Pinwheels for Energy

Campaign ad distorts facts

(Sept. 30, 2008) – Doylestown, PA. (Manion for Congress)

“Sometimes the solution is right in front of you,” says Congressman Murphy in his newest campaign ad, referring to the energy crisis.

“I agree, Congressman Murphy,” said Tom Manion. “One of the solutions to the energy crisis is right in front of us, and you have repeatedly voted against it. Increasing our domestic oil supply will bridge the transition from fossil fuels to alternative energy sources, and a pinwheel isn’t going to get us to work or heat our homes.”

Not only does Congressman Murphy’s new ad neglect to mention that he has repeatedly voted against one of the key transitional steps towards solving the energy crisis, but both of his campaign ads feature the Gamesa Corporation, located in Fairless Hills, PA.
A manufacturer of wind turbines, the corporation has brought jobs to our area…unfortunately, they have also brought environmental emissions infractions and allegations of unfair labor practices.

In August, Gamesa was fined $639,161 for exceeding emissions levels and inadequate record keeping by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Just this week, three former Gamesa employees filed a lawsuit against the company for wrongful termination. The former employees allege that younger workers, brought in from out of the country, replaced them.

“I’m all for alternative energy and I think harnessing the wind is one of the keys to moving America off its dependence on foreign oil,” Manion said. “However, the hope for the future is that these other sources of power will be better for our environment. Touting a company that’s harming our environment in the process and is under suspicion for unfair labor practices isn’t something I’d be proud of.”

Green isn’t always clean, Congressman Murphy.

Sources:
Associated Press
PA Department of Environmental Protection

7 votes against drilling

• Voted to block consideration of a bill that would establish new refineries, allow energy exploration in ANWR and the Outer Continental Shelf, and provide incentives for alternative energies (Vote 391, 06/10/08, HB 3089)
• Voted against lifting the ban on offshore oil and gas drilling (Vote 553, 06/26/07. Amendment to FY Int. & Ext. Environment spending bill)
• Voted against allowing natural gas development at least 25 miles from the coast (Vote 552, 06/26/07)
• Voted to block consideration of a bill that would extend many alternative energy and energy efficiency tax credits, and also block consideration of amendments that would allow oil drilling in ANWR (Vote 310, 05/14/08. HB 5984)
• Voted to block consideration of amendments that would allow oil drilling in ANWR (Vote 341, 05/21/08)
• Voted to block consideration of a bill that would extend many alternative energy and energy efficiency tax credits, and also block consideration of amendments that would permit oil exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf (Vote 340, 05/21/08. HB 5984)
• Voted to restrict energy production on federal lands, thereby increasing dependence on foreign oil (Vote 577, 06/27/07. Amendment to FY Int. & Ext. Environment spending bill)

Bailout is Just Too Much

Manion calls for more work on the economic crisis

(Sept. 30, 2008) – Doylestown, PA. (Manion for Congress)

“I would have voted no on the bailout, but I do see the value in both sides of this historic vote” said Tom Manion. “I don’t want taxpayers to bear the burden of government mistakes within our banking and finance systems. On the other hand, I am opposed to using these huge sums of taxpayer dollars to support a free market economy. I think we need to take more time to react and balance both of these concerns at this point. I will continue to monitor developments but won’t support any legislation that is not in the best interest of the taxpayers.”

Manion’s opponent Congressman Patrick Murphy voted in favor of the bailout bill rejected by the House, stating that “Politicans voting against this bill today caused the biggest point drop the Dow has ever recorded.” According to the Wall Street Journal and CNN Money, however, there were many factors that brought the stock market to this point.

Congressman Murphy’s vote would have saddled taxpayers with a $700 billion dollar bailout of mistakes made by our government. Perhaps this is no surprise, since Murphy has a history of spending taxpayer dollars. The citizens watchdog group CCAGW rates Murphy’s fiscal policies as 15 out of 100.

Just last week, in the midst of this fiscal crisis, Murphy voted yes on a $60 billion dollar spending bill that contained nearly $7 billion dollars worth of earmarks.

Today’s price tag for taxpayers?
Murphy: $760,000,000,000
Manion: $0

Tom Manion is calling for legislators to return to the drawing board and look at other options like infusing private capital, reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and changing the mark to market accounting.

