Sheila Dow Ford appeared before the Kutztown Democrats recently as part of her campaign to see if she would be a viable candidate to oust Blue Dog conservative Democrat Tim Holden in Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District. Mr. Holden has increasingly betrayed Democratic values. He was one Democrat who consistently gave aid and comfort to Bush and his criminal war in Iraq. Currently Mr. Holden seems to think that healthcare is not a problem in this country. For a list of his war on Democratic values, check out our write-up on him in our first issue. He is still defended here in Berks County by the collection of clowns and apologists that are so rampant in this Democratic Party. They are lapdogs for anyone who puts a “D” in front of their names. If you take a banana and carve a “D” in it, these people would phone bank for the banana. This November they will be out in force campaigning for a man they have told you was the enemy for 40 years, Arlen Specter, proving once and for all that they have no intention of putting any meaning or values into Democratic politics.

So when the movers and shakers tell you that Sheila Dow Ford has no chance to unseat Mr. Holden, treat them with the benign neglect they so richly deserve. Consider the track record of these career losers, ignore their advice, and vote your conscience. Truth is, the feisty Ms. Ford will make a formidable opponent for Dave Argall, the Republican candidate. Mr Holden will not. Dave will chew him up and spit out the pieces. Sheila knows what she believes and is not afraid to fight for it. Wow! A Democrat with the courage of her convictions. Just that will make her stand out. Too bad we didn’t have more Sheila Dow Fords in Congress this past year. If we did we’d have a health care bill that’s better than a warm bucket of spit.

I am pleased to endorse Sheila Dow Ford for Congresswoman in the 17th. I do so without hesitation. We have long advocated replacing DINOs with real Democrats. Voting in Sheila will do just that. Please read Sheila’s comments below. If you’re as impressed with her as I am, you’ll want to help. If you love your party and want to take it back from those who have driven it into a ditch, here’s a good place to start. Together, we can once again make this the “Party of the People”. - Chuck

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Sheila:

“I am pleased that so many are here tonight. I want you all to know that this is a famous group. Did you know that? (At this point somebody shouts infamous and everyone laughs). In that case, then, we probably share something in common. Listen, I want to say unapologetically that I am a Democrat. I can say that, can’t I? We are a big tent party , so I understand that we don’t come together on every issue. From the same perspective, I understand and appreciate that, but I do think that we have the right to talk, and to think, and to engage, and to discuss and to debate. If we can’t do that, then we have to reconsider what it means to be a Democrat.”

“That’s why I think, in point of fact, Karen invited me. And for those of you who don’t know, that’s why on November 22 or thereabouts, I wrote an article—an editorial that appeared in the (Harrisburg) Patriot-News. It has served as the springboard for a number of discussions around the 17th Congressional District. My article was labeled ‘Congressman Holden was a Turkey on Healthcare’. (applause). Let me be clear, I make no apologies for that. (loud applause). Thank you! I have been in places where not everyone has agreed. Okay! That’s okay with me. I was not raised to have everyone agree with me. I am trained as a lawyer. So my expectation is that people won’t agree. There is, however, the art of engagement. Which means that we have to find common ground. I think common ground is an essential characteristic of parties that are big tents and have disparate interests and disparate views.”

“I do find however, untenable, is when we have a representative who is in Congress and who says, ‘I’m not going to listen to you.’ I will engage you, but only on my terms, and I’m going to take a poll and I’m going to decide not what the members of my party think we should do, but what the majority of the members of the Republican Party think we should do. I have a problem with that. Let me be very clear. It’s not that I have a problem on every issue of difference. But when it comes to a certain number of what I would call the watershed issues of our time, I expect better. Which tells you a little bit about me.”

“Let me tell you what I’m going to do tonight. I’d like to tell you a little bit about me. I like to tell you a little bit about my concerns. I’d like to hear from you and your concerns. This is supposed to be a dialog. I am not announcing as had been rumored in Harrisburg that I’m running for Congress. It’s a rumor at this point. I was in Indiana when Les got the phone call saying that Sheila was appearing at the “infamous” (laughter) Kutztown Democratic Club to announce that she was running for Congress. And it was, ‘We need to talk when you get back into town.’ It’s not my intention tonight. But I want you to know that we can talk. Because, you know, sometimes in life we find ourselves in a position where we are, in fact, swimming up stream. The reality is that I am not unaccustomed to swimming up stream. And we live in the 17th. So all of us who are here are accustomed to swimming up stream. It’s something we have some degree of comfort with. You know, pushing against the tide on occasion. But here’s the thing, and I mean this in getting back to the idea of having that dialog, a respectful dialog around the issues that are important. That is what I think is the most critical issue when it comes to how we move forward as a Congressional District. It’s a big one. We travel. We started out in Harrisburg and we’re in Kutztown at the edge of Berks County, almost in Allentown. As a member of the State Board of Education we’ve spent some time in Allentown.”

