Call me starstruck, but last night I was utterly charmed to find Chuck Pennacchio among the Philly blogger cognoscenti who frequent Drinking Liberally.
Chuck wants to run for Rick “Spreading” Santorum’s Senate seat. The senatorial battle is likely to shape up as one of the biggest races in 2006; as All Spin Zone reports, the GOP has made Santorum’s seat a top priority, and the race is likely to draw financial contributions from across the nation.
That’s all well and good, because polls show that Santorum is beatable. The only problem is that the PA Democratic machine (I’m talking about you, Govna) has already crowned Bob Casey, Jr., son of former Governor Bob Casey, the presumptive Democratic nominee. That’s just a mite problematic when said candidate is not pro choice. As Young Philly Politics, MyDD, All Spin Zone, Rowhouse Logic, and countless others have pointed out, uncontested primaries mean zero publicity, which keeps the candidate out of the public eye, takes the spotlight off of progressive issues, and allows the candidate to cater not to the base, but to the center. And it’s time that this base got some love.
As the flyer Chuck handed out says:
I’ve been impressed by Chuck’s efforts to reach out to the netroots. I have no idea whether or not he can win, but he certainly deserves a chance in the primary. Last night, he showed himself to be a completely unpretentious, earnest, whip-smart man who believes deeply in the issues he’s fighting for. When he came to the end of the table where I was chatting with some fellow DLers (the subject at the time, I kid you not, was [disgusting link ahead; click at your own risk] maggot brain), he introduced himself simply as Chuck. I recognized him from all of the BlogAds I’ve seen on sites like All Spin Zone and Eschaton, and sadly blurted out his full name and ruined his cover.
In the conversation that followed, he talked passionately about a number of progressive issues, and (upon request) named the politicians he admired (Paul Simon, Paul Wellstone, Tom Harkin). He sounded completely confident about his chances to make a dent in Casey’s campaign, and revealed several clever campaign slogans. I know that many bloggers in the area support his efforts.
Can he win? I don’t know. Is his campaign a quixotic tilt at the proverbial windmills? Maybe. But I’m all for fighting the power, and you have to love a politician who comes to a bar sporting a backpack.
11 Comments on "Don’t Fuck With Chuck"
dragonballyee:
ah crap, i was gonna go last night, but my ladyfriend was just accepted into graduate school and we celebrated with some grub from gianna’s instead. next time…
Frank:
Pol with a backpack…perfect. I like anyone who can hammer at Man-on-Dog Senator Santorum, and Chuck sounds like the one. Thanks for the pointer. And one of these days if I can keep myself in town for the week I need to get back to DL. Cool.
ttagaris:
Great post!
I think Chuck is going to be back at Drinking Liberally in two weeks. I hope I am able to make it with him as well. Right now, our HQ is up in Bucks County, and I just had too much going on to drive down two hours and then another hours back.
After hearing Chuck’s enthusiasm when he returned, I wish I would have.
Anyway, thanks for the post. I promise you that we are going to keep working hard over here.
Tim
Matt:
How cool is that? I put a big ol’ stinking obscenity in the headline, and Chuck’s campaign manager hops on over, looks past that to the substance of my remarks, and gives a thumbs up.
I am going to go to war for this man.
Frank:
I like that moxie from the both of you. We need that kind of attitude to win. Let’s send Santorum home (where is that BTW…even he doesn’t know).
ttagaris:
Good thing you are willing, cause it is going to be a war.
We’ll be in touch.
Tim
P.S. Not the campaign manager, just the netroots guy. But thanks for the promotion. =)
SpinDentist:
Good to see that Chuck will be at Drinking Liberally the end of the month, Tim. I look forward to meeting him again.
So, what did he drink? Isn’t that the big question here? Is he a Yuengling guy?
Matt:
I did not see him take a sip of anything the whole time he was sitting next to me; Maybe Tim can enlighten us?
ttagaris:
I think he prefers beer over liquor. What kind of beer, I have no idea–just can’t remember. But other than that, I think the scene I appreciate when I go out might be a bit different than anything Chuck has seen in decades.
Tim
She Flies With Her Own Wings:
Don’t fuck with Chuck II
This post was spawned by a tatteredcoats post….
Matt:
Just discovered that Drinking Liberally has a blog, and that the folks there were kind enough to mention this post in it.
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