It's endorsement week here at WDIK?. In Pennsylvania, a state I've driven through twice, Bob Casey has the support of the Democratic powers-that-be. Despite the fact they would have you believe he's the Democratic nominee, he has a couple of challengers for the nomination, and one of them, Chuck Pennacchio, has my endorsement, fwiw.
Yes, he has a funny name, but even if his name were Pennochio he'd still be a far better candidate than Bob Casey, who has endorsed Samuel Alito's nomination for the Supreme Court. (via Atrios) I don't think we need to wonder what kind of nominees Casey would vote for if he were actually the senator from Pennsylvania. There probably wouldn't be a hair's width of difference between him and that other Pennsylvania senator.
Chuck Pennacchio, on the other hand, says this:
I emphatically disagree with Rick Santorum’s support for a Supreme Court nominee who would diminish our constitutional rights...
We need more Democrats who emphatically disagree with their opponents. We don't need Republicans who slap a "D" behind their name and pretend to be the opposition.
I took a look at Chuck's website, and here's a bit of what I found:
Chuck is an expert in international diplomacy, served as Personal Aide to US Senator Alan Cranston and as Military Personnel Advocate for Congressman Ron Dellums, organized winning campaigns for Senators Tom Harkin, Tim Wirth and Paul Simon. Unlike his competitors for Pennsylvania's 2006 Senate race, Chuck knows how to win tough races and fight successfully for all Pennsylvanians as your United States Senator.
As an expert in American History and Politics, Chuck knows what makes an effective United States Senator: being informed about foreign policy, national defense and homeland security; considering all Senate business in a larger historical and constitutional context. Chuck’s understanding of our nation’s history and our Constitution is sorely needed in Washington now.
I like that he's an expert in international diplomacy. As an American ex-pat, I know our government needs to become more receptive to the international community. We've gone from being a laughing stock to a bully, from having a trade deficit to having a trade chasm. Not only our prestige, but our wallets have been affected by pretending the rest of the world doesn't exist except when we go to Wal-Mart.
They say a good candidate needs name recognition to win. Well, I don't know how you can find a candidate with more name recognition than Pennochio. I mean Pennacchio.
Vote for him in the primary on May 16 if you live in Pennsylvania, and if you don't, please donate to his campaign.