“Let me tell you a little more about myself. I grew up in Philadelphia, but don’t hold that against me. I grew up in a Democratic family. I’m 54 years old. I grew up in an integrated community. That’s important to me. I attended public schools. I attended Germantown High School. In Philadelphia, I attended LaSalle University, a Catholic university. Then I attended Pennsylvania Law School. My family is from, not quite this area. My mother’s side hailed from Central Pennsylvania. My mother’s family is from Africa-American and Irish background. My mother visits me a lot and talks about actually learning to swim in the Susquehanna River. So we have roots is central Pennsylvania. My mother’s maiden name is Brown. We tried to trace our family heritage. There are Browns who live in the Harrisburg-Steelton area. Some of them look just like my mother, but I’m not sure just which ones are our relatives. Some of them claim me and others don’t (laughter). That’s the truth. On my father’s side, his family is from the South. They moved to the Philadelphia area at the turn of the last century. There was a strong emphasis on education. I’m one of 26 grandchildren. Eight females among those 26 are attorneys. So in the previous generation, one of my cousins—and I’m very proud of this—was just appointed to the position of Attorney General in New Jersey. We have a tradition of service and a strong ethical sense. My father was raised in a strong Baptist tradition. I was raised in the Episcopal Church. There are several influences—religious, intellectual and social—that were imparted to us at a very young age.”

“I make no apologies for really wanting to push the envelope on occasion and for being courageous. Sometimes it’s not easy. I’m a coward like everyone else. But sometimes you just have to take a stand if we can move forward. That’s why I decided that the issue of health care at this time in the life of our country is essential. It is the experiences that I had as a child where I was raised to, and this is a true story—I couldn’t make it up, from the age of 10 spending my summers registering people to vote. I did other things like playing jacks, but I came from an environment where we believed in politics and policy as mechanisms for creating positive change. We are a big multi-cultural family, and we value other people, even people who don’t agree with us. So when it comes to tolerance, the idea that someone, a person who is a representative, would disengage with those who might disagree with him or her, I find personally offensive. I don’t know how else to put it to you, but I found it to be disconcerting.”

“I have health care. My husband works for the Turnpike Association, and he did not get the job through patronage. He got it through an ad. It’s the truth. He’s retiring in about 20 days (husband interrupts and says 15). 15 days (laughter). And how many minutes, Les? (laughter). But the point is we have excellent health care. We really do. And I hope that each of you do. I also know that throughout the 17th district, and I’ve looked at the statistics, about 10 percent of the population has no access to health care. In point of fact, the number and the percentage is much higher. And we know it. I am not saying, and I know where I stand, as to the public option, single-payer and the like and will talk about them if you like, but first I want a representative who will engage on these issues. That’s a basic, fundamental factor when it comes to representation.”

We moved to Harrisburg in 1994. When we moved to Harrisburg I met Mayor Stephen R. Reed. I had been recruited to be chief council of PHEA (Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency). I’m no longer associated with PHEA but I can talk about PHEA if you like—even the scandal. I also chaired the United Way. I was asked to chair the YWCA of Greater Harrisburg. We had a big building campaign going on. I had a six-year old son. So I was pretty busy. So when I met Mayor Stephen R. Reed, I asked him if he would come to this grand opening of this ten million dollar project. We had to build this facility for women and children. It had a homeless shelter, it had a domestic violence shelter and it had a pre-school. That’s the kind of work that I think we’re supposed to do. That’s the kind of work that I was raised to expect to engage in on a volunteer basis, and that’s what I was doing. And Mayor Reed, who I liked okay, looked at me and said I think you need to talk to my scheduler. I looked at him and I said: I do? I thought I could ask you. I will talk to your scheduler? But the fact is I was trying to engage him. He was the mayor. Harrisburg is not that big. It’s not the president. At some point the conversation devolved into something I didn’t like. I said to him, ‘Mayor Reed we don’t know each other very well, but I want you to know something about me.The way I was raised, politicians work for people. That’s it.’ And he looked at me and he took my hand and he turned it over and he kissed it. I took his hand and I turned it over and I kissed it. (laughter). The point is that politicians work for us. We put them there. I think that in America generally and perhaps in Pennsylvania particularly, because that’s where we are right now, I think we’ve gotten this a little bit out of proportion. The nexus, the way in which that is supposed to work is not working these days. I have to tell you, and I don’t mean to offend anybody in this room, I think that Tim Holden doesn’t understand that anymore. You can tell him.”

