Above is a drawing by Brenna Lorenz from State College, PA, she emailed it to the Pennacchio team and asked us to use it as we pleased so there it is. She very well captures what I feel Bobby Casey Jr. is trying to do to the voters in Pennsylvania.
Jr. is currently running a stealth campaign. Not really running a campaign right now. He’s fundraising. Yes, that is a big part of being a candidate, but what he’s leaving out is the human interaction/contact part of a campaign that actually wins over voters. Chuck is out there every day meeting people. At house parties in Montgomery County, speaking to groups in Erie, standing in solidarity with students at City Hall where I live in Philadelphia. He’s all over the place.
Chuck doesn’t have to put on “a face” to go out to talk to people, he is who he is. Jr. on the other hand has to put on his donkey suit before he leaves the house as illustrated in the cartoon above. Brenna’s sentiment is one that I share, he is not genuine. He tries to take on “Democratic” stances on issues like stem cell research, choice and healthcare. On embryonic stem cells, he supports the federal funding of existing embryonic stem cells and not of newly cultivated ones [Update: Philly Inquirer article]– the position of the current Bush administration. That’s nice, since the ones that we have now are contaminated. Chuck is for the expansion of federal funding monies for embryonic stem cell research [.pdf]. Incumbent Rick Santorum does not want any federal funding whatsoever.
Jr. does not support the right for a woman to choose to have an abortion [Update: PA Catholic Conference 2004 questionnaire]. Chuck Pennacchio is a strong supporter of women’s rights. He believes in a woman’s right to choose. But let’s be very, very, very clear here. Nobody wants abortions. The Democratic party has been misaligned as a group of abortion-party having, unethical, anti-Americans. Abortions are to be rare. But they are also to be safe and they are to remain a legal option on a federal level, albeit a last one. If Roe v. Wade were to ever be overturned, yes, the states would have the right to say yea or nay to a similar piece of legislation, but then what happens to the women who now have to travel thousands of miles for what could be a life saving procedure; a procedure that could have been performed at her local hospital. Incumbent Rick Santorum has a zero rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America.
Jr. does not support a measure to provide universal single-payer healthcare to all Americans [Update: Centre Daily article]. Chuck Pennacchio is for single-payer healthcare [.pdf]. How can Americans live in the most advanced, industrialized nation in the world and actively deny access to those in need. Chuck Pennacchio wants to change that. By not accepting monies from PACs, he will not have to answer to them. He does not owe Big Pharma any favors. Nor the insurance lobby. Incumbent Rick Santorum stands strongly opposed to universal single-payer healthcare and would rather see the current “competition” between insurers keep prices low. Those of us with coverage [“us” meaning PA residents in general since that term currently excludes myself] can attest to how well prices have been kept low. There are some 1,300,000 unisured PA residents uninsured.
And while not a “Democratic” issue, it is an issue that cuts to the core, the war in Iraq. Chuck Pennacchio was against the invasion of Iraq from the start and believes that we need to get out of Iraq. He has drafted an Iraq Exit Strategy [.pdf]. Jr. stated that he suppored the use of force [as did incumbent Rick Santorum]. Jr. had this to say on Iraq and withdrawing our troops:
Some people think that pulling out is a good idea and a timeline is a good idea — I don’t agree with that.
That is not what the majority of Pennsylvanians and Americans thinks. The majority of Pennsylvanians and Americans want out of Iraq and want our troops to come home. The majority of Pennsylvanians and Americans believe in a woman’s right to choose. The majority of Pennsylvanians and Americans want access to affordable healthcare. The majority of Pennsylvanians and Americans agree with Chuck Pennacchio on the issues.