Sources:
The Intelligencer, Sept. 30, 2008
The Wall St. Journal, Sept. 22, 2008
CN Money, Market Report, Sept. 29, 2008

“Taking Out the Trash” - TV Commercial

Click small square on right side of play bar above to view video in full-screen mode.

Murphy blasts lawmakers for failure

By GARY WECKSELBLATT
Bucks County Courier Times

Area lawmakers Patrick Murphy and Allyson Schwartz heeded the call of their Democratic Party leaders and President Bush to vote for a $700 billion financial rescue package Monday, but the bill went down and took the stock market with it.

More than $1 trillion was wiped off the value of the entire U.S. stock market Monday, as measured by the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Index.

“Let’s be clear — politicians voting against this bill today caused the biggest point drop the Dow has ever recorded,” said Congressman Patrick Murphy, D-8, referring to the 777-point decline in the Dow Jones Industrials. “This is what’s wrong with Washington — reckless partisan extremists just made it much harder for Pennsylvania families to keep their homes, seniors to protect their pensions and students to get loans.

“Blocking this bill has just made a bad economic situation far worse,” said Murphy, who represents the 8th District. “We need to come together and continue to work on this problem; there is simply too much at stake for us not to solve this crisis.”

More than two-thirds of Republicans and 40 percent of Democrats opposed the bill, whose final tally was 228 to 205. Democrats voted in favor, 140 to 95. Republicans voted against 133 to 65.

Schwartz, D-13, was surprised she was on the short side of the vote.

“The potential downside for everyday Americans is simply too great not to act,” she said.

Her spokeswoman, Rachel Magnuson, said, “We’re at an economic precipice right now.”

Republican Charlie Dent, whose 15th District includes parts of Montgomery and Lehigh counties, voted against the plan.

“This bailout plan would have exposed taxpayers to a risk of $700 billion to buy toxic assets at inflated prices. … Wall Street would benefit at the expense of the taxpayers. That is not acceptable.”
click here

Tom Manion, a Republican challenging Murphy, agreed with Dent.

“I wanted to see if this legislation was going to repair some of the problems that got us to this point,” Manion said. “I just am not convinced that it does so. I would have voted no.

“There are systemic problems this legislation doesn’t address. I don’t want taxpayers to bear the burden of these mistakes, but I am opposed to using huge sums of taxpayer dollars to support a free market economy. I think we need to take more time to react and balance both of these concerns. We need to go back to the drawing board and look for other options.”

Tom Lingenfelter, an independent challenging Murphy for his seat, said he would have voted against the bill.

“It’s throwing good money after bad. Government has caused the problem by interfering with market forces. The free market system works when we leave it alone.”

Marina Kats, a Republican running against Schwartz, said she would have voted for the measure.

“The bottom line is we do need the government to step up now and add liquidity to our markets,” said Kats, an attorney. “This is not a bailout. Government created this problem. But when (Treasury Secretary Henry) Paulson and (Federal Reserve Chairman Ben) Bernanke say there’s a problem, we need to take action.

“If something’s not done by tomorrow or the day after we might as well run for cover.”

In 8th District, another long shot has high hopes

Republican Tom Manion is fighting against time, money in effort to upset Murphy.

By Scott Kraus Of The Morning Call
September 30, 2008

At this time two years ago, Democrat Patrick Murphy found himself waging what most experts thought was a long-shot effort to unseat first-term Republican Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick in the Bucks County-centered 8th District.

In the end, Murphy was elected to Congress in a squeaker.

Now with just over a month to go, Republican challenger Tom Manion is in roughly the same spot, trying to introduce himself to voters in a district where he’s largely unknown.

John McCain’s selection of conservative Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate has helped by firing up the party’s base.

”We are getting a lot more recognition when we are out there,” said Manion, 54, of Doylestown Township. ”We are getting record crowds wherever we go. We started to see it pick up even before the convention.”

The serious, low-key Manion released his first television ad this week, stressing his credentials as a retired Marine, Johnson & Johnson vice president and parent of a son who was killed in Iraq.

Murphy is also on TV with an ad showcasing his work on local issues and giving his stances on the Iraq war and alternative energy.

