Former Fitzpatrick Supporters Slam FitzFlops

By PATRICK MURPHY FOR CONGRESS

(Washington, DC) – On May 19, 2010, environmental and labor groups that endorsed Former Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick in 2006 are announcing their support for Patrick Murphy in the 8th District of Pennsylvania.

“I think folks have had more than enough of Washington politicians telling them one thing and doing another,” said Murphy. “Whether it’s protecting workers’ rights, fighting jobs outsourcing, or protecting the environment, I vote with conviction — not with the political winds.”

Murphy was joined on a conference call this morning with Tony Massaro of the League of Conservation Voters and John Meyerson, Chairman of the Southeastern PA Area Federation of Labor, to announce their support for Murphy and discuss how Fitzpatrick’s past record fails to match his rhetoric today. LCV endorsed Fitzpatrick in his 2006 run when he supported pro-environmental legislation but has been angered by his abandonment of those beliefs to the point where he now questions whether climate change even exists.

“When he wanted our support, Former Congressman Fitzpatrick said he was with us,” said Tony Massaro of LCV. “But now that he wants to appeal to anti-environmental extremists, he claims he doesn’t even think climate change is real. You can’t have it both ways.”

“We’ve supported Fitzpatrick in the past, but he’s repeatedly gone back on his promises, and we’ve had enough,” said Fred Chamberlin, with Boilermakers Union Local 19. “There’s only one candidate in this race who keeps his word, and that’s Patrick Murphy.”

“Patrick Murphy never stops fighting for working families and helping to bring good jobs to Bucks County, which is why the Carpenters Union is proud to support his campaign this time around,” said Mike Jacobs, Business Representative with the Carpenter’s Union Local 1462.

Local groups representing working families felt betrayed when Mike promised to fight against job-killing outsourcing bills, only to cave when Dick Cheney needed him to be the tie-breaking vote in CAFTA. Mike has been veering hard right in at attempt to appeal to the fringes of his party, apparently hoping that his previous allies suffer from amnesia and will fail to notice. So far, it’s not working.

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