eriepressible™ » Two Debates, Two Lies

Two Debates, Two Lies

Two debates, two lies

English covers up his jobs record to protect his own

Erie, PA – In the first two debates, 14-year incumbent Congressman Phil English has engaged in a desperate attempt to mislead voters about his record and hold on to his job. The false statements pertain to his support for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which shipped thousands of Pennsylvania jobs out of the country, and his pledge to limit his terms in Congress.

At the October 13 debate in Sharon, English denied supporting NAFTA, saying, “She claims, for reasons that I don’t understand, that she thinks that I would have voted for NAFTA, but of course, that passed before I came to Congress, and I ran not as a supporter of NAFTA.”

But on October 6, 1994, the Erie Times News editorial board wrote that English said he would probably have supported NAFTA if he had been in office (see attached). He doubled-down on these failed trade policies by casting the deciding vote for the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which compounded NAFTA’s job-killing impact on the region.

At the October 8 Allegheny College debate, English told voters, “I never term-limited myself, thank goodness… Look at the record, I never said, ever, that I would limit myself to a specific term of service.”

Records suggest otherwise, however. In the same article, the Erie Times News wrote, “[English] favors congressional term limits and has pledged himself to serving no more than 12 years in Congress, if elected.”

On October 30, 1994, the Butler Eagle published a questionnaire that English had filled out, writing, “I am strongly in favor of term limits because I feel that it is the best way we can return to citizen legislature, and remove all the career politicians. I have promised to limit my own term of service.” (see attached)

“It’s clear that Phil English is desperate and will say anything in a debate to hold on to his seat in Congress,” said Dahlkemper campaign manager Tina Mengine. “It’s too bad he refuses to fight for Pennsylvania’s jobs with the same passion he uses to fight for his own.

“English was for NAFTA and term limits before he was against them. If Phil English wants to flip-flop on his earlier support for NAFTA and term limits, that’s fine, but he can’t pretend it never happened,” Mengine added.