first congressional casualty of Health Reform

Sep 12, 2008
14,201
3,567
185
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Democrat Alan Mollohan became the first member of the U.S. House to be ousted this spring primary season after his opponent mounted a campaign that questioned the 14-term congressman's ethics and support for federal health care reform.

Mollohan conceded after unofficial returns showed that with 82 percent of precincts reporting, state Sen. Mike Oliverio was ahead 56 percent to 44 percent. It ends his 28 years in the House.

Mollohan was first elected in 1982. He ran a relatively lethargic campaign until recent weeks, when he began airing TV ads calling Oliverio dangerously conservative and bad for business and labor. Oliverio, in contrast, had campaigned aggressively since entering the race in January.

I bet he feels pretty sick now.
 
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Democrat Alan Mollohan became the first member of the U.S. House to be ousted this spring primary season after his opponent mounted a campaign that questioned the 14-term congressman's ethics and support for federal health care reform.

Mollohan conceded after unofficial returns showed that with 82 percent of precincts reporting, state Sen. Mike Oliverio was ahead 56 percent to 44 percent. It ends his 28 years in the House.

Mollohan was first elected in 1982. He ran a relatively lethargic campaign until recent weeks, when he began airing TV ads calling Oliverio dangerously conservative and bad for business and labor. Oliverio, in contrast, had campaigned aggressively since entering the race in January.

I bet he feels pretty sick now.

So, all the ethics questions had NOTHING to do with this? Partisan hack much?
 
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Democrat Alan Mollohan became the first member of the U.S. House to be ousted this spring primary season after his opponent mounted a campaign that questioned the 14-term congressman's ethics and support for federal health care reform.

Mollohan conceded after unofficial returns showed that with 82 percent of precincts reporting, state Sen. Mike Oliverio was ahead 56 percent to 44 percent. It ends his 28 years in the House.

Mollohan was first elected in 1982. He ran a relatively lethargic campaign until recent weeks, when he began airing TV ads calling Oliverio dangerously conservative and bad for business and labor. Oliverio, in contrast, had campaigned aggressively since entering the race in January.

I bet he feels pretty sick now.

Maybe so, but how did things turn out for Sen. Robert Byrd(D-WV) who's now 90+ years old, ill, and has spent more than half his life in the Senate? D'ya think they'll sink him, too? He voted yea for the health care reform act. My guess would be NO. He's gotten more pork for WV than they even have pigs.
 
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Democrat Alan Mollohan became the first member of the U.S. House to be ousted this spring primary season after his opponent mounted a campaign that questioned the 14-term congressman's ethics and support for federal health care reform.

Mollohan conceded after unofficial returns showed that with 82 percent of precincts reporting, state Sen. Mike Oliverio was ahead 56 percent to 44 percent. It ends his 28 years in the House.

Mollohan was first elected in 1982. He ran a relatively lethargic campaign until recent weeks, when he began airing TV ads calling Oliverio dangerously conservative and bad for business and labor. Oliverio, in contrast, had campaigned aggressively since entering the race in January.

I bet he feels pretty sick now.

So, all the ethics questions had NOTHING to do with this? Partisan hack much?
Ethics problems are from 2004-2006.

when he served on the ethics committee.
 
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Democrat Alan Mollohan became the first member of the U.S. House to be ousted this spring primary season after his opponent mounted a campaign that questioned the 14-term congressman's ethics and support for federal health care reform.

Mollohan conceded after unofficial returns showed that with 82 percent of precincts reporting, state Sen. Mike Oliverio was ahead 56 percent to 44 percent. It ends his 28 years in the House.

Mollohan was first elected in 1982. He ran a relatively lethargic campaign until recent weeks, when he began airing TV ads calling Oliverio dangerously conservative and bad for business and labor. Oliverio, in contrast, had campaigned aggressively since entering the race in January.

I bet he feels pretty sick now.

you want I should call him a waaaambaaaaalance?
 
Wasn't Mollohan labeled the most crooked member by some watchdog group?

OBVIOUSLY, you are not paying attention to the spin.....this now has NOTHING to do with ethics. It is all about his vote on the Healthcare legislation....
 
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Democrat Alan Mollohan became the first member of the U.S. House to be ousted this spring primary season after his opponent mounted a campaign that questioned the 14-term congressman's ethics and support for federal health care reform.

Mollohan conceded after unofficial returns showed that with 82 percent of precincts reporting, state Sen. Mike Oliverio was ahead 56 percent to 44 percent. It ends his 28 years in the House.

Mollohan was first elected in 1982. He ran a relatively lethargic campaign until recent weeks, when he began airing TV ads calling Oliverio dangerously conservative and bad for business and labor. Oliverio, in contrast, had campaigned aggressively since entering the race in January.

