NOW Endorses Sandals: Why Didn't They Endorse Pennacchio?

Well, this certainly is some big news.

Immediately, my reaction was one of disappointment. This is bad news for Chuck, I thought. Chuck's message is finally starting to sink in across Pennsylvania and the publicity from an endorsement by the National Organization for Women could have really jumpstarted his campaign. Hearing NOW PAC endorse Sandals was quite a shock to my system. Why on Earth would NOW PAC endorse the progressive candidate with less grassroots support? Why would they ignore Pennacchio's political experience and support a neophyte like Sandals, when their positions are pretty much the same? On the face of it, this doesn't really make sense. So what's the deal?

NOW PAC claims that Sandals "will best protect and advance our rights in the U.S. Senate." As if Pennacchio wouldn't do the same. Sandals' website claims that, "Alan is pro choice; he believes that abortions should be safe, legal and rare." That sounds a quite similar to what Pennacchio's website says: "Chuck believes that abortion should be safe, legal and rare." Except that Chuck's website continues with the following:

He believes that a woman's right to have control over her own reproductive choice is inviolate, and as our Senator, he will stand up to protect this fundamental Constitutional guarantee. While people of good conscience disagree on the propriety of abortions, it is the right of a woman to determine whether abortion is appropriate or not.

So, save me the garbage about Sandals being better on abortion.

For all things political, the answer, of course, is money. Think about it, NOW PAC--like any political action committee--is an organization that works to elect candidates who support their special interests. NOW PAC will assist the Sandals' campaign with money and publicity in exchange for his support when legislation they care about comes to the Senate floor. Effectively, Sandals is beholden to this interest group

Chuck Pennacchio, on the other hand, refuses to accept PAC money of any stripe. Despite the fact that Pennacchio vehemently favors reproductive rights, he will not be beholden to any interest group, including those with whom he agrees politically.

So, think about it from NOW PAC's perspective. They want to spend money on a candidate who they can have in their back pocket. Sandals and Pennacchio are rather similar on the issues, but Pennacchio doesn't want to be under their thumb. Bingo! Sandals is their man. Regardless of the fact that Chuck has political experience and is in a better position statewide, NOW PAC, by its very nature, cannot support Chuck Pennacchio.

With this endorsement, Sandals is back in business. Earlier, I posted on my worries about Pennacchio and Sandals splitting the progressive vote (here and here). I had not heard much from Sandals' campaign and was hoping that he would fade away, leaving Pennacchio as the sole competitor to Bob Casey, Jr. With NOW PAC dumping money and publicity into Sandals' campaign, it looks like that won't be happening.