[not to start a war with Kos, but I hope he takes a long look at these results and reconsiders his latest comments about the PA senate race- Boo]
He’s not well-known. His name sounds like Pinocchio. He’s a teacher. He doesn’t have money… All of those things have been said about my candidate for US Senate Chuck Pennacchio. Well, fuck that shit.
OpEdNews.com commissioned Zogby International to poll Pennsylvanians about the issues at stake. The Senate race, Alito, paper ballots, W, the War… The results are in and the analysis has begun.
The Santorum Casey race: When people find out about candidate positions on key issues Casey plummets from a twelve point lead to a dead heat, with a non-significant two point lead.
Santorum loses when matched with any of the democratic candidates. Both of the self identified progressive democratic candidates draw higher percentages than Casey, with Pennacchio having the largest percentage of votes against Santorum, at a not quite significant 4.4 points higher than Casey. Casey, at non-significant levels, actually gets MORE votes from Republicans once they find out more about him and Santorum.
[emphasis added]
There’s goes that whole name recognition thing. And this more than reinforces Chuck’s “viability” and “electability” two words I loathe, but some people like to use. People will vote for Chuck Pennacchio.
The poll found that an overwhelming number of respondents want some sort of paper record of their votes whether it be in the form of paper receipts or sticking with lever machines.
And on the national issue of Presidential wiretapping, respondents said that if W is found guilty of violating the law by wiretapping American citizens, 53.7% said they agree that he should be impeached.
This is only a preliminary analysis, there’s a shitload of data go to through and more findings will be released by OpEdNews.com in the next few days.
If your excuse in not backing Chuck was that he had no name recognition, you no longer have an excuse. If your excuse in not backing Chuck was that he has no money, open up your wallets and give it to him, he’s WINNING IN A HEAD TO HEAD POLL AGAINST RICK SANTORUM. If your excuse in not backign Chuck is that he’s a teacher, well, he’s a damn professor of US History, we need more people with that kind of background serving us in government. If your excuse in not backing Chuck was that his name sounds too much like Pinocchio, well, a friend of mine told me that it means “lucky” and penacho, the root of Pennacchio’s name means “pen feather / quill” so don’t sweat it.
This is great news for the Pennacchio campaign. Spread the word. Learn more about Pennacchio on his website. You can find his stances on the issues here.
Albert, this is huge.
This is fucking huge.
And I love your dollops of profanity in your fuckin’ awesome writing too.
Yeah, wow! I think I have send that “pinnochio” guy a little donation.
i fucking think so too. thank you very fucking much!
Fuck you, Albert. Pinnachio’s the man! … damn it … I can’t remember how to spell his name!
Okay. I cheated and opened a new window. Pennacchio … now I’m working on how to remember to spell it …
Penn for Pennsylvania …
— that’s a good start, Susan, and catchy too
acchio
— the sound my cat makes when she’s trying to cough up a hairball? I dunno!
starting a war? Aren’t you and albert the ones actually living in Pennsylvania? Just sayin’
I think Booman means “a war” in that Kos doesn’t think any of the non-anointed candidates are ‘viable’ and this poll states otherwise. People will vote for them, and moreso for Pennacchio.
Albert, what’s Howard Dean doin’ about all of this?
Probably a very tricky proposition for him to get involved in … but through some backdoor efforts …
Looks like Howard is staying quiet and not doing ANYTHING about this one. Reid took the lead with Schumer to convice Rendell that a pro-life candidate could win. Rendell, not wanting to face a challenge from Casey Jr for the ’06 Governor’s race, seemed to think that was good enough for him – at least that’s how this Pennsylvanian sees it.
However, his brother, Jim, the head of DFA has publically stated and is campaigning to only support candidates who want out of Iraq with a timetable. Casey Jr wants neither at this point. Chuck Pennacchio has wanted both for months, waaay before Murtha [also from PA].
My DFA branch [a pretty big one here in Philly] votes on it Feb 1. Should be interesting, there are a group of Casey apologists in mixed up in there, but this poll and the pro-Alito stance could really change some minds, I see it already has across the blogs.
What a fascinating and complete answer. You really know your turf, Albert.
I will be anxious to know the outcome of your vote on Feb. 1.
This poll SHOULD go a long way in convincing people.
P.S. I assume that some Pennsylvanian / East Coast newspaper columnists are getting this poll stuff too?
