Blue America Has Been Concentrating On Tim Holden For A Reason

There are two "Democrats" battling it out for Pennsylvania's 12th CD in the western part of the state, and both-- as hard as it is to imagine-- as actually more right-wing than Tim Holden. That would be Jason Altmire and Mark Critz, who were thrown into one district by the Republican gerrymander in the state legislature. In three weeks one will be headed back to a career of voting for corporate interests in Congress and the other will be headed to K Street to work as a lobbyist-- for the same corporate interests.

Altmire, Critz and Holden are three of the worst Members of Congress. According to ProgressivePunch, the 2011-12 session has seen Altmire voting with Boehner and Cantor against the Democrats (on crucial rollcalls) an astounding 87.41% of the time. Only fellow Blue Dogs Dan Boren (OK-retiring), Mike Ross (AR-retiring) and Jim Matheson (UT), have worse records. Critz's isn't that much better. He's adhered to the Boehner agenda on 62.83% of the roll calls, about the same as Holden (63.75%). All three are virulently anti-Choice, anti-gay and anti-health care and routinely support the Republicans on just about everything important. ProgressivePunch rated the three Pennsylvania homophobes on their lifetime votes on roll calls crucial to the LGBT community. Critz-- whose very first vote after being elected was to oppose including gays in Hate Crimes legislation, has a zero-- that's worse than many Republicans! Holden has voted the anti-gay line 85.71% of the time and Altmire voted anti-gay a flat 75% of the time.

As we've seen, Steny Hoyer and the Blue Dogs have come out strongly to try to save Holden's career. He's in a strongly blue district now and his deep red voting record doesn't fit. His opponent, progressive attorney Matt Cartwright, is giving him a run for his (corporate) money. If Cartwright wins, he'd quickly be embraced by the Democratic caucus with which is has far more in common that the reactionary Holden. The race out west is more nuanced-- since both congressmen are hopeless, ideologically speaking.

2 reactionary losers disguised as Democrats

According to Shira Toeplitz at Roll Call, most Democrats would rather see the widely hated Altmire defeated.

Most Democrats in the delegation emphasized their neutrality, at least publicly, ahead of the April 24 primary for the competitive district north of Pittsburgh.

“I’m Switzerland,” Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) said last week. “I think the position of most of the delegation is we’re going to make sure whoever wins the primary wins the general election.”

But last week, Rep. Robert Brady (D-Pa.) broke ranks and backed Critz.

“I did give Mark Critz a financial contribution,” Brady told reporters. “I am endorsing him also.”

Pennsylvania Democrats view Brady as the unofficial dean of their delegation, and his endorsement carries symbolic weight. Even though he’s not the longest-serving House Democrat from Pennsylvania, aides argued that Brady’s support shows where many Democrats in the delegation stand on the race: More than two years after Murtha’s death, many Members are loyal to Critz, his longtime staffer.

“Most people are rooting for Mark,” one Pennsylvania Democratic staffer said. “There’s clearly a history. A lot of Members worked with Mark when he was a staffer. Mr. Murtha was beloved by the delegation, and I think that merits a certain loyalty.”

Critz worked on Murtha’s official staff beginning in 2001, including serving as his district director for three years. After Murtha died in 2010, Critz won a competitive special election for his seat.

“When I got through that special election, I was adopted by a lot of senior Members,” Critz said. “In the Pennsylvania corner, those guys really took me under their wing. Even though I was Jack Murtha’s guy, I was still a rookie.”

In addition to Brady, Critz remains close with a couple of Pennsylvania Democrats. He dines almost weekly in Washington with Doyle, Rep. Tim Holden (Pa.) and a cadre of other northeastern Democrats.

Meanwhile, Altmire staked out a distinctly different path in Congress.

An underdog and outsider in 2006, Altmire upset then-Rep. Melissa Hart (R) in a Republican-leaning district in suburban Pittsburgh. He’s successfully won re-election by compiling a moderate voting record and profile in Congress [translation: when Roll Call uses the word "moderate," it's code for far right-wing but usually not quite as far as, say, outright Nazism].

Most memorably, Altmire voted against Democrats’ health care overhaul, a vote that many Pennsylvania insiders say saved his 2010 re-election. But Altmire’s decision irked Democrats who felt he held them out to dry with his last-minute and closely held decision to vote “nay.”


These days, instead of hanging out in the Pennsylvania corner of the House floor, Altmire sits with fellow Blue Dog Democrats, such as Reps. Mike Ross (Ark.) and Heath Shuler (N.C.), during votes. And as of last week, Altmire said he hasn’t asked anyone in the delegation for support.

There is no good outcome in PA-12. Critz and Altmire are both putrid Members of Congress who tugs the Democratic congressional caucus ever rightward and into horribly anti-working family/pro-corporate positions. In PA-17, on the other hand, replacing Holden with Cartwright would be a godsend for ordinary Americans and for the Democratic caucus. Pennsylvania votes in three weeks. There's still time to ignore PA-12 entirely and support Cartwright in PA-17.