'My endorsement:
Last edited Mon Feb 29, 2016, 03:44 PM - Edit history (1)
Throughout my service as Mayor, as Governor and campaign for president, I never wavered on the need to pass comprehensive immigration reform.
I believe that our outdated and inhumane immigration laws no longer meet our economic needs, our national security imperatives, or most importantly, our values as a people.
I believe that we need to lead with the compassionate message and actions that have made us who we are: a nation of immigrants, bonded together by our diverse beliefs and traditions.
Immigration is what has made America, America.
And while much can be done by bold executive action, it is no substitute for Congressional action. We need leaders in Washington who will tirelessly stand up to the kind of hateful, misguided rhetoric we've seen thrown at the millions of New Americans and fight to forge consensus on an issue that has shaped this country.
I believe Braddock, Pennsylvania Mayor John Fetterman is that kind of leader, and that's why today, I am endorsing his campaign for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania. He really needs our help, so click here to join his progressive campaign.
As Mayor of Braddock, PA for more than ten years, he's taken on the kinds of issues that are now at the forefront of the American conscience: income inequality, green jobs, access to health care and gun violence, to name just a few.
But John's wife Gisele has a remarkable story that is so emblematic of our experience as a country, and the work on immigration that lies before us. Like so many before her, she came to this country with her family from Brazil in search of a better life — fleeing a violent and unstable situation.
Her family overstayed their visa, and for years, she lived in the shadows undocumented while her mother cleaned houses for twelve hours a day. And while Gisele would eventually obtain her green card, it shouldn't have been that hard.
When John is asked about what he thought of Gisele and her family staying here illegally, I love his response: "I’m so glad she did."
It's time we approached the issue of immigration with humanity and an understanding of how we have all been shaped by it, directly or indirectly. Once again, we must remember that the enduring symbol of our nation isn't the barbed wire fence — it's the Statue of Liberty.
Please join me in supporting John's bid for the U.S. Senate. We need more leaders in Washington ready to embrace immigration reform, rather than running away from it.
Thank you,
Martin O'Malley
EDIT: Dem chairman: Fetterman would be toughest vs. Toomey.
'The new year has brought a fresh wave of activity in this year’s Pennsylvania Senate race – and a surprising assessment from the commonwealth’s Democratic chairman, who said Braddock Mayor John Fetterman could give the party its best chance to win.
The chairman, Marcel Groen, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Thursday that Fetterman would “be the toughest candidate” in a general election matchup against Sen. Pat Toomey, the Republican incumbent.
“In a society looking for different, he could catch on,” Groen told the paper – though he also played up Katie McGinty’s establishment support and Joe Sestak’s grassroots backing, and said the party was unlikely to pick sides in the primary.'
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/capitolinq/Dem-chairman-Fetterman-would-be-toughest-vs-Toomey.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
Friend of mine (from Delaware) has supported Sestak for a while, and I did too, years ago. See my post, replying to Gen below, about PA's Dem Chairman who said Fetterman would be the best against Toomey.
