Page 6 - Win Scranton News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

>> i thought those were his finest moments. he had -- he mentioned it several times but he had two separate times when he talked to martha and he talked to the audience, and he said that you're talking about my parents, you're talking about my neighbors, you're talking about the people i grew up with in scranton, you're talking about seniors, and you're talking about the military. and he made it vivid in a way that few of us, myself included i feel, have really made that number vivid. he also, you know, again, not going to bash president obama again, but he did give a rationale for their admin...

Even if it tips ever so slightly to republicans, that is not enough, right? >>guest: well, you need 60 votes to bring a bill to the floor. you only need 51 to pass it. the minority leader, mcconnell, has said he believes he only needs 50 votes because of a procedural move not senate, but, regardless, you are going to need to retake the senate at minimum to have any chance of repealing it and they are a long way from that. >>neil: now, you are from pennsylvania and i want your thought on what is going on in scranton where the mayor is effectively not declaring bankruptcy, but acted like the cit...

Room, right? >>guest: that is an interesting argument. we have seen other cities do that recently. declare bankruptcy and the $3.4 million that the mayor claims the city owes would be brought into a pool and the bankruptcy judge would decide how and when that is paid out over the course of time. >>neil: normally it is the crediters who move to the top, so the public workers would still be gouged in that event. but, we did try to reach the mayor to no avail but i wonder, whether the national trend is influencing things in scranton? we talk about stockton, california, and the other cities and st...

Needle. >>guest: enough to pay minimum wage is in the bank. >>neil: and that is what he is doing? >>guest: the ball is off. he has to work in the political system better or figure out how to get some money in, but you have people having to pay mortgages, school costs out of nowhere? their salaries are reduced to nothing, they had union contracts, i'm not saying what the answer is but i am saying the answer has to be working with the unions, working with people, otherwise you are shutting your city down, and a situation is very aggressive and negative. >>neil: do you think others will be embold...

Congressman, that, maybe, it goes back do what happened in wisconsin and what happened in san jose and san diego, and, now, with los angeles, generally liberal union friendly mayor saying he has to cut, and cuomo in new york saying he has to cut, that, something is going on here? >>guest: well, i don't think there is any question that what happened in wisconsin has embolden people who are having trouble negotiating with unions, to show that the unions do not have the ability in situations like wisconsin to make that kind difference, and, maybe that is what is happening in scranton. i don't kno...