Republicans have been keeping a close eye on the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this week, and one Pennsylvania congressmen said the speakers seem to be disconnected from the concerns of voters, especially those in Pennsylvania.
U.S. Rep Keith Rothfus, who represents the commonwealth's 12th District, said Democrats have failed to address "a world that is on fire with disruption across the planet and a lack of American leadership.”
Rothfus said there is also not enough attention being paid to Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy record.
“Time after time, there has been a disaster overseas,” Rothfus said of Clinton’s time as U.S. Secretary of State. “The development of ISIS on her watch and her decision to go into Libya a year before Benghazi, to take out (Muammar) Gaddafi, which led to a failed state.”
He criticized her for reversing her stance on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Clinton at one time supported the proposal but reversed her stance when the 12-nation agreement was finalized. This week, a top aid said Clinton might flip her stance again, but later walked back that statement.
Trump is against the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He has said that he would also like to renegotiate a long list of other trade deals.
Both conventions featured speakers that lost relatives to violence. Republicans focused on lives lost to international terrorism and strife, while Democrats have included more parents who lost loved ones at the hands of police officers.
“There are problems here in our country. Let’s diagnose those problems and have the right policy solutions to address them,” Rothfus said. “Unfortunately with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, there has been a disengagement on the side of the international scene.”
Rothfus faces Democrat Erin McClelland in the November election.
Last week 90.5 WESA spoke to Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate Katie McGinty as she reacted to the Republican National Convention.
