Democracy Has Prevailed.

July 23, 2007

Delano's Interview with Melissa Hart

Posted on KDKA's website is Jon Delano's full interview with (god, I love writing this next part) former Member of the House of Representatives Melissa Hart. It can be found here.

Some early highlights:
Delano: Let me ask you, why do you think you lost in 2006?

Hart: I think part of it was, we didn't get to substance. The
campaign never really happened. It became an assassination more than a
campaign. And it's disapointing, I didn't run campaigns like that.

D: An assassination of you?

H: Oh, absolutely.

D: In what way?

H: Well, did you turn on your TV last fall? There was no opportunity
for any discussion. Any discussion that we had was drowned out by the
negative schlocky commercials.

D: You were characterized as being a supporter of President Bush and
former Senator Rick Santorum. I think the figure was 98% of the
time.

H: And what relevance was that? On what particular issues. No body
asked.
Let me step in here. Ms Hart's grasp on recent history is rather disappointing. One part that she is omitting, unfortunately, is something reported by the Rothenberg Report. I wrote about it here. As they say in the biz, she was "caught napping" until it was too late in that campaign. According to the Rothenberg Report (sub req, sorry) there was the pesky issue of some drum lessons that got in the way of her campaigning.

Let's remember that she refused to debate Altmire. Take a look at the ever astute Chris Potter (he of the CP) had to say last October 2006:

Mostly, however, he has attacked Hart for carrying water for the Bush Administration, especially where the war in Iraq is concerned. He has also castigated her for supporting free-trade agreements, which he contends hurt working people in the district.

So far, Hart has replied by saying ... well, not much, really. She's refused to debate Altmire. [Hart campaign manager Luke] Myslinski says a schedule conflict preempted one debate, and Hart refused to participate in one sponsored by the League of Women Voters because "Jason is a former member there." But Hart's campaign also declined a third debate whose sponsoring organization, the Beaver County Chamber of Commerce, has ties to a Hart campaign staffer. Altmire has offered to debate anyway, but Myslinski says, "If we did really well in the debate, he'd say it was rigged. We aren't putting ourselves out there like that." [emphasis in original]

And if that's too far out of the "mainstream media" (as the City Paper surely is) then there's this from the P-G:

Congresswoman Melissa Hart believes U.S. troops need to do more work in Iraq, while her Democratic challenger, Jason Altmire, suggests they should battle terrorism elsewhere.

The differences between them on the Iraqi war -- the Republican incumbent supportive of the Bush administration's approach, her opponent capturing the frustration with it voiced among some of the citizenry -- highlighted a side-by-side session yesterday. The two 4th Congressional District candidates took questions from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editors and reporters.

It was a rare joint appearance by them, as Ms. Hart has thus far rejected several invitations to publicly debate her opponent. The pair were respectful to each other, sticking to issues rather than personal attacks. [emphasis added]

So let's not settle in too too comfortably with this idea that there was "no discussion" especially since it was Melissa Hart who was refusing to debate.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow. Talk about denial. First, she refused to debate. Second, she claimed that she tried to stay "positive," but wasn't too upset about the RNCC ads' calling Altmire a dreaded "Lobbyist" who wants to raise taxes and create a socialist health care system where "government bureaucrats" decide whether you get care. She's both a whining baby and a tool.

That said, Altmire better get his act together. He needs to stop buying into the GOP's "can't defund the troops" meme. That's crap and he knows it.

It's called leadership. Trying to prove that your an "independent voice" at the expense of more American solider and Iraqi lives is called immoral (and really, really stupid).

Anonymous said...

So, Hart believes she lost because Altmire ran "schlocky commercials?" That's her defense? Hey Melissa, "There's no whining in politicis!"

Altmire was, for the most part, underfunded, and the ads he did run were pretty much boilerplate. Nothing outrageous, mean spirited or over the top.

Now, perhaps Melissa can tell us how pontificating about her coal mining grandfather represents "substance?" Truth is, if we go back a couple of years, I can track down some Hart ads that REALLY WERE SCHLOCKY!

But it's the tone of this interview which is the most revealing. Clearly Hart is an angry woman who somehow feels as if the electorate was somehow "fooled" into voting for Altmire...and that, had they just heard her message, they would have voted for her instead.

News flash, Missy, the voters DID know what you represented, and that's why Jason is now in DC and you're not.

Piltdown Man

Anonymous said...

Gee, Delano giving a platform to a bitter, defeated Republican. Who'da thunk it?