I want to combat Nicholas’ claim that Casey is “gone on both issues”. First, when it comes to being pro-Life, Senator Casey made the compelling argument that being pro-life doesn’t mean you gut Planned Parenthood:
The fact is, Planned Parenthood prevents unintended pregnancies and reduces abortions. Blocking access to care at Planned Parenthood could have the exact opposite effect. By increasing access to all forms of contraception and high-quality contraceptive counseling, Planned Parenthood enables women to choose the methods that work best for their bodies and lifestyles.
This is particularly important in my home state of Pennsylvania. We need more health care not less. In Pennsylvania, Planned Parenthood plays an indispensable role in serving family planning patients that rely on the safety net. Right now, over 90,000 Pennsylvanians depend on the 32 Planned Parenthood health centers state-wide for care, including cancer screenings, contraception, STD testing and treatment, and well woman exams. Fifteen Planned Parenthood health centers in Pennsylvania are located in medically underserved areas or healthcare provider shortage areas.
Yet all this progress is at risk. The president and many Republicans in Congress have made it a top priority to “defund” Planned Parenthood and roll back women’s access to family planning care and contraception. The real-life effects of these policies are devastating. In the absence of family planning services provided at safety net health centers, like Planned Parenthood, the rates of unintended pregnancies, unplanned birth and abortion for all women in Pennsylvania could be 56 percent higher and the teen pregnancy rate could be 60 percent higher. And the idea that other providers could just absorb Planned Parenthood’s patients has been contradicted by those providers and by the experts ― in fact the American Public Health Association called the idea ludicrous. By increasing access to care at Planned Parenthood and focusing on family planning, we can build on the progress we’ve made and continue to lower the rate of unintended pregnancies and abortion and provide basic health care for women who cannot obtain much care any other way.
Also, when it comes to guns, Casey was right to see the light on gun control after the tragic Sandy Hook massacre:
Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. is one of the most unlikely evangelists for sweeping gun-control laws.
A decade ago the Pennsylvania Democrat won his Senate seat as a “pro life, pro gun” candidate, largely in the mold of his late father, a popular governor who fought his party’s liberal social values. His early stances on guns skewed right, including a 2009 vote allowing guns on Amtrak trains, and when a TV reporter in Pittsburgh informed him of the early details of the December 2012 elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., Casey gave what he now calls “the standard” answer.
“I don’t think new gun laws are going to change us,” Casey recalled Wednesday of his initial reaction to the massacre of 20 children and six educators.
By the time that weekend ended 3½ years ago, as Christmas approached and his wife and daughters accosted him over his views, Casey had a conversion. Casey has since embraced every major proposal to counter gun violence, including a renewed ban on assault weapons and enhanced background checks before gun purchases. On Monday, Casey was back in Pittsburgh to unveil legislation in the wake of the massacre of 49 people inside a nightclub popular with Orlando’s gay community that would forbid those convicted of a hate crime from purchasing weapons.
And Thursday night Casey will be among several dozen lawmakers honored by “Sandy Hook Promise,” a group pushing to end gun violence that was founded by some parents of the Connecticut children killed.
Casey faults himself for never really thinking about the gun issue until Newtown, coasting along with Pennsylvania’s traditional pro-gun views in a state where the National Rifle Association has held sway for decades.
When he returned to the Capitol after Newtown, Casey found it unacceptable that the NRA opposed any new laws.
“You’re saying that there’s nothing, nothing that the United States of America can do about that, absolutely nothing we can do, other than enforce the laws,” he said in an interview Wednesday, his voice breaking into a stutter at times fighting his emotion. “That’s when I said to myself: I can’t, I can’t, I can’t maintain this position anymore. It makes no sense.”
Also, it’s pretty hypocritical for Republicans like Nicholas to claim Casey is out of touch on this issue when Toomey himself campaigned on gun control and even having Obama praise him in a campaign ad:
President Barack Obama's approval ratings are so high, that even a Republican senate candidate is showing off the support he received from Obama back in 2013.
Republican Senator Pat Toomey launched one last 30-second ad on the Friday night before Election Day which received a lot of criticism from Democrats.
The spot uses footage of a 2013 speech from Obama praising Toomey and Senator Joe Manchin for proposing to expand background check on gun sales.
Although Obama has endorsed Democrat Katie McGinty in the race, Toomey's campaign hopes the ad will reinforce an image of the senator as bipartisan and independent.
Obama released a statement after the ad was released explaining, "Pat Toomey may have done the right thing on one vote, but courage is telling Pennsylvania voters where you stand on the tough issues, not just the easy ones like background checks. Pat Toomey won't tell Pennsylvania voters where he stands on Donald Trump, trying instead to have it both ways by telling different people what he thinks they want to hear. That's not courage. Voting to shut down the government and against bills to close the terrorist gun loophole isn't courage."
