On the Campaign Trail: Dr. Oz, Toomey ‘call out’ Fetterman as Senate campaign tightens

WILKES-BARRE — Dr. Mehmet Oz, Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, was recently joined by U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, on the campaign trail to continue calling out John Fetterman for “hiding his radical views” from media scrutiny.

The Oz campaign said this includes Democrat John Fetterman’s “radical record on releasing convicted murderers, failing to pay his own taxes while wanting to raise taxes on Pennsylvanians, and pushing for socialized healthcare.”

“It’s time for John Fetterman to finally come clean and stop hiding behind his health to avoid taking tough questions from the press and deny the voters the debates — plural — that they deserve to see out of their U.S. Senate candidates,” said Dr. Oz.

“John Fetterman, has done less than a handful of friendly pre-taped interviews and exactly zero news conferences where he could be asked a single challenging question,” Toomey said. “In the same time frame, Dr. Oz agreed to seven debates. John Fetterman has already ducked three of those debates. And he has only agreed to one. And that one debate that Fetterman agreed to is in late October, after many Pennsylvanians have already voted. He refused to allow it to be more than 60 minutes, even while insisting that it be closed-captioned to address his health needs, which of course will use up some of the limited available time. I think it’s Fetterman’s record that he does not want scrutinized. And I can understand why.”

On the issue of crime, Sen. Toomey explained: “Fetterman’s record of advocating release from prison of convicted murderers is truly extreme. Even Josh Shapiro and other Democrats opposed Fetterman’s positions on releasing murderers time and time again.”

On the subject of taxes, Sen. Toomey described how, “John Fetterman supported massive tax increases in Harrisburg, and he has applauded the record-breaking tax increases coming out of Washington in the last two years…What’s different about Fetterman is that he refused to pay his own taxes, time after time.”

On the issue of socialized medicine, Sen. Toomey said, “He doesn’t talk about it these days, but John Fetterman has long embraced the Bernie Sanders socialist health care plan called ‘Medicare for All.’ Among other things, this plan would abolish all private health insurance. That would be a huge blow to Pennsylvanians, especially seniors who have come to depend heavily on the private insurance they are comfortable with. The plan is so radical, even President Biden called it ‘preposterous.’”

Fetterman: Oz refuses to answer claim thatTrump ‘needs’ Oz in case 2024 election challenged

After new reporting uncovered that former President Donald Trump “told advisers that he needs people such as Pennsylvania Senate nominee Mehmet Oz in office in case the election is challenged in 2024,” Lt. Governor John Fetterman said Oz has still refused to respond to the allegations.

Fetterman’s campaign said the Oz campaign released an embarrassing statement that did not address any of the allegations Trump made — “instead continuing his trend of offering zero specifics and refusing to answer direct questions from the media.”

Fetterman released the following statement:

“It’s been a full day and Dr. Oz still has not responded to the news that Trump told his advisers that he ‘needs’ Oz in the Senate to help him steal the 2024 election.

“It’s clear that Oz won’t answer this question directly, because we all know what the answer would be. He’ll do or say anything, to anyone, to get elected. He has no core and no real beliefs.

“He’s groveling to Trump for help when he needs it, but avoiding him when he’s talking to voters who dislike him. Pennsylvanians need to know what promises he made to Trump in exchange for his endorsement and if he would vote to certify the results of the 2024 election.”

In his primary, Fetterman said Oz said “we cannot move on” from the 2020 election as he was cozying up to Trump in an attempt to win Republican primary votes.

Then, in a general election pivot, Fetterman said Oz purged his website of frequent references to Trump, who had centered in his campaign messaging prior to the primary.

And now, after Trump said he “needs” Oz in the Senate so Trump can again try to steal the 2024 election, Fetterman said Oz won’t even commit to certifying the 2024 election results.

Mastriano completes tour of all 67Pa. counties since primary victory

Republican nominee for governor of Pennsylvania, Doug Mastriano, recently completed his statewide tour of all 67 PA counties.

The tour, which began immediately after Mastriano’s victory in the Pennsylvania primary election, concluded with a rally in Warminster, Bucks County, on Oct. 1.

“It’s been an absolute honor traveling across this beautiful state and meeting so many Pennsylvania patriots,” Mastriano said in a statement. “What was especially noticeable is the size and strength of our grassroots movement. On every stop, Rebbie and I were greeted with countless supporters who are passionate about rebuilding the Commonwealth.”

“While Pennsylvania is a large state with many diverse voices, I heard the same grievances from voters across all 67 counties. Pennsylvanians are tired of inflation, a limping economy, indoctrination of our children, a broken energy sector, and out of control crime. They are especially concerned by the fact that my opponent has done nothing to restore law and order in our cities.

