Dear Republicans, Congressman Jason Altmire is a Healthcare Hero

I don't try to hide how much I respect Congressman Altmire. The most admirably trait of Congressman Altmire is how much he cares about representing the complex 4th Congressional District of Pennsylvania. During the healthcare debate Altmire was attacked by the extremes of both side and insisted on taking the time to actually wait for the bill to be released and listen to as many constituents as possible before he made his vote. Congressman Altmire has repeatedly said that the 4th Congressional District was overwhelmingly against the so called 'Obamacare' and that was one of the main reasons for his no vote.

My opinion on the healthcare bill is as such. We need healthcare reform on two fronts:

1. We need to bring down the cost of healthcare. The cost is breaking the backs of small businesses and our governments at every level. Healthcare costs are being spent on paperwork and executives instead of true care.

2. We need fair coverage for all that will not bankrupt our Medicare/Medicaid spending and overall government spending.

While the Democrats ran on the platform of going after both fronts of the healthcare battle, at some point they decided one was better than the other. My opinion is that this move was made to appease the doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies because all the healthcare bill did was shift the cost to the government. So instead of attacking the biggest healthcare problem facing our economy and small businesses everywhere, the White House and Democratic leadership said we'll try to pull the moral card in the press and just say we are covering everyone!

This didn’t work because unless someone had a personal experience with not getting healthcare coverage or someone close to them (that they don't judge negatively as lazy) that has had an issue with not having insurance the regular citizen isn’t going to (as Bill Clinton would have said) "feel your pain."

So Congressman Jason Altmire made the right decision by doing his job and trying to fight for deficit reducing measures to be included in a healthcare law. At the end of the day, not only did the healthcare bill add billions of dollars to our debt, but the 4th Congressional District didn't want it passed. Congressman Altmire did the right thing by representing the constituents that he serves and not the party he belongs too.

What did Congressman Altmire get for this thoughtful concept of governing for the people and from the middle? He got a lot of right wing candidates that said he was just pandering and Altmire didn't do enough. To me the only issue any Rothfus supporter had was about voting against anyone with a dreaded D next to their name.

“Altmire can say that he voted against it, but he did not stop the agenda,” Rothfus said.

Rothfus says it's not enough that Altmire didn't vote for President Barack Obama's health care law

Even though Mr. Altmire didn't vote for the health care bill, Mr. Rothfus said Altmire should have been more forceful in his denunciation of the bill instead of sitting on the fence for so long.

Although he did come to the right decision, he shouldn't have sat on the fence as long as he has," Ms. Buchanan said. "People in the district have been clear they are opposed to 'Obamacare.'

Keith Rothfus: “Jason Altmire needs to say no to the new packaging of this old plan. We need to provide more options for health care coverage, including interstate marketing of insurance, tax fairness for individuals who buy their own insurance, and tort reform. We do not need a rehash of the legislation that was overwhelmingly rejected less than a year ago.”

So to my Republican neighbors and friends that tell me that Congressman Altmire is just a lapdog for Pelosi (FYI - He didn't vote for her as Minority Leader) and all the other hypocritical right wing talking points you are spewing, remember that according to Sean Hannity Congressman Altmire is a healthcare reform hero and a GREAT AMERICAN. (Altmire clip is around 1:20)

Let the political ads begin

I have to say I enjoy political ads during the news this time of year. The positive ads are 60% spin and the negative ads are 75% scare tactics. I have seen mostly positive ads, except for some negative ads in the Special Election to fill Murtha's Congressional seat.

The great invention of the Internet (Thanks Al Gore! Even if the joke is based on a misinterpretation) allows candidates to post their ads on their websites and YouTube. While I question how much posting a commercial on YouTube helps reach undecided voters, it sure is fun for political geeks like me.

My favorite negative ad I've seen this year is by Keith Rothfus who is running in the Republican Primary against my favorite former US Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan for Congress. While I don't agree with most of Keith Rothfus's platform, I do believe he is the better candidate for the Republican Primary. Sadly, his campaign has barely been mentioned thanks to Mary Beth Buchanan's superior name recognition.

Mr. Rothfus, you have my vote for best negative ad of this year's Primary season so far:

Buchanan campaign chief quits in Orie furor

The congressional campaign manager for Mary Beth Buchanan -- a man named Kurt Acker who was formerly a staffer for state Sen. Jane Orie, R-McCandless -- resigned yesterday in the wake of the fraud charges filed against his former boss.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10100/1049364-454.stm

Mary Beth Buchanan and Corrupt Politicans

You may think that this post will be about Mary Beth's 'proud' record of going after 'corrupt politicians.' I wouldn't be proud of spending millions of our dollars to prove nothing, but Buchanan has been telling everyone that will listen about her fight against public corruption as she runs for Congress.

When one starts to throw stones, they better not live in a glass house. So will Mary Beth Buchanan answer any questions about her connection to corrupt staffers from State Senator Jane Orie's office? Mary Beth Buchanan's campaign manager is Kurt Acker. He is mentioned as a staffer aware of the illegal activities that were going on in Orie's office:

"During her testimony, Ms. Rioja quoted staff member Kurt Acker as once saying, "if the Attorney General's Office knew what was occurring in [Sen.] Orie's office, that 'they all would be in handcuffs.'"

Mary Beth Buchanan touts her job as a federal prosecutor going after politicians like Jane Orie, but she looks the other way when hiring these corrupt staffers for her own staff.

Update: Mr. Acker has since changed his twitter page since this blog was posted. Here is the screen shot from this morning:

Mary Beth Buchanan can't take the blogosphere's pressure

Earlier this week, I posted about Mary Beth Buchanan’s Amish problem. Thanks to some insightful information from a reader, I also found out about her stance as US Attorney against the religious rights of the Amish people.

Just as Candidate Buchanan couldn’t take the heat on Marty Griffin last month, she couldn’t take the heat from the blogs either. I checked her Facebook page today and she has removed the picture of her and an Amish man. While I’m glad that she has decided to respect the Amish people, I still feel it was wrong to take the picture and try to use for political gain.

As someone that believes strongly in the Constitution, I don’t want to see any religious rights stepped on. Our country is based on freedom of religion and separation of church and state. These freedoms are what our founders intended and I want politicians that will continue to fight for our Constitutional Rights.

Mary Beth Buchanan ignores religious beliefs

I was trolling the internet the other day for information about Mary Beth Buchanan after I heard the audio of her first media appearance as a candidate for Congress. The audio where she threatens to sue Marty Griffin and claims that the Wecht case could have only cost the amount of money in salaries that they paid to the 2 lawyers working on the case. I guess she doesn't have a true understanding of office overhead, or else she doesn't count the electric bills, computers, printers, copies, etc., and the other staffers that helped these 2 lawyers.

Anyway, I came across her Facebook page and found a picture of her with an Amish guy signing her petition. I say Amish because he has a buggy behind him. If he was a Mennonite he would be allowed to drive a car. So I can't say this with 100% positivity, but he appears to be Amish. I remember learning in high school that the Amish don't believe in having their pictures taken. According to About.com here is one of the 'dont's' when visiting Amish County:

•No photos or videos, please. Most Amish consider posing for photographs to be an unacceptable act of pride and do not allow pictures of themselves. The Amish will usually allow you to photograph their homes, farms, and buggies if you ask respectfully, but even this can be intrusive and is better avoided. If you must take pictures, consider a telephoto lens, and avoid taking any photos which include recognizable faces.