Chris Carney Boasts That He's Anti-Choice And Always Has Been

When I left my job at Warner Bros, there were several things I was especially happy about. One was the prospect of never having to go to another convention again. We had two a year-- one for our U.S. companies and one for our international companies. They were even fun, more fun than the Democratic Conventions. But I always hated having to go to them anyway-- and that was as a president of the company! So you can imagine how I responded to the prospect of going as a blogger to the DNC in Denver. I shuddered at the thought and never wavered in my decision-- until this morning. This morning I sent a note to my Blue America partners, Jane, Digby and John, as well as to Glenn. They're all in Denver.

I asked them to give Chris Carney (PA), who's presumably there too, a message from me. Turns out Carney didn't just lie to us about being a homophobe, he lied about being pro-Choice as well. Carney has turned out to be the most disappointing of all the class of 2006. Others have worse-- more reactionary-- voting records (although only slightly), but Carney has broken explicit promises he made to Blue America. Everyone knows the story about how he said he promised he would support Hate Crimes legislation that he then voted against-- one of only a tiny handful of far right Democrats to do so. But now it turns out he claims he was "always" pro-choice. That isn't what he told me when I interviewed him.

I read this today: Carney’s campaign insists its candidate is as pro-life as he claims to be.

“Carney does not favor abortion, he has been adamant about that since his first campaign,” said Rebecca Gale, a Carney campaign spokeswoman. Gale noted that Carney did favor access to education and family planning.

As he did in 2006, Carney, a member of the conservative Blue Dog Democratic coalition in the House, is aggressively reaching out to Republican voters. In June, he unveiled a list of “Republicans for Carney,” and last month Carney kicked off his television advertising campaign with a spot featuring Carney discussing his independence from his party.

His district’s coal country, which includes the Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Northumberland counties, is home to its fair share of conservative and values-minded Democratic voters. Carney’s campaign slogan plays to that constituency: “Experience. Honor. Integrity.”

“Chris is a conservative Democrat,” said Carney campaign manager Vince Rongione.

I asked Jane, Digby, John and Glenn to keep an eye out for him and to ask him to explain the difference between what he told Blue America in 2006 about protecting women's right to choice and what he's saying today in his quest for right-wing Republican votes. I assume he means that 2 year term he's had as "experience" but what's with the "honor" and "integrity" part if he lied about core beliefs to get an endorsement and a few thousand dollars? This is a man with no honor and no integrity. He brings shame to the Democratic Party.



The inevitable argument from Carney apologists is that PA-10 is a hopelessly "red district" and Carney is the best that can be expected. As someone who lived in an adjacent district (PA-11), I disagree. There is, after all, something called "leadership" that often trumps the idea of pandering to inbred bigotry and ignorance. Is it too much to look for political leaders who show an ounce of leadership?

In 2006 not a single Democrat was defeated. In November Carney may be the only "Democrat" defeated-- but if he is beaten by the reactionary Republican, I'll celebrate because Carney isn't a Democrat at all, but a malignant growth inside a sick caucus that would be far better off without him pulling it rightward every day.