ME GOP: Peace, Power, What? more on Pingree's anti-worker record
This just came through:
Last week we told you about Congresswoman Chellie Pingree's vote against the 1,300 workers at Pratt & Whitney's North Berwick plant. Pingree sent her spokesman Willy Ritch out this weekend to try to deflect criticism. Apparently Congresswoman Pingree is not used to having her record scrutinized.
Pingree claims she had no say in the process, and that she was forced by circumstance to vote against Maine jobs.
That’s just not true.
As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Pingree’s job is to be the advocate for Maine workers. A closer look at her Committee work begs the question- is Chellie Pingree completely uninterested in the welfare of these workers, or is she simply ineffective?
Pingree spokesman Willy Ritch claimed that “Every day Congresswoman Chellie Pingree fights to preserve and protect Maine jobs. ”
Well, let’s pick a day, Willy.
On June 17, 2009, the House Armed Services Committee considered development of additional F-22 fighter aircraft. The plane- known as the Raptor -uses Pratt & Whitney’s F-119 engine constructed largely at the York County plant.
Guess how Pingree voted?
Chellie Pingree voted to kill this project. Again, she voted AGAINST jobs at Pratt & Whitney in North Berwick. The Boston Globe ran a story about this:
Representative Chellie Pingree, Democrat of Maine, represents North Berwick, where Pratt & Whitney builds the F-22’s engines. Even so, she voted no on adding funding for the plane in the House Armed Services Committee last month.
Pingree, says her spokesman, Willy Ritch, “is confident that the men and women at the Pratt & Whitney facility in Maine will continue working on other contracts.’’
'Other contracts'? Not if Pingree continues to listen to her extreme Left-wing donors.
The left-wing group Women’s Action for New Directions celebrated her efforts to kill jobs at Pratt & Whitney on their 'Women.Power.Peace.' blog.
"It gives me great pleasure to report that on the amendment to the defense authorization during committee consideration very early yesterday morning to add funds for the F-22 -- all four WAND/WiLL Women on the House Armed Services Committee voted no. Hooray for Susan Davis, Carol Shea-Porter, Niki Tsongas, and Chellie Pingree. I have passed on WAND appreciation to their defense aides. The vote was 31-30 to add the money"
According to OpenSecrets.org, Chellie Pingree was the single-largest recipient of WAND campaign donations during last year's election.
So there you have it. What should bring Chellie Pingree ‘great pleasure’ is standing up for Maine’s working families, instead of furthering the cause of her extreme left-wing friends.
It was bad enough when Tom Allen abandoned Maine's Defense workers by leaving the Armed Services Committee. But now that Chellie Pingree is on the Armed Services Committee, she's made it worse by actually working AGAINST Maine jobs.
It's time for Congresswoman Pingree to quit pandering to her extreme Left-wing donors, and start working for Maine workers, every day.
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