🙂 – I’ve learned quite a bit about PA politics in my 20 months here.
The vote at my DFA requires a 75% majority to go public with an endorsement. Otherwise, nadda. Many [if not most] of the other DFAs across the state have already come out for Chuck, as well they should.
I’ve been in email contact with the writers in the area and I’m sure the campaign is churning out press releases and will continue to do so as more info comes out through early next week.
Is Pennacchio’s 4.4-point lead over Casey at Casey’s “original” position or the “informed voter” position?
I can’t tell from the info Kall provided in his initial info release.
I’m pretty sure from what I understand that Pennacchio’s 4.4% lead is after voters are informed of Casey’s position on the issues.
But still this means that Pennacchio beat Santorum in his first poll by almost 7%. This is fucking huge! Give Chuck Pennacchio a big contribution. Then tell every Democrat you know to do the same.
Goodbye Senator Santorum, Hello Senator Chuck Pennacchio!
Still very impressive. However, I doubt it’s going to change the opinion of the stuffed orange partisans. They’re going to rely on an election where Casey’s positions on the issues don’t get brought up.
well, those big D OJ drinkers can stuff the issues away all they want and apologize or simply sweep under the rug all they want, but whatever. this poll was conducted just like the other polls in PA in regards to the senate race by Zogby and the results are astounding.
I want to see the internals.
I’m a little surprised that Casey isn’t getting more mileage out of his name recognition, but I am not at all surprised that Santorum is losing (even to Sandals), not am I surprised that Pennacchio’s positions have more appeal than Casey’s.
Ah, that’s the funny thing. Look at the results again. Purely on name recognition, Casey has a massive lead. Add in his positions, and that disappears.
You know the only part of the poll some of those dipshit Casey apologists at Kos will pay attention to is this:
“Casey, at non-significant levels, actually gets MORE votes from Republicans once they find out more about him and Santorum”.
They’ll be like, “But look the strategy of moving to the right works. Casey gets more Republican votes as they find out how what a truly right-wing nutjob he really is.”
Good thing the switch over is non-significant or you can bet they’d be applauding it.
And The newspapers better stop referring to Casey as the “leading Democratic challenger” soon. Chuck Pennacchio is leading in this poll and every damn pollster out there better start including him after this or they lose all credibility.
I’m a “Casey Apologist” (B/c I somewhat know him/family). Say whatever you want, but for the love of god-He’s not a “right wing nut job”. Give me a break. Get a hold of yourselves. On a few issues, he is on that side. But, he’d vote for Reid, not Frist. Additionally, he won’t be a Jeffords (and switch parties/become an Indy).
Let’s see which issues where he ends up on the other side of the aisle:
*Choice – he wants to overturn Roe v Wade
*Judge Samuel Alito
*Cheif Justice John Roberts
*Withdrawal from Iraq
*Embryonic Stem Cell Research
*Separation of Church & State
And issues that are more right than left:
*Does not support universal Healthcare
*Does not support a living wage [but does want an increase in min. wage]
*Does not support right for gays to adopt children
*Against gun safety laws [not talking about banning guns, but things like child safety locks that even the NRA supports]
Chuck Pennacchio’s stances:
*Pro Choice
*Against Alito
*Against Roberts
*Anti-war
*Pro withdrawal with a timetable
*Pro embryonic stem cell research
*Pro separation of church and state
*Supports universal healthcare
*Supports a living wage
*Suports the right for gays to adopt
*Pro gun safety laws
sums it up quite nicely.
If its casey or santorum, okay, casey will vote for Reid.
But if its casey or pennacchio it is a simple no brainer.
FPN,
Every once in awhile when I’m out flyering for Chuck I’ll meet someone who says “I’m supporting Bob Casey because I know Bob Casey Jr personally”.
But so what? If you knew Santorum personally would you vote for him? Look Casey may be a nice guy. (I was being somewhat satirical when I referred to him as a “right-wing nut job” in my post. But I don’t vote for people based on their personal character. I vote for people based on where they stand on the issues (and if I can trust them to actually stick to it).
So I’m sorry if I sound harsh but I think Bob Casey jr. is a DINO. He’s pro Iraq war, He’s anti-choice / stem cell research, he’s against gun safety laws and gay adoption rights and he would’ve confirmed Roberts and Alito for chrissakes!
attytood had a great blog on the top 10 reasons to vote for casey.