“Let me tell you this. I got a phone call the other day from a local politician, one of those at the state level. He asked me if I was going to run for Congress in the 17th. And this is someone I know and I respect. I respect people who run for office. My husband ran for mayor of Harrisburg. I respect that. It takes more than just a notion to run. So in general I respect individuals who are our representatives. I just think that we have to make sure that relationship, the way that relationship is structured, is understood. In any event, this person calls me and says, ‘Are you running, Sheila?’ I said, ‘You, know, I’m not sure. What do you think?’ Because you know, you have to ask. I’m not a politician, this is not what I do. So he said, ‘I just want you to know this. Tim was very upset by your article.’ (applause). And I said, ‘Good because I’m upset with Tim.’ And he said, ‘What are we going to do?’ I said, ‘Are you sent as the messenger?’ It’s something to think about. First of all, when Tim Holden has needed me in the past, he’s known where to find me. When he needed somebody to help him when he has the academies, his schools, when he wants someone to help with the military academies, to evaluate those, and every year for years I get that big packet and read through every resume and I’ve interviewed those young people. Because I believe in that. He’s relied on me to do that. This is about reciprocity. So this politician says to me, ‘Sheila, I don’t blame you for writing that article. I can’t say that publicly, but I don’t blame you. You have no idea how many people have said that to me. Democrats and Republicans.’ And I said, ‘Well, answer this question for me. Why did Tim not only vote the way he did, that’s one issue, but why did he take such an arrogant stance? Why was he so dismissive of his constituents. That goes back to the basic respect. Mayor Reed—Me. It’s very basic. He said Tim told him that he had actually polled his district. The polling showed that the district was not in favor of health care. Let me tell you what I said to that. ‘Let’s assume that’s true. I can’t believe that’s true. But did he ask the other question though? What would happen if I voted in favor of it? Can I vote in favor of this and still get re-elected?’ He said, ‘I asked him the same question. He said that he didn’t poll that.’ I said, ‘That’s a problem. And let me tell you something else. Do you know what I believe and I do believe this? I believe that Tim Holden’s in trouble right now. Because of Argall. I do. I believe that Tim Holden—and I didn’t come here to bash Tim Holden—but I also believe that Tim Holden could have taken a different stance and been in a better position vis-a-vis his seat. I think that he wasn’t a risk taker.”

“I want to talk about the reasons about why he said he voted. He had three reasons (someone from the audience yells he gives us different reasons any time he talks to us). That’s right, he does. He gave us three reasons. One was the immigration issue. He said he was strongly opposed to the bill because it didn’t have strong enough prohibitions of insuring that illegal immigrants would not get health care. Listen, this is the fact no matter where you stand. We have to pay for whoever shows up at a hospital and has to be admitted if that’s required. It can be anyone. There’s a second piece to this. That is a basic contradiction. Tim Holden actually has come out in favor of supporting illegal immigrants. So he’s refined that whole process of who the illegal immigrant is. There was a Chinese dissident who was here, who was apparently very high profile and Tim Holden bent over backwards to see that that person could remain in the U.S.A. As a lawyer I really do like synchronicity. I like consistency. I like to see where the logic is. That doesn’t hold up for me. There’s another piece to this and that is, if he has a problem with undocumented workers and how we deal with it you can talk about it. You can say: I want greater controls. But what did he do when he was in Congress to insure that that would happen? Nothing. That’s mediocrity. That is what I call the princess and the pea. I want you to put another mattress on top, whatever that mattress might be policy wise because I can still feel the pea. Remember that fairy tale? Under the mattress and the answer is, how many mattresses do we have to put on top. Why don’t you get out of bed and go underneath and pick under the mattresses and take the doggone pea out yourself?”

End of Part 1

Read the conclusion of “Sheila Dow Ford Says No to Holden” in next month’s issue of CommonSense2.

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