Today is Election Day 2005.  This is the first day of the rest of our campaign to restore sanity to America's political process.  The World is waiting...

To illustrate the point, I met two Dutch women last night at a Philadelphia restaurant.  They happened to be present where my college alumni association chapter had gathered for a reception and dinner.  As the alums made their way upstairs for the dinner I peeled back for a moment to introduce myself to Ineke and Maria.  (I had noted their Dutch accents in passing.)

http://www.chuck2006.com

Maybe our Democratic Party does have some fight in it after all.  Other than its unified position against the Bush-Santorum effort to destroy Social Security by way of "privatization," the national Democratic Party has largely been AWOL on virtually every other political and policy question since 9/11.  Yesterday, however, came a positive signal that the leadership is not going to allow President Bush to change topics so easily -- that is, shift the battleground away from debilitating topics such as Iraq, Katrina, rising energy prices/Big Oil profits, Harriet Miers, fund raising scandals, and the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame, and onto the more successful ground of right-wing pandering and sure-fire Culture Wars.

http://www.chuck2006.com

The run-up to Halloween 2005 is proving to be George W. Bush's weakest week since he assumed office in January 2001.  This week marks the death of the 2000th American in the Iraq War quagmire, Harriet Miers' withdrawal from Supreme Court consideration, scandalous earnings reports by Bush's Big Oil buddies, and the indictment of Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis Libby, in the CIA leak scandal.  Is this the beginning of the end for Bush's strongest link, the radical right coalition of religious heads, talking heads, and GOP Party heads?

http://www.chuck2006.com

As United States Senator for Pennsylvania I would vote against the nomination of John Roberts to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Consistent with the Bush Administration's "politics as usual" approach to all questions of governance, Judge Roberts went before the Senate Judiciary Committee intent on hiding his judicial philosophy from the Senate and the American people.  This veiled and secretive approach to a matter as weighty as a lifelong appointment at the head of the Supreme Court is unacceptable.

A funny thing happened on my way to speaking before the Dauphin County Democrats this past Sunday in Harrisburg.  I had just arrived for my 3:30 p.m. speaking engagement when a campaign volunteer told me that my stage time would be delayed for a few minutes.  Lieutenant Governor Catherine Baker Knoll had unexpectedly shown up and was addressing the 75 or so Democrats who were enduring the summer swelter along the Susquehanna River.

http://www.chuck2006.com

http://www.newsmakersgroup.com/worldview/index.php?id=13

Candidates have come and gone in Pennsylvania's 2006 Senate race, but I keep my eyes on the prizes.  And so, too, must you stay focused with me--with us.

I will never be intimidated for ours is a citizen campaign in the truest sense of the word.  The Party establishment can't touch me--they can't touch us.  

In fact, after trying to ignore our successful outreach campaign in Southeast Pennsylvania (November-December 2005), and after wanting to laugh at our statewide organizing feats (January-May), establishment figures and unwitting surrogates now try to attack us, and the values we stand for.

Today's tragic report of deadly bomb blasts on London's transport network is
yet another clarion cry for America to lead a truly international campaign
against global terrorism.  We owe this to ourselves and our progeny, to our
heritage and our nation, and to all of our friends around the world.

First, my deepest sympathies go out to London's innocent dead and wounded,
and to their families and national brothers and sisters.  Like our common
forebears--victims of terrorism in the U.S. and every other region of the
world--we grieve over the senseless loss of life inflicted by zealous,
misguided, and armed predators.   We Americans must recommit ourselves to a
leadership role that, as in our most valorous days, from the American
Revolution through the Cold War, we have inspired humanity forward.

Good news!  We have now raised more than $10,000 in donations and pledges this week.  Our Spirit of 1776 campaign has ignited our drive to generate $1.776 million dollars before the May 2006 Democratic primary in Pennsylvania.

http://www.actblue.com/list/pennacchio  

To those of you who have given directly, commited to giving monthly, are in the process of giving, or are going to give in response to my "eleventh hour" (June 30) call for support--THANK YOU!

