http://youtu.be/WbAWByvTK8k
Tom Smith’s campaign is airing a new campaign ad in response to an attack spot from Senate rival Steve Welch. But the 30 second negative spot doesn’t target who you’d think.
Instead of a full frontal assault on Welch, the commercial gives him a quick aside and focuses fire on Sam Rohrer, the former state Rep. from Berks County.
“In the race for U.S. Senate, who’s the real conservative?” the ad opens. “Not career politician Sam Rohrer. In the state House, Rohrer voted himself a massive pay raise. At midnight. It was called ‘mugging the state taxpayers.’”
“Liberal Steve Welch?” the narrator continues. “He voted for Barack Obama for President.”
Why target Rohrer? The Smith campaign didn’t say. But one GOP media watched said it had to do with Welch’s relatively low poll numbers vis-a-vis Rohrer. Namely, that voters driven from Smith by Welch’s ads are more likely to vote for Rohrer than anyone.
“Welch is an independent expenditure for Rohrer,” the source said.
The ad presents a familiar attack on Welch. His 2008 primary vote for Barack Obama has caused him much heartburn during this campaign.
“Steve voted for John McCain for President of the United States,” said Welch campaign manager Peter Towey. “Steve has been honest about who he voted for in the primary, compared to Tom Smith who has not been honest about his history of being a Democrat for 42 years and raising taxes 9 times as an elected official.”
Welch’s ad yesterday hit on a similar theme for Smith, noting that the former coal company owner from Armstrong County was a registered Democrat his entire adult life until 2011 and gave $2,400 to Rep. Jason Altmire in 2009.
The Smith ad is familiar to Rohrer, too. The pay raise vote came up in 2010.
“The idea that someone who was a registered Democrat for 42 years and gave money to one of Pennsylvania’s most liberal Congressman could call himself a true conservative is laughable,” said Rohrer campaign manager Zac Moyle. “The truth is that unlike Tom Smith, Sam Rohrer never once voted for a tax increase and never took a dime from the pay raise while fighting for its successful repeal.”
Rohrer ran for governor in 2010, and maintains a strong base of support among conservative activists. However, he has little in the way of cash on hand. His best chance is a scorched-earth TV brawl between Smith and Welch.
If this ad is any evidence, Smith seems intent on preventing that scenario.
Welch is an entrepreneur from Chester County. Also in the U.S. Senate race, but out of the fray, are David Christian, a veterans advocate from Bucks County and Marc Scaringi, an attorney from Cumberland County.
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20 Responses
I must agree with Armstrong County’s thoughts on Tom Smith’s inability to be able to debate. I have meet and listened to all the candidates present their thoughts on what is wrong with the current state of affairs and how they propose to fix the situation. Tom Smith didn’t lay out any plan whatsoever. He did tell us all about all the money he has, the gymnasium attached to his home, being a life-long Lutheran, and he used ambiguous terms such as, “being a life long conservative” (whatever that really means). But he never said who or what he really does stand for or doesn’t stand for. This went on for the better part of 30 minutes until someone yelled, “what do you stand for? How would you fix …..?” To which, he never addressed the question directly, but skirted around anything that appeared defining. He probably is a very likeable guy, I don’t think he has his personal skills of debate and rhetoric hammered down, or even his convictions to run for a senate position. He was hands down the worst of all the candidates in his personal presentation.
Tom Smith deals in half-truths. Is a half-truth a true statement or is it a lie? Any honest person knows it’s a lie. Check the facts of his claims about Sam Rohrer’s record and you will see that the half-truths presented by Tom Smith do nothing but to out Smith as a LIAR. A liar cannot be trusted to represent us in Washington. Even Bob Casey can be expected to cast his votes in a consistently unacceptable pattern. A liar has no consistent pattern to his actions. Tom Smith will never get my vote. I am voting for Sam Rohrer.
Why does a conservative have to be a registered Republican? I know many Republicans who more liberal than some.Democrats I know
I’m from Tom Smith’s area and I will tell you why he won’t debate. He’s well rehearsed with his rhetoric but not informed on real facts enough to stand up to the challenge of a debate.
