Posted on 05/09/2010 8:29:21 AM PDT by smoothsailing
May 9, 2010
Mike Faher
— It’s billed as a nationally prominent race, so the 12th Congressional District battle is chock-full of national rhetoric.
There’s Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama on one side, and Newt Gingrich and Scott Brown on the other. It’s health-care reform vs. Social Security privatization, or earmarks vs. big business.
But the two front-runners for the late John Murtha’s seat – Democrat Mark Critz and Republican Tim Burns – are well aware of the surest path to Congress in this district: Straight down the middle.
In an attempt to win a district filled with voters who have been labeled “conservative Democrats,” both men are taking many positions that pull them toward the center of their own parties.
And, despite the abundance of Beltway bloviation, both have been busy emphasizing their hometown roots.
“I’m western Pennsylvania all over. It’s in my DNA,” Critz said last week.
Added Burns: “This is a district that I know. My friends and family are here.”
District dichotomy
Some pundits, seeking reasons for Murtha’s continued dominance toward the end of a 36-year career, pointed to the overwhelmingly Democratic voter registration in the 12th district.
The numbers don’t lie: There were 256,281 Democrats compared with 118,175 Republicans as of last year’s general election, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State.
But the overall picture is more complicated than that. As The Economist magazine noted last week, “the 12th is the only district in the country to have voted for Democrat John Kerry in 2004 and Republican John McCain in 2008.”
Further emphasizing the dichotomy in the district, the 2008 presidential vote was far from overwhelming on the Republican’s behalf: The final tally was 35,355 for McCain and 32,203 for Obama.
Murtha knew well the “socially conservative” tendencies of his district.
While painted in the national press as a Pelosi Democrat, he was anti-abortion and pro-gun.
Even after his highly publicized stance against the Iraq war ignited a national debate, Murtha remained popular at home and laughed at comparisons between himself and a San Francisco liberal.
“The only thing that’s changed is, I disagree with the policy of the president,” Murtha said in a 2006 interview.
Points of emphasis
So it should likely come as no surprise that Burns and Critz – candidates not only in the primary but also in a special election to fill the remainder of Murtha’s unexpired term – are following a similar centrist path in many respects.
For instance:
n During a debate Wednesday, Critz not only reiterated that he is anti-abortion but also said he would favor overturning Roe v. Wade.
n Burns has backed away from saying “all options” should remain on the table regarding Social Security, declaring last week that he would not support privatization.
n Asked about the Employee Free Choice Act, Critz predictably said he supports it. But Burns did not denounce the act, saying only that he favors secret ballots during union organization while also telling debate watchers that he supports workers’ right to organize.
n Critz said he does not support the so-called “cap and trade” energy bill that Murtha, his former boss, voted for.
Slammed by Burns for campaigning with Vice President Joe Biden, whom the GOP has labeled “anti-coal,” Critz said the Biden fundraiser “gave me the opportunity to tell him, ‘I don’t agree with you on coal.’ ”
n Critz also says he would have voted against another major Democratic initiative – health-care reform.
n In separate interviews and/or in last week’s debate, both men said they favor tax breaks for small businesses and cuts in all federal departments.
They also both used the phrase “energy capital of the world” in reference to the district’s potential to capitalize on coal, wind and natural-gas reserves.
n Burns is not shunning Congressional earmarks in the manner that prior GOP contenders did while campaigning against Murtha. Instead, he said he favors an “open and transparent” process regarding such spending.
“I don’t think there’s any shame in being a strong advocate for your district,” Burns said in an interview last week.
Degrees of separation
That’s not to say there are no differences between the candidates.
Both have connected themselves with principles that are broadly Republican or Democratic. For instance, Burns is fond of saying business and industry are overregulated and that government should “get out of the way.”
Critz enjoys backing from big labor unions and speaks often about supporting the working class or middle class.
But there have not been many instances where either has taken a potentially risky position that could be labeled left- or right-wing.
Last week’s debate may have provided one such moment. Asked about repealing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy regarding gays in the military, Burns said the policy should stay in place.
But Critz said he defers to the stance of Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. Mullen has said terminating that policy would be “the right thing to do.”
Burns chose a safer path when, given the chance to support or oppose the implementation of a national sales tax, he chose the latter by saying the levy was not practical at this point.
Much of the two candidates’ jostling has focused on their respective backgrounds.
Critz is a Johnstown resident who had worked as Murtha’s district director, a position that he believes gives him a big advantage over Burns.
“I already know the district,” Critz said. “(Voters) know me. I’ll hit the ground running.”
But Burns bills himself as a private-sector candidate. The Johnstown native who now lives in Eighty Four built his own pharmacy-technology business, TechRx, into a company that employed 400 before selling in 2003.
The deal made him a millionaire.
Burns has focused not on his personal wealth, but on his business acumen.
“(Critz) hopes to attract a job,” Burns said. “I know what it takes to create a job.”
Seeking broad appeal
Even those arguments, though, are geared toward a very nonpolitical goal that is near and dear to the people of the 12th: Generating economic growth in an area that frequently is portrayed as the heart of the “rust belt.”
In the end, both men are working hard to appeal to the district’s peculiar brand of politics and to its residents’ insistence on pragmatism.
That’s not lost on Rob Gleason, who chairs the Cambria County and state GOP committees and is hoping his party scores a historic win next month.
“For us to win an election in the 12th Congressional District, the candidate has got to appeal to Republicans, Democrats and independents,” Gleason said.
Tellingly, he added that Burns is “not a highly partisan Republican".
PA-12 FYI Ping.
Thanks for the ping! Keep them coming.
Looks like it will shape up to be the classic RINO vs. ‘rat matchup.
Yep, sure does, which makes it more likely the rat will win.
Endorsement from same paper(this was Murtha’s hometown paper and powerbase)
http://tribune-democrat.com/editorials/x1008077352/Critz-gets-our-nod-for-Murtha-seat
LOL!
Surprise, Surprise, Surprise. NOT!
Anybody who thinks Critz is going to be anything other than a Pelosi lapdog is smoking something pretty strong.
I love the point about change being promised in 2008 which hasn’t happened yet, but Critz is going to raise his arm and the seas will part. He’ll be a co-Savior to Obama.
Delusional.
Bump to that!
I live in a blue collar area of Texas and I’ve got a feeling that those blue collar Dems in the 12th District of PA did not go for Obama because he is Black.....and a Marxist.....and a Radical........
Well, the good news is, whicever one wins the Special Election, you can vote them out again in 5 1/2 months.
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