philly

Pennacchio on PCN Call In Tonight

Chuck Pennacchio will be on the PCNTV call-in program tonight from 7p - 8p. Find PCN on cable in your area. Here in Philly via Comcast it's on channel 63 and if you have digital cable channel 185.

The call in line: 877-726-5001

Ask Chuck why he's running.

Ask Chuck about where he stands on the issues.

Ask Chuck why he can beat Alan Sandals, Bob Casey and Sen. Man on Dog.

Ask Chuck how he plans to better Pennsylvania and the United States.

Ask Chuck how you can help.

Chuck will probably be somewhere near you [if you're in PA] sometime soon. Check the events schedule and see when you can meet him in person.

Drinking Liberally 6p

If it's Tuesday, it's Drinking Liberally

It's that time of the week again! It'll be nice to wind down the day with a few drinks [$1 off specials] and free Buffalo wings at Tangier [1801 Lombard St] from 6p - 9p. It always is. And volunteering more and more hours every week on the Pennacchio campaign, [it's basically a 2nd job at this point, a fun job, but 2nd job-like hours!] the little breaks here and there are that much more fun.

I wonder if we'll have a few more visitors, some of those entrenched folk, after the article and the Doc's invitation. Either way, it's 70° and I'll be drinking a Guinness outside.

Senate Debate Wrap Up & Video

eRobin has a post up on PhillyBurbs.com with a wrap up of the debate as well as a link to the downloadable .mp4 video of the debate [266MB file].

So, there ya go Noz, the link to the video.

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In their closing statements, the candidates had this to say... Alan said that he tells the truth and doesn't exaggerage and stresses his record as a pension lawyer as proof of his desire to fight for Pennsylvanians. Chuck listed his thirty-three years of coalition building, grassroots organizing and experience on the Hill and in previous winning Senate campaigns. He called on PA voters to bring him to DC because right now, the Dems need a "voice of conscience" in DC. Chuck said that we are experiencing crises right now, but on the flip side of crisis is opportunity and we have the opportunity now to effect change. Bob humbly asked for the vote in the primary [I don't think Schumer and Rendell would know humble if it was dropped on them via a 50 megaton payload]. He seemed stunned at the crowd's overwhelming response to Alan and Chuck's words and seemed worried, but maybe it was the eye makeup he was wearing.

After it was all over, many in the crowd made their way to the stage to speak with the candidates. Chuck was swarmed before he could leave the stage and was talking to the people while crouching down. He's pictured above hugging a supporter from the stage with cameras clicking behind them. We didn't get out of there for a solid half hour. We headed across campus to Ben's Underground to meet with some of the college Democrats for an afterparty. About twenty of us had some yummy greasy food and Oreo cookie milkshakes and discussed the debate, what there is to do between now and May 16th and what greasy foods to get seconds of. We finally headed home on the turnpike back to Center City around 11p.

It was great to get out Lancaster again to see the gang from my trip out there last month after St. Patrick's Day. They're an incredibly enthusiastic and well organized group out there. It was great to sit and watch the debate live and in the flesh. You take a lot more in than via the television, the crowd plays a large part in framing the feel of the debate and the crowd was very receptive to the Progressive message Chuck put forth. I wish they'd have another debate, this time in the Philly area, so that more people could see them all live. But Bob refuses to agree to do so.

I'll be volunteering tons of hours between now and May 16th for the Pennacchio campaign and I am sure that he will defeat Man on Dog in the general election. If anyone would like to get involved, please hit me with an email.

Oooh, and I almost forgot, I got to meet Carrie Budoff, the Inky writer covering this race along with other PA politicos. It's always cool to meet people whose writing you read. Catherine Lucey of the DN was there too, but I didn't know who she was. Meeting Will Bunch of the DN and Dan Rubin of the Inky give an added dimension to their writing. I've been approached at several events, last at the immigration rally, by people who somehow recognize me [there are like 2500 posts on this thing with maybe 5 of them with a photo of me]. I wonder what their first impressions are. I'd guess: "He's much shorter in person and curses like you dropped a 16lbs bowling ball on his big toe."

