ND: OK.
CP: Oh, and there's one other thing: I'm the only candidate in the race who is committed to not taking special-interest money. I don't take PAC money of any stripe, none whatsoever.
ND: Only individual donations?
CP: Yes, yes. I don't think you can call yourself a progressive and not be for campaign-finance reform. And I'm the only one pushing for public financing of all federal-level elections.
ND: Are you familiar with... There is a resolution before the House - number 4694, the Let the People Decide Clean Campaign Act - which is ostensibly a campaign-finance reform measure. What it would do is exactly what you propose - set up public funding for all congressional campaigns, but only for candidates from the two major parties. Third parties would not be eligible for this funding unless they could amass signatures equalling 10 percent of the votes they received in their district in the previous election, which would get them partial funding, or 20 percent, which would get them full funding. Getting the signatures would be an extremely difficult task in and of itself, but there is another catch: Third parties won't be allowed to pay anyone to collect the signatures.
CP: That doesn't sound fair, that last part especially.
ND: Yeah, it seems to be an obvious attempt - and this is a Democratic-backed bill - to squeeze third parties out of the mix and to limit electoral choice.
CP: There are some aspects of it I would support, but others I question. I would have to read the whole legislation in order to give any concrete response.
ND: Sure.
CP: But absolutely, I believe in campaign-finance reform, because it creates a level playing field in the electoral process. But I don't believe in shutting out third parties.
ND: Another issue - education: As you know, many, many children have been left behind in the past six years. What is your plan for dealing with education in the state of Pennsylvania?
CP: From the federal-level perspective, I would seek to overturn the No Child Left Behind legislation. Here, we should give kudos to Paul Wellstone for being the first to call the Bush Administration on using it as a ruse for dismantling public education. To this day, I see it as their intent. So, at the federal level, I would seek to overturn No Child Left Behind, an underfunded mandate that forces educators - and I'm an educator - to teach children nothing more than how to take standardized tests. It really is a sham. It's a cruel attempt to destroy our public education system, which needs more support, not legislation that enacts retribution measures against schools that don't pass or don't have enough students who pass arbitrary exams.
Article comments
1 - Dave De Vetter
I truly believe that Chuck Pennacchio is our only hope of beating Santorum in November. He will actually represent the people's interests instead of giving in to the corporations and righ-wing religious extremists. I hope everyone who reads this visits his site and contributes to his campaign or signs up to volunteer (even if you don't live in PA, there's much you can do). We're an all volunteer campaign fighting for the future of democracy.
2 - Austin
that site is www.chuck2006.com
3 - Natalie Davis
Chuck's name in the essay, as does the Pennacchio button graphic, links to the campaign Web site.
4 - Brenna Lorenz
If you have a chance to hear Chuck speak, absolutely do go. He will have you jumping out of your seat ready to do battle. You can't imagine how wonderful it is to hear a candidate talk sense!
When people ask him tough questions, he doesn't hedge, waffle, change the subject, flinch or dodge. He answers head-on, decisively. He's going to make mincemeat of Santorum.
This man is a true leader.
5 - Natalie Davis
Yes, Chuck is a principled, empowering presence. And a straight shooter. But the fact remains that the Democratic powers that be, including a lot of the major Democratic blogs (Kos, MyDD, etc.) are pushing the centrist-conservative Casey. That makes it crucial for progressives to spread the word far and wide throughout Pennsylvania: Casey is nothing more than a pale image of Santorum. He does not support the basic issues so crucial for Pennsylvania and that represent core Democratic values. I understand that people are used to caving in to the right wing; they're accustomed to bending over for the conservatives and losing for their self-degradation. But come on - a progressive can win and god knows, a change is needed YESTERDAY. It's time for a real progressive, a real people's candidate. If Santorum is destined to win (and I maintain that he is NOT), isn't it better to lose standing tall rather than on one's knees? Casey is the candidate for the acquiescent, the cowardly, the weak. Pennacchio is the candidate for the courageous, for those who want power to rest in the hands of the PEOPLE rather than the fatcat, money-motivated pols. Spread the word.