I met with Bob Casey and his staffers today.

[blue neen]

He was in Pittsburgh this morning for the Labor Day Parade, which this year was held in honor of Mayor Bob O'Connor. Mayor O'Connor passed away on Friday from a rare form of brain cancer.

The parade was rightfully a solemn affair this year. Bob Casey and Ed Rendell both marched at the front of the parade, helping to carry a banner honoring O'Connor. There was a very touching bagpipe performance of "Amazing Grace." There was no other band music, only a solitary drumbeat.

This afternoon Bob headed out to Northmoreland Park in Westmoreland County for the annual Labor Day Celebration. There were ten's of thousands of people there. It took me an hour and 20 minutes to travel 5 miles!

Casey was working the crowd, shaking hands with everybody when I got to talk to him. I told him that I thought he did a great job in the debate with Santorum. I also said, "I think your dad would be very proud of you", in reference to slimy Santorum's crack about Casey's deceased father being ashamed to him. Bob told me, "Yeah, he snuck that snide remark in there at the end." I honestly believe that slimy Rick was just trying to rattle him, but his disrespectful tactic didn't work.

We talked about some issues that are really hitting Pennsylvanians right now, like Medicare Part D. I work in a pharmacy, and a lot of seniors are hitting the "donut hole." A lady came in with a script for medicine for her psoriasis. It costs $418.00! Needless to say, she didn't get it. This is a tragedy and is happening more and more every day. What's going to happen to the seniors who don't take their blood pressure and heart and diabetes meds?

I was interested in getting some yard signs. His staffers told me that there are not many right now because they are holding on to their money to run ads. Santorum has $5 million more than Casey right now. $5 Million. And people are wondering why we're constantly seeing obnoxious Lil' Ricky ads?

It would be a wonderful thing if any of you can make contributions to his campaign. Maybe Casey wasn't your ideal pick for a candidate, but I can tell you after several conversations with him that he is a genuinely nice man and would represent PA well. He called me at my home one night after I had written him a letter in the spring and spent 45 minutes on the phone with me. There are several issues we don't agree on, but I still support him in this race.

We all went to be rid of the pestilence known as Rick Santorum, so please do what you can.

Thanks.

blue neen

http://www.caseyforpa.com/

[FARAFIELD]

1. I thought he showed a lot of restrait, it worked

At the beginning of the debate i thought he was taking it too easy, but Ricky eventually became unhinged. Id like to know why Casey let him bring up his dad and not cold-cock him for it?

[blue neen]

2. IMHO, Santorum was trying to rattle him.

Did you notice that Tim Russert immediately changed the subject and interrupted when Casey was trying to respond? I thought that was a little odd. Russert should have given him the chance.

Here's what it said in today's Pittsburgh Post Gazette about the incident: "Asked about that statement in the studio afterwards, Mr. Casey said, "The last thing we need is a lecture from Mr. Santorum about my father."

[globalvillage]

3. I think there will be some yard signs at Rendell HQ soon.

I stopped by before the parade, and there were Ed yard signs and Casey rally signs, but no Casey yard signs yet. I think we'll get some, though. I'm there on Mondays and some Tuesdays, so I'll keep an eye out for you.

[blue neen]

5. Thanks!

P.M. me and let me know. I appreciate it---we need to get things moving in Westmoreland County! Scaife and his rag are the only local newspaper out here, and you KNOW who they're supporting!

[Divine Discontent]

6. I've always wondered..

not sure why county HQ's don't order 100 signs and make them donation.

and what's with http://www.casey06.com / site not allowing me in even when I hit "skip"? maybe it's only temporary, hopefully it's not an ongoing prob. It just goes back to the signup page over & over.


www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable

[globalvillage]

9. That's odd.

It's not the main URL, but you'd think it would redirect.
Try www.bobcasey.com

[Divine Discontent]

11. ah! thanks.. and yeah, odd. n/t

[MH1]

4. Thanks for this

I know people who have met Casey, and they all think he is wonderful.