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The issue of lobbyist/special interest money came up on several occassions within the context of several questions, but mainly in the sixth question which addressed earmarking of bills and lobbying money. Bob said that the system is broken and that things being earmarked in larger bills [I think this is also called "paperclipping"] deserve the same light of day as the full bill itself. He said that "sunshine is the best disinfectant" and I actually agree with him on that [stop the presses, what time is it?] Unfortunately, he has no problem with taking special interest money and doesn't seem to think that taking money from the same donors as Man on Dog is a problem. Alan is opposed to overnight earmarks and brought up last year's PA pay raise scandal which happened, duh, overnight. He called out Bob for signing all of those checks [he's the PA Treasurer] which were all unconstitutional. Alan stated that he is against lobbyist money, but accepts money from some PACs, but does not have a specific calculus as to which he'd accept money from and which he would turn down money from. Chuck is the only PAC free and special interest money free candidate in the race and agreed with Alan that Bob the illegal pay raises were bad for all Pennsylvanians. He called out Alan for selling out his position on the issue of parental notification/consent to special interests. In an August interview with PoliticsPhilly.com, Alan stated that he was for limited parental notification and consent.

The ninth question addressed the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and whether or not we should withdraw immidately in accordance with the plan Rep. John Murtha (PA-12) put forth and the tenth question asked who were the most serious nuclear threats in the world. Bob said he was against immediate withdrawal and blamed BushCo for lying to get into the war and Man on Dog for being all frothy at the mouth over the war. Bob would have voted for the war with the information at the time and now feels that we need to finish the job since we're there. He called for an independent senator with no ties to big oil to lead; none of the candidates take money from big oil. Bob stated that the US government must leave all options on the table with Iran and North Korea, the two most dangerous nuclear threats. He said that there should be negotiations first, but that the military and The Bomb should still be used as leverage in the end, as BushCo currently feels. Alan favors the Murtha plan and adds that it does not call for an immidate withdrawal as in tomorrow the troops come home, but over a matter of months [I think he said six to nine months]. He said that by the end of 2006, the US troops should be limited to border patrol and redeployment in hot spots. He echoed the Bush categorization of North Korea and Iran as charter members of the Axis of Evil and that coalitions are needed to talk to them as the US cannot do it alone.

Chuck started off by asking his fellow candidates to call for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to a round of applause from the crowd. It was at this point [about seventy-five minutes into the debate] that a Casey supporter [he had on a sticker] behind me said to the person sitting next to him "[Chuck] is making all the right points" to which I grinned. Chuck also agrees with the Murtha plan; he's been calling for a withdrawal since June of 2005. Chuck also favors redeployment in hot spots. Chuck also listed North Korea and Iran as the most dangerous nuclear threats, but stressed that threats of nuclear force is not the way to go. He called for the US to embrace a nuclear non-proliferation treaty and lead by example. He called North Korea the source of the world's loose nukes and stressed that a dialogue must be opened up with Iran as they are currently years away from developing nuclear bomb making capabilities [a Right wing lie!].

The twelfth and final question asked the candidates why they would make a better senator than Man on Dog. Bob listed the 181K jobs lost in PA since 2001 and the 17K who lost health insurance since 2001 [but Bob's expanded healthcare plan addresses child healthcare coverage and not universal coverage as Chuck and Alan espouse and recently the CEO of GlaxsoSmithKline endorsed and called financially feasable]. Alan started off by saying that living in the state of PA would be a start. He cited ties to lobbyist money and big oil by Man on Dog. Chuck reiterated his true independence from special interest money as the PAC free and lobbyist free candidate - the only candidate not beholden to anybody but his constituents. He called Man on Dog an absentee landlord and a preacher of bigotry through hate.