1. he would vote for reid instead of frist for senate leader
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
we can have a pennsy miracle
but for the love of god-He’s not a “right wing nut job”.
Yes he is. It’s not just on ‘a few issues’ that he sides with the wrong side of the culture wars and the religious right, it’s on all of them. And then there’s his stance on the Iraq war and the death penalty. How does he differ from Scalia? or Santorum?
We don’t care what he’s like as a person, like Alito, we’re not ever going to know him as a person. What we’re going to know is the effects his religious and political beliefs have on our lives and none of those effects are good. The two most important votes Senators make are votes to send our children into wars and SCOTUS nominees, he has failed both tests.
And no one who is ‘good’ on labor issues would vote to confirm someone like Alito.
They’re going to rely on an election where Casey’s positions on the issues don’t get brought up.
That’s certainly my perception. They’re not just trying (and rather ineptly) to run a stealth religious right candidate, they’re trying to co-opt (under the guise of demands to ‘party loyalty’) those who have the most to lose. And, as Casey’s endorsement of Alito demonstrates, with a candidate who will work against them from nbow till November.
It’s almost as if they’re more interested in furthering the religious right’s agenda than actually winning an election (and certainly any convincing self congradulatory proclaimations of tough realism or indifference to public policy are diminished every month)
This is the one primary in the nation to seize my passion with so much intensity I feel I must get involved or forever regret my inaction.
Casey’s platforms and endorsement of Alito? Screw that. And shame on Schumer, et. al. It’s time for us to send a strong message to The Powers That Be. They need to know we will never again sell-out to support “electable candidates” who do not represent our personal values or the most basic foundations of the Democratic Party. Count me in for Pennachio.
Having witnessed Cheney’s personal “crowning” of Norm “boot licking lackey” Coleman, and the subsequent cherry picking of Mark Kennedy for the 2006 Senate race, I know all too well the personal rage of unwelcome powers injecting themselves in state politics.
As a non-Pennsylvanian, is there anything I can do to support Pennachio, without digging too deeply in my empty wallet? (Admittedly, I’m a little gun-shy of investing my limited assets into a primary race after contributing so much to Howard Dean’s campaign)
“Democratic” candidates such as Casey are unacceptable at this crucial juncture in our nation’s history. If Casey wants to be a U.S. Senator, I suggest he challenge Santorum in the Republican primary, seeing as he appears to belong on that side of the aisle (with Lieberman and Nelson).
I don’t have much in the bank either, but every little bit helps. Chuck has encouraged supporters to give what they can, an patriotically at that, I chipped in $17.76 at the start and some more along the way in the last few months. I think I may have some extra money at the end of this month as well so I’ll chip in a bit more. $5 donated now is $5 the campaign didn’t have 5 minutes ago. $5 pays for a few extra gallons of gas to reach that town 40 miles down the road that he couldn’t otherwise reach in person.
We can all write letters to the local papers and to the national papers who will cover this Senate race like no other simply because it’s $antorum we’re all up against. When they hear that the Progressive candidate is gaining ground, and they in turn write about it, that will turn more heads, a beautifully vicious cycle.
And if you have the time, get to know the issues that he stands for which are listed here in a pretty comprehensive list. No other candidate in this race has a page comparable to that one. When you see people posting false comments, correct them. Don’t let them slide.
Thank you for taking an interest!
Thank you for keeping this issue in the light of day.
And thanks to you and Cali for the suggestions on how to engage.
Lock and load. I’m at your side.
to your local papers about this primary — voters across the country need to be aware of what happens in the back rooms of American politics, when the Powers That Be try to tell us who we should vote for regardless of their actual stands on the issues.
We were told we had to support John Kerry because he was “electable”…well, we’ve seen to our dismay how that turned out. (Hell, if Kerry hadn’t folded his tent in the face of voter fraud allegations, we might be talking about criminal proceedings against former President Bush right now…) “Electability” is a mythical beast, less believable than the unicorn or the dragon; the Imps of the Perverse forever seek to bring down the hubris of those who claim invincibility.
I’m for fair and open elections…meaning it’s the people who choose their representative, not some back room wheeler-dealers. I’m pleased that Pennachio and others have thrown a spoke in the wheels of the Casey bandwagon; what good is a “D” after a name if that person’s going to cross the aisle and vote with the Republicans against my (and other Americans) best interest?