So yeah, Nicholas is just a flat out liar and hypocrite to attack Casey on this. But looking at Nicholas’ analysis as a whole, it’s still greatly flawed:
G. Terry Madonna, the state’s veteran political analyst, can’t understand why any Republican sees Casey as vulnerable, considering his political strength, President Donald Trump’s declining stature and the promise of a strong year for Democrats in 2018. It’s especially hard to understand why Barletta when he and Trump are virtually inseparable politically and why Barletta wants to give up a safe congressional seat to take on Casey, Madonna said.
“I have no clue,” he said. “I’m just puzzled.”
Madonna see no serious reason to doubt Casey’s strength. Casey opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal that Trump cancelled and favors reforming the North American Free Trade Agreement like Trump.
“He may be now more liberal in his voting record, but on the whole he’s maintained his relationship with a lot of Democratic leaders through the northeastern part of the state and the southwestern part of the state,” Madonna said. “He’s not deserted the working class.”
Madonna said he thinks Trump could be a problem for any Republican next year, which is shaping up as a good year for Democrats.
Emphasis Mine.
Indeed, Senator Casey hasn’t abandoned the working class, but Barletta has:
The ads focus on Barletta’s votes for trade deals and the positions Republican candidates Paul Addis and Jeff Bartos have on them.
“Pennsylvanians deserve to know why Congressman Barletta voted to fast track TPP and supported deals with Korea, Colombia, and Panama that hurt American workers and cost us jobs. When push comes to shove, an ethically challenged career politician like Congressman Barletta can only be counted on to fight for his wealthy special interest backers. Pennsylvania workers and families deserve far better,” Democratic party spokesman Max Steele said in a statement.
The ad, a 30-second video, will be pushed on Facebook and Twitter targeting voters using a mix of geotargeting, likely focused in Barletta’s district, and voters across the state who will likely have a positive response to the ad.
A recent poll showed Trump’s approval rating in the toilet in Pennsylvania:
Pennsylvania was a key win for President Donald Trump, but the state’s voters now say the agent of change they helped send to the White House has become an embarrassment, a new poll shows.
NBC/Marist pollsters surveyed voters in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, three rust-belt swing states that tipped the Electoral College toward Mr. Trump. His approval rating in each of those states is now below 40 percent.
In Pennsylvania, 41 percent of voters strongly disapprove of the job Mr. Trump is doing. Another 13 percent disapprove, but not strongly. Meanwhile, 35 percent either approve or strongly approve, and 10 percent of respondents were unsure.
Fifty-seven percent of Pennsylvania voters said they have an unfavorable impression of the president compared with 35 percent who have a favorable opinion and 10 percent who were unsure.
Sixty-three percent said they president’s conduct has embarrassed them, while 25 percent say it has made them proud.
Just over half of Pennsylvania voters say Mr. Trump is failing to deliver on his campaign promises to bring back manufacturing jobs to the U.S., while 37 percent say he is succeeding.
Sixty percent say the president’s decisions have weakened the country’s role on the world stage while 33 percent say they have strengthened it.
Sixty-two percent said they have no confidence or not very much confidence in the president’s ability to lead in an international crisis, compared with 37 percent who have “a great deal” or “a good amount” of confidence.
And Democrats like Casey and Governor Tom Wolf (D. PA) are benefitting from Trump’s cratering numbers:
Majorities of residents in Pennsylvania and the two other states surveyed had an unfavorable view of both parties. Republicans fared worse, with 57 percent of Pennsylvanians reporting an unfavorable view of the GOP, and 45 percent reporting an unfavorable view of Democrats.
Forty-seven percent of Pennsylvanians said they would prefer next year’s congressional elections to shift control of Congress to Democrats, while 37 percent would prefer that Republicans maintain control and 16 percent were undecided.
One of those federal lawmakers seeking re-election will be Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, who drew a positive impression from 37 percent of Pennsylvanians, a negative view from 26 percent, and 38 percent were unsure or had not heard of him.
The pollsters asked about only one of his potential challengers, U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, a Republican from Hazleton who has not yet announced whether he will run for the statewide office. Barletta was largely unknown among the poll’s respondents, with 74 percent saying they hadn’t heard of him or weren’t sure of their view, 16 percent holding an unfavorable view and 10 percent having a positive impression of him.
The survey also asked how Pennsylvanians view Gov. Tom Wolf, who also is seeking re-election next year. Among Pennsylvania adults, 46 percent had a positive opinion, 35 percent had an unfavorable view and 19 percent didn’t have an impression of the Democratic governor.