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All three candidates wore suits this time, I guess Casey got the memo that Thurston Howell attire of a navy blazer and khakis is not appropriate for a fucking Senate debate. However, he did not get the memo that he has a huge unibrow. Sorry, but it's just there, I couldn't stop myself from gawking. It's just as distracting as Peter Gallagher's pair of caterpillars, but not as heavy, but only one continuous line. The opening statements started off with Chuck Pennacchio who corrected the moderator's pronunciation of his name. She was saying it with a soft "ch" sound as in "change" instead of the hard "cc" as in the end sound of "clock". She said she was told to not pronounce it like "Pinocchio" to which Chuck quipped back, "No, I'm not Pinocchio, that's the other guy [Sen. Man on Dog]" to a round of laughter from the crowd. Chuck got the center podium, he looked very comfortable even though he was a little under the weather.

Bob started off by saying that he wanted to earn our votes. This is quite different than the Rendell-Reid-Schumer triangle of "VOTE FOR HIM OR WE WILL KILL YOU" method they've been playing to date. I can't think of a single thing that Casey has done on the campaign trail to earn a single vote other than declare himself a Democrat. He came out for the nominations of SCOTUS nominees John Roberts and Samuel Alito. He said that he wants to overturn Roe v. Wade. He said that we should stay the course in Iraq and keep the nuclear option on the table for Iran. He turned down numerous opportunities to debate in the Philly metro area, home of a third of the voters in the state... If that's "earning" a vote, then I should've "earned" a raise of $1M since I go to work everyday and work. Hearing him live in person for the first time definitely showed me just how boring he is. His voice is upper nasaly and he sounds like he's got a mute on, his voice is muffled. Anyone who has taken a public speaking 101 class or speech class in high school or, say, watched TV every knows that you can't just talk in a monotonous voice. It just puts people to sleep. Casey's good at that; putting people to sleep with his "stances" and when you add in his delivery, you've got Candidate NyQuil.

Alan sounded particulary whiny tonight. Which is better than his normal monotonous tone. Nice guy, I've met and spoken to/with him several times, just not a lively guy. He was much livelier tonight though jumping on Casey for not wanting to rebroadcast the debate to make it more available and for not wanting to debate again in Philadelphia and Harrisburg; he got a round of applause for that, we all wanted more debates.

The debate was moderated by NBC local affiliate WGAL8 co-anchor Janelle Stelson [pictured above speaking with Chuck after the debate] who brought some personality to the moderator position. She was more than a person just reading questions. During the opening statments, she quipped in with a little personal comment to each candidate and interjected between questions with follow ups outside of the alotted time when appropriate.

The first question of the night asked the candidates what their first three pieces of legislation would be. Alan was up first and stressed addressing the problem of global warming to which he said that Congresses in the past had passed up crucial opportunities to help the environment; pensions, with too many corporations getting through too many loopholes in escaping payments; elderly working program where people sixty-three and older, if they were to choose to stay in the workforce, would receive untaxed wages/salaries as long as they made under $30K. Chuck stressed universal healthcare to save $163 Billion by eliminating the overhead from private insurers; bilateral trade allowing fair trade instead of free trade and addressing the immigration issue; a living wage, he noted that 25% of Americans and Pennsylvanians are working and still in poverty and concurrently implementing a progressive tax on the top 2% having them pay 50% in taxes - under Ike, the tax rate on the same 2% was above 90% and that tax base helped establish the US as an economic superpower. Bob wanted early childhood education for four-year-olds; fiscal discipline; ethics reform where he railed on Sen. Man on Dog [speaking of ethics, Bob takes money from the same people as Man on Dog].