‘Nuff said…wish I could move to Pennsylvania and vote for Chuck, but I did send him a little bit of California green…
Find a candidate in your area who will run with a progressive stance, will not take PAC money, and will fight for our rights.
Chuck is just a beginning. We need to find 99 other women and men to do the exact thing he is doing. We also need 1000s of men and women to run for local, state, and national office.
If there is no one in your area who will run, find someone who you think should and ask them to run (or try for office yourself). It is high time that Americans take back control of our country, the democratic process, and our values. Only our government can ensure Liberty and Justice for All, and only we can pick our leaders.
It’s not up to people like Markos who should be the Democratic standard bearer, its up to the people of PA. I
Please, I’m not trying to start a war, either — but Markos is a loyal supporter of the Democratic leadership. If Reid says jump, Markos jumps. Markos supported the May compromise that led to Roberts, and he has already written his January surrender post about why Alito is a done deal.
The question I have for those of you who live in PA is this: what do PA Democrats think about Alito and the abortion issue? Does Casey’s views reflect the majority of Democrats in PA?
(And by the way, I don’t care one bit what the majority of PA residents think, all that would be important is what the majority of PA Democrats think. Do you think the Republicans consider the views of non-Republicans when they support a candidate like Santorum? )
PA voters [don’t know the exact numbers] are as a majority [I recall seeing numbers of over 60%, but can’t find them now, arg] pro choice and even more so believe that Roe v Wade should be upheld.
I don’t recall seeing a poll about Alito.
Casey is anti-chioce immediately throwing him out of the mainstream of all PA voters [let alone the Dems] and is pro-Alito. Casey is big on PACs too, Pennacchio is against them and apparently, so are PA voters:
On election reform, 66% supported giving candidates a fixed amount of money, to prevent influence buying compared to 27% that supported allowing them to raise as much money as they want from individuals, industry, and corporations.
Oh how I long for publically funded elections to help level the playing field.
The December Q poll found (see question #39), 53% of Pennsylvanians think abortion should be legal in all or most cases (with 5% undecided).
http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x11379.xml?ReleaseID=858
As for the Iraq war see question 41:
41. Do you think going to war with Iraq was the right thing for the United States to do or the wrong thing?
Total Rep Dem Ind Men Women
Right thing 40% 71% 18% 36% 48% 43%
Wrong thing 55 24 78 59 49 61
Don’t Know 5 5 4 4 3 6
So as you can see a clear majority of Pennsylvanians 55 to 44 are against the war in Iraq and a majority 53 to 48 think abortion should remain legal in most cases.
Chuck Pennacchio is with the majority on every damn issue (with the possible exception of the death penalty. He opposes it and I’m pretty sure a majority still favors it. However, that didn’t stop Kerry (who is also anti-death penalty) from winning PA.
Oops that is 55% who think the war was wrong and only 40% in favor of it.
Chuck would’ve voted against the war and now he wants an exit strategy.
I’ve been away from the blogs for a day, so if this was noticed yesterday, I apologize for mentioning it again.
Last night Kos did a rundown of the present and possible future Senate. I was struck by what he said about the Casey candidacy (emphasis is mine):
Here’s the link to the larger piece:
reality check Kos mentions Casey
yes i saw that comment…and wondered where markos is getting his crack….casey has always been anti choice….did he really think he would come out as against the confirmation of a fellow catholic busy body who cant keep his nose out of a woman’s uterus?
please
where Bob Casey is suddenly running to the Right of Attila the Hun
I would be less annoyed if he would at least acknowledge that some of us and some organizations he’s repeatedly trashed recognised Casey’s far right inclinations and provided ample, reality based research and links to support these claims.
One wonders if he recognises that NARAL and the ‘sanctimonious women’s set’ have/had a valid point or two. It’s not as if these revelations about Casey are actually “sudden”. And imagine the pickle we would be in if the ‘experts’ had succeeded with Langevin.
Reality is that this was a major strategic blunder.
My thoughts too: Suddenly. Oh yeah, right. There was no idea at all about Casey’s views until just recently. Or is it that Casey has only recently begun to act “to the right”?
Maybe at some point the smoked-filled room types will realize that we are serious about the things that Casey opposes and by pushing him forward, they have just done their part in giving Sen. Sanctimonius a clear shot at another term.