By the way, the U.S. Senate race is not the only race the GOP is trying to double down on Trumpism. State Senator Scott Wagner (R. PA), who prides himself on being like Trump, is trying to get that anti-Semitic vote in Pennsylvania with his conspiracy theories and emphasizing George Soros’ religion:
In a YouTube video that captured the comments, Wagner said it was "amazing" that a guy who came to America from Hungary and "made a fortune" had a "hatred for America." Asked about his words "Hungarian Jew," Wagner responded in the video by saying, "I have a lot of friends who are Jewish friends," pointing out that one of his friends "had a father, an uncle and brother – there were three brothers that were in Jewish concentration camps."
OK, working backwards. No, they weren't "Jewish concentration camps." They were Nazi concentration camps. Again, it's like the difference between getting your knickers in a knot and having them around your ankles.
And "I have a lot of friends who are Jewish friends"?
Next thing you know, Wagner, in response to a story about Democrats outraged (outrage being the default setting in politics today) about what they believed to be Wagner's slow response to the events in Charlottesville, would be saying he has lots of black friends.
Wagner's comments about Soros generated a headline on Philly.com that stated, "GOP candidate for governor says George Soros rant not racist."
Not to nitpick, but it really wasn't a rant. Wagner was just talking to some guy named Sam who follows him around and records everything he does. And while it could fall under the umbrella of racism, it would probably be considered more anti-Semitic than anything.
And if, in Wagner's defense, you have to point out the difference between racist and anti-Semitic, well, let’s just say that's not good.
Wagner later defended his Soros comment by saying that if Soros were Catholic, he would have called him "a Hungarian Catholic" and that he meant no offense.
Again, there is a difference. Nobody believes that there is a secret cabal of Catholics who control our political system and the media and the world, just as nobody believes that there is a group of Baptists or Protestants or Catholics who exercise vast control over the levers of our civilization. OK, actually, there is. It's called the Republican caucus in Congress. But nobody pejoratively refers to Mitch McConnell as an "Irish Baptist" or Paul Ryan as an "Irish Catholic."
And, as far as I know, nobody pejoratively refers to the Koch brothers by their ethnicity – whatever it is – while complaining that they demonstrate a hatred for America by supporting conservative causes and policies that serve to further enrich themselves while siphoning off cash from middle- and working-class people. The Koch brothers, Charles and David, fund politicians like you buy groceries, spending hundreds of millions on political campaigns. (They were also the financial backers of the so-called grassroots Tea Party, and their father was among the founders of the whack-a-doo John Birch Society, which gave birth to a lot of the zany ideas that pass for conservative thought these days.)
See, there is a connotation to referring to someone as a Jew in the context that he is some kind of political puppet master and that he hates America. The neo-Nazis who marched in Charlottesville (can someone explain the significance of tiki torches?) chanted, "Jews will not replace us."
It was pretty clear where they were coming from.
And by whistling to this breed of dog, Wagner is playing to them. Sure, in response to Charlottesville, he said he abhorred racism and discrimination in any form. But by calling out Soros as "a Hungarian Jew," he sort of winks to those who don't share his revulsion for racism and discrimination and hopes he can count on them for their support. (Same reason our president-for-the-time-being said there were some nice neo-Nazis, as if those exist.)
Wagner, of course, saw no need to apologize, even as several rabbis and preachers called him out. He is what he is.
The GOP extremist ticket of Barletta and Wagner is dangerous not just for Pennsylvanians but for the entire country. Wagner is one of the lead obstructionists helping cause financial anxiety in Pennsylvania:
The rank-and-file House Republicans' plan for closing the state's $2.2 billion revenue hole in the 2017-18 budget is drawing diverse reactions from the three declared candidates running for governor next year.
The so-called "Taxpayers' Budget" unveiled on Tuesday would sweep more than $1.2 billion in accumulated reserves from 41 special accounts and combines that with an additional $1.1 billion would come from a combination of other sources.
Among them, court settlements, unspent funds from prior years, legislative surpluses, nearly $200 million in funding freezes in the current budget, and some tax shifts and tax increases.
Gov. Tom Wolf had some harsh criticism for the plan to fully fund the enacted $32 billion budget when talking to reporters following a Wednesday news conference about legislation to combat campus sexual violence.
"That's a bad idea," the Democratic governor said. "It's nonsense."
The special funds that that the GOP plan proposes to raid is money "dedicated to programs that really makes a difference in the lives of Pennsylvanians, volunteer fire companies, highways, 911 systems," Wolf said. "Those things would be jeopardized if in the unlikely event a majority of the House actually goes along with it. This is irresponsible."
Wolf went on to call on the House to "just do the right thing" by passing the compromise revenue plan that the Senate has passed to fund the enacted $32 billion budget and that House Democrats are willing to support.
