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Altmire no conservative, party leaders say

What does it mean that Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) is labeling himself as right-of-center in the wake of a National Journal study that found the sophomore Democrat’s 2009 voting record to be more conservative than that of 53.5 percent of his House colleagues?

Not much.

At least, that’s one Allegheny County party chairmen on both sides of the aisle say in a rare agreement. And while a small portion of the electorate may be swayed by the incumbent’s recent move to tout his conservative credentials, the issues that will most effect the the coming election remain the same: Whether Democratic voters are disillusioned with Altmire’s vote against health care reform, and whether a Republican challenger will be able to ride the wave of conservative enthusiasm that is seriously threatening Pennsylvania’s recent blue-shift.

“I don’t see why Congressman Altmire thinks the National Journal study is even relevant, considering he has voted with speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi exactly 88 percent of the time,” Allegheny County GOP chair Jim Roddey said in a recent interview. “How can you call yourself right-of-center  but vote with Pelosi a vast majority of the time? That seems counter-intuitive. If he really wants to be a conservative he should contact me and we’ll enroll him as a Republican.”

Roddey conceded that, even with the more liberal voters in the district perhaps disturbed with Altmire’s moderate tendencies and the more conservative voters disturbed with his support of Democratic initiatives, the incumbent is going to be very difficult for a Republican to beat.

“Altmire has been relatively popular in the district,” Roddey said. “Whoever comes out of the Republican primary will certainly benefit from the national political climate, but they are going to have to work very hard to win.”

Allegheny County Democratic Party chair Jim Burn expressed similar sentiments, touting Altmire’s willingness to vote across party lines.

“In an area where there is a lot of dissatisfaction within the electorate with what they see as too much partisanship and bickering, Altmire has clearly shown that he will cast a vote that is in the best interest of his constituents,” Burn said.

“Altmire is the type of Congressperson that is the perfect fit for a very fluid and diverse district,” he added. “If Republicans think that they can play the climate and win by backing a staunch conservative like [former U.S. Attorney] Mary Beth Buchanan, they are wrong.”

March 4, 2010 at 9:53 am

--John Manganaro

Tags: Jason Altmire, Mary Beth Buchanan, PA-4

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