John “Taxman” Callahan: Nancy Pelosi’s Dream Candidate
John “Taxman” Callahan: Nancy Pelosi’s Dream Candidate
Bethlehem Mayor Exemplifies Washington Dems’ Irresponsible Agenda
Washington- Now that Washington Democrats have found their hand-picked candidate in Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan to make a run for Pennsylvania’s 15th Congressional district, it’s important for Lehigh Valley voters to take a close look at his record. As a strong supporter of the Democrats’ so-called “stimulus” package, Callahan would be a perfect fit among budget-busting Democrats in Washington:
“The federal stimulus package, now headed to a congressional conference committee, will bring a quick infusion of funds into Pennsylvania that will assist with the Commonwealth’s own budget crisis, as well as create jobs, encourage investment, lift consumer confidence, and begin the long road back to nationwide economic stability. Immediate action to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is vital not only to the future of our nation, but to the future of Pennsylvania and its local government units, stated Mayor John Callahan.” (PLCM Press Release, “Mayors and Local Officials, Representing the PA League of Cities and Municipalities, Call for Support of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act)
In fact, Callahan pushed to institute a 17 percent sales tax increase on already-suffering middle class families (Jeff Hawkes, “Mayors Must Go to Town to Save Cities,” Intelligencer Journal, April 10, 2009). Meanwhile, unemployment in Bethlehem has skyrocketed more than 36 percent since Callahan has been calling the shots (Source: Department of Labor).
“It’s no surprise that Nancy Pelosi pulled out all the stops to get John Callahan in this race,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “As a promoter of the Democrat’s failed stimulus bill and the architect of a massive tax increase on Lehigh Valley families, Callahan would fit right in with the fiscally irresponsible crowd in Washington. Unfortunately for him, Pennsylvania voters don’t want another Pelosi rubberstamp in Congress – they want jobs.”
Background:
Americans Lack Confidence in Liberal Agenda: The Bloomberg Professional Global Confidence Index declined to 39.13 in July from 43.57 in June. A reading below 50 means pessimists outnumber optimists. A measure of U.S. participants’ confidence in the world’s largest economy fell to 29.5 from 36.7, the survey showed. “No one can wave a magic wand,” said David Semmens, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank in New York and a regular survey participant. “We aren’t pulling out of the recession in the same way as in past recessions. The economic outlook isn’t improving as strongly as people would have hoped.” (Shamim Adam, Global Confidence Drops as Unemployment Surge Counters Stimulus, Bloomberg, 7/15/09)
Unemployment Soars: The MSCI World Index is down about 2 percent since the U.S. Labor Department on July 2 reported higher-than-expected job losses and an unemployment rate approaching 10 percent. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said July 14 the world will probably suffer “more than the usual” setbacks in exiting the worst slowdown since the Great Depression. (Shamim Adam, Global Confidence Drops as Unemployment Surge Counters Stimulus, Bloomberg, 7/15/09)
A “Misread” Worth $1 Trillion And Thousands Of Jobs: The U.S. lost 467,000 jobs last month and Vice President Joe Biden said the administration “misread the economy” when it predicted unemployment would peak at 8 percent once the stimulus package was passed. President Barack Obama said the jobless rate, now at 9.5 percent, will “tick up” over the next several months. (Shamim Adam, Global Confidence Drops as Unemployment Surge Counters Stimulus, Bloomberg, 7/15/09)
Global Confidence Falters: The survey of more than 2,700 Bloomberg users was conducted between July 6 and July 10. Since the previous survey, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank lowered their forecasts for global growth this year, while leaders from advanced nations say the recovery is too fragile to consider reversing more than $2 trillion in stimulus efforts. (Shamim Adam, Global Confidence Drops as Unemployment Surge Counters Stimulus, Bloomberg, 7/15/09)
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