No matter what you contribute, $17.76, $76.00, $776, or $1776--now or on a monthly basis--I can assure you that you are on the front lines of a pro-democracy movement to restore governance to all citizens.  The cynics are sneering while we are organizing.  The establishment attacks us while speak up for, and fight for, progressive values and principles.  The opposition's support is a mile wide and half-an-inch deep while our support is 1000 yards wide and a mile deep.  At the same time, they are shrinking and we are growing...rapidly.

http://www.actblue.com/list/pennacchio

Now that President Bush has arrogantly ruled out a timetable exit strategy for America's War in Iraq, and Secretary Rumsfeld is predicting a 12-year-minmum insurgency, I thought it was high-time that I contrasted, in detail, my differences with pro-war Pennsylvania Senate candidates Bob Casey, Jr. (D) and Rick Santorum (R).  

Since both of my 2006 Senate campaign opponents embrace the president's quagmire, "fight 'til we win" approach, and since Casey has refused to say, to this day, whether he supported or opposed the unjustified Iraq War begun two years ago, such clarification is in order.

Before spelling out an Iraq exit strategy, however, it is important to remind ourselves why an American military pullout is vital to our national security.  

MoveOn.PAC is now conducting a poll among its Pennsylvania members to determine what, if anything, the organization should do about the 2006 U.S. Senate seat now held by Rick Santorum.
Regardless of how you vote on-line, I simply hope you vote.  This is an important opportunity to have your voice heard by a progressive organization with political bite.

http://www.moveonpac.org/2006/?state=Pennsylvania&id  

By now, the issue and values differences between Bob Casey, Jr. and I should be clear.  Indeed, the "choice is clear" on a host of issues--woman's right to choose, separation of church and state, universal health care, living wage, stem cell research, equal rights for gays and lesbians, the American War in Iraq, constitutional checks and balances (Terry Schiavo Bill), death penalty moratorium, and oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

It's been a while since we last spoke, and there is quite a bit I would like to update you on.  Just last week, I attended the Take Back America Conference in Washington, D.C.  It was a tremendous experience to meet so many Democrats committed to a message of progress.  Earlier in the week, I spoke with the Philadelphia chapter of Democracy for America and with members of the Chester County Democratic Party.  This campaign prides itself on having a conversation directly with the grassroots; we will defeat Rick Santorum because we are taking our case directly to the people of Pennsylvania--especially appealing to those with a demonstrated ability to knock on doors, make the phone calls, and get out the vote.

This race will not be won in the banquet halls of high-dollar fundraising events, smoke-filled backrooms in the State Capitol, or in the editorial boards of newspapers.  There is so much more I want to offer about where this campaign has been, and where it is headed, but today I want to ask you to participate directly in a project much like the one you helped with on March 4, 2005.  

Earlier today, Senator Rick Santorum, on the floor of the United States Senate, compared Senate Democrat attempts to preserve the rights of the minority party to Adolph Hitler's invasion of France.

I wanted everyone to know that while others sleep, we are doing what we can to push this story into the mainstream media.

We have video on the website of the remarks and our press release went out about a half hour ago.  The text of Chuck's statement, and link to the video for your distribution can be found in the extended entry.  

-- Tim

Update [2005-5-19 22:40:40 by Chuck Pennacchio for US Senate]: We just sent out an email to supporters with the video (you may have received it). We are going to attempt to distribute this video much as we did with the "Hey Hey, Ho Ho Social Security has got to go" video. Please consider contributing to the campaign and help us get this out. -- Tim

Today at 3 P.M. (EsT) I will be joining the students at Princeton University in their grassroots movement to protect the minority right of the filibuster in the United States Senate.

One hundred and sixty-seven hours ago, the group began what was originally intended to be two distinct 12-hour filibusters in front of the William ("Bill") Frist Campus Center.  As you know it has been the grassroots--through letters to the editor, rallies sponsored by MoveOn, and events like this--leading the fight against Republican attempts to trample the separation of powers and checks and balances that guarantee the minority's right to dissent.

