Nobody.
It was a packed house last night, but tons of first timers who were not eligible to vote. The returns out of forty eligible people who voted:
- 12.5% Alan Sandals
- 15% Bob Casey
- 37.5% Chuck Pennacchio
- 35% for no endorsement
To the five or six people who voted for Bob Casey, what the fuck are you doing in this progressive group.
To the fifteen or sixteen who voted to not endorse anyone, blech.
I should add that for the group to endorse, the candidate would need 75% of the vote.
As it stands right now, the national DfA will not endorse anyone in this race. I learned last night that national endorsements must start at the local level, I like that. But if Chuck Pennacchio fails to win the primary [and if Alan also doesn’t win] and we’re stuck with candidate Casey, if Philly DfA votes to endorse him [I WILL NOT], national DFA will not endorse him. Why? Because Jim Dean, Chairman of DfA, said so awhiles back. He started a national pledge drive which asked people to sign on to the following:
I pledge to only support candidates who:
- Acknowledge that the U.S. was misled into the war in Iraq
- Advocate for a responsible exit plan with a timeline
- Support our troops at home and abroad
Not only would Casey have voted voted for the war, he is against pulling out with a timeline. Pennacchio wants out and never wanted in in the first place. His Iraq exit plan [.pdf].
Now I mull the decision whether or not to become a member of the steering committee for Philly’s DfA. I told them that I would not be on the committee if the group endorsed Casey. I may have said that I wouldn’t sit on the committee unless they endorsed Chuck, but I forget. They do some good things. Good things I’ve taken part in. But I’m not sure how much energy I could devote to it anyways if I’m going to be volunteering for Chuck’s campaign through May.