The fifth question of the night addressed Supreme Court (SCOTUS) appointments and whether or not one should have a test to determine how one should vote for a nominee and whether or not a filibuster is a proper procedural measure. Chuck started off by saying that the partisanship in the nomination process has been largely Republican as they have control of all three branches of government, they're the ones driving the partisanship. He noted that it was a sham to watch his Democratic colleagues "question" the recent SCOTUS nominees Roberts and Alito and that they took the non-answers as answers. He stressed that he would never ask for permission to filibuster from his Democratic collegues; he would simply filibuster and he would've filibustered the Alito nomination. Bob said that he is against getting rid of the filibuster completely, but that he felt that Alito's testimony was truthful and straightforward. Was he watching the same hearing as I was? He said that there should not exist a litmus test, but a consideration of a nominee's character, experience, judicial temperment and judicial philosophy. I'd say that Alito's a pretty shitty choice based on that, but then again, it seems as if we watched different hearings. Alan had been sounding more and more like he was advertising his firm than simply relating issues to him being a practicing pension lawyer running a small business. He asked about the individual litmus tests on choice, civil rights, labor, environment, womens rights - Alito fails all of those litmus tests [touché!].

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The debate itself was great. But there were stupid rules. Like not being able to take any audio, video or still photography unless you were a credentialed reporter. Fuck you too. I went inside the building carrying a heavy box of Chuck Pennacchio brochures in my hands with my camera bag over one shoulder and my camera across my chest. Two cops stop me and tell me that I can't bring my camera into the debate. I tell them I'll put it away later. They give me a look as if they want me to put it away right in front of them. And then I say that I can't, you know, with this heavy box of stuff in my hands and all. Whatever. And I put the box down and lay out the brochures on the table and people start grabbing them up as quickly as I'm putting out another stack. I head down the hallway to the gymnasium to get a good seat before they're all taken and I'm stopped again, looks like a PR person. She asks if I'm a member of the press [I still hadn't put away my camera because I wanted to get inside quickly]. For a moment there, I think about lying about it to give myself unfettered access all arond the debate floor. But, I didn't, and told her I'd put my camera away as I got to my seat [which I did].

There is an additional rule against using the official debate footage. The campaigns were not to use any of the video footage from the debate of their opponents [or even snippets of themselves?]. PCN talkshow host and professor at Franklin & Marshall [the host of the debate] Terry Madonna had this to say:

"We didn't want this forum in an academic environment to be used by the campaigns," Madonna said. "We are not in the business of helping people win or lose elections."

Now what kind of bullshit is that? What the hell is the fucking point of a debate if you can't show it to the public? While the debate will be re-aired on Lancaster's NBC affiliate in a couple weeks in two parts and perhaps nationally via CSPAN [sweet], it's not easy to get people to sit down and watch almost two hours of debate. Back and forth exchanges on an issue here and there are more effective methinks. But what the hell do I know, I'm not the one pulling strings behind the scenes like Madonna. His hair seemed weirdly dark to me, sorta like he used some of that spary hair stuff, anybody else notice that?

So, I don't have any photos of the debate. I did reel off a bunch afterwards though once the debate was technically over.

There are already three good play by play liveblogs of the debate, so I won't go into every detail. From Politics Philly, Above Average Jane [who watched the first hour] and Factesque who even adds her own in-line color [awesome] commentary while live blogging; eRobin must be one quick typer.

The AP reported that the crowd was about 500 people attended the debate. There was a walkway above the debate floor where the candidates walked along before the debate. I'm assuming they met upstairs to go over the ground rules and draw for the order of opening/closing statements and the order of questioning. First to walk to the doorway leading behind the stage floor was Bob Casey. A round of "Casey" chants came up from the crowd. Closely behind was Alan Sandals who got some shrieks from the crowd. The same person [or few people] kept on shrieking through the debate. It was such an annoying hi-pitched shriek. A few seconds after Alan was Chuck. The crowd wasn't reacting at first, but then he hit the halfwaypoint to the door and then we all went wild. A huge contingient [more than I had met earlier and more than I had anticipated] got up to a roaring standing applause. He held up his fist in the air to us as he rounded the corner to the door. We kept cheering for another few seconds. The people on the floor with their Casey stickers on looked absolutely stunned at our enthusiasm. I really think they were shocked at the response Chuck got, fuckers never knew what hit 'em.

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Montville Mayor and Chuck Pennacchio supporter Connie Guy took the stage and gave a wonderful speech about changing America, getting Sen. Man on Dog out and voting in Sen. Pennacchio.