The fight continues today, and I am honored that the students asked my campaign, a grassroots movement like theirs, to speak for an hour this afternoon.

http://www.chuck2006.com

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's public relations offensive of yesterday, against the filibuster, is yet another maneuver to turn his Party's narrow electoral majorities of the 2004 election into a mandate for unlimited political control over all branches of our government.  Frist, Santorum, and company want unchecked legislative power so they can weaken the judiciary as a check on their absolute power.
The "nuclear option" is a radical effort by Republican Senate leaders hell-bent on consolidating all power at the expense of Democrats, majority opinion, minority rights, and our carefully crafted constitutional system of checks and balances.  

Of more immediate consequence, right-wing Senators like Rick Santorum and Bill Frist want to guarantee the confirmation of anti-constitutional judges to our federal courts and, above all, to our Supreme Court.  

The last 10 days have been a whirlwind of extraordinary, inspirational, and eye-opening events for our campaign to defeat Rick Santorum in 2006.  Let me zero in on three of these activities to highlight why I believe we're on the winning track--a course that Pennsylvanian Democrats have not experienced in a full-term U.S. Senate race since 1962.

This morning I sat down with Ginny Schrader, who ran for congress in 2004 with the on-line community supporting her every step of the way.  Though Ginny lost to Michael Fitzpatrick (R-8th, PA), she learned a great deal that she is happy to share with me.  As "outsider candidates" we see eye to eye on many strategic and tactical questions.  Without revealing the specifics of our conversation, let me just say that my estimation of Ginny's political savvy and insight soared in the time it took to consume a hamburger and side salad.    

Update [2005-4-12 0:44:54 by Chuck Pennacchio for US Senate]: It's 12:45 at campaign HQ, and Chuck just went home for the night. Please keep recommending the diary so its easier for him to find and respond to your comments/questions in the A.M. -- Tim (ttagaris)

This weekend, we have seen the absolute necessity of the American people to have one Senator who will always stand up in defense of the United States Constitution and American values.  The GOP has run roughshod over the Constitutions of Florida and the United States in an attempt to score political points, quell rumblings of discontent from their base voters, and open the door to scores of reactionary judicial nominees.

The Terri Schiavo case has nothing to do with a "culture of life," as the Republican Party has  pushed its hypocrisy and arrogance beyond anything previously seen in modern American politics.

Listen to my latest pod/blogcast HERE.  More in the extended entry.

Now that the 2006 Pennsylvania U.S. Senate field appears to be set--Robert Casey Jr. and me--I wanted to share with you my excitement and a few thoughts on how I see this race shaping up.

As a reform-minded Democrat deeply concerned about the future of our party, the security of our nation, and peace of our globe, I am uniquely positioned to speak out and advocate on behalf of the progressive majority--the forgotten majority--of Pennsylvanians and Americans.

Update [2005-3-4 18:51:16 by Chuck Pennacchio for US Senate]:

Thanks everyone! I have to head out to a house party being hosted in my honor tonight. This is just the second piece of an ongoing conversation I hope to have with you over the course of the campaign.

Remember, we can do this everyday over at our campaign blog. Create a user name and let's keep talking. -- Chuck

With the video clips of Sen. Santorum's face-plant performance at Social Security events last week, plus our current run of blog ads, I thought this would be a great time to introduce myself personally to the larger blogging community.

My name is Chuck Pennacchio and I am running to take back for all Pennsylvanians the U.S. Senate seat now held by Rick Santorum.  Regardless of any other Democrat who announces over the coming days, weeks, and months, I am in this race to stay--I am in this race to WIN.

Update [2005-2-28 18:52:8 by Chuck Pennacchio for US Senate]: Thank you for the tremendous response. I have truly enjoyed the dialogue in the comments and am excited to do it again in the near future.

For now, I have a date with my wife and two children. Please, take five minutes and sign up on the website, learn more about the campaign, and register your blog on the bloggers page so that we can include you in our effort. Best -- Chuck

http://www.chuck2006.com