Besides, he said to his knowledge, there isn't enough surplus funds in the special accounts to balance the budget despite what the House Republicans claim.
Sen. Scott Wagner, a declared GOP gubernatorial candidate, on Tuesday called the House's plan appropriate. He gave credit to the House members who took the time to dig into the special accounts and see what money was sitting in them in an effort to come up with a solution to the state's revenue needs.
And Barletta has voted to take away health care from Pennsylvania residents and children whereas Senator Casey is not only a champion of the Affordable Care Act, he’s also fighting to strengthen it:
Sen. Bob Casey reaffirmed his support for a public option fix to Obamacare, but withheld judgment on Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders's proposed Medicare-for-all legislation until he sees the text of the bill.
Mr. Casey, D-Pa., made the statement Monday after speaking during a Labor Day event at Freedom Corner in the Hill District.
Mr. Casey also said that he believed a bipartisan effort would be possible to reinstate or maintain the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program should President Donald Trump end the program in a scheduled announcement tomorrow.
On health care, Mr. Casey said, "With the opportunity to fix some of the competition problems, I think for a Medicare-like public option, now, we've got potential to get things done."
"Republicans will mostly vote against it," he acknowledged.
Regarding Mr. Sanders’ single-payer bill, which is expected to be introduced this month, Mr. Casey said, "I just haven't seen the bill."
The bill received a boost last week when freshman California Sen. Kamala Harris announced she would co-sponsor the bill. Mr. Casey did not rule out support, but said, "I have got to see how they put the bill together."
And if guys like Barletta think gutting DACA is a winning issue, he’s sorely mistaken:
CARLISLE--The rain didn't stop them from crowding into U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta's office to urge him to change his views on immigration. But some expressed doubts it will do any good, saying the only practical action is to vote him out of office.
About two dozen protesters showed up at Barletta's local office Wednesday as part of protests held around the state and country to persuade members of U.S. Congress to oppose and denounce President Donald Trump's stances on immigration, and to clear the way for so-called "dreamers" -- undocumented immigrants brought here as children -- to legally remain in the country.
They carried signs with statements such as "I stand with the dreamers," "Dreamers, not criminals" and "Where immigrants live, crime goes down."
Similar groups of six to 12 people similarly visited Sen. Pat Toomey's office in Harrisburg and Barletta's office in Lower Paxton Township in the afternoon.
Barletta wasn't at his Carlisle office, but the protesters were welcomed inside by Leah Sailhamer, who manages Barletta's Carlisle office. In a spirit of cordiality that's often absent from political exchanges in Washington, D.C., Sailhamer took notes on a legal pad until everyone had spoken and promised to relay remarks to Barletta as soon as he came off the House floor.
"They are Americans. They may not have the papers but they are Americans just as much as I am," said Howard Kolus, a retiree from Upper Allen Township in Cumberland County.
"These people bring a lot to us. They are sophisticated young people," said another protester.
Donnna Williams told the Barletta staffer she would encourage him to "actually study some facts about immigration" rather than be guided by "emotions."
"Immigrants built this country. All of us are immigrants," she said.
Another man said Congress should have passed immigration reform a long time ago, "before it became another bombastic statement from the president."
Trump will try and help his favorite Congressman defeat Casey because Casey got under Trump’s skin on this issue earlier this year:
Beginning with a digital bullhorn blast at 12:05 p.m. — “Twitter: it’s urgent” — Senator Bob Casey, Democrat of Pennsylvania, directed a cannonade of tweets at President Trump and his administration, describing the plight of a Honduran woman and her son who had sought refuge in the United States from the hit men who shot her cousin to death at home more than a year ago.
For Central American migrants like the Honduran woman and her son, fleeing the violence and lawlessness that have driven tens of thousands of people northward through Mexico to the United States over the last several years, asylum is often claimed and rarely granted. From 2011 to 2016, immigration judges denied from 77 to 83 percent of asylum requests from people from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, the three countries that send the most Central American asylum seekers, according to datacompiled by researchers at Syracuse University.
Many migrants, including the Honduran woman Mr. Casey posted about, do not even make it before an immigration judge. To reach that stage, asylum seekers must first pass an interview, known as a “credible fear” interview, with an asylum officer who determines whether there is a significant possibility that they will ultimately prevail. Some migrants and lawyers who work with them say that since Mr. Trump’s election, some border agents have turned away asylum seekers without so much as an interview, a potential violation of American and international law.
Mr. Casey sought to put the Honduran woman’s case on Mr. Trump’s conscience. Her case, however, unfolded largely under the auspices of the Obama administration.
We have to squash Trumpism everywhere but we really need to do it in Pennsylvania next year. Click below to donate and get involved with Casey and Wolf’s re-election campaigns:
Bob Casey
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