Kaine, DNC’s chairman, rallies Dems for November elections, says party will fight for progress
By APWednesday, September 8, 2010
DNC chair: Dems underdogs, but fight for progress
PHILADELPHIA — Democrats face a tough campaign heading into the critical November midterm elections, but the U.S. won’t make any progress if they don’t fight for it, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine said Wednesday at an event intended to rally his party for the fall.
While Kaine faulted Republicans for their “failed economic philosophy,” Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell leveled even harsher criticism, saying the GOP was being taken over by “wackos” in Congress.
Speaking to students and union members at the University of Pennsylvania, Kaine, the former Virginia governor, said voters face a choice between Democrats and Republicans and the nation’s future. Democrat Joe Sestak and Republican Pat Toomey are in a competitive U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania.
Kaine said Republicans have opposed efforts to implement change and “stood in the way of progress.”
As Rendell introduced Kaine, he said the GOP “is a party that’s slowly but surely being taken over by wackos” who, among other things, want to do away with the 14th Amendment to the Constitution to deny automatic citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants, are “obsessed” with President Barack Obama’s American citizenship, and believe the unemployed refuse to work.
“We’re going to turn the reins of the Congress over to people who are more and more dominated by the wacko wing? Of course not,” said Rendell, who is leaving office in January after two terms.
Republican National Committee spokesman Parish Braden said Kaine’s “best White House spin” wouldn’t sway anyone in Pennsylvania. Braden says the state has lost more than 80,000 jobs since Congress passed an $814 billion stimulus package last year.
Tags: Barack Obama, North America, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Political Organizations, Political Parties, United States