STEVE PORTER v PHIL ENGLISH-- THE BATTLE IS (STILL) JOINED

It's with great pleasure that we welcome Dr Steve Porter back for a Blue America chat today (2 PM, EST at Firedoglake). Steve was the Blue America-endorsed candidate, an outspoken anti-war progressive, in PA-03, the Erie area of northwest Pennsylvania. He didn't win his race against corrupt rubber stamp tool Phil English but he was able to bring English's percentage down from 60% in 2004 to 54% in November. Steve spent $81,102 and got 82,317 votes, just under a buck per vote. English spent $1,335,820 for 104,820 votes (about $12.74 per vote). Think about that disparity. Pennsylvania picked up 4 new Democratic seats, and the winning Democrats each spent over a million dollars. In fact, the 4 winners-- Chris Carney, Jason Altmire, Joe Sestak and Patrick Murphy-- averaged over $2,000,000 each. Think about that disparity too. Steve is anything but discouraged. He hardly stopped to catch his breath before he was back on the campaign trail, looking to claim this working and middle class district's seat for 2008.

Steve has been building on the headway he made in the district and I've been following his activities at here at DWT. Last week he sent an open letter to Speak Pelosi, a letter that represents the views in many in our community more than the congressmen and women we helped elect do.

Dear Madame Speaker,

It has been said that you are not pursuing impeachment proceedings against Mr. Bush because they would eat into the nation's business and because by the time they were done, it would be close to the 2008 elections anyway.  I am writing to express an alternate point of view.

I know that I write with an insufficiently strong voice to a House with an insufficient resolve to oppose a President with a grossly inefficient morality in a nation where public awareness is tragically insufficient because the integrity of the media has been largely insufficient.  But my duty as a citizen compels me to try.

Impeachment proceedings should not hamper the other workings of Congress.  They didn't in the cases of Nixon and Clinton.  But more, they will at long last hold public officials accountable for their actions.  Common citizens don't vote in large measures because they perceive our government to work only for the powerful.  To the extent leaders are allowed to escape the legal repercussions of their actions, government only reinforces that opinion.

But I think the greatest reason for impeachment is to save the lives of the men and women of our armed forces as well as the lives of many innocent civilians in the Middle East.  The President is tragically wrong and tragically pig-headed in his foreign policy with respect to the Middle East.  Every day we keep him in office, we are complicit in the deaths and injuries which his policies have needlessly caused.  For the sake of all those thousands, he and Cheney must be removed so that a new policy can be forged, one that will avoid the bloodshed which awaits us.

Thank you for at least considering this course.

Sincerely,

Dr. Steven Porter
Democratic candidate for Congress
PA-03

When I spoke with Steve on the phone a few days ago, he assured me he was running-- and running to win. I asked him if he thought he might be challenged by a conservative Democrat or an Emanuel type shill. He was undaunted by the prospect. "If the DCCC runs a Democratic version of Phil English I will oppose that because it's not what our country needs. We need a progressive who will fight for universal health care, the solvency of our Social Security system, the accountability of a president who has trashed the Constitution, alternative energy to stop global warming and to develop our economy and a foreign policy that will save the world instead of destroying it."

Since the elections, a great many Republicans, chastened by the anger voters expressed at the polls, supported Nancy Pelosi's First 100 Hours Agenda. Phil English wasn't one of them. He stuck with the bankrupt and reactionary Republican leadership to oppose the ethics bill (H. Res 6), to oppose negotiated prices for prescription drug prices under Medicare Part D (HR 4), to oppose stem cell research (HR 3), and, needless to say, since he has gobbled up approximately half a million dollars in legalized bribes from Big Oil, to oppose HR 6, the bill to eliminate tax subsidies for these same companies and to develop clean, alternative, U.S.-produced energy. On top of that he voted to outsource more American jobs (HR 6111) and, true to form, he's already made an illegally financed trip to Japan and was forced to pay back the airfare (although he didn't pay back the money for the hotels and meals-- and this guy can eat-- he treated himself to while there). Yep, same old Phil English.

Steve's supporters have a website up called DumpPhilEnglish which goes into all the issues the district needs to look at. It also has a convenient spot where you can donate via ActBlue and right now a $25 donation gets you a "DumpPhil" t-shirt.