Posted on 04/26/2012 6:17:29 PM PDT by neverdem
WASHINGTON — The defeat of two conservative House Democrats by more liberal opponents in Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary illustrates the strong hold the new health care law still has over committed Democratic voters and foreshadows an even more polarized Congress next year in the aftermath of the latest round of redistricting.
Representatives Jason Altmire and Tim Holden both lost in primaries to opponents who joined together with activist groups to pummel the veteran lawmakers over the opposition to the new health care law and climate change legislation — positions they had used to their advantage in the past to show their independence from President Obama and the Democratic Party.
“A lot of us thought of his record as his strength,” said Hugh M. Reiley, the chairman of the Schuylkill County Democratic Party, referring to Mr. Holden. “He was not falling prey to all that party bickering. He was able to reach across the aisle.”
“Last night, the Democratic Party became more liberal,” he added.
While Republicans have seized on the health care law as a political weapon to employ against the president and Congressional Democrats, many Democratic voters and party activists see it as a major achievement and are poised to punish Democrats who fought it. The results on Tuesday also suggest health care could be a major rallying cry if the Supreme Court overturns all or part of the law this summer.
Mr. Altmire, who lost to a fellow incumbent, Representative Mark Critz, after they were thrown into a new district together, was able to ride his health care opposition to re-election in 2010. That position...
--snip--
In eastern Pennsylvania, state Republicans stuffed the Democratic cities of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre into Mr. Holden’s formerly conservative-leaning seat. The result: A 10-term congressman and founding member of the centrist Blue Dog coalition...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
One who doesn't "champion" any of the usual atrocites, but who still votes for every one of them.
Critz could be beaten. (Neither Critz nor Altmire won by much last time out). Cartwright is safe.
I don’t know the answer to your question
You probably know better than me since your screen name is NEPA. My experience with people from that district is they are truly blue-dog democrats. Hopefully this will wake them up. Barletta won from a similar demographic district.
“Tim Holdens new district changed from farm country to picking up Allentown and Bethlehem, two heavy union towns, with heavy unemployment.”
Holden was one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress (particularly on social issues), and while he was unacceptably liberal on economic issues for the majority-Republican district he used to represent, he would have been a Godsend in the redrawn, heavily Democrat PA-17.
“Plus Holden was pitted against another incumbant D so its one less democrat”
“Barletta won from a similar demographic district.”
From the left-wing media perspective, a Dem who is not as left-wing as the average dem is a "conservative democrat", and a Marxist dem is just a Democrat.
On a Republican side, you have "moderate Republicans" (those who vote with Dems on important issues), and the "Radical Right".
You’re right. I get confused with all the redistricting. Either way Holden would be better than Cartwright and that redrawn district has no chance of ever being republican.
The area is fairly conservative on social issues but big time left on fiscal. Actually that describes Casey senior. He’s thought of as being conservative because he was so pro life but actually he was pretty liberal on fiscal issues. A typical Scranton democrat.
I don’t think unions are that influential around here anymore. At least not numbers wise although they can pool their money and make an impact.
I don’t know the other two guys, but the in the Altmeir/Critz election Altmeir was the less liberal of the two, and it worked in his previous district which was not liberal. Critz was from Johnstown area and replaced Murtha, so he had no need to be anything but flaming liberal.
The new district will be interesting to see how the election goes, but its not the same as old Murtha district, where a communist could run and win all day every day. I don’t think the new district is going to be as receptive to Critz as his old one was. Given it was a republican legislature that formed the new district, I can almost assure you its intent was to end that guaranteed democratic win that the Murtha district had.
I know this, what I saw of Critz ads in their primary battle, I really don’t think he’s going to win..but time will tell.
The Critz/Altmeir race was a race between 2 incumbents, both were democratic congressmen and PA lost a district in the last census, so the new district was formed and these 2 ran against each other.. so both are incumbents so anyone arguing against in incumbency couldn’t support either one of them.
For the record:
“Critz must now try to win a district that backed Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) by 54 percent in the 2008 presidential election. Republican lawyer Keith Rothfus, who narrowly lost to Altmire by two points in 2010, will square off against Critz in November.”
Critz is going to be fried. HE ran bragging he supported ObamaCare... his own primary ads are all any opponent needs to run to win.. They are basically I’m the more liberal/socialist guy. Altmire may have likely held the district, even though personally I think he’s a hack, I don’t see Critz winning the general.
Odd that CPA is claiming a victory, then, and the New York Times is giving them credit in an offhand way without naming them, although the main thrust of the Times story is (dubiously) that the pro-Obamacare forces won. They had to mention the outside help, or the story would be blatantly inaccurate, but they used this election as a propaganda-spewing device for their main hero, the nation destroyer.
I find it ironic, also, that CPA claims to be supporting anti-incumbents because the incumbents have been poisoned by the lobbyists’ money and are now beholden to special interests, when it is money itself that is driving their own organization and support.
“Get the money out of politics, except for us.”
Critz did hammer Altmire for not supporting Obamacare... so from that perspective the article is right, however, as we all know primaries usually are overly represented of the more extreme of the parties view points, so on the left these are the socialist/communists/government is the solution to all ills types. So That will and probably did help Critz win the primary.
However, this will mean certain defeat for him in the general. Most folks in PA, not just republicans, but most folks, saw the democratic primary ads and just shook their heads. None of the stands taken in those ads represent anything close to where most PA residents are.
Critz is going to be toast. Altmire, will likely live to fight another day, Critz career as an elected politian anyway, will likely be over.
Boo-hoo-hoo!
They are unionists.
Until the unions are starved beyond death, There will be ongoing problems.
All union label products should be boycotted.
Previous threats carried out?
I wonder if they have placed their children in hiding.
Neither would have lost the rat primary if they were running in the same districts. For many of their new constituents they were not the incumbents. Atlmire’s district was more his than not but he got creamed in the part that Critz previously represented. As for Holden he is far too moderate for a safe rat seat, he’s one rat who ironically would have been better off in his previous more Republican district! Lol.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.