Toomey, Casey And Porter (A Petition Update)

Hey, remember this?

That was a blog post where I ask my Senator, Senator Bob Casey, what he's thinking making a deal with my other Senator, Senator Pat Toomey, to get David J. Porter a judgeship.  The thing is, while I am sure David Porter's a fine attorney, his politics lean heavily right ward.  That in itself should not disqualify him for a judgeship, the fact that a Democratic senator is looking to get him onto the bench is somewhat troubling.

Huffingtonpost wrote about it a few days ago (and, uh, a few days after I wrote about it - just sayin').

Well a few petitions have been set up (here, here and here) and guess what?

From Huffingtonpost:

Progressives in Pennsylvania have been working for weeks to derail an apparent deal between their U.S. senators to submit a conservative Republican judicial nominee to the White House -- and it looks like they're gaining momentum.

More than 20,000 people have signed a petition urging Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) not to recommend corporate lawyer David J. Porter to President Barack Obama for a lifetime appointment to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. A coalition of state lawyers, advocates and community members collected the signatures and plans to deliver them to Casey on Monday, according to the Pennsylvania Coalition for Constitutional Values.

So what, again, is the problem:

"The coalition isn't just opposing Porter because he's a right-winger," said Michael Morrill of Keystone Progress, a statewide progressive advocacy group. "He is a radical right-wing activist and leader in anti-choice, anti-marriage equality, anti-environmental movements in Pennsylvania who is so far out of the mainstream that he can't adequately represent everyday Pennsylvanians."

And Rick Bloomingdale, the president of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO had some issues as well:

Bloomingdale said he plans to personally talk to Casey about Porter next Monday when the senator is in Pittsburgh for an annual AFL-CIO convention. He said he understands that, in a state with a senator in each party, there are deals that have to be made on judicial nominees. But it's "troubling" to him that Toomey is pushing a nominee like Porter after holding up some of Casey's labor-friendly nominees in the Senate.

"So if he's going to play the ideological game, we certainly ask Sen. Casey to say [Porter] is too extreme for Pennsylvania," said Bloomingdale. "He's not going to be impartial on the bench."

Toomey blocked some of Casey's nominees and STILL Casey makes this sort of deal?

That is troubling.

Senator Casey needs has to ask himself this question:  If the GOP controlled the Senate and White House would Senator Toomey make a similar deal for a union friendly judicial nominee in exchange for three Porters?

I would think not.  I would think that if that were the case, the GOP would demand "bipartisanship" and then quietly redefine "bipartisanship" into "do what I tell you and we'll call that bipartisan."

Senator, if this is a deal as described above we need to know the details.  Your constituents and more importantly the people who voted for you have a right to know what you're getting in exchange for David J. Porter.

UPDATE: Thinkprogress is reporting this now.

The AFL-CIO Answers The Question

Do I need an ID to Vote In PA?

(click the link to see their answer)

They also provide the answer to the following questions:

• Do I need a photo ID to vote in the election this November?
• Will I have to vote via provisional ballot if I don’t have photo ID? 
• Will I have to stand in a different line to vote if I don’t have a photo ID?

By the way, the answer to all these three questions is NO.

This Year's Labor Day Parade in Pittsburgh is a 'March For Jobs'

Via Pennsylvania AFL-CIO spokesman Marty Marks:

UNEMPLOYED AND UNDEREMPLOYED WORKERS WILL LAUNCH LABOR DAY PARADE MARCH FOR JOBS WITH PRESS CONFERENCE

Before joining 70,000 union members and their families in this year’s Labor Day Parade March for Jobs, union and non-union unemployed and underemployed workers will speak for working families about critical need for action to create jobs Pittsburgh, Penn. (September 2, 2011) – Coming on the heels of the release of a report from the Keystone Research Center citing Pennsylvania’s unemployment and underemployment rate at more than 13% and a disastrous monthly jobs report showing virtually no growth in the private or public sectors, Jack Shea, President of the Allegheny County Labor Council is calling a press conference before the step-off of the Labor Day Parade to let jobless and underemployed workers speak for working families about the need for Congress and the Pennsylvania legislature to take action immediately to put America and Pennsylvania back to work.

"This year we are going to use the special attention the labor movement gets once a year to give voice to the workers hurt most by the failure of political leaders to take action on creating jobs," Mr. Shea said. "It is time for our elected leaders to stop listening to Wall Street bankers and corporate CEO’s and pay attention to workers who want and need jobs that pay family sustaining wages and spur the kind of economic growth that fuels the American dream," according to Mr. Shea.