The open question is whether Manion’s under-funded campaign will have enough time and money to persuade voters in the district, which has tilted Democratic in registration since Fitzpatrick’s narrow 2006 loss, to send Murphy packing.

At the end of June, Murphy’s campaign had $2.2 million in cash, compared with roughly $500,000 for Manion. The campaigns will report their third-quarter numbers in October.

To date, most independent evaluators of congressional races such as Congressional Quarterly and The Hill give Murphy, 34, of Bristol Township, an advantage and have not listed the Murphy-Manion race as one of the most competitive contests.

The two men have agreed to a series of debates starting in October.

The Manion camp thinks a case can be made that Murphy has failed to deliver the fiscal reforms he promised two years ago.

”The way we win is the mood of the country, the Congress’ 9 percent approval rating,” said Manion campaign consultant Jerry Morgan. ”I think Patrick Murphy has not done what the people of the 8th District are looking for, but is more a pawn of [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi.”

Murphy campaign spokesman Nat Binns said 8th District voters will be hard-pressed to find a compelling reason to toss Murphy, Congress’ only Iraq war veteran, out of office.

”I think people here see Patrick, they see him working hard,” Binns said. ”He puts the families he represents first, and he votes with his conscience.”

Binns listed Murphy’s support of a national Veterans cemetery slated for Upper Makefield Township, his push to relieve victims of Delaware River flooding and advocacy of a green energy hub on the site of U.S. Steel’s former Fairless Hills plant as examples.

Manion plans to draw a contrast with Murphy on energy issues by stressing his support for expanded oil drilling rights, and to link Murphy to unpopular national Democrats like Pelosi and New York Rep. Charley Rangel, who faces an ethics committee investigation.

Rangel, whose leadership political action committee has given Murphy $15,000, has admitted, among other things, failing to pay taxes on rental income from a resort condo in the Caribbean.

Binns said Murphy is aware of Rangel’s problems but will wait until the House Ethics Committee rules on Rangel’s troubles before deciding to return any money.

”I think families in Bucks County and across America, they are struggling, and there are a lot of other things, more pressing issues — gas prices, the war in Iraq and the economy,” Binns said.

Philadelphia Democratic political consultant Larry Ceisler said Manion probably lacks the resources or a defining issue to dislodge Murphy.

In 2006, Murphy could use clear differences with the well-liked Fitzpatrick on stem cell research and Iraq to make a case to voters.

”I just don’t think linking him to Nancy Pelosi, a San Francisco liberal, in Bucks County is really going to hurt Murphy that much,” Ceisler said. ”You have smart voters in Bucks County, and I think they look at people as individuals.”

Don’t be so sure, said Republican consultant Charlie Gerow.

Manion will benefit from the GOP’s Palin-energized base, and Murphy could be hurt by Democrat Barack Obama’s poor showing in the April primary among blue-collar voters in Lower Bucks.

”I think that is the critical element. Will they have the financial resources to pull all those elements together?” Gerow said.

Murphy, Manion, Schwartz, Kats react to bailout plan

By GARY WECKSELBLATT
Bucks County Courier Times

Bucks County Congressman Patrick Murphy is among those in Washington calling for a limit on executive pay for the leaders of companies whose firms are being bailed out by U.S. taxpayers.

Murphy, a freshman Democrat, wants Wall Street executives and bankers whose companies stand to be helped by the government’s proposed $700 billion rescue plan to “be held to account by placing some limitations on the executives’ pay and compensation.”

Murphy made his thoughts known in a letter Tuesday to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank, chairman of the Financial Services Committee.

The correspondence, which other House members signed onto, also called for the return of bonuses “if executives did cook the books.”

“Any bailout legislation should include, not just immediate action to stop the bleeding, it also must include provisions to prevent this from happening again,” the memo stated.

In the meantime, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson urged swift action Tuesday by Congress.

“The financial markets are in quite fragile condition and I think absent a plan they will get worse,” Bernanke said. “I believe if the credit markets are not functioning, that jobs will be lost, that our credit rate will rise, more houses will be foreclosed upon, GDP (gross domestic product) will contract, that the economy will just not be able to recover in a normal, healthy way.”

