this.