Critz Cross
Rep. Mark Critz, D-Johnstown, battling to defend his House seat in a Republican-leaning district, was quick to criticize President Obama Thursday after his fellow Democrat sought to make an economic case against Mitt Romney.
In one rambling sentence, Mr. Critz assailed the administration's trade and energy policies in a statement e-mailed to reporters shortly after the president concluded a speech in Cleveland that cast the election as a contrast between two sharply different economic visions.
"President Obama and others in Washington need to realize that we cannot spend out way to prosperity and that in order to create jobs, we need to address unfair trade deals that ship jobs overseas and enact polices that allow us to take advantage of our vast natural resources such as gas in a safe and responsible manner which will lower energy costs and create jobs and approving the Keystone XL Pipeline would be a good first step.''
During his speech at a Cleveland community college, Mr. Obama did mention the need to develop natural gas and clean coal, but that clearly wasn't enough for Mr. Critz, who faces a hotly contested challenge from Republican Keith Rothfus in the newly configured 12th district. But he Critz critique, predictably, was not enough to mollify his GOP critics.
In another press release, The National Republican Congressional Committee accused the incumbent of hypocrisy for attempting to distance himself from the president.
"Mark Critz's remarks are dripping with irony since he has supported ObamaCare 20 times since coming to Congress,'' said NRCC spokesman Nat Sillin. "Critz has been caught saying one thing and doing another. Despite his words today, Critz voting record shows he's supported President Obama 70 percent of the time.''
Mr. Critz has consistently said that he would not have voted for the administration's health care law, which was enacted before he took office, but he has voted against Republican budget measures that included provisions to defund portions of the controversial law.
Mr. Critz won his current seat in a district that had a narrow Republican voting tendency in national elections. The newly configured 12th district, where Mr. Critz won a hotly contested primary over fellow Democrat Jason Altmire, is even more Republican in its recent voting patterns. The former 12th District, represented by Mr. Critz's old Boss, the late Rep. John P. Murtha, for generations, was the only House district in the nation that voted for Democrat John Kerry in 2004 but switched its support to Republican John McCain in 2008, while Mr. Obama carried the state overall in a landslide.
In one rambling sentence, Mr. Critz assailed the administration's trade and energy policies in a statement e-mailed to reporters shortly after the president concluded a speech in Cleveland that cast the election as a contrast between two sharply different economic visions.
"President Obama and others in Washington need to realize that we cannot spend out way to prosperity and that in order to create jobs, we need to address unfair trade deals that ship jobs overseas and enact polices that allow us to take advantage of our vast natural resources such as gas in a safe and responsible manner which will lower energy costs and create jobs and approving the Keystone XL Pipeline would be a good first step.''
During his speech at a Cleveland community college, Mr. Obama did mention the need to develop natural gas and clean coal, but that clearly wasn't enough for Mr. Critz, who faces a hotly contested challenge from Republican Keith Rothfus in the newly configured 12th district. But he Critz critique, predictably, was not enough to mollify his GOP critics.
In another press release, The National Republican Congressional Committee accused the incumbent of hypocrisy for attempting to distance himself from the president.
"Mark Critz's remarks are dripping with irony since he has supported ObamaCare 20 times since coming to Congress,'' said NRCC spokesman Nat Sillin. "Critz has been caught saying one thing and doing another. Despite his words today, Critz voting record shows he's supported President Obama 70 percent of the time.''
Mr. Critz has consistently said that he would not have voted for the administration's health care law, which was enacted before he took office, but he has voted against Republican budget measures that included provisions to defund portions of the controversial law.
Mr. Critz won his current seat in a district that had a narrow Republican voting tendency in national elections. The newly configured 12th district, where Mr. Critz won a hotly contested primary over fellow Democrat Jason Altmire, is even more Republican in its recent voting patterns. The former 12th District, represented by Mr. Critz's old Boss, the late Rep. John P. Murtha, for generations, was the only House district in the nation that voted for Democrat John Kerry in 2004 but switched its support to Republican John McCain in 2008, while Mr. Obama carried the state overall in a landslide.