Dueling phone town halls

Call waiting is a nice feature that I rarely have to use.  Tonight Jason Altmire and the Mark Critz campaign held dueling town halls, and it was nice being able to switch between the two calls.

Jason Altmire fielded questions for about 45 minutes.  He said he had about 6000 people on the call.  It was pretty clear that they were not filtering the questions, and he capably answered whatever was thrown at him.  This included questions about a pro-Critz mailing that most of us received in the mail today and his vote for a balanced budget amendment.  One thing that has impressed me is his ability to clearly answer questions, and the patience he shows making sure the constituent understands.

Mark Crtitz was not on his own town hall.  It was primarily a union affair which included AFL-CIO PA President Rick Bloomingdale and Secretary/Treasurer Frank Snyder.  This call lasted about half an hour which was mostly spent talking about how Critz supports working families and Social Security, and asking people to vote for Critz.  They said there were 3000 people on this call, and took a couple questions.  I really wish Mark Critz had been taking part in the town hall.  After all, he is the candidate.