Melissa Hart Blasts Altmire, Obama

"American in 2008 is a mean place." (Michelle Obama, who wants to be First Lady)

The most important and fiercely contested congressional race in the nation is taking place in the 4th District of Pennsylvania. It pits conservative Melissa Hart against liberal Jason Altmire, one of Nancy Pelosi's favorites. The following is a press release issued today by Ms. Hart.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 14, 2008 CONTACT: Alicia Collins
724-779-4750 office
724-612-9490 cell

HART QUESTIONS JASON ALTMIRE’S SILENCE ON OBAMA’S ‘BITTER’ PENNSYLVANIA REMARKS

Cranberry Township, PA – Former Congresswoman Melissa Hart questions why Jason Altmire refuses to condemn Democrat Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s comments disparaging Pennsylvanians.

For weeks, Congressman Jason Altmire has basked in the attention from media and other politicians as an a “uncommitted” delegate, fawning over Barack Obama and regularly appearing at Obama's side while stopping just enough short of using the word “endorse” to allow him to continue to play both sides.

“Altmire's fellow liberal Obama displayed his true feelings about the communities of the Fourth Congressional District this week with a sneering reference to small towns in Pennsylvania,” said former Congresswoman Melissa Hart.

While speaking to a group of San Francisco donors Barack Obama said, "You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them... And it’s not surprising they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

“Our country faces many challenges in the years ahead,” said Melissa Hart, “but among them are not the facts that many people in this part of the country attend church or temple services, cherish their hunting and sportsmen traditions, and are concerned about illegal immigration and the impact of free trade on the local economy. If Altmire were really the centrist Democrat he claims to be, he would have called on Obama to apologize immediately.”

“With each passing day, it becomes more clear that Jason Altmire pays more attention to his national political profile than his constituents concerns. Governor Rendell and other top Democrats have rightly criticized Obama’s remarks; I wonder why Jason Altmire remains silent on these demeaning comments.”

Yesterday, in the Washington Post the only thing Altmire had to say about Obama is "I have been really happy with the way that this has played out for western Pennsylvania," and "the more people get to know him, the more they like him."

“The reality is that the radical groups bankrolling Altmire share Obama's contempt for the people of this region and their values. Every day, it is becoming more apparent that these special interest groups are who Altmire really represents, not the people of New Castle, Beaver Falls, Cheswick or the other communities of western Pennsylvania,” said Hart.

Note from Steve: Jason Altmire is claiming to be a "conservative Democrat." In fact, Altmire described John Murtha as his "campaign manager" and voted for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House. Altmire voted for the "Iraq timetable" after claiming in his campaign that he would not. He also claims to be "pro-life" but voted to provide federal funding (your tax dollars) to destroy viable embryos for stem cell research. He is also backing proposals (elimination of the President's tax cuts) that would increase taxes by 50% on those in the lowest-tax bracket. Candidate Hart speaks in her release about the radical groups supporting Altmire. You can analyze Altmire's contributors by going to http://www.opensecrets.org/ and typing in the name "Altmire." Hart's campaign is financed by thousands of individual donors, including the author of this blog. If you'd like to find out more about Melissa Hart (and hopefully, contribute to her grassroots campaign) please go to her web site at: http://peoplewithhart.com/. Thanks.

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