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Call it the Republican version of Democrats' constant attempts to link GOP lawmakers to President Bush.

A new ad being aired by Congressional candidate Melissa Hart tries to link U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire (D-McCandless) to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, while also blaming people's economic troubles on tax increases.

"We spend our nights worrying how we're going to make ends meet, and our days working as hard as we can to only get furter behind," the narrator says.

Hart is mounting a competitive challenge to Altmire in the 4th Congressional District.

See the ad embedded below: 

U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire (R-McCandless), shortly after voting against a $700 billion bailout plan for Wall Strett, indicated in a statement Monday he will oppose a bailout of any kind.

"I agree the economy is struggling, but the free market works properly only if there is a downside to risk," Altmire said. "It is not the government's role to reward bad decisions or nullify the downside to investment risks."

"Hundreds" of constituents told him they opposed the plan, Altmire said.

"They wonder why Washington is so quick to act to help those on Wall Street, yet nothing is done to help them," he said. "The times ahead are going to require tough decisions, but we should not start by asking American families and small businesses to pay for the mistakes of Wall Street. The $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan is not the right response to this crisis."

Former U.S. Rep. Melissa HartBEAVER -- U.S. House candidate Melissa Hart is counting on 2008 to be different than 2006, when voters in the 4th Congressional District removed her from office amid a tidal wave of anti-GOP sentiment in the state and country.

She can point to one way it already is -- the absence of former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum and GOP gubernatorial candidate Lynn Swann. Neither is on the ballot this year, unlike 2006, when each lost by more than 15 points to his Democratic opposition.

Their ill-fated candidacies, combined with a highly unpopular war in Iraq, helped put U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire (D-McCandless) in office, Hart told PolitickerPA.com while knocking on doors in Beaver Borough last Saturday. She was canvassing the area as part of what aides say has become a vigorous grassroots effort to help put Hart back in office.

"Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong in 2006," Hart said.

The difference provided by the top of this year's Republican ticket, John McCain and Sarah Palin, and attempts to paint Altmire as a "Nancy Pelosi liberal" are Hart's two biggest hopes to recapture her former seat.

The campaign for congressional candidate Melissa Hart says an internal poll showing the candidate facing a 5-point deficit proves she is in a "tight race" against Democratic incumbent Jason Altmire in the 4th Congressional District.

The poll, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies and released Monday by Hart's campaign, says "Melissa is well within striking distance, and if she has the funds to fully fund her advertising budget, she should be able to break Altmire's tenuous hold on this seat."

Its margin of error is 4.9 percent.

Hart is challenging Altmire after losing to him by fewer than 4 percentage points in 2006, a year poisonous for Republican statewide and nationally.

Tom Cole, the Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee will be in state on Wednesday to campaign for former Congresswomen Melissa Hart.  Cole and Hart will hold a joint press conference at the Ingomar Gulf gas station to discuss energy and energy exploration. 

Congressional candidate Melissa Hart has received the endorsement of Firearm Owners Against Crime, a Second Amendment Political Action Committee that could help her pro-gun credentials after her opponent, U.S. Jason Altmire (D-McCandless), received the NRA endorsement.

FAOC has 60,000 "contacts" across the state and is the state's largest pro-gun PAC, according to a release from Hart's campaign,

Kim Stofler, chairwoman of the group, credited the former congresswoman for her dedication to protecting Second Amendment Rights.

"Unfortunately the same cannot be said for her opponenent as the incumbent has avoided making the tough decisions when it comes to choosing between politics and citizens freedoms," Stofler said in a statement.

With six U.S. House races in play this fall, Pennsylvania has the largest number of competitive congressional races than any other state in the country, a new Politicker.com report shows.

The Pindell Report, which launched today, aims to provide the country's most dynamic and richly reported ranking and analysis of U.S. Senate, U.S. House and gubernatorial races, plus presidential swing states.

The report, named for Politicker.com Managing Editor James Pindell, shows that of the 435 U.S. House races nationwide six -- the 3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th and 11th district races -- are among the top 59 the report is tracking. Two of those races, the 11th and 10th, rank in the top 20 of races.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) said Tuesday that  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) faces a potential revolt from rank-and-file members of Congress over her handling of a bill that would lift a ban on offshore oil drilling. Altmire told PolitickerPA.com that many Democrats, including the 24 who co-sponsored the compromise energy bill, have challenged Pelosi's position, and he said the Speaker of the House knows her stance might soon be toppled by members who will bring the measure for a vote by Sept. 30. "Well, I can't speak for her, but I think she realizes she's starting to lose her grip on this issue," he said. "The PR battle has been lost."

The conservative group Freedom's Watch has unleashed yet another round of robocalls, this one attacking Democrats in Congress for "standing between us and billions of barrels of American oil."

The robocall campaigns are being run in New Hampshire, Arizona, California, Kentucky, New York, Illinois, Florida and Ohio, as well as in Pennsylvania.

With similar scripts, the Pennsylvania calls are targeting U.S. Reps. Jason Altmire (D-McCandless) in the 4th Congressional District, Chris Carney (D-Dimock) in the 10th Congressional District and Paul Kanjorski (D-Nanticoke City) in the 11th Congressional District.

The voice on the call reminds listeners that President Bush recently lifted the executive ban on offshore drilling, and blames its Democratic targets for stopping increases in domestic oil production. It gives listeners a number of times that each target has "sided with Nancy Pelosi and liberals in Congress instead of us" and urges listeners to call the target.

"Tell him to stop standing between the American people and American oil," the call closes.

U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire (D-McCandless) continues to maintain a cash advantage over challenger Melissa Hart in a matchup of two of the state's fundraising heavyweights.

Altmire raised about $456,000 in the second quarter, bringing his total fundraising take to $1.57 million.

His totals overshadow a strong quarter from Hart, who raised almost $300,000 in the second quarter. She now has roughly $624,000 in cash on hand.