I received an e-mail invitation from the Dahlkemper campaign a few days ago to a rally in Erie featuring Bill Clinton. That happened today, and it was an interesting experience. Also, unexpectedly, Dan Onorato, Democratic Candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania, made an appearance. I have photos below the fold.
The event took place in a hangar at the Erie airport. Doors were scheduled to open at 9:00 AM. When I got there, there were about two dozen protesters standing across the street holding up signs reading "Abortion is not healthcare!" This was due to her vote for the healthcare reform bill, and ignores the fact that she opposes abortion as a policy stance. To me, this just seems like political theater of the absurd, but that's true of most right-wing protest, as far as I can tell.
[For the record, myself, I fully support a woman's choice in this matter. It's just not possible to elect a pro-choice Democrat in the hinterlands of Pennsylvania.]
Once the doors opened, 300-400 Democrats entered the hangar, where they were playing music from '70s-'80s bands. Tom Petty ("I Won't Back Down," "American Girl"), Bachman-Turner Overdrive ("You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet"), The Boss ("The Rising," "Born to Run," "No Retreat, No Surrender"). There was a reasonable mix of people of different generations, races, and economic backgrounds. There were a lot of union workers there, as well as a smattering of young people, but just a few African-Americans.
After waiting nearly an hour, some local pols came out to press teh flesh: the Mayor of Erie, Joe Sinnott, some City Councilmen, Kathy Dahlkemper, and unannounced surprise, Dan Onorato, Democratic candidate for Governor. Clearly, he felt he could benefit from the exposure.
Not too long after that, Mayor Sinnott addressed the crowd and introduced Dan Onorato to the crowd (who knew who he was anyway).
Mayor Sinnott, with Dan Onorato on the left:
Dan Onorato addresses the crowd:
Onorato talked about spurring recovery without making the massive cuts proposed by his opponent, State's Attorney Tom Corbett, and doing so in an environmentally responsible way.
After that, the pols disappeared, and we waited for another half hour or so before the main event. Kathy Dahlkemper came out, along with both President Clinton and Dan Onorato:
She spoke about her efforts to create jobs in the coming green economy (mentioning the high wind coming off the lake this morning), as well as touting her acheivements: healthcare reform, Wall Street reform, and the stimulus.
The President Clinton came to the microphone:
He started off saying that he had not intended to get involved in politics, that he was most interested in the work of his foundation, but then Hillary, in her current position, was not capable of stumping for candidates, so he has jumped back into the fray.
He spoke at length about the current political situation, the source of voter anger, and why it was dangerous, under these conditions, for voters to take an attitude of "Throw the bums out," since those thrown out would be replaced by candidates following the philosophy that got us into the recession in the first place. Clinton broadly described the budget goals sought be Tim Ryan, whom Dahlkemper's challenger, Mike Kelly, has embraced. Clinton said it would involve across-the-board 20 % cuts to everything, tax cuts for the rich, and the eventual privatization of Social Security. He spoke about the increasing inequality of income distribution that has come about over the last 30 years, all egged on by Republican policies. He talked about how the current crop of Republicans was even more unhinged than in previous generations. Addressing the angry voter, he asked, "Is this what you really want?"
He then talked about the achievements of the current Congress, and Kathy Dahlkemper's part in them. He brought up student loan reform, how it alters the payment schedule to make it easier to pay them back. He stated that fewer people were completing college because the found that they could not afford it, but the student loan reforms would change this situation, and since college graduates, by an large, are the ones who start business, this would be a spur for the economy. "If young people and college students would be made to understand this, and their vote mobilized, Dahlkemper would win hands down." (At this poitn, I made eye contact with a college student I knew
Clinton then talked aggressively about the advantages of the healthcare reform bill. Would that all Democrats would speak this way! Insurance companies can't drop coverage anymore! They have to include sick children. And he credited Dahlkemper in particular for the provision allowing parents to keep their adult children on their insurance policies until age 26. Clinton said that what insurance companies were most enraged about was the rule that 85% of income had to go to actual healthcare, rather than profits or advertising. He said how, despite their rhetoric, Republicans would never dare to repeal the bill in whole, but they could sneak in a line in some other bill that would reverse that 85 % rule.
Regarding the bail-outs, he said that was legislation that no one liked, but the bail-outs were necessary, and they worked. In the Wall Street Reform bill, he pointed out, bail-outs are made illegal. Republicans want to repeal that, too.
Clinton ended by saying "Right now I'm preaching to the saved." He incited us all to canvas and phone-bank, to reach out and do what we could to get out the vote for Democrats in general, and Dahlkemper in particular. "You could not have a better Representative in Congress," he said. Frankly, I had to agree with him. Yes, she's a blue dog, but she is one of the more progressive ones. The principle stumbling block with her is her position on abortion, and given the large number of Catholics and conservative Evangelicals in this district, that position will be the same for all successful candidates of either party.
Nate Silver only gives Dahlkemper a 6.5 % chance of winning this election. The polls have been brutal. Perhaps this is just the last hurrah. But I keep thinking that if GOTV were energetic enough, she could pull it out.
Update:
Oh, yeah, if you find yourself inclined to contribute to Kathy Dahlkemper's campaign, visit here.