PHILADELPHIA, PA -- At lunchtime today, hundreds gathered in Philadelphia�s Love Park to support Pennsylvania Democrats. The crowd huddled in the cold, clutching their �Ricky the Rat� signs that depicted a smug Santorum with whiskers, buck teeth, and mouse ears. �He�s a rat,� said one red-cheeked activist, �for making $165,000 a year and not supporting minimum wage changes.� Local labor leaders quickly got the crowd fired up by chanting �Hey hey! Ho ho! Rick Santorum�s got to go!�
Governor Ed Rendell�s bus pulled up to the busy Center City intersection with a veritable Dream Team of politicians aboard. The stirring piano intro from Van Halen�s �Right Now� came on over the loudspeakers, as Chakah Fatah, Patrick Murphy, Ed Rendell, Bob Casey, and keynote speaker John Edwards took the stage.
If the polls are any indication of what�s in store for Tuesday, of course, both Casey and Rendell are shoo-ins. When Bob Casey took the stage, hundreds of �Casey for Senate� signs went up into the crisp air. Casey slammed Santorum for supporting Rumsfeld and Bush to the bitter end. Then, Rendell thanked all the supporters who enabled him to pass child healthcare legislation in Pennsylvania, as well as a statewide raise in the minimum wage. 2006 thus handled, he introduced Edwards, saying that �nobody knows the heart and soul of the Democratic Party better.�
Wearing a yellow �Live Strong� bracelet in support of his wife (whom he said is doing great), Edwards took the theme of �change� to a broader level. �Bush and his gang�have failed to meet our responsibility to humanity,� Edwards claimed. He had just returned from a trip to Africa, and he spoke of the genocide in the Sudan and the rampant AIDS epidemic. �Look at what the world has gotten in the last six years,� Edwards said. �We used to be the light, the defenders of human rights around the world.� Edwards spelled out the Democrats� agenda after they reclaim Congress: providing universal healthcare; leading America and the world away from oil dependence in the mid-East; asking Americans to be patriotic about something other than war; raising the minimum wage; and ending poverty. The crowd erupted. They were ready.
--Zack Pelta-Heller