Tagged: Congressman John Yarmuth

Republican congressional candidate Brooks Wicker has launched his first ad of the general election campaign, and it attacks Democratic incumbent John Yarmuth over the country's increasing debt under President Obama.

The online ad features Yarmuth at a town hall meeting three years ago at Central High School discussing the president's pending health care overhaul. Yarmuth faced a series of questions from constituents, many of whom opposed the legislation.

It criticizes the congressman for saying he didn't know how the government would pay for the rising cost to entitlement programs on top of the Affordable Care Act.

Check it out:

The Louisville Tea Party will hold a forum featuring several local candidates running for Congress, Metro Council and the Jefferson County school board, but the group’s leader is criticizing Democratic Congressman John Yarmuth for not attending.

The forum is being moderated by 84 WHAS radio host Mandy Connell on Thursday, and is expected to draw more than 100 people.

Candidates running for the Kentucky General Assembly are also invited to the forum, and Louisville Tea Party President Sarah Durand says the event will question those candidates on issues that other groups and the mainstream media have overlooked.

"We plan on asking the state Representative and state Senate candidates about pension reform, which we have not heard enough about in the media," she says. "With the school board, I haven’t seen anybody asking them about raising our taxes every single year. We plan to ask the school board candidates how they feel about that and how they would deal with budget shortfalls if they’re not in favor of raising our taxes every year."

Congressman John Yarmuth, D-Ky., is slamming Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for his hasty comments during the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya.

The raid of the consulate was allegedly sparked by an American video mocking Islam's founding prophet and resulted in the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others.

In a campaign statement released before the killing, Romney accused the Obama administration of sympathizing with protestors who attacked the consulate. The GOP nominee's remarks were referring to a statement from the U.S. embassy in Egypt, which condemned the anti-Islam video.

Yarmuth says the death of the four U.S. diplomats is disturbing and underscores the volatility of the Middle East, but that Romney’s rush to judgment shows the GOP nominee is intemperate.

"Governor Romney’s initial reaction, an instinct to turn a tragedy into a political opportunity is despicable and disqualifies him to serve as President of the United States," he says.

Several area leaders are marking the eleventh anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11, but overall the commemorations are taking a less political tone than in year's past.

In Washington, D.C., congressional Democrats and Republicans plan to stand outside the Capitol for a moment of silence in an act of bipartisanship. At ground zero in New York City, the family members of the victims are reading their loved ones names, but no elected officials were included in the ceremony.

In a statement, Congressman John Yarmuth says Americans should seek to learn that facing the country's problems requires a transcendence of politics.

From Yarmuth's office:

"Eleven years ago, terrorists attacked our nation and killed thousands of our fellow Americans. Today, we remember their lives. We grieve with their families and loved ones. And we reflect on the national unity that arose from the ruin of that calamitous day, reminded of our shared purpose: to keep our country safe and to preserve the values that shape our national character.

Kentucky Congressman John Yarmuth endorsed fellow Democrat Shelli Yoder on Friday in Indiana’s Ninth Congressional District race.

Yoder is facing Republican incumbent Todd Young in the fall campaign and has challenged him to a dozen debates across the district. The two campaigns have squabbled over the schedule of those forums in recent weeks.

Yarmuth says he looks forward to having Yoder as a partner in Congress, adding that she is a practical thinker.

"Shelli shares my commitment to making health care more affordable and insurance companies more accountable, protecting Medicare for this generation of seniors and the next, creating an economy that works for everyone, and standing up for our veterans," Yarmuth said in a news release.