Shuster: Chairmanship, reelect on way

If Republicans still control the House next year, Bill Shuster will be in line to take over the powerful Transportation committee. The last member of the Pa delegation to be a chair was Shuster's dad, Bud, and Tracie Mauriello got him to comment for a story Sunday:

"Republican leadership was against me and the Democratic president, Bill Clinton, was against me ... but I had a groundswell of support from the country," said Bud Shuster, who seldom bucked the party line on issues other than transportation.

"There are issues on which you have to be partisan, but not transportation. There's no such thing as a Republican bridge or a Democrat bridge. These are American assets," he said.

Shuster also has to survive reelection in November. He'll face off against Mercersburg nurse, activist and author Karen Ramsburg, who staged a write-in campaign as an independent to make the ballot. Ramsburg has the endorsement of former congressman and 2010 U.S. Senate candidate Joe Sestak, who wrote the endorsement below of her candidacy (in full after the jump):

I am proud to endorse Karen Ramsburg as an Independent running for Congress in Pennsylvania's 9th District. She is exactly what this nation, the state and the 9th District needs: a believer that we can rebuild the American Dream for the middle class together, bringing respect across the political divide to unite people in what needs to be done.

 

 

Karen understands that as a Congressperson, people matter first, above party and self. She will work first and foremost to create quality jobs that have a future for families, with raising wages. She understands that we in Pennsylvania became the model when we established the first public school in America because we wanted everyone to contribute to the Commonwealth as they pursued their individual endeavors. She wants our children to inherit workplaces that are safe for them, with an environment that enriches their lives, including with jobs that ensure that type of environment. And like I had in the military, a healthcare system that ensures our workforce is at its height of productivity because of their individual care while ensuring a fair healthcare competition that disciplines cost.

I fully endorse Karen's campaign for Congress as an Independent in Pennsylvania's 9th Congressional district, and encourage everyone to get behind her because our nation needs real solutions, not more ideological posturing.