Katha Pollitt has this to say today at The Nation:
Duckworth wants to stay in Iraq, she's allied with the more conservative wing of the party, and she seems to have very little substantive to say about most issues. She' s trying to push out of the way a candidate who has a lot of support, more local roots, who ran an incredible race last time, and who has much better politics. I would trust Cegelis a thousand times over Duckworth to take progressive stands once elected, including on women's rights and abortion rights. Duckworth told the Washington Post she thinks abortion shouldn't be a federal issue. That's not exactly a ringing defense of abortion rights, since unfortunately it IS a federal issue.
I couldn't agree more. We hear a great deal about both Cegelis and Duckworth's bottom lines. But the fact of the matter is do we know how they will vote?
I know how Cegelis will vote. I trust her as she's been consistent throughout.
She doesn't talk about election reform and the need to clamp down on lobbyist influence and then go and schedule a fundraiser at a DC lobbyist's office.
Cegelis doesn't say the Iraq war was a bad idea, then use Bush's line about flawed intellegence and endorse a stand-up-stand down policy as her Iraq position.
Cegelis doesn't say depleted uranium is bad, then note that we aren't using it on our troops so it's not an issue.
Cegelis doesn't say that that the we need new leadership in Washington, then turn around the say the reason she's running was that there was no real leadership in her own district.
Cegelis is a real progressive. I know this from her actions and consistent positions. This consistency has earned her many endorsements from rock solid progressive groups. She's been endorsed by Illinois Committee for Honest Government, Independent Voters of Illinois - Independent Precinct Organization (IVI-IPO), Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), Progressive Democrats of Illinois (PDI), and today by Democracy for America (DFA).
She has the backing of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), who's members represent 700,000 members nationally, but more importantly, 6,000 residents of the district who have been affected by the downturn in the airlines at O'Hare. They trust her to represent their interests in DC, due to her consistent positions on CAFTA and labor, as well as her actually meeting with their members in person for two years.
She has the confidence of National Organization for Women (NOW) & Women's Campaign Fund because her consistent position on choice has inspired confidence that Cegelis is the only candidate in the race they can be certain will support a woman's right to chose.
Local organizations know they can trust her to vote in their interests because... they know her personally. That's why local groups like the Italian American Political Coalition and the Mexican American Political Coalition and Schaumburg Area Democratic Organization and many others support Christine.
Duckworth shows up in my mailbox, now to the tune of 5 mailers in a little over 3 weeks. Yet Cegelis shows up everywhere else, attending nearly every candidate forum held in the district and residents can easily attend one of her many events.
I know how Cegelis will vote and who she will listen to when she's in our nation's capitol. That's why, as a resident of this district for nearly all my life, I'm supporting Christine Cegelis will all my spare time and energy.
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