His ” lifelong conservative” tag line is very misleading. He presents as if he’s a lifelong Republican by attacking other Republicans for any agreement with Democrats. Yet does one of his commercials state he was a lifelong Democrat until he decided it would benefit him to become republican.
Go to his hometown of Elderton and see where opinion lies there. Those people know the REAL Tom Smith If he can sell out his hometown, he will sell out our state. There’s enough corruption in charge now. He won’t get my vote.
It amuses me that Smith feels the need to respond to Welch by attacking *Rohrer,* especially since Smith was a large financial supporter of Rohrer’s in 2010! seems to me like Smith blows with the winds of political fancy just like most candidates. What will he really stand for if elected? No one knows…
If I didn’t know better I would think Mark Critz (Democrat) wrote this ad. Same type of misleading info he used in his race..
Sam Rohrer led the repeal of the 2005 pay raise. Never took a dime. I’m surprised Tom Smith would seek to introduce himself to Republican voters by distorting Sam’s record. As a man who wants to make the leap from 42 year Democrat to trusted Republican, from Township Supervisor to United States Senate, Smith has much to prove about himself. Sam Rohrer has already done that. Sam is the only candidate who’s a tested, proven stalwart. He’s the one man who can beat Bob Casey.Life long Conservitave??REALLY
I like Tom and think he would be much beter than Welch, and if he wins I will work my butt off for him….. but….to advertise he is a Life Long Conservative???? Life Long Conservatives are not registered democrat and don’t donate to Democrats, and are principaled enough not to fence sit and support both sides. My vote will be for SAM ROHRER.
@ jeffrey ney- “Sam Rohrer has the proven track record and a voting record”
Exactly and that is the issue. Act 9, 38 and 40 are the three votes that have had more negative impact on the Commonwealth than any other votes Sam has cast. Before Sam touched the fund and voted himself an increase the fund was at 125% solvency. Not only did they given themselves a 50% increase, they then added a COLA the next year and the following year kicked paying for it down the road. A decade of severe underfunding has placed us in a pension crisis with solvency at approximately 60%.
Ever ask yourself why Sam led the property tax fight? Because property taxes would necessarily have to go up to fund their pension increases, especially after underfunding them for a decade.
Sam is the one who is running as the tested conservative, right? What does that mean anyway? Everyone is tested in school. right? So how did he do on his fiscal management test? He decimated the PSERS and SERS fund leaving property owners to pay for it.
Sam is also running on his experience, right? He touts he is the ONLY one with experience. When you talk about his bad votes and the impact they had on the commonwealth, that is discussing the experience he touts as the reason he should be US Senator.
If you want to run with the Sam has never voted for anything unconstitutional line and also claim that someone who says yes he has is a liar ,
If you take the Courts decision in the pay raise case decision as that raise was constitutional, when groups pointed to six violations of the constitution, then your definition is the constitution is what the court says it is; living and breathing, ever changing with the Courts whims and personal interests…like a pay raise that affects them..
Not to mention, the pay raise piggyback wasn’t the right thing to do either. 10 points..right.
There is a huge difference between style and substance.
While all of you are talking DINO’s and RINO’s and 18 years in government without much to show, there’s an actual conservative who has the complete package and background to actually beat Casey (sorry, Marc)…and that is David Christian. Businessman, fought through government beauracracy, has been around the world on foreign assignment in places that all of the rest may not know exist and actually called by Ronald Reagan. Oh, and highly decorated veteran. Rises above the mosh pit. He knows who he is and knows how to take care of business.
Hey Scaringi and Smith lovers. Go watch this video of Sam Rohrer participating in the Drexel University Student Liberty Front panel discussion. Sam was invited to participate by the liberty loving students based on his RECORD!Watch all the videos. Then come back and tell us who the REAL Constitutional conservative is. Sam and Judge Napolitano are like blood brothers.
http://freedomwatchonfox.com/2009/10/
Just tell me what conservative Democrats Smith voted for in the those 19 consecutive Democratic primaries. That well end the discussion on who is the genuine article.