Marina Kats, a Republican challenging Democratic incumbent Allyson Schwartz for the 13th District seat in Montgomery County, agreed there is little time to waste.

“If the government did not step up Friday we would have been in a lot of trouble,” said Kats, a lawyer. “There would have been a calamity that we haven’t seen in our lifetime.

“It’s not a stock market crisis, it’s a credit crunch. The government is not doing a good job explaining the problem to the American people. They’re trying to prevent a panic.”

Lawmakers, however, weren’t rushing to accept the administration’s plan to allow the government to buy bad mortgages and other troubled assets held by endangered banks and financial institutions.

Getting those debts off the books should bolster the institutions’ balance sheets, making them more inclined to lend and easing one of the biggest choke points in the credit crisis. If the plan works, it could help lift a major weight off the sputtering national economy.

“The real issue here is a lack of regulation by the Bush administration and where there was regulation it wasn’t enforced,” Schwartz said Tuesday after a day of meetings.

She understands “the emotions” of constituents who would want to see CEOs stripped of their “golden parachutes” if wrong doing was involved.

“CEOs made bad decisions,” she said. “There will be hearings and investigations into how it happened.”

Tom Manion, a Republican challenging Murphy in Bucks County, said: “We held interest rates too low for too long, allowed Fannie and Freddie to give out too much credit, messed up the banking regulators and were too focused on meeting  unrealistic “affordable housing’ goals. It’s a mess, and now we’re going to have to work together for a solution.

“We clearly need to take some action and I’m anxious to hear the debate about this proposal on the House floor. I do have serious concerns about executive compensation and improving the transparency and oversight in our financial sector, so that our taxpayer’s needs are better served in the future. Or served at all, really. ”

Rangel keeps local support

By GARY WECKSELBLATT
The Intelligencer

Two local congressional Democrats have voted to keep House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel in his post until an ethics committee completes an investigation into his financial and tax filings, real estate deals and fundraising for an academic center that bears his name.

Rangel, head of the committee that writes the nation’s tax laws, has himself called for a probe after admitting his failure to disclose more than $75,000 in rental income from his vacation home in the Dominican Republic and said he had paid no interest on the villa’s mortgage.

He also received favored treatment in occupying four rent-stabilized apartments in a luxury development in Manhattan, and owned up to his improper use of official letterheads to solicit support from charities and corporations for an academic center to memorialize his career in public service — the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service.

Thursday, as the Democratic controlled House voted along party lines — 226 to 176 — to kill a Republican effort to force him from his leadership post, Rangel’s vintage 1972 Mercedes-Benz was towed from the House of Representatives parking space he had been using for years in violation of congressional rules.

Rangel, 78, who said he was hiring a forensic accountant to investigate 20 years’ worth of his tax returns and financial disclosure reports, remains a major draw at fundraisers for his colleagues. A member of the House for 38 years, he has given out more than $900,000 to 100 House members, according to the latest Federal Election Commission filing.

Locally, Bucks County Congressman Patrick Murphy has received $15,000 from Rangel’s National Leadership PAC, according to Opensecrets.org Center for Responsible Politics.

Murphy’s communications director, Adam Abrams, is “glad that the ethics committee is looking into this and hopes they get to the bottom of this situation soon.”

Though Rangel’s ethical problems primarily illustrate an apparent gross sense of entitlement, the misuse of power for financial gain is what Republicans pounced on.

“Pennsylvania voters now know the price Patrick Murphy charges to stand with corruption,” said Brendan Buck, a spokesman with the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Tom Manion, challenging Murphy for the 8th District congressional seat, said Murphy “should give the cash back.”

Two years ago, Manion noted, Murphy went after then-Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, who was linked to donations from congressmen who dealt with Jack Abramoff, the now-imprisoned lobbyist. At the time, Murphy called for Fitzpatrick to return the donations.

Although Rangel has not been found guilty of wrongdoing, Manion said Murphy finds himself in the same position as Fitzpatrick and called for him to “take the ethical high road and give the cash back.”

“Character is priceless,” Manion said. “More and more Patrick just appears to be yet another part of what’s wrong with Washington.”