He is not in perfect alignment on our issues perhaps, but he is way better than Santorum, and I think he will bring professionalism, thoughtfulness, and genuine concern for his constituents to the job.

[calimary]

7. Yay! The fifth vote!

I want more people to see this. santorum has been gaining on Casey, which is worrisome. I sure hope Casey fights back, and fights back HARD. I'd hate to see that sanctimonious little prick pull through on this one.

[saltpoint]

8. Couple of basic rules. One, you don't leave garbage sitting out on the

curb for more than a day; and Two, you don't let hate-mongering Repukes like Rick Santorum have more than a single term in Congress, if that.

And Ricky's long overdue to be shown the door.

Democrats all over the known world will be cheering their heads off if Bob Casey can vanquish Rick Santorum on November 7th.

Here's hoping it happens in landslide numbers.

[Ignacio Upton]

10. If I could meet Casey, I would tell him this:

Be more aggressive against Santorum, and don't let him trample over you. Casey also fumbled on a few questions, including responding the to Republican narrative about Democrats being "obstructionist" and he didn't give a satisfying answer on Iraq. It also took Tim a lot of prodding to get Casey to say "no" to the "knowing what you know now, would you have voted for the IWR" question.

Casey also stumbled on Iraq and Social Security. On the issue of privatization, he was right about the hypothetical 1% economic growth figure, but he should have said flat out: "there is no crisis, and here's why." He should have also hammered Santorum on Bush's support for mean's testing, and about the enormous transition costs of going over the private accounts (and about how economists have said that privatization will not fix the solvency problem.) He should also not be afraid to support raising the cap on the FICA tax, as it does have majority support in the public opinion polls that asked about doing it as a question.

[Divine Discontent]

12. you could do that on the spot? that'd be good advice. n/t

[young_at_heart]

13. I lived in Pittsburgh when Santorum was elected.....I was shocked!!

At that time I disliked him intensely....now I can only wonder how he so easily pulled off what he did. I pray that my former state can vote him OUT for good!

[blue neen]

14. Money, lots and lots of it.

Did you know that Santorum is the recipient of the second largest amount of contributions given out by BIG OIL? Not surprising, is it?

He's also appealed to all of the gun owners and hunters in PA who are so afraid that Democrats will "take away their guns." Well, that issue is off the table in this election because Casey is a supporter of gun rights also.

PA is a very conservative state in a lot of ways. Sometimes people outside of PA don't understand just how conservative it can be. I talked to a Republican today at the park who was disgusted about the war in Iraq, which is what brought him over to our tent. He said, "But, I'm pro-life. I have eight kids." Well, I told him that Casey is pro-life too, but also is PRO-FAMILY. He then got to meet Casey, took our literature, and seemed pretty impressed.

[EndElectoral]

15. Lucy may have liked Little Ricky, but PA has had enough

[samsingh]

16. is Casey focused on winning?

[blue neen]

18. I know that he has been campaigning constantly.

His staff has been working on getting out the vote. They've been doing door-to-door canvassing in our county for the past couple of weeks. There is a large canvas set for Sept. 16 for some small cities in this part of the state where it's very important to get the voters to the polls.

[samsingh]

20. that's encouraging, thanks.

[snowbear]

17. ~~ Awesome! Go Casey, Go !! ~~~

~ ~

[joanski0]

19. After reading your original OP, I

went to www.bobcasey.com and found their store. They have yard signs for sale, so I ordered five. They are $7 something each. They also have T shirts and hats.

[Bunny]

21. Way to go, blue neen!

I thought about going to Northmoreland, but family obligations won out. Sounds like he had a good turnout.

My only criticism of Casey's campaign style is that he is too laid-back. This race is basically his to lose, but he can't just sit back and let Ricky build up any momentum. I know he needs to conserve his funds, so I'm going to donate later next week when I get paid. But it's now after Labor Day, and it's time for Bob to turn up the heat.

Glad you got the chance to talk to him!