Robert W. Griffiths – 11/15/09

This page was last updated on November 16, 2009.

Altmire’s vote was far from moral; Robert W. Griffiths; Beaver County Times; November 15, 2009.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“In regard to John Haaf’s letter describing U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire as moral and ethical because of his ‘no’ vote on the health care reform bill (‘Altmire lived up to his promises,’ Thursday), I would like to make an observation.”

[RWC] I would have linked to the Haaf letter, but the Times did not publish it on its website.

“Altmire has taken tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from health care and insurance entities, including UPMC Health System, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Humana.”

[RWC] Mr. Griffiths failed to note “Altmire has [also] taken tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from” labor unions, $322k for the 2008 campaign alone.

“He then proceeded to cast his vote in a manner that directly protects their financial interests.”

[RWC] The only way to ensure this doesn’t happen is to refuse campaign contributions from everyone. Every vote favors someone. Voting for H.R. 3962 would have benefited labor union management, and as noted above labor unions also contributed to Mr. Altmire’s campaigns. Would Mr. Griffiths have complained about that? Don’t get me wrong; quid pro quo contributions are bad and should be illegal if they are not already.

“This is, of course, all perfectly legal as he is a member of the branch of government that makes the laws. Moral? Ethical? Give me a break.

“This gives credence to the adage, ‘Ninety-nine percent of politicians give the rest of them a bad name.’”

[RWC] The only reason I’m commenting on this letter is because three years ago Mr. Griffiths identified himself as a Republican. The problem is, whenever he writes a letter of a political nature, Mr. Griffiths consistently supports the Democrat party position.

Please read my paper entitled “Healthcare.”