CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – On the surface, November 6 is a mid-term election, but Clarion County Democrats and others are viewing it as the most important election of their lifetimes.
(Photo above by Dave Cyphert of ProPoint Media Photography)
Local Democrats have been busy leading up to the election, knocking on 5,000 doors during the course of this election cycle. Clarion County and Armstrong ballots include the races for Governor, U.S. Senate, and State Representative.
U.S. Senator Bob Casey echoed those sentiments as he talked with a large crowd on Wednesday afternoon in Democratic Headquarters at the 800 Center. Casey and wife Terese visited Clarion on their last stop before returning home to Scranton.
“It’s less about my race — and I’m grateful for your support — but this election is much bigger than any one single race, this is about our country and that’s why you’re here today,” Scranton said. “You love your country and I know we can do better. The only way to get on that path is to bring change. In our system, the best way to bring change is to vote and I am inspired by what I have seen all across the state. We started yesterday in Wayne County Pennsylvania just north of where I live in Scranton and we drove across the state in the northern tier. We just came from Allegheny College in Meadville.”
(Photo by Ron Wilshire)
Casey is the senior United States Senator from Pennsylvania. He previously served as Pennsylvania Auditor General from 1997 to 2005 and as Pennsylvania Treasurer from 2005 to 2007. The son of former Pennsylvania Gov. Bob Casey, he defeated two-term Republican incumbent Rick Santorum and the 2006 election. He was reelected in 2012 and is the first Democrat to be elected to a full term and the first to win re-election to the US Senate from Pennsylvania since Joseph S. Clark Jr. in 1962.
“Wherever I go, whether it’s a small town in a rural area or a big city, people are fired up about voting,” Casey continued. “They want to vote and participate because they want to bring that change. There’s been a lot of frustration for almost two years now and a lot of regrets, maybe that we didn’t do something that we should have done. Now they participate, they organize, they mobilize, they march, make calls, knock on doors, and know that we are going to make changes.”
The leading story in the Pennsylvania election may well not be the race for Governor or Senator, according to Casey.
“It will be the number of women elected to the US House of Representatives, and the State House of Representatives. The reason that’s possible is because of you. You told people that you didn’t just want just another election; you wanted to bring a new spirit and intensity to this race.”
“The most dramatic thing that may be happening is in the U.S. House. I’m very confident we’re going to win at least four and maybe several more. I know that Susan Boser is running here and is one of seven nominees for the U.S. House of Representatives in Pennsylvania and just happens to be a woman. As a father of four daughters, I can’t tell you how inspiring that is. The people that said ‘I’ve got a pretty good life the people that said I’ve got a business’ but I’m worried about the system put their lives on hold to run or to help someone else run for office. For all of you who are doing that one way or another, whether it’s here in Clarion County or in another county I want to thank you for doing that.”
While constituents have many concerns, Casey said the number one topic is usually health insurance.
“We’re getting a lot of questions about coverage for pre-existing conditions. 5.3 million people in this state have a pre-existing condition and the national number hovers around 130 million. Basically any room you walk into America, about 40 percent of people in the room have pre-existing conditions. The good news is we made a great advancement in 2010. That is now illegal and they cannot deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions. The Republican House Bill was obscene and would’ve thrown 23 million people off of health care. That was bad enough, but even going forward cast votes that would chip away or undermine the takeaway protections for pre-existing conditions.
“If they have a magic wand that I don’t know about, I’d like to see it. No matter what version of the bill, they were basically saying we can change it and allow states to have waivers with regards to pre-existing conditions. One state might protect as much as now is now available under the law and that would be wonderful, but other states could say ‘You know what? We don’t want to fully protect it, we just want to say ‘it’s illegal and say you have to provide coverage for pre-existing conditions, but it’s okay to charge a higher rate.'”
“The bottom line is we should keep the law of the land as it is on pre-existing conditions and have no exceptions, no alterations, no sitting down talking; we’re going to keep it the way it is.”
Senator Casey answered many questions from the group and his complete talk is available
here.
(Photos below by Dave Cyphert of ProPoint Media Photography)
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