Steven J. Kochanowski – 10/17/10

This page was last updated on October 18, 2010.

Altmire is best for the region; Steven J. Kochanowski; Beaver County Times; October 17, 2010.

The Times failed to tell us Mr. Kochanowski is a Beaver County rep on the PA Democratic State Committee.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“JFK once said ‘The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.’

“That statement read as a prism would loosely translate as follows: A poll test might be a good thing. Of course, this isn’t what he was advocating, but instead he is encouraging voters to within themselves to get knowledge of the candidate through proper research and reasoning. A soundly educated voter, well studied on candidates, is true voter empowerment at the individual level.

“Collectively that is what is needed to empower the country. True civic responsibility isn’t just voting for voting sake, but with reason and logic that comes through the investment of time to educate oneself on the platforms where each candidate stands.

“I have done this, and I am voting for Jason Altmire for re-election to the U.S. House. In my mind, Altmire has represented the voters well. He has put distance from Pelosi and other elitist factions to serve his constituency with honor and obedience by and large to the wishes and desires of the people in this area. He has simply done his job and done it well.

“How can I vote out that kind of job performance that is worthy of re-election in good conscience? I cannot. He must be sent back to Washington, D.C. I must do what is best for this district, and Altmire is best for the job, as he has proven time and time again.”

[RWC] It’s true Mr. Altmire voted correctly on some major issues such as Obamacare and cap-and-tax. I even wrote Mr. Altmire thanking him for his Obamacare vote. That said, Mr. Altmire was in favor of these things in principle but claimed he voted against them for implementation reasons. Face it, Mr. Altmire’s default position on an issue will be a leftist position meaning he will need to be convinced to do otherwise. Clearly I would like a representative whose default position is conservative. We also don’t know if Mr. Altmire was given an OK by House Democrat leadership to vote against some of these issues because Democrats didn’t need his vote.

Mr. Kochanowski told us Mr. Altmire “has put distance from Pelosi and other elitist factions to serve his constituency” but failed to note Democrat House members unanimously nominated Ms. Pelosi for Speaker. Mr. Altmire’s Americans for Democratic Action (a leftist group) Liberal Quotients for 2007, 2008, and 2009 were 95%, 80%, and 70%, respectively, for a cumulative LQ of 82%.

“On the flip side, his opponent is a weak but admirable candidate. He shouldn’t benefit just by Republican or tea party sentiment for pure seat numbers alone. But he should stand on his own merit and state what he would bring to the job. Altmire has done nothing to warrant an attempt to take his job from him. So on Nov. 2, I am voting for Congressman Jason Altmire and encourage you to do the same.”

[RWC] I’m sure Mr. Kochanowski’s membership on the PA Democratic State Committee had nothing to do with his preference for Mr. Altmire. <g>

Note Mr. Kochanowski made a drive-by criticism of Mr. Rothfus but never told us why he “is a weak … candidate.”