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Rothfus ad pokes fun at Buchanan’s ‘shut up’ moment

In case anyone forgot that former U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan told a radio host to “shut up and let me talk” in February, her GOP opponent in the 4th Congressional District has put out a new Web ad as a reminder.

Keith Rothfus, an attorney who turned some heads by besting Buchanan in fundraising last quarter, uses the 45-second spot to say that “we need representatives who listen to us,” juxtaposing that with Buchanan’s less-than-memorable media moment.

Early Returns 2.0 reports that the Rothfus campaign plans to run the ad on TV in the district at some point before the May 18 primary.

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April 20, 2010 at 2:20 pm

--Dan Hirschhorn

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  1. Nic

    Apr 20th, 2010

    This is just a funny ad that is going to be very effective.

  2. Pitt law grad

    Apr 20th, 2010

    I hope this ad causes the PA-4 voters to look into this campaign. Rothfus is a real and down-to-earth guy with a servant’s heart. We need people like him in congress. Buchanan’s true character is revealed here. Her race is all about her.

  3. mary

    Apr 20th, 2010

    we need a lot more candidates that will tell their constituents and the media to shut up. I mean if we in the elite class have to put up with the regular folks there’s no way we can have big lobbyist dinners, wine and deals.

  4. Lee Levan

    Apr 20th, 2010

    Say it, Mary!

  5. SonnyD

    Apr 21st, 2010

    This no-name Rothfus just might knock-off the clueless Buchanan.
    Doesn’t really matter; Altmire will steamroll either one.

  6. Rob

    Apr 22nd, 2010

    I agree that Buchanan cannot win, but she also will lose the primary. However, I would not be so sure about Altmire steamrolling Rothfuss. The District is very conservative, and I think a majority of the voters are angry about what they consider to be an extreme direction of the Obama Administration, spending taxpayers’ money like their own water. You could feel the anger on April 15, even more than you could the day the healthcare bill passed. Altmire originally opposed the healthcare bill, played Hamlet for a while, and then flipped into voting for it, and that angered a lot of people who had been applauding his original position. The backlash that the Democrats will suffer nationally this year will not pass over Pennsylvania, particularly in a conservative district like this one. Altmire is viewed by many to be unprincipled except in a superficial way (anti-abortion). Rothfuss does not have any baggage. I would look for Toomey (particularly if Specter wins the primary) and Rothfuss to be taking their oaths in Washington in January.

  7. Thomas

    Apr 26th, 2010

    Rob:

    If you really think PA-4 is very conservative then you don’t know the district. Melissa Hart was very conservative and lost twice, and she didn’t lose because more Democrats came out to vote. It was because the Moderate Republicans and Moderate Democrats in the district hate extereme candidates like Rothfus. While the circles that I hang out in believe a very consverative candidate will win help us win this seat back, I believe Altmire will be very hard to beat. Not to mention Altmire didn’t vote for the healthcare bill so your facts are incorrect. The one thing I can’t stand on either side is when someone continues to repeat a lie so that some people will believe it.

  8. Benevolus

    Apr 30th, 2010

    Melissa Hart lost in 2006 because the labor bosses poured a ton of money and people into the district in the final weeks. She lost in 2008 because the GOP got steamrollered nationally. It wasn’t because she was too conservative for the district. She also set up her own defeat during the last reapportionment when she deliberately gave up GOP-leaning precincts to Tim Murphy’s district to increase his chances of winning. Now he’s still there while she’s gone.

    Melissa has endorsed Rothfus, by the way, and some GOP insiders in W. Pa. will not support Buchanan in the general election but will sit on their hands. Rothfus has paid his conservative dues and has “street cred” with the activists who put up campaign signs and work the polls even in a blizzard. Buchanan may be “too Fox Chapel” and thus out of touch with the middle-class base.

    Moderation is not the key to winning PA-4 this cycle. People who want that will vote for Altmire, who was smart enough to vote against Obamacare. If Altmire were hard left, Buchanan would be the best choice to beat him. But the candidate the angry, the conservatives and the tea partiers will rally around is Rothfus. Will it be enough for him to beat Altire> I don’t know. But Jimmy Carter was a moderate Democrat, and it took Reagan, not Ford, to beat him.

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