Labor Day activities begin at 8 a.m. with a traditional Labor Day mass conducted by Bishop David Zubik at St. Benedict the Moor Church. Unemployed and underemployed workers who want to join the march for jobs are instructed to go to the intersection of Crawford and Bedford Streets prior to the 10 a.m. parade step-off at Center Avenue and Washington Place. The reviewing stand is on the Boulevard of the Allies at Stanwix Street. [Emphasis added]

The Huffington Post picked up on the story and adds the following:

About six Republican politicians were invited to march this year, along with a larger number of Democratic officials. Invited guests include U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy (R), U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D) and state Sen. John Pippe (R-Allegheny).

Two prominent GOP politicians who were not invited to march were U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey and Gov. Tom Corbett. When asked what the labor council would do if they said they wished to participate, Marks replied, "We would politely decline their participation."

In fact, the Allegheny County Labor Council has already turned down Joshua Wander, the sole GOP candidate for Pittsburgh City Council. Shea told Wander that the parade was invitation-only and the council had already endorsed his opponent, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Wander is running for Council in District 5 -- currently Doug Shields' seat. He's running against Corey O'Connor. Which of course means he has even less than a snowball's chance in hell of winning versus your average Republican running for a seat in Council.

Who: Union and non-union unemployed and underemployed workers; Frank Snyder, Secretary-Treasurer of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO; Jack Shea, President of the Allegheny County Labor Council; 70,000 working men and women and their families.
What: Labor Day Parade Press Conference
Where: Freedom Corner, Crawford St. and Center Ave. in Pittsburgh
When: Monday, September 5, 2011 at 9:30 a.m.

We Are One

(Click to enlarge)

The We Are One events which are running from the 1st through the 5th have been billed as "Pittsburgh Labor, Faith, and Community Organizations Honor the Memory of Marin Luther King with Action" but they really are for the 90% of the country who have been battered during the last decade or so. They're for those of us who don't believe you have to have at least 7 million to be considered "rich."

They're for those of us who haven't been brainwashed to think that we should decry public unions making a good wage or having decent benefits -- who know we can't lift ourselves up by putting down them down. They're also for those who believe in the dignity of work -- all work -- something that Republicans used to at last give lip service to but now denigrate the labor of teachers and firefighters and police officers.

They're for the rest of us who have seen our salaries stagnate or decline while the earnings of the wealthiest grow exponentially. They are for those of us who have seen our school budgets slashed and burned; our infrastructure crumble; our land, water and air befouled; and the gutting of any help for health care costs.

These events are for those of us who know that there is Class Warfare and that we have lost. Please attend if you possibly can:

Monday, April 4 - National Day of Action

Noon: We Are One Protest EQT Plaza, 6th St. and Liberty Ave., Pittsburgh Followed by educational leafleting and sidewalk march to Gov. Tom Corbett’s office at 301 Fifth Ave., Pittsburgh

1:00 PM: Free luncheon featuring National leader of Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas (SME) United Steelworkers headquarters, 60 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh, Featuring Pipino Cuevas Velázquez of SME

3:00 PM to 5:00 PM: Labor and Economy Lecture Featuring USW International President Leo W. Gerard, US Steel CEO John Surma speaking at CCAC Allegheny Campus, Foerster Student Service Center Auditorium, 808 Ridge Ave., Pittsburgh, 15212.

7:00 PM: Pipino Cuevas Velázquez Event This international Labor Leader will be joined by local leaders of public sector unions from around the U.S. and Pittsburgh who are fighting against cuts and the attack on fundamental labor rights. University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Room 107 3900 Forbes Ave., 15260

See other events/RSVP here

And speaking of pushing...

If the Dems can't squeak out some victories in PA, it won't be for lack of trying by the GOTV efforts of the AFL-CIO which has been conducting an unprecedented seven-week direct mail program to union households in this state. Via Marty Marks, National AFL-CIO Field Communications:

-In PA we now have 400 full-time paid union election workers organizing and working with 5000+ union volunteers

-Along with the national mail, most of our members will receive at least one letter from their local unions pushing our endorsed candidates

-Our twenty+ phone banks throughout PA will make many thousands of live member-to-member GOTV phone calls to union households and additional robo calls from local union leaders and national union leaders will be going out through Election Day

- We will hit hundreds of work places with GOTV material this week and through election day

-Starting Thursday through the closing of polling places, we will knock on the door of every union household located in a walkable precinct turning out our voters

We believe our program will deliver results mirroring what we have seen in recent years. We anticipate union households, which comprise about 12% of PA voting age population, will turnout at a rate that is double non-union households. That means that union house holds will comprise about 28% to 32% of the electorate, more than double our share of the voting age population.

And please note that unlike, say, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, labor unions must disclose where their funding comes from.

Video of President Obama at AFL-CIO National Convention

From Pittsburgh today:

Part I


Part II


Part III


Part IV

* The end of Part II, all of Part III and the first minute of Part IV is about health care reform.

** The rest of Part IV speaks to this area's rich tradition of union organizing.

*** A copy of text as prepared for delivery here.
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