The Number One Threat to Progressive Politics in America: Bob Casey

[IChing]

The Number One Threat to Progressive Politics in America: Bob Casey jr.


By Rob Kall
Centrists in the Democratic party don’t want the party to become more progressive. They want to move it to the right, to make the average Democratic candidate look more and more like a Republican. They will use the Bob Casey jr. campaign for US senate as an example to set a precedent which will be devastating to progressives nationwide.
Recent polls have shown that Rick Santorum is very vulnerable in PA-a state where Kerry won and the last governor elected was a democrat.

The problem is, the centrist, insider, democratic power brokers have already coronated their centrist senate pick and want to do an end run around the democratic process-the primary election. Their pick is Bob Casey, the anti-abortion, and hence anti-women’s rights son of a former governor. They argue that his antiabortion position makes him more electable. If Casey wins this primary and then goes on to beat Santorum, the centrist Democrats will claim it as a precedent that will make it much, MUCH harder for progressives to get on the ballot. They will claim that Casey’s win is proof that Democrat’s must give up on women’s rights and must hew more to the center, (even though the center keeps moving further and further right as the Republicans become more and more extreme..)

This fact alone makes this state election in Pennsylvania a national concern and issue. If Casey wins the primary and then beats Santorum, the DLC and the rest of the centrist, republican-lites in disguise as democrats will use the victory as an argument to further remove the spine from the democratic party as they push it further towards the center, so it looks even more like the republican party. They will insist that Casey’s victory shows the way that Democrats can win.>>>>>snip

good editorial in the rest of the article:
http://bellaciao.org/en/article.php3?id_article=6013

[alarimer]

1. I agree

I do not like this guy. Of course I am not from Pennsylvania so it may be he is the only Dem capable of beating Santorum (who would be much worse in my opinion). But the larger issue is tha we cannot abandon certain parts of the platform (like the right to choose) in order to win. That road leads nowhere. I don't want to give the DLC any ammunition. But it would be nice to pick up a seat.

[Coastie for Truth]

2. Disagree

(Dis-disclaimer: I am originally from Pennsylvania; I was born in the Monongahela Valley, grew up in Pittsburgh (pre-K through doc), entered the military from Pittsburgh, returned to Pittsburgh with my Pennsylvania wife to make a life; kids started school in Pittsburgh; was a Democratic County Committee person in the east End; worked on Itkin's campaigns; worked in Itkin's District Office. Left Pittsburgh when the economy seriously crashed)

The south hills had a good Congressman - Doug Walgren. Santorumn defeated him. The state had a very good, Progressive Senator - Harris Wofford. Santorum ran against him with major Scaife-Mellon Money, and with major Health Insurance Industry-HMO money.

The people have gotten to know Santorum - and lots of folks don't like him.

Don't forget - Pittsburghers elected Pete Flaherty Mayer - and they elected his brother County Commissioner. No explaining Pennsylvania politics.

Me - I WILL BE MOVING BACK TO PENNSYLVANIA IN JUNE OF 2006 TO "BEGIN MY RETIREMENT" - AND TO VOTE. AND IF I FIND THE WINTER CLIME OF PENNSYLVANIA IS NOT TO MY LIKING - I WILL MOVE BACK TO MY GRAND KIDS IN CALIFORNIA AROUND THANKSGIVING. BUT, PER THE PENNSYLVANIA ELECTION CODE "IT IS MY INTENTION TO ESTABLISH PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN PENNSYLVANIA."

[dsc]

3. I went and looked in vain for just one other conservative stance

that Casey took. To my utter shock (sarcasm) none were to be found. I am sick of the equation of pro choice with liberal. By that standard Alan Simpson is a liberal and David Bonior isn't.

[meow2u3]

17. And I'm tired of the equation of pro-choice with women's rights

You're damn right!! By that standard, Tom Ridge and Mike Bloomberg, both who show hostility to women in matters other than the abortion issue, support women's rights, whereas David Bonior, Bobby Casey, and Ken Oberstar, all who otherwise champion women's rights, are unreconstructed cavemen.

[dsc]

23. Very well said

[Todd B]

4. Good article, in theory.

That is a good article, but, still, he *is* infinitely better then the radical conservative Santorum.

Does anyone know if Chuck Pennacchio is still in the race? Or how is is polling in comparison?

I think, if you are looking for a good progressive candidate, we should try and back him.

[Selatius]

5. Can't we encourage someone else to run in the Democratic primaries too?

The only thing that is preventing the DLC from imposing their candidate on top of the people of Pennsylvania is the Democratic primary. This will be the last line of defense for everyone who is not willing to sacrifice women's rights. The answer would naturally be to encourage other candidates to run as well. Let them stand or fall on their own merits.

Unfortunately, in an election system that is governed by private money, it seems the ones with the most money have the advantage in too many cases. The DLC is not a poor outfit, to say the least.

[Rowdyboy]

6. There is a certifiable liberal already running...Chuck Pennacchio,,,

A pro-abortion college professor is challenging Casey in the primary.

http://www.chuck2006.com/

He's a great guy, but he really doesn't stand much chance against Sanctorum. He's unknown and has limited fundraising ability. Casey, with a name that resonates with millions of Pennsylvanians, can raise whatever it takes to beat the THIRD RANKING REPUBLICAN IN THE SENATE.

Want to beat Santorum? Vote Casey. Want to cast a vote for a "pure" liberal and take a chance that Sanctorum will stay? Vote Pennacchio. Wish I lived in Pennsylvania and had a say in the matter.

[burythehatchet]

16. pro-abortion??????

first assignment: stop buying into the right wing vocabulary.

[struggle4progress]

7. Casey's a helluva lot better than Santorum.

I believe in abortion rights. But I have no sympathy for ideological, single-issue voters.

