Democratic Congressional candidate, Paul Politis, started his first door-to-door district campaign efforts in the Tyrone area on Thursday.
When asked why he chose the area, the candidate momentarily joked about it.
“Pot luck, I guess,” said Politis.
He then went on to explain he had a function to attend in Altoona on Thursday evening and decided to spend the day knocking on doors before heading there.
Politis sat down with The Daily Herald for an impromptu interview Thursday afternoon at the newspaper’s offices. He discussed a wide range of issues and also discussed the recent primary campaign battle between Congressman Bill Shuster and Republican opponent Michael DelGrosso.
“It (the race) was probably good for me,” said Politis. “There was a lot of activity such as candidates’ nights.
He noted there was more activity than normal because Shuster had a challenger rather than running unopposed. He also indicated when he entered the race he wasn’t necessarily sure he would be taking on the incumbent in the fall. Politis pointed out the race, although won by Shuster, was very close. Shuster beat DelGrosso by only a two-point margin overall and lost in five of the 15 counties in the district.
“In areas where he (Shuster) and his father are better known, he lost or the race was close,” explained Politis. “He won in areas were he and his father aren’t as well known.”
Politis also offered some thoughts about Shuster.
“He doesn’t seem to have any thoughts, plans or ideas of his own,” Politis told The Daily Herald.
“He is just towing the Republican or (President) Bush’s line.”
The democratic candidate indicated he considers himself a fiscal conservative and said he and Shuster differ in a number of areas.
“I think we strongly differ in the area of healthcare,” said Politis. “He’s going along with this prescription drug bill which I think is a disaster. It’s going to enhance the drug companies and the HMO’s. The average person is not going to save that much.
“Somebody who spends, for example, $5,000 on drugs is going to save $1,400, said Politis. But, that $1,400 is in inflated U.S. costs. So, there’s no savings at all in reality.”
Politis also talked about the war in Iraq and terrorism concerns.
“I think Shuster and Bush are the same (on Iraq and terrorism),” said Politis. “I think we bungled it, we shouldn’t have gone there in the first place. The real root of terrorism is the Israel-Palestine conflict. That’s where the Arab nations are against us and Israel. Bush hasn’t worked on peace in the middle east.
“The only terrorism in Iraq is that against our soldiers, it’s not here in the states,” explained Politis.
He also said he did not think Iraqi insurgents had the means to do anything of a terroristic nature on United States soil. Politis also said Bush’s reaction regarding the prison abuse scandal has been a disaster.
“He (President Bush) has blamed a couple reservists and said he’s going to have the prison torn down-that’s no response at all,” said Politis.
Before heading to Altoona, Politis said he had knocked on a few hundred doors by mid-afternoon on Thursday. He indicated he would welcome a series of debates with Congressman Shuster. However, he did not expect that to be the case. Instead, he envisioned there would be a number of candidates’ nights which he planned to be a part of during the months ahead.
The democratic challenger is based in Franklin County and announced his run for his party’s nomination in January. He won the April primary without facing any challenge within his own party.
Politis is a native of Wilkes-Barre and a Shippensburg State College graduate. He had an extensive newspaper background prior to entering into his own business venture. Politis also has served in United States Army Reserves and has served as a school board member. He’s also been a Chamber of Commerce president in Fulton County.