“When I am elected governor, we will tackle these issues on my first day in office. It’s time to put the people of Pennsylvania first and rebuild the Commonwealth.”

Fetterman: Oz & Mastriano ‘two peas in apod’ on believing all abortions are ‘murder’

The John Fetterman campaign this week said Dr. Mehmet Oz and Doug Mastriano are “two peas in a pod on abortion.”

A campaign statement said this:

“Don’t take our word for it — just listen to their own statements. Last month, new audio resurfaced from before the Republican primary, where Oz was caught on a hot mic saying that all abortions were ‘murder.’ And yesterday, new audio of Mastriano surfaced, where he said that women who violated his proposed abortion ban should be charged with murder.”

“Dr. Oz would just be a vote to enable Doug Mastriano’s radical abortion agenda,” Fetterman said. “Just listen to them. They use the exact same words when describing women who have abortions. They both think it’s ‘murder.’ If you needed any more evidence that Dr. Oz is one of the most radical anti-abortion candidates in the country, this is it.”

The Fetterman campaign added that Oz has on multiple occasions said that he would not support exceptions for rape or incest. And according to Oz Watch, the new website Fetterman launched, Dr. Oz has refused to say how he’d vote on the new bill to ban abortion nationwide for over 15 days now.

Cartwright: Bognet‘can’t stop lying’

U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Moosic, this week said his Republican opponent Jim Bognet has spent the past two years claiming Cartwright wants to “defund the police.”

Cartwright said Bognet “continued to spread lies” to the people of northeastern Pennsylvania in an interview, claiming the congressman supported “defunding the Wilkes-Barre PD.”

Cartwright’s campaign said this:

“This is a lie that Bognet has already been caught in before — when he first raised this claim in 2020, Politifact rated it as ‘false.’

“And when he kept lying, he was given a ‘pants on fire.’

“Since the truth is irrelevant to this shady D.C. lobbying executive, let’s look at the facts. Congressman Cartwright has voted for billions in annual funding for both local and federal law enforcement and he has the receipts.”

• $511.7 million in Community Oriented Police Funding.

• $2.2 billion in state and local law enforcement assistance grants.

• $61.5 million increase in funding for Violence Against Women Prevention and Prosecution Programs.

• $674.5 million in funding for the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Edward Byrne Memorial JAG program.

• $30 million in funding for the Patrick Leahy Bulletproof Vest Partnership.

• $120 million for initiatives to improve police-community relations.

Additionally, as chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science, the Cartwright campaign said Cartwright has consistently brought federal dollars right here to fund law enforcement in northeastern Pennsylvania:

• $2 million for Lackawanna County initiative to reduce drug, gang activity.

• $3 million for joint fire, police, public safety station in Moosic.

• $2.5 million for Luzerne County emergency first Responder unit.

• $3.5 million for Scranton Police Department training and technology upgrades.

Cartwright campaign press secretary David Early issued a statement:

“The fact that Jim Bognet has been willingly lying to the people of northeastern Pennsylvania for years, even after he’s been caught, just goes to show how untrustworthy this former lobbying executive really is. Our community deserves honest leadership — something Jim Bognet is incapable of offering.”

CatholicVote endorsesBognet for Congress

CatholicVote, the largest national grassroots Catholic organization, announced its endorsement of Jim Bognet for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 8th District.

“Jim Bognet is Catholic himself, but that’s not the only reason we’re endorsing him,” said Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote. “Jim Bognet is committed to standing for the values Catholics hold dear: the right to life, religious freedom, parental rights in education, and a decent economy in which families can thrive. He represents true Scranton Catholic values, unlike his opponent – or the president, who claims Scranton roots but is now as left as it gets.”

Bognet is challenging incumbent Rep. Matt Cartwright for the Scranton-area seat.

A news release said, “Cartwright is a self-identified Catholic with a 100% voting record from Planned Parenthood.”

“Matt Cartwright is an embarrassment to Catholics in Northeast Pennsylvania,” Burch said. “He supports legal abortion, paid for by taxpayers, right up til the moment of birth. That’s despicable, and I don’t believe Scrantonians want anything to do with that. On top of his broken moral compass, he has done nothing to ease the burdens of the Biden economy on Northeast Pennsylvania families.

“It’s time to make a change, and I believe Northeast Pennsylvania voters will do the right thing and send Jim Bognet to Congress this November.”

CatholicVote, which has over half a million members, is in the midst of a $3 million campaign aimed at defeating Catholic politicians who reject the Church’s core teachings. CatholicVote is a national faith-based advocacy organization, organized by faithful Catholic laity in full communion with the teachings of the Church, yet does not claim to speak for any individual bishop or the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.