Return of Pennsylvania ConservaDem Mark Critz... And Progressives Fight Back

-by LeftGeoff

When Mark Critz battled Blue Dog Jason Altmire in a member to member primary in 2012, progressives who didn't just walk away in disgust, chose to back Critz over Altmire. It was a bitter pill to swallow. Critz, who a few people viewed as not as bad and unfit for office as Altmire, still left much to be desired. Altmire, was a pro-business/anti-family conservative Democrat; Critz was a pro-labor conservative Democrat. Critz then lost the general election and has since taken employment as a... wait for it... you guessed it: lobbyist. When Critz's loss followed Tim Holden's, progressives in Pennsylvania thought that the anti-Obama, anti-LGBT, anti-environment, anti-choice, anti-women Democrats in the House had been retired.

Fast forward 6 months, a progressive challenger emerged to challenge for Mark Critz’s old seat named Erin McClelland and Mark Critz sat on the fence. As time passed, Mark Critz still bided his time, even though the DCCC lobbied hard to get him to wage a rematch again Keith Rothfus. It came to a head when Erin’s fundraising started to lag, as Mark Critz debated what office he wanted to run for next. Just this past week, Mark Critz made his decision. Mark Critz would be a candidate for Lieutenant Governor.

Typically, Democrats would think this would be a great place to shelter someone who spent 2 years in Congress sponsoring the Akin “Forcible Rape” Bill, voting against LGBT rights, supporting the Halliburton Loophole, taking cues from the NRA and voting time after time with Republicans on many of the votes that matter. But there has been a great change in the Pennsylvania Senate led by the Senate Democrats leadership and their Campaign Committee Chair Daylin Leach (an awesome candidate to replace Allyson Schwartz in the PA-13 congressional district). This past cycle, Pennsylvania replaced three Republicans with three progressive Democrats and the margin shrunk to 27-23. When Gov. Tom Corbett is defeated, a more progressive agenda will be pushed. There are a number of moderate Republicans in the State Senate, mostly focused in the southeastern part of the state that will vote against their party on certain environmental, LGBT, and womens issue votes. Do we really want Mark Critz to cast tie breaking votes? Judging by his past work, Mark Critz does not deserve this chance.

Amongst all of the important issues facing the battleground state of Pennsylvania, nothing is as important as the potential disaster that is the Marcellus Shale. Too many Democrats have sold themselves out to an industry with nothing more than pure profit in mind. In pockets of Pennsylvania, residents have become ill and even forced to leave their homesteads after generations of a good rural, peaceful life. Turning a blind eye to something that could be more disastrous than coal, timber or steel is not of the Democratic Party. Progressives need to stand up and fight for the environment, for our neighbors and for our future. We cannot stand for candidates and elected officials who benefit from these companies, whether directly or indirectly.

Mark Critz, is currently a lobbyist for EIS Solutions. EIS Solutions focuses on legislative affairs and government relations for gas companies and drillers. Our current Lt. Governor Jim Cawley chairs Governor Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Commission. When Corbett loses, IF Critz wins and if our new Governor decides to reconvene this Committee under it's current structure, a pro-fracking advocate will be in charge of the Committee who helps set policy and procedure. Do we really trust Mark Critz, who as a Congressman voted against the Clean Water Act and supported the Halliburton Loophole, who has since taken shelter in the gas lobby to be an honest and fair protector of our natural beauty and residents? Mark Critz does not deserve this chance.

Even more frightening would be a Governor Critz. If the newly elected Democratic Governor would be elevated to a Cabinet position or Vice President in 2016-17, Mark Critz could become Governor. Having an owned subsidiary of the NRA and Religious Right running Pennsylvania would cripple the state's progressive movement.

In Pennsylvania, our Lt. Governor candidates run separate of our gubernatorial candidates in the primary. This typically leads to mismatches and electing someone like Mark Critz with an actual progressive would be disastrous. As progressive candidate for Lt. Governor, Brad Koplinski said, “Pennsylvania needs a complete departure from the conservative Corbett Administration policies, not an extension.” We need to stop Mark Critz before he unravels the progress made in Pennsylvania.