Republican Keith Rothfus lashed out at incumbent Rep. Mark Critz (D-Cambria) for attempting to score political points Wednesday when Critz voted to extend tax cuts across the board, but subsequently voted on an amendment to exempt earners making $1M or more from the extension.
“Mark Critz’s innate ability to support conflicting sides on the same issue would make John Kerry jealous,” Rothfus said in a campaign press release.
“Mr. Critz’s decision to stand with his Democrat leaders and vote to recommit this bill would have sent it to the legislative graveyard and cost western Pennsylvania a much needed economic shot in the arm.”
Critz spokesman Mike Mikus said Rothfus’s “bizarre” attack shows their growing desperation.
“The voters are rejecting Keith Rothfus because he supports outsourcing jobs to China and India and forcing seniors to pay $6,400 more for their healthcare…Even Keith Rothfus says in his own press release that Mark Critz voted to extend middle class tax cuts,” Mikus said in an email.
“The false attacks coming from Keith Rothfus won’t change the fact that Mark Critz is fighting to create jobs for the middle class while Rothfus supports…a budget that will end Medicare as we know it.”
The amendment proposed by the Democrats came after House Republicans passed H.R. 8, which extended tax cuts initiated under former President George W. Bush.
In addition to exempting millionaires from the tax cut extension, the Dems’ amendment included tax credits for small businesses.
Although Democrats championed their proposed amendment as beneficial toward middle class families and small business, Rothfus – citing an independent study by the Heritage Foundation – said the amendment would’ve cost middle class families an average of $4,100 a year.
In response, Democrats have accused Republicans of pandering to the wealthiest members of society as well as continuing failed tax policies of the past. Rep. Bill Pascarell (D-N.J.) told The Huffington Post that the latest cuts continue a Republican-led attack on the middle class.
“To those members concerned with tax fairness, today, wealth concentrated with the top 1 percent is at the same level as the period immediately preceding the Great Depression,” Pascrell said.
“So you shrunk the middle class with your great economic ideas between 2001 and 2008, and what you did, what you did is made the rich richer. I salute you.”
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11 Responses
Why is that wingnuts like Rothfus who scream that government doesn’t work campaign non-stop for four years for a government office?
All anyone needs to know about Mark Critz and how horrible he is look at this site!
http://www.citizensagainstmarkcritz.com/
http://theusmarinesrape.com/
Congressman Shuster, does your lack of an open endorsement for Rothfus have anything to do with Critz’s not helping your opponent in the 9th district? Just another example of our one party system of government when you get to Washington. All those ideological differences are just to fool us.
Mr. R has lived off the government-education complex his entire life. Whether it is from taxpayer funded colleges or taxpayer funded government positions. What does he know about the working middle class except to leech off it? I am quite certain that he would sell out to China in a minute. In fact, various Chinese corporations are busy donating to the outside groups that will soon bombard airwaves with attack ads. And that is just fine with Mr. R.
Dear Blair: Did Keith the Candidate ever create any jobs or save jobs? I know he may have saved jobs at Faith Healer Robertson’s extremist Lawyer factory? Dear Dr. Evil, Why isn’t Keith the Candidate standing up against Turzai’s plan to suppress the Senior vote? Is Senior voter suppression really necessary to force feed the Ryan Medicare Destruction plan on Western PA and this nation? Have a good weekend Dr. Evil!
Go Keith! Of course the uneducated liberals that comment here have no idea how to create jobs or how the private sector operates.
Since when is first voting for everyone receiving something & then cutting certain individuals out of receiving this, not Flip flopping? Sure sounds like it to me. Sounds like another Altmire who voted against healthcare and then refused to vote for repeal. Great
Seems to me that Rep. Critz has as his overriding agenda to help the middle class. Rothfus seems to more enamored to only help the middle class if the wealthiest amongst us continue to get help. Rothfus is the kind of politician we do NOT need.
Keith the candidate Rothus and former employee of Faith Healer Pat Robertson supports the continued shipping of jobs to China! I have called upon Mr. Rothfus repeatedly to stand up for Western PA Seniors and their right to vote but Mr. Rothfus remains silent. He wants to deny women their right to contraception and return relations between the sexes back to Biblical times. He is a phony GOP snake handler who is trying to fool voters. He is too extreme for Mitt Romney’s big tent.
I think he meant “Mitt Romney,” not “John Kerry.”
“Mark Critz’s innate ability to support conflicting sides on the same issue would make John Kerry jealous.”
It’s cool though, surely Rothfus doesn’t support Romney or anything.
Why is the mega-millionaire candidate against middle-class tax breaks?
Oh, wait, never mind.