I bet he feels pretty sick now.

Maybe so, but how did things turn out for Sen. Robert Byrd(D-WV) who's now 90+ years old, ill, and has spent more than half his life in the Senate? D'ya think they'll sink him, too? He voted yea for the health care reform act. My guess would be NO. He's gotten more pork for WV than they even have pigs.

Byrd is a surviving relic of the civil rights era...a grand wizard in the KKK. He's a shining example of what the Democrat Party used to represent and what they are returning to this very day.
 
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy





I bet he feels pretty sick now.

Maybe so, but how did things turn out for Sen. Robert Byrd(D-WV) who's now 90+ years old, ill, and has spent more than half his life in the Senate? D'ya think they'll sink him, too? He voted yea for the health care reform act. My guess would be NO. He's gotten more pork for WV than they even have pigs.

Byrd is a surviving relic of the civil rights era...a grand wizard in the KKK. He's a shining example of what the Democrat Party used to represent and what they are returning to this very day.

Really? I could have sworn it was the Tea Baggers that David Duke came out to endorse?
 
And this NEW democrat is pro healthcare.

Show us how his win means the Rs win anything?
 
Maybe so, but how did things turn out for Sen. Robert Byrd(D-WV) who's now 90+ years old, ill, and has spent more than half his life in the Senate? D'ya think they'll sink him, too? He voted yea for the health care reform act. My guess would be NO. He's gotten more pork for WV than they even have pigs.

Byrd is a surviving relic of the civil rights era...a grand wizard in the KKK. He's a shining example of what the Democrat Party used to represent and what they are returning to this very day.

Really? I could have sworn it was the Tea Baggers that David Duke came out to endorse?

Well...there you go thinking again. Byrd is a Senator, a full fledged KKK member and a racist. There is no refuting this. David Duke WAS A DEMOCRAT!!!!!
 
Do you even read the article folks? Geez.

Oh, wait... You wanted us to read the article before we made a comment?

I did read the article, after making my initial comment about his being labeled most corrupt. After reading the article, I can't say I'm convinced that his stance on healthcare was any more a contributing factor for his defeat than the corruption and ethics issues.
 
Wasn't Mollohan labeled the most crooked member by some watchdog group?

OBVIOUSLY, you are not paying attention to the spin.....this now has NOTHING to do with ethics. It is all about his vote on the Healthcare legislation....

You can believe it was just his ethics problems if you want. I encourage you to continue to believe that most of America supports the healthscare bill passed by the Dems...

From another article:

Oliverio, a conservative Democrat, had run an aggressive campaign, portraying Mollohan as corrupt and out of touch. Conservative media rallied around the 46-year-old financial adviser from Morgantown, as did anti-abortion groups angry over Mollohan's support of health care legislation.

The anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List said it spent $78,000 on the 1st District race and made 80,000 prerecorded calls on Oliverio's behalf Monday and Tuesday. The results, it said, should serve as warning to other incumbents.

"We promised Rep. Mollohan and the other 'pro-life' Democrats that we would make their re-election incredibly painful if they voted 'yes' on the health care bill," said President Marjorie Dannenfelser.

Mollohan, 66, said his defeat was proof that negative campaigns still work and called Oliverio's attacks "totally spurious and totally false."

But he acknowledged that he faced a "strong headwind" of voter discontent.

"It's true there is definitely a wave out there, a national mood and wave," Mollohan said after conceding defeat.

Midterm congressional elections are referendums, he said, "and if people are not feeling good about what's happening, if they don't agree with legislation or they just are concerned, they express it."

Source


You should also read the article the OP posted regarding the ethics probe...
 
Do you even read the article folks? Geez.

Oh, wait... You wanted us to read the article before we made a comment?

I did read the article, after making my initial comment about his being labeled most corrupt. After reading the article, I can't say I'm convinced that his stance on healthcare was any more a contributing factor for his defeat than the corruption and ethics issues.

Who knows for sure, but the R's concentrated on his ethics problems in 2006 and he still won 65% of the vote... They also must have thought it was a lost cause as he ran unopposed in 2008...
 
Do you even read the article folks? Geez.

Oh, wait... You wanted us to read the article before we made a comment?

I did read the article, after making my initial comment about his being labeled most corrupt. After reading the article, I can't say I'm convinced that his stance on healthcare was any more a contributing factor for his defeat than the corruption and ethics issues.

True. However, it is basic logic to assume that one that supports an initiative that was not supported by the majority of Americans and was passed using a legislative tactic that many Americans questioned for a bill of such a magnitutde, will likely see his or her support numbers drop.

Basic logic. Or we could all act blind and make believe that such logic does not exist.
 

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