The lovefest for Mark Critz from PoliticsPA contributing stenographers still continues.
Last March, Keegan Gibson, the blog’s editor, wrote a fluff piece on former Congressman Critz when the former representative landed a job as a “grassroots organizer” for natural gas lobbying firm. In that article, Gibson wrote:
“As a former Member of Congress and district director for Congressman John Murtha, Mark Critz has the experience and relationships at the local level to help difficult projects get approval,” EIS Solutions President Wade Haerle said. “Mark knows how to navigate local politics and governmental bureaucracies at the state and federal levels and will be an asset to clients seeking to build local support for energy related projects in the coal and natural gas industries.”
“It was an honor to serve the people of Western Pennsylvania in Congress where I had the opportunity fight for jobs and economic development,” Critz said in a company press release. “Development of our energy resources is vital to growing our regional economy and making our nation independent of foreign sources of energy. I look forward to working to make sure that our region develops these resources in a safe, responsible manner while working to grow our economy and meet our energy needs.”
And the Raging Chicken Press pointed out that EIS is an astroturfed group wielding influence in the Marcellus Shale Region. The Center for Media and Democracy described the firm as:
a Grand Junction, Colorado-based public relations and astroturfing firm that handles government affairs,lobbying and PR for companies involved in the energy industry. The group’s principle spokesperson for energy industry issues in Colorado is Curtis Moore
Now, the lovefest with Critz and PoliticsPA continued today when the blog published a second fluff piece on the former congressman turned industry lobbyist turned lieutenant governor candidate. The former congressman claimed that he is a “moderate candidate,” and the blog completely ate up the bullshit Critz fed them. The blog published:
“After I lost, I was devastated,” he said. “I thought I had done a good job. I was serving and representing people of this area. I wanted to continue representing this area.”
“As a former staffer and member of Congress, I don’t need my name on the door. It doesn’t have to be me [as governor],“ Critz said. “When I looked at lieutenant governor and thought, well, I can represent this whole area, and actually the whole state.”
“I’ve been through multi-million dollar campaigns,” Critz said. “In a race of this magnitude, lieutenant governor is not high profile or expensive. But I can raise — my budget’s going to be about $1.5 million. I think those people that are running think that if they hit a quarter million then they’ve done a good job.”
However, the blog did say that he is a “conservative democrat,” (even though they described him as a moderate in their title) but didn’t point out his strong ties to the Marcellus Shale industry or his NRA A+ rating, which was reported by the blog in October 2012.
What’s more problematic with this overall issue, it looks as if the gas industry is getting it’s “A team” ready for Democratic primary season. With Schwartz already calling a party moratorium on fracking “misguided” and Critz looking like a viable pro-fracking candidate with money to burn, fracking will forever control party politics in PA.
