"America in 2008 is a mean place." (Michelle Obama, who reportedly wants to be First Lady)
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 to Those Outside Pennsylvania: Hillary Clinton is blanketing the state with commercials criticizing Obama's sneering comments about Pennsylvanians. In this instance, Mrs. Clinton is correct. If you'd like to learn more about my friend Melissa Hart, please visit her web site at:
http://peoplewithhart.com. She's a woman of real integrity and a true Pennsylvanian.
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2 comments:
Given that no politician intentionally insults the voters they seek, it seems pretty clear that Obama meant that people cling to religion and faith more strongly in troubled times and that people are also more likely to be at their worst and show bigotry and intolerance when the economy is bad and they are anxious about their future. And in fact, most people agree with that basic premise. It's unfortunate that Obama lumped all of these things together in his speech, but it underscores the hypocrisy of Melissa Hart and the Republicans when she wants others to "denounce" someone who makes a controversial statement, but who opposed an investigation of Jack Abramoff and who supported federal no-bid contracts to firms closely associated with Dick Cheney and the Republican party. Whether they are bitter or not, people who live in small towns and who have lost blue collar jobs have good reason to be upset about policies like deregulation and unfair trade practices that Melissa Hart and the Republicans implemented and have led to many jobs going overseas.
I believe Barack Obama "meant" to say exactly what he did say, and for you to scurry around trying to defend him puts you in the same category as Obama: an elitist liberal who squeals when he gets caught denigrating the American people. You should be ashamed of yourself, but that would demand a clarity of thought with which you seem to be incapable. You're a classic Altmire supporter: smug, ignorant, and hostile to classic American values. Other than that, I assume your mother loves you for reasons known only to her.
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