Joe Hoeffel doesn't have strong support in Lancaster County among Democrats here. I'll get back to that. First, some background.

If anywhere in the country is more conservative than the conservatives you find on Lancaster and York counties, I'd be completely surprised. Lancaster County's political conservatism is mixed with conservative religion, making this a place ripe for recruitment for causes like the pro-life movement, school vouchers, and not surprisingly, libertarian interpretations of the Constitution.

Yet we have a very rich mix of people here. The city is a minority-majority city, where blacks and hispanics make 70% of the population and live mere miles from the nearest Amish farm. In Akron and Ephrata, the Mennonite Central Committee runs a vast network of missionaries who work on some of the most progressive missions around the world, true Christians willing to risk their lives to improve the human condition, while--in a display of great humility--not proseletyzing when they have the clear opportunity to exploit their generosity.

Democrats generally rule in the city (Mayor "suburban banks are more convenient to rob" Smithgall notwithstanding), but are outnumbered 2.5 to 1 in the County, making Lois Herr's campaign for Congress against the incumbent Joe "it's ok to rape your wife, but I'm all for human rights" Pitts exceptionally difficult. Yet active Democrats are fired up to really take it to Pitts and try to win the 16th. They support John Kerry for President with even more righteousness, energy, and enthusiasm--it's really great to see. Which leads me back to Joe.

Joe Hoeffel is not well-known in Lancaster, but active Democrats know him and have looked into his candidacy for Senate. At headquarters, there are a few signs, no literature, and no effort to support his candidacy as far as I can tell, and I head voter registration for the County party here. Part of the blame is with the Hoeffel campaign, which may mistakenly think that Lancaster doesn't have enough Democratic or swing votes to make a difference (it does, and could make the difference), and part of the blame may be with local Democrats. They think Joe has no chance. His candidacy is almost a joke here. Almost as big a joke as mine was--to local Dems, that is. Specter isn't that bad, I hear. At least he's no Rick Santorum, they say. We have to focus on getting Bush out, and Joe has no chance, so let's focus our efforts where we can make a difference. No wonder the Hoeffel campaign hasn't invested much here.

I don't support these views.

The case against Specter
Arlen Specter must go, and Lancaster Democrats must play their part in helping Joe win. Here's why Specter is, in fact, that bad. Specter voted for Clarence Thomas and treated Anita Hill--an intelligent, accomplished law professor--like a call girl on trial for loitering. Specter is the great enabler of the conservative agenda, and while he tries to appear independent, he serves at the pleasure of the radical right, throwing his vote where they please when they want him to. He's the tie-breaking vote on tax cuts for the wealthy and budget cuts for our schools, the poor, and local government. He's the defender of the current lying, cheating Republicans in the White House, the enablers of multi-national exploitation of cheap, inhumane labor at the expense of US workers and to the profit of a very few wealthy people. He, like Bush, is all hat and no cowboy. Some people say he's too old for office, but I disagree; he's as sharp as ever, when not affected by whatever medications he's taking for a variety of ailments. That's part of the problem--he has no excuse for his anti-people support of the Bush administration, yet he plays the role of patsy perfectly. Not that bad?

The case for Joe
I campaigned against Joe and had a lot of choice things to say about him. Most of them were right at the time--I don't think he's progressive enough and he didn't get trade at all--at the time. He gets it now, after spending months in the trenches meeting with business people and labor. He's made the effort to understand Pennsylvania's economy and how it relates to working people. He sees that for the first time in modern history, labor and business share the same interests in fighting against poorly written and rarely enforced trade agreements, and fighting for adequate, affordable health care.

He knows the Patriot Act is a dangerous tool for the Ashcroft regime, adopted during a time of confusion and emotional turmoil. He will fight to cut the unilateralism out of it, though I maintain it should be trashed completely. And though we disagree on the decision to go to war in Iraq, we agree that Bush must be held accountable for failing to plan for the peace, for abusing our soldiers' commitment to the national defense, and for deceiving the nation in what is perhaps the biggest and most expensive fraud perpetrated on the country--ever.

Please help me convince Lancaster Democrats that Specter is that bad, and that Joe does have a chance to win, and his candidacy is worth fighting for. It would be a shame to allow Specter the chance to add 6 more years to his 24 years of poor service in the Senate.

Email Lancaster Democrats with your views.