Editor and Publisher of OpEdNews.com Rob Kall got up to speak to the crowd. The same man behind the PA Zogby poll which broke ground as the first poll commissioned by a progressive organization about a Senate race. Kall spoke of change as well and backed it up with the stats from the Zogby/OpEdNews poll; when voters know the stances on the issues, Pennacchio comes out on top.

Just about everyone there had on a button, but this guy's flat brim old-schoolie with "Outsource Santorum" bumper sticker stuck onto the front was a nice creative twist.

Chuck closed out the rally and got the crowd riled up with a call for us citizens to take back our country. He noted that he didn't want to get too hyped up just yet so that he could save his energy for the long debate which was to start only thirty minutes later. I haven't seen him run out of energy yet. It's quite amazing being this close to a candidate and to the heat of the campaign to see him day in and day out heading to event after event after event just about every day now. This marked his 297th event on the campaign trail since the 2004 election. Number 296 was yesterday morning as he accepted the endorsement of the grassroots organization Neighborhood Networks at a press conference in Rittenhouse Square.

Some more shots from the rally in a flickr set.

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Yesterday's pre-debate rally, the debate and the post-debate gathering with the college Democrats were all great. Aside from the über slow start to get out to Lancaster [traffic was crawling on the turnpike so we had to detour to 202 and then 30 to get out there], everything went pretty smoothly.

Once at Frankline & Marshall's campus [that's where the debate was], we unpacked ourselves from the car. I can't recall the last time I was in a 4-door sedan with five total people. The trip wasn't bad though, the company was great and I got to whine about how I hate baseball, don't think [professional/MLB] baseball players are real athletes, how I hate golf and my liking of peanut butter, but the extra chunky, not that smooth crap. Rivalvies were made with my fellow backseat carmates.

There was already a sizable crowd out at the rally at about 4.30p. The crowd grew to about seventy-five or 100 soon afterwards. We weren't there alone though. By the entrance, there was a group of what looked like the nastiest of the nasty, college-aged young Republicans. I don't understand them. And not only were they pro-Santorum, they brought out their stupid PA-Sen mascot "Bobby the Duck" - probably the lamest move I've seen from the Right since the idiots who dressed up as foam flip flops when Michael Moore came to Philly to speak at Temple in October of 2004. Sad. So sad. It almost makes me feel sorry for them, but then I remember who they're supporting and I don't feel so bad anymore.

On a side note, oh how I loved that horrible 1986 movie Howard the Duck. I don't know how many times I watched that on WPIX channel 11 in NY back in the day, maybe as many times as the Johnny 5 series. My favorite exchange during the movie: When Howard sleeps with the human woman the next morning the woman picks up a handful of feathers from the bed and asks: "What's this?" Howard looks to her and says: "Souveniers" — oh the hilarity. I swear, only Austin out in Chicago will get this. If not him, nobody.

The parking lot was filled with cars like the one above. Anti-W. Anti-Sen. Man on Dog. Pro-Chuck. It was quite awesome.

A band came on stage to entertain the crowd before several speakers and then Chuck Pennacchio came up there to speak for a few minutes to get the crowd going before we filed inside to get some good seats. The band was great and the guy on the mouth harp [can't see him, he's behind the lead singer/guitarist on the right] was sweet. I love me some harp.

PA Senate Debate 7p

I'm headed out to Lancaster today to attend the second Democratic PA senate primary debate. It's on tonight at 7p on PCN [channel listing]. They livestreamed it on the PCN TV website last time and they may very well do so again this time around. I'll be there early for a Chuck Pennacchio rally and I'll be rooting for Chuck during the debate. Hopefully I'll get some nice shots along the way.

Factesque and PoliticsPhilly will be livebloging the debate. eRobin's liveblog of the first debate. The first debate in full — that's a 214MB file of good quality QT format video clocking in at 1.5 hrs so don't save that file unless you're on broadband.