I held a fundraising event for Kerry on the night of his convention speech in 2004 and it went really well. I would like to do something similar for 2006, and for a while I thought an anti-Santorum fundraiser would be perfect. My gay brothers and sisters, even the non-political ones, despise him due to his inane comparison of homosexuality to beastiality, and also due to
Dan Savage's brilliance. There's a gay bar near my Brooklyn, NY apartment where I would hold the event. It fits about 150 people and I know I can pack it and raise $1000 based on Santorum hate alone. Easy money for his opponent, Bob Casey Jr.
But then I started reading about Casey's faults on atrios, and researching his positions on issues. Oy.
Obviously the bottom line is he's a Democrat, he'll vote with Reid and the rest of them (we hope), he's one step closer to taking back control of the Senate, etc. If I lived in PA, I'd vote for him and do everything in my power to convince my neighbors to do the same.
But he's pro-life, I'm staunchly pro-choice and almost everyone coming to the fundraiser will be pro-choice. And according to this interview, his stem cell positions are atrocious. My sister is a Type 1 diabetic and this issue is of special concern to my family. There's lots more to be concerned about - Alito support, opposing gun control, etc. Not to mention the fact that he speaks in such a stilted, robotic fashion that he doesn't inspire confidence.
My questions are: do I go ahead with the anti-Santorum idea anyway or choose another race to focus on - maybe an upstate NY House race where the money raised would make a bigger difference? Is Bob Casey Jr. not all that bad in the grand scheme of things, and can I convey that to my fundraiser audience?
Thanks for any input.