6 mos ago I was sitting down to some fine ale with some fellow Philadelphian bloggers, and it wasn't long before the conversation turned to the upcoming Senate race to oust Rick Santorum from his filthy perch.. being a relative political novice, I made the mistake of uttering a refrain commonly heard amongst rank-and-file Democrats .. "just who the hell is Bob Casey, anyway?"
Now I'll admit, I was embarrassed.. for a longtime blogger (such as myself) not to be personally familiar with the stellar career of our former Auditor General and current State Treasurer.. I resolved to educate myself on this fascinating political character and on local politics in general ..
Which is why I was especially looking forward to tonight's presentation at my local D ward meeting, featuring a top staffer working on the Casey campaign.
And let me tell you, I am thoroughly relieved to find that Bob Casey does not shoot puppies. Nor does he endorse it.
No, as it was clearly, and quite loudly pointed out, repeatedly, good Dems should vote for Bob Casey because he was a really swell Auditor General and State Treasurer who never got into trouble. Therefore he's going to set a fine example that everyone in big, bad old Washington DC is going to just swoon over and rush to follow.
Bob Casey, it must be said, cares about people. A lot. A real lot. We know this, because he has said so on many occasions, and furthermore no one else running in the (don't say the word PRIMARY).. uh... other race... they simply don't care about people nearly as much as Bob Casey. (I assume these other mystery candidates are objectively pro-puppy shooting, but I'll have to look into it.)
Bob Casey is also "tolerant" of gays and would allow domestic partnerships, although he is opposed to same-sex marriage. I thought that was awful big of him, being "tolerant" of others. I guess that's just part and parcel of caring about people a whole lot more than.. uh.. those "other people" in the "primary".
To top it all off, The nice woman from the Casey campaign was kind enough to single out my 8-yr old daughter sitting at the back of the room, quietly playing Tetris, as a poster child for Megan's Law. Yes, Megan's Law the sex offender registry which I'm not sure Bob Casey had anything really to do with. But I'm sure my kid really fucking appreciated being used as a campaign prop. I really fucking did. Thanks a fucking lot.
All in all, I think it'd be really swell to go back to my relative state of innocence as regards Swell Guy Bob Casey.
Because it'd really make it easier on me, mentally and emotionally, when November finally arrives and I'm standing there in the booth looking at one button that says "Santorum" and one button that says "Casey".
I'd be so much easier to press that big button with the D on it, if only I wasn't so keenly aware that the new junior senator from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was going to spend the next 6 years continuing to ignore us.
out ..sz