We tried a Smith like candidate with Scott Brown in Massachusetts. That hasn’t worked out so well. I soon as I saw the Dick Morris endorsement for Smith, every red flag went up in my mind. Morris is an opportunist and a phony.
Sam Rohrer has the proven track record and a voting record. We should not take a chance on talk. We should look at Sam’s lifelong, proven stance on the Constitution, 10th Amendment rights, his opposition to the Real ID Act, and his role is limiting the spread of state government into the lives of each and every resident of this state. Sam is the only one running with both private sector and public sector elected service. Sam has also NEVER EVER run an attack ad on anyone in his public sector career.
With the outright lies and half truth distortions in his attack ads against Rohrer, we have now proof that Smith cannot be trusted to ever tell the truth to us if elected, for if he lies about Rohrer now much bigger will the lies be if he wins the election?
Food for thought. Vote integrity. Vote Rohrer.
@John A. Hudak – exactly. The worst part of this is that these folks who are commenting know that their charges are bogus, or they just read the campaigns talking points and “bot”.
Sam’s voting record is what it is. Caseys attacks on it will be much worse if Rohrer is nominated.
Guess some are not astute enough to understand the definition of RINO. If Tom Smith had label attached it would have been DINO. Many are either too lazy or too dishonest to look up Smiths documented support of GOP candidates and causes.
His support of conservatives sure wasn’t overlooked by the state committee . Tom Smith, received ALL the state committee votes from his home county GOP as well as neighboring Indiana, Jefferson and Clarion County.
Bob-
Smith donated heavily to Rohrer’s gubernatorial. If what he asserts in his attack on Rohrer is true then Smith is guilty of supporting this ‘unconstitutional’ record. What does that make Smith? As it happens, Smith’s allegations are in error, factually inaccurate, and desperate. Either way, Smith is not someone I want to send to Washington. Sam Rohrer has my vote!
My parents were registered Democrats and so was I for half my life. The party back then was not the same party of Obama, Pelosi, Casey and Reed. My parents worked hard, never asked for assitance, loved God and wanted government out of their lives. If they were still alive they would have switched to the Republican party. Tom Smith is from the same Western Pennsylvania area I’m from and has the same values Tom is not a RINO and not a career politican. It would be refreshing to get someone in there that has good common and business sense for once.
SMITH IS A RINO!!!!!!! WORSE THAN A RINO, A DEMOCRAT!! ONLY MARC SCARINGI CAN CLAIM THE MANTLE OF CONSTITUTIONAL CONSERVATIVE IN THIS RACE!!!!!!! GO MARC!
Tom Smith has had a extensive and very successful private sector experience.
Tom Smith has contributed more than half million to Free Market think tanks and organizations and to conservative candidates.
No other candidate can claim his experience or his willingness to contribute $$$ to fiscal conservatives.
Tom Smith was a Reagan Democrat just as Ronald Reagan was before Democrat before he changed parties to run for office.
Bob Casey has never held a private sector job.
Super Nice Guy, Low Key Tom Smith is the perfect foil for Super Nice Guy Bob Casey. The focus will be on policy and not personality.
It’s the Economy, Stupid and the Democrats’ Bankrupting Policies. http://www.scribd.com/doc/88871670/Democrats-Bankrupting-Policies-Its-the-Economy-Stupid
Why would Tom Smith say he is a life long Conservative if he has been a registered Democrat for over 40 years? His attack on Welch’s vote in a Primary has no merit since Smith would have voted for Obama or Clinton that same year … and other Democrats for many other elections. Very misleading commercial.
Think about it: How will Tom Smith “stand up to liberal Obama,” as this ad states, when he won’t even stand up to debate his conservative Republican opponents???
No more RINOS! Marc Scaringi is the only true CONSTITUTIONALIST in the race! We are one nation UNDER GOD, and only Marc can ensure that!