DFA Endorses Cartwright Over Holden

Democracy For America, a grassroots political organization founded by Howard Dean, claims to have a million members nationwide. It calls itself a "grassroots powerhouse working to change our country and the Democratic Party from the bottom-up" Today, it endorsed Matt Cartwright for Congress.

DFA Chair Jim Dean (no relation to the sausage dude) credits Cartwrght's stand against fracking. “He is leading the charge against the fracking to protect clean air and clean water for working people in Pennsylvania communities. Matt represents Pennsylvania’s middle class.”

Cartwright, of course is delighted at the endorsement, and issued a statement with some fightin' words. "I am running for Congress because I believe corporate America has taken advantage of working families and the middle class, and it needs to stop,” he declares. "I have spent my professional career protecting people and small business owners from uncaring insurance companies and the predatory lending practices of big banks and financial institutions. In Congress, my top priorities will be bringing jobs to northeast Pennsylvania, and making corporations and wealthy Americans pay their fair share of taxes.”

Cartwright is a trial lawyer. In addition to uncaring corporations, he's fighting an uphill battle against an entrenched incumbent, ten-termer Tim Holden. Holden is a blue dog Democrat, and one of the few in his party to vote against Obamacare. I have contacted his campaign for a reaction, and will update this post when it is received.

Pennsylvania's 17th Congressional District now includes a hodgepodge of Northampton County municipalities: Easton City; Bethlehem, Forks, Lower Mount Bethel, Palmer, Upper Mount Bethel and Washington Tps; Bangor, East Bangor, Freemansburg, Glendon, Nazareth, Pen Argyl, Portland, Roseto, Stockertown, Tatamy, West Easton, Wilson and Wind Gap Boroughs; and parts of Bethlehem City, Plainfield Township and Upper Nazareth Township.

Updated 6:40 PM: I've been attacked by my blog impersonator, an obvious Walt Garvin Dem who has already decided that Congressman Holden should be re-elected. Apparently, I've committed some kind of infraction by posting this DFA endorsement without noting all the endorsements Holden has received.

Here's the deal. When a Congressional candidate sends me a news release, I either post it or prepare a story, as I did here, about the topic discussed. I send the news release to the other side and ask for comment.

As it happens, I am closer to Holden ideologically than I am to Cartwright, but am trying to be fair to both and don't share the animosity some have expressed about one or the other. They both seem like decent and sincere guys. That means something to me.

I am amused that some coward, who is afraid to identify himself, would take me to task for trying to be fair. These are two men who aren't afraid to say who they are. They are willing to subject themselves to public scrutiny. Come to think of it, so am I. Others crawl out from under rocks.