We don’t need a Bernie Sanders-like
senator representing Pennsylvania
September 16, 2016 12:00 AM
By U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders ran for president on a platform
of pushing the Democratic Party far to the left. Now, Mr. Sanders is continuing
his ideological fight by campaigning with like-minded Democratic candidates who
will join his extreme wing of the Democratic Party in the Senate. That’s why
Mr. Sanders is coming to Carnegie Mellon University today to campaign with
Pennsylvania Senate candidate Katie McGinty.
The self-identified socialist has chosen to anoint Ms.
McGinty first of the nation’s Senate candidates with an in-person visit,
because a liberal like Ms. McGinty is exactly the kind of senator Mr. Sanders
wants at his side in Washington.
On security issues, there is little distinction between Ms.
McGinty and Mr. Sanders. Both support closing down the prison for terrorists in
Guantanamo Bay, both support the dangerous sanctuary-city policy that has
resulted in the sexual assault of young children in Philadelphia, and both are
ardent supporters of President Barack Obama’s reckless nuclear deal with Iran.
Perhaps most alarming, both Ms. McGinty and Mr. Sanders have
clung to the Iran deal despite a wave of news reports detailing the
administration’s ransom payments to the world’s largest state sponsor of
terror. Even as Republican and Democratic senators alike have opposed the deal,
Katie McGinty and Bernie Sanders adopted nearly identical responses. Mr.
Sanders praised the deal as “the best way forward,” while Ms. McGinty hailed it
as “the best path.”
Similarly, Mr. Sanders and Ms. McGinty might as well be
twins on fiscal issues like taxes and spending. Both support trillion-dollar
spending programs that would be paid for on the backs of hardworking
middle-income families. The liberal duo favor a single-payer health care
system, even though left-leaning studies concede it will cost an astronomical
$32 trillion over 10 years. Both support the medical-device tax in Obamacare —
which hits Pennsylvania especially hard, since the industry supports
approximately 20,000 jobs at over 600 companies in the commonwealth. And this
extreme team even supports the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act, which
would hit families of all income levels with a $30 billion per year payroll tax
increase.
Finally, Mr. Sanders and Ms. McGinty have both built careers
as supporters of massive regulatory expansion that would destroy jobs across America.
For example, both are fond of a radical cap-and-trade energy plan that
essentially would tax nearly every aspect of our daily lives. According to an
estimate by members of the nonpartisan Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission,
this tax could destroy 66,000 jobs across Pennsylvania. The National
Association of Manufacturers pegged that number at a whopping 2.4 million jobs
nationwide. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania household energy costs would rise $1,200
per family.
Numerous Pennsylvania Democrats joined Republicans in
Congress in opposing this terrible job-killing policy. But Ms. McGinty is
following Mr. Sanders’ liberal lead and calls herself the “biggest cheerleader”
for the cap-and-trade energy tax.
It is clear that Ms. McGinty is not running for the U.S.
Senate to be an independent voice for Pennsylvania, but to be a prized foot
soldier in Mr. Sanders’ left-wing crusade. But even Pennsylvania Democrats
rejected Mr. Sanders’ far-left agenda in the primary this spring.
Pennsylvania is a big, diverse state filled with hardworking
families across the political spectrum. They support a strong foreign policy
that prioritizes American security. They support responsible government
spending that protects their hard-earned tax dollars over wasteful spending that
props up special interests. They are looking for policies that create
good-paying jobs.
This November, Pennsylvania voters face a stark choice
between Katie McGinty and Sen. Pat Toomey. Unlike Ms. McGinty, Mr. Toomey is a
pragmatic leader who has fought to lower tax rates for all Pennsylvanians and
the small businesses that make up the backbone of our economy.
Mr. Toomey is one of the strongest opponents of the Iran
deal and has fought tirelessly to keep Pennsylvania safe, working to keep guns
out of the hands of terrorists and to dismantle sanctuary cities.
As Ms. McGinty fashions herself in the mold of
self-described socialist Bernie Sanders, this choice will become even more
stark.
Katie McGinty will soon find out what a majority of
Pennsylvanians already know: Mr. Sanders’ extreme, job-killing agenda — now
shared by Ms. McGinty — may be a good fit for Vermont, but it is not a good fit
for Pennsylvania.
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Butler, represents the 3rd
Congressional District.
Online at: http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2016/09/16/McGinty-swings-far-left/stories/201609160067
Katie McGinty - Matt Freed/Post Gazette
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