Republicans on Wednesday attacked freshman U.S. Rep. Eric Massa for his decision to begin taking campaign contributions from corporate political action committees.

“It didn’t take long for Eric Massa to get comfortable with the way Washington Democrats operate,” said Ken Spain, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “After breaking his pledge not to accept corporate donations, Massa’s constituents in upstate New York have good reason to question what his next reversal will be.”

Massa, D-Corning, called the criticism hypocritical.

“They want to attack me for taking legitimate political action money that they are taking 10 times more of,” Massa said. “I don’t quite get why the pot is calling the kettle black.”

Massa refused to take corporate PAC money during his successful 2008 campaign against former Republican U.S. Rep. John R. Kuhl Jr. of Hammondsport. Kuhl took corporate PAC money and Massa often criticized him for it.

However, Massa said the poor economy means that he cannot fund another $2 million-plus campaign in 2010 by relying on struggling middle-class families. Since his election in November, he has accepted about $7,000 from corporate PACs, according to the latest report he filed with the Federal Election Commission.

His biggest corporate donation was $5,000 from the Harris Corp. Political Action Committee. Harris is based in Florida, but its RF Communications Division employs about 16,000 people in Rochester.

“I’m not gong to go to the working families of the 29th Congressional District and ask them to fund a congressional campaign when my opponents aren’t willing to do the same thing,” Massa said. “I believe in playing on a level playing field.”

Massa said he would not take money from industries that he views as harmful, such as big oil companies or tobacco companies.

Source: Star Gazette