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Meehan hits Lentz on missed hearings
Republican Pat Meehan this week criticized state Representative Bryan Lentz (D-Delaware) over Appropriations Committee hearings Lentz missed last month, continuing what is quickly becoming a heated congressional contest between the two even before the general election officially starts.
Meehan’s campaign noted that Lentz missed three committee hearings on Feb. 24, after missing one the day before. On Feb. 24, Lentz was in Washington for a candidate training session run by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
“Bryan Lentz needs to decide if his top priority is to be a candidate or to fulfill his responsibilities as an elected official,” Meehan campaign manager Bryan Kendro said in a statement. “When you have legislators like Lentz skip out on their duties in Harrisburg to take political campaign classes in Washington, D.C., it’s no wonder why voters are so cynical about our elected officials. Voters expect legislators like Lentz to do the job they are being paid to do.”
The criticism underscores that the May nominating contest has long since become a formality before Meehan and Lentz meet in a 7th District race expected to be one of the most competitive in the country. Meehan’s campaign has been somewhat stymied in its attempts to paint Lentz as an elected official putting his run for Congress in the 7th District above his day job, in part because a reliance on press reports and vote-trackers that proved to be inaccurate (quoting one such report, its initial release accused Lentz of being in Washington for two days, but he was only there for one).
In January, when Lentz called on Meehan, a former U.S. Attorney, to take a position on a fellow Republican’s controversial decision to hold two elected offices, Meehan’s campaign dodged the issue, instead accusing Lentz of missing a large number of floor votes while campaigning. But the crux of those allegations proved to be exaggerated.
But this time, Lentz did indeed miss hearings when officials from the Department of Aging, the Department of Public Welfare and the Department of Insurance testified about proposed budget cuts, as well as a hearing that touched on, among other things, tuition rates at state-related universities.
Though he missed many votes last year partly because of the death of his infant son, a review of floor vote records shows Lentz hasn’t missed a vote in 2010. Committee meetings rarely sport full attendance, at at least eight members were absent from each of the hearings Lentz missed.
In a statement, Lentz campaign manager Vincent Rongione waved off the latest criticism.
“People are already tired of Pat Meehan’s constant negative attacks and distortions,” he said. “Add these continued attacks to the fact that Meehan ducked the first debate, and what you get is the perfect picture of a career politician. He is afraid to talk about issues and he has no real record to run on, so he hides behind his staff and slings mud like a typical politician.”
March 9, 2010 at 11:26 pm
Tags: Bryan Lentz, PA-7, Pat Meehan
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David Diano
Mar 10th, 2010
It must be nice for Meehan to have no job to miss occasionally, giving him so much free time to campaign. I guess kissing the @sses of the Delco GOP is more of his hobby than his job.
How weak is Meehan, that with no job or priority other than campaigning, he got 1,600 fewer petitions signatures than Lentz in a congressional district with a 48.5% to 39.2% Republican registration majority?
That works out to Lentz getting signatures from 2.8% of the registered Dems in his district and Meehan gettin only 1.57% of registered Republicans.
Maybe Meehan should spend less time criticizing Lentz and more time on his campaign and message.
On second thought… Meehan, keep doing what you are doing. Good work, Buddy!
Seamus
Mar 10th, 2010
Meehan is a crumb. He would indict his own mother to get ahead. Lentz is a great legislator and honest man, unlike “my face is peeling” Meehan
Mancini
Mar 10th, 2010
Diano:
Meenan does have a job, he’s the federal prosecutor for pennsylvania.
Secondly, your facts are WRONG. Meehan got way more than 1600 votes. And, this is unbeleiavble: each candidate can only get votes on the petition from members of their own party…so how you can compare is beyond me!
Also, at election time, Meenan will crush Lentz in the primary. And that will clear the field for the democrats who will then need to present a real tea party grass roots candidate.
And then the democrats will hit a homerun right in the endzone.
I do however agree that Meehan is doing a good job.
Also, 48.5% plus 39.2% doesnt equal 100%, so your numbers are OFF. Wheres the other 10% or more of the registered voters??
But other than your non-people and the flaws I seen in your analyzing, your right in point.
David Diano
Mar 10th, 2010
Mancini-
1) Meehan quit that job to run for congress.
2) I said he got 1,600 FEWER signatures. (3,600 is 1,600 fewer than 5,200)
3) “each candidate can only get votes on the petition from members of their own party”
Yes, that’s because it’s for a PARTY PRIMARY. This will shock you too: In the May Primary, only Democrats are allowed to vote for Lentz and only Republicans are allowed to vote for Meehan.
Of course, only you would be shocked by how it’s always worked.
4) “Meenan will crush Lentz in the primary”??
Do you realize that that they are not competing in the primary? Also, because of the Dems having hotly contested primaries for Governor and Senate that the Dems will have higher turnout. So, Lentz will probably get more Primary votes than Meehan, though it doesn’t mean anything but bragging rights.
5) The other 10% are the independent voters who don’t participate in the Dem/Rep primaries.
6) I’m sure that you and Meehan are the kind of people that strive to hit home runs into the end-zone.
Mancini, with your keen insight into politics, you should apply to replace the campaign managers for either Meehan or Toomey.
Stosh P.
Mar 10th, 2010
David,
Substitute Meehan for Specter and Lentz for Sestak and you’d be having a conniption over Sestak not doing his job so that he could be off campaigning. Your hypocrisy is costing what little credibility you had.
David Diano
Mar 10th, 2010
Stosh-
Lentz missed some hearings. Not votes. Sestak missed votes.
Please learn to read before making analogies.
Actually, many of the votes/bills in Congress are bullsh*t. Yesterday Sestak had a “bill” in to rename some post office. I guess that’s a job for someone to change the sign and some stationary, but doesn’t really solve the unemployment problem. But, congress needs to stop all these BS bills and resolutions and do REAL work.
As for Sestak’s votes, I’m hard pressed to think of more than one or two cases where his vote has made the slightest difference.
Mancini
Mar 10th, 2010
Diano:
Ever see Borat? You were any easy mark.
My work here is done.
David Diano
Mar 10th, 2010
Mancini-
You’ve been useful in giving me a opportunity to post the differences between Specter, Sestak and Toomey.
I mentioned a while back in a posting that I figured you might be a friend/foe of mine putting on an act for laughs. My initial guess is that you are my posting friend/foe from Morton with the initials M.C.
Deelio
Mar 11th, 2010
Meehan – “My face is peeling……..”
Angel
Mar 11th, 2010
The news about Meehan’s forged petition signatures maybe means he should have attended a campaign training session too– Legal signatures 101
DandyLion
Mar 13th, 2010
The exerpt below from Meehan’s campaign manager, yikes, now Lentz is employed in Harrisburg!!!!!!! Guess the cynical ppl can stop questioning some of our elected officials. Score mucho for Lentz, big zip for Meehan. Pat needs a new campaign manager.
“When you have legislators like Lentz skip out on their duties in Harrisburg to take political campaign classes in Washington, D.C., it’s no wonder why voters are so cynical about our elected officials.