Abrams said comparing Rangel and Abramoff is a stretch. Murphy, he said, takes a backseat to no one when it comes to ethics and recalled how last year the congressman called on fellow Democrat Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana to resign after he had been indicted on racketeering, soliciting bribes and money-laundering. Investigators raided Jefferson’s home and found $90,000 in cash stuffed into a box in his freezer.

Should the Rangel probe lead to an indictment, he said Murphy would donate the money to charity.

Montgomery County Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz of the 13th District hasn’t received money from Rangel.

Her spokeswoman, Rachel Magnuson, said “the congresswoman urges the ethics commission … to quickly look into the issue.”

Newspapers like the New York Times have also taken Rangel to task and called for him to temporarily step down.

“When the ultra-liberal New York Times has lost all faith in the ability of a liberal to lead, you know the jig is up,” NRCC spokesman Ken Spain said in a press release.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fired back, labeling Republicans hypocrites.

“John Boehner has settled on a re-brand of House Republicans and it looks like their old brand — dishonest, partisan hypocrites,” said DCCC spokesman Doug Thornell.

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Willow Grove VFW Beef and Beer

Date: Friday September 19^th

Time: 5:00-8:00pm

Admission: $40 per person

Place: 305 Moreland Rd Willow Grove

For information contact krista.foy@manionforcongress.com

GOP throws weight behind Manion

By GARY WECKSELBLATT
Bucks County Courier Times

In national politics, getting your name on the ballot is one thing. Getting people to vote for you is another. The latter doesn’t happen without support, in terms of both money and manpower.

Tom Manion is apparently getting both from the national Republican Party, giving him at least a fighting chance against incumbent Democrat Patrick Murphy in his challenge for the 8th District congressional seat.

“He has really turned a lot of heads around here,” said Kevin McCarthy, a first-term congressman from California.

Those turning heads have been turning over cash. Through the June 30 reporting period, Manion had raised $664,817, third most among challengers for 19 Pennsylvania congressional seats.

Two years ago, Murphy had raised $961,000 for his race against then-incumbent Mike Fitzpatrick. He ended up raising $2.42 million, compared to Fitzpatrick’s $3 million.

Murphy has already raised $3 million, the largest in the state for a House race.

Republicans claim Manion doesn’t have to raise as much as Murphy, just enough to get his message out. They would not give a number he was targeting.

“We have to tell quite a story in one of the most expensive markets in the country,” said Jerry Morgan, a “general consultant” to Manion with a background in running campaigns.

That story is of a Doylestown Township father who decided to run for office following the death of his son, Travis, a 26-year-old Marine killed in Iraq. Manion, 54, served 11 years of active duty as a Marine and another 19 years in the Marine Reserves, retiring in 2007 as a colonel. He also worked for 20 years as a business executive at Johnson and Johnson.

“It’s a very compelling story,” said John Kline, a three-term congressman from Minnesota, who, like Manion, retired as a Marine colonel.

It’s people like Morgan, McCarthy and Kline who illustrate the attention being paid at the national level to the race between Manion and Murphy, the only Iraq war veteran in Congress.

Morgan is a veteran of congressional campaigns. He helped Don Sherwood defeat Pat Casey in 1998 in what some called the “biggest upset in the country.” McCarthy, though only a freshman, is a founder of GOP Young Guns, a group he said is committed to earning a Republican majority in Congress by supporting hand-selected candidates who “embody the values and principles to fix a broken Washington” and “unite America.”

Then there’s John Boehner, the House minority leader who campaigned for Manion in Bucks last month and developed The Freedom Project, which offers “grassroots tools” to Republicans. Boehner lists the Manion-Murphy contest as one of seven “Featured Key Races” to receive GOP support.

Democrats had a different spin on the race.

“National Republicans can talk all they want, but with less than 50 days until Election Day, they are nowhere to be found,” said Doug Thornell, press secretary at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Their absence speaks volumes about their faith in Tom Manion’s candidacy, particularly when facing Congressman Murphy who has broad support from Democrats and Republicans throughout Bucks County.”

Locally, SEPTA Chairman Pat Deon, who called Manion’s run for office “a noble cause,” has been networking on Manion’s behalf.

“I wouldn’t be putting my name on the line if this guy couldn’t win,” Deon said.

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