WTAJ TV 10 in Altoona, PA, just reported here that the GOP Mayor of Altoona, PA, Thomas Martin, has endorsed John Kerry, citing as reasons "lightly entering a war" and "Bring 'em on." I can find no online confirmation yet. Probably tomorrow
http://centredaily.com or
http://altoonamirror.com or
http://wtajtv.com will have the story. This is big because Altoona is the heart of the redneck, conservative "Alabama" part of PA. It is not State College (AKA Penn State), but a NASCAR, God, Guns, and No Gays blue collar town. This is Santorum Toomey Country. Cheney was down the road in Johnstown on Monday. The tide is turning. You heard it here first.
Kerry is going to have coattails. ACT, MoveOn and the State Democratic Party are all on the ground everywhere, even here in the "Alabama" part. Arlen Spector's number are plummeting, but Joe Hoeffel NEEDS CASH NOW. In the latest Keystone Poll, Specter was only polling at 44% and dropping. Hoeffel is still trails, but is within striking distance and closing fast.
Can he do it in time? Only if WE HELP. From PoliticsPA.com
Reporting just more than $453,000 cash on hand for the third quarter which ended two weeks ago -- compared to $3.2 million for incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter -- Hoeffel's campaign said money continues to come through the door to their headquarters on a daily basis, and fundraisers featuring Sen. Joe Lieberman and former-Sen. Max Cleland will provide a boost in the closing days.
[Hoeffel spokeswoman Kristin] Carvell pointed to the primary season where Specter outspent scrappy challenger U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey by a five-to-one margin and "eeked by" with a 1.2 percent margin.
People, a fundraiser featuring Joe Leiberman, come on. We can do better than this. Please contribute whatever you can now. Today, so they can buy some ads. Anyone who contributes in through this diary, I'll send you the best, most foolproof, perfect brownie recipe ever and a link to an MP3 of John Kerry's high school band, The Electras. Do it now. Do it for President Kerry.
Update [2004-10-19 21:8:24 by Grassroots Mom]: We have raised $600 in the last hour, but the diary is now off the page. Please read, donate and recommend this diary. This is the Zero Hour and every dollar counts.