Dent Camp: Where's John Callahan on Healthcare Reform

One person you won't see at tonight's Muhlenberg town hall concerning health care reform is Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan. His nifty web page for his upcoming Congressional race against LV Congressman Charlie Dent contains instructions on how to contribute or volunteer for his campaign, but fails to list his position on any issues, to say nothing of health care reform. Kinda' makes you wonder, why is he running?

While Arlen Specter and Charlie Dent have both had the courage to be accountable to voters in real town halls, where has John Callahan been? Musikfest is over. The Charlie Dent campaign issued this release yesterday afternoon, basically asking, "Where's Waldo?"

All over America people of every political stripe have been weighing in with their views on the debate over health care.

Congressman Charlie Dent has held dozens of meetings with individuals and groups to seek their input and guidance. In August alone he held five public, widely attended Town Hall-style meetings in Lehigh, Northampton and Berks counties.

Charlie has made clear his opposition to Nancy Pelosi’s 1,000 plus page plan for a government takeover of health care contained in H.R. 3200. Charlie has also offered his ideas on how to improve access, cut costs and advance wellness for all families across America.

Meanwhile, John Callahan has been A.W.O.L. on the subject. He was asked by the media where he stood on the issue and took the political coward’s way out with a “no comment.”

That’s interesting – one would think that John Callahan would be vocal on the health care debate considering:

1. He’s an announced candidate for Congress and health care is THE issue facing Congress and the American People today. In fact, while Callahan hides, other Congressional candidates in Pennsylvania have held their own town hall meetings on the subject.

2. In the biography that is posted on the City of Bethlehem’s website, Callahan claims that he was recently a “Senior Institutional Healthcare Consultant for Pfizer, Inc., a ‘Fortune 20’ company.” That sounds impressive – it sounds like somebody who should have an opinion on the complete overhaul of America’s health care system.

3. As Mayor of Bethlehem he should have a position on H.R. 3200 since it will likely disrupt or jeopardize the benefits of hundreds of city employees. The bill has a provision specific to self-insured entities like the City of Bethlehem.

“John Callahan says he wants to go to Congress to represent you. If that’s the case, he doesn’t have the right to hide from the difficult, pressing issues we’re facing,” said Shawn Millan, Charlie Dent for Congress Campaign Manager.

“John Callahan is afraid,” said Millan. “If he says that he supports the bill, he will lose the votes of tens of thousands of voters in the 15th District. However, if he opposes the bill he risks losing the fat wallets of the Far Left in Washington, DC and California that he needs to finance his campaign.”

“Charlie Dent is a leader. He makes the tough calls. John Callahan is just a follower. If he continues to hide behind ‘no comment’ the voters have the right to assume he’ll be nothing more than a rubberstamp for Nancy Pelosi on this issue and others,” Millan added.