Election 2006: A Tidal Wave with Bob Casey at Pennsylvania's Helm

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Philadelphia Inquirer, Scranton Times-Tribune, The York Dispatch, The Express-Times, Carlisle Sentinel; what do these names have in common? They are just a few of the 18 newspapers that endorse Democrat Bob Casey for the U.S. Senate. Rick Santorum is the incumbent in this election but will this give him any advantage? According to pre-election polls, it seems not. Why does PA want to vote Casey?

Forty-six year old Bob Casey was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He graduated from The College of the Holy Cross in 1982. He spent the following year teaching fifth grade and coaching an eighth grade basketball team in inner city Philadelphia. In 1985, he married his current wife and they have four daughters. In 1988, he received his law degree from Catholic University and entered the practice in Scranton where he had grown up.

Bob Casey Jr.'s father was involved in politics and he is carrying on the tradition. His political experience includes being a two-term Pennsylvania Auditor General. He was then State Treasurer. According to his campaign website, when Casey was elected State Treasurer, he received more votes than any other candidate in Pennsylvania history.

Bob Casey has a strong stance on many issues affecting America. Many people have criticized him in debates for being unclear and unspecific, but in my opinion those details can be figured out later. He knows what he wants to do and what needs to be done. Those ideas are the start to having a successful term. When it comes to national security Casey believes that our nation must be committed to ending the threat of terrorism. Also, our armed forces must have a clear mission and the resources to do the job. As far as economic growth, he wants to use innovation to help the small business sector. He is also concerned with fair trade policies and providing greater economic security. Bob Casey also has a stance on healthcare. He wants to stop cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and wants to fix the Medicare Part D. He will focus on making health coverage more affordable for small businesses, and expand the Medical and Family Leave Act. Casey's educational priorities include investing in early childhood education, assisting school construction, reforming the No Child Left Behind legislation, making sure our children are technologically literate, and enhancing higher educational opportunity.

What are some other things important to Bob Casey Jr.? He supports increased fuel efficiency standards in new automobiles. He opposes efforts to allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He supports reinstating the "polluter pays" principle for the clean up of toxic Superfund sites. He supports measures to help Americans save for retirement while not jeopardizing Social Security. Casey also wants to end special interest secrecy and create tax cuts for working families instead of the rich.
In November 2006, Bob Casey Jr. was successfully elected to the U.S. Senate. He beat out a two term incumbent, republican Rick Santorum, who took the defeat gracefully saying he pledged his support to Casey. With the vote ending at 59 percent to 41 percent, he became the first Democrat to win a full U.S. Senate term from Pennsylvania in more than four decades.
I voted for Bob Casey and I think he is going to do a good job for Pennsylvania, as well as the country. With this midterm election the democrats were able to gain control of the House and the Senate, which is an amazing achievement. This is what the country needs after all the mistakes President Bush has made. Hopefully this take over shows that America is concerned and that we can complete the government turnaround by electing a democratic president in 2008.