If I remember right, Casey's abortion views spring from his Catholic upbringing. And I would add that a consistent pro-life stance, held with real intellectual integrity, really does offer progressives something: anti-death-penalty, anti-war, anti-pollution.

[Liberty Belle]

14. And anti-woman. "Pro-life" is anything but when a pregnant

woman's life is at stake from, say, a tubal pregnancy, or when a preteen rape victim is about to have her life ripped inside out a second time if forced to give birth.

[IChing]

8. the article supports chuck if anyone read it further

"The truth is that a progressive who supports women’s rights will probably do BETTER than Casey. ........ He will garner the support of women from both parties. An enormous number of women are already saying they can’t support Casey. These women are the ones who worked their butts off helping win Pennsylvania for Kerry.

If you are a progressive in any other state than Pennsylvania, be assured, this PA race will affect you, your local candidates and politics. But there is a lot that you can do.

There is a progressive candidate who will be facing Casey in the PA democratic primary. Dr. Chuck Pennacchio www.chuck2006.com is a solid progressive, with a great policy profile who really walks the talk. He’s an experienced activist who has helped several US senators win their campaigns. He’s a history professor who understands international and national issues at a level that makes Rick Santorum and Bob Casey look like kindergartners. Even better, Pennacchio is an extraordinary speaker who makes Casey look like a road kill."

[Selatius]

10. Didn't you see RowdyBoy's response to my post?

He's a great guy, but he really doesn't stand much chance against Sanctorum. He's unknown and has limited fundraising ability. Casey, with a name that resonates with millions of Pennsylvanians, can raise whatever it takes to beat the THIRD RANKING REPUBLICAN IN THE SENATE.

Want to beat Santorum? Vote Casey. Want to cast a vote for a "pure" liberal and take a chance that Sanctorum will stay? Vote Pennacchio. Wish I lived in Pennsylvania and had a say in the matter.

The question is who should I vote for? Should I vote for the guy who appears to be more electable? Or the guy who comes closer to my conscience on the issues?

[Rowdyboy]

12. And thats a very serious decision....But Pennsylvania Democrats can

vote for Pennachio in the primary and Casey in the general election. Living in Mississippi. I can only dream about such a choice.

[anti_shrub]

9. Can anyone explain

Why do Dems want Ricky re-elected? All I see is Casey bashing, as if he's trying to unseat a RINO and not the most crazy right wing Fristian in Congressional history.

[Selatius]

11. Some folks around here are loathe to support anti-choice candidates

The thing with politics is that there is often a conflict between voting one's conscience and voting what appears to be the most likely chance at victory. In a perfect world, they would not conflict, but in a system skewed by corporate news and corporate cash, this is not possible. Good candidates who win on merits alone don't because they don't have the support of wealthy interests, and the corporate media neglects giving them air time.

[anti_shrub]

13. Thats all well and good

Except when voting your conscience ends up getting someone elected that's worse than the guy you couldn't lower yourself to vote for.

Then again, there seems to be a chronic issue with that on the left.

[Selatius]

15. It's not limited to the left but the right as well

Witness Clinton's election in 1992 and 1996. Would not have been possible without the presence of the Reform Party splintering the right's votes. Clinton never won a majority in any of his elections.

It is a structural issue when one studies how it operates, but few in power are willing to listen when it comes to changing it because they know it would jeopardize the two-party duopoly if the structure were changed to allow several parties instead of just two.

[leyton]

18. So basically the entire progressive movement is defined by abortion.

I'm rolling my eyes right now, I wish you could see.

Abortion is not the be-all end-all of politics, and those who think it is just don't get it. Roe v. Wade is not going to be struck down; if it were, it would have happened by now, don't you think?

[Demeter]

19. It's Not Pro-Abortion--It's Pro-Choice!

It's women being in charge of their own lives, fortunes, and futures like any other adult--and if you are old enough to get pregnant, you are old enough to choose.

If women are not treated as adults in all respects, why the hell should they support the government?

If Men do not insist on women's rights, why should they expect women to insist on theirs?

It's a small planet, and a smaller country. Try to be a good neighbor.

[leyton]

21. All valid points.

Yet is that the single issue for progressivism? Or even women's rights?

I don't appreciate the efforts of some to make the Democratic party a single-issue party.

[wallwriter]

20. I'm a proud Pennsylvanian and I'm voting

against Mr. Man-on-Dog every chance I get.

[TexasLawyer]

22. The number 1 threat is really election fraud

and vote suppression. No matter who Santorum opposes and no matter how he polls before the election, Santorum will have a startling, come-from-behind, exit poll-defying victory if that is what the RNC wants.

And no one will be able to do a damned thing about it. The media will not even speculate about how odd Santorum's victory was.

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/2004votefraud_review.html

The 2004 US Elections:
The Mother of all Vote Frauds

"Those who cast the votes decide nothing, those who count the votes decide everything." - Joseph Stalin

<snip>



Dr Stephen F. Freeman from the University of Pennsylvania calculated that the odds of just three of the major swing states, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania all swinging as far as they did against their respective exit polls were 250 milllion to 1.


http://www.votersunite.org/electionproblems.asp?sort=date&selectstate=PA&selectproblemtype=ALL

[geek tragedy]

24. Another voice from the "Losers Only" wing of the party.

If someone is a winner, they can't be good.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

25. The #1 objective must be getting rid of Ricky

Fight all you want in the primary without mortally wounding any Democratic contender. Once the primary is over, all SANE Pennsylvanians must vote against man-on-dog.

If I can pull the lever for Casey, assuming he wins the primary, then just about any Democrat can do it. No matter his negatives, Casey is NOT Rick Santorum...I repeat, he is not Rick Santorum.