Who
is Ed Markey and why should I care if he is elected to the US Senate seat
vacated by John Kerry in Massachusetts? Why should I make phone calls to Massachusetts
voters this Friday evening on his behalf and/or put $25 towards his campaign? Here's why:
Congressman
Ed Markey is a progressive Democrat. He was first elected to
congress in 1976 and is a member of the Congressional
Progressive Caucus. He is the Democratic contender in the June 25th
special Senate election to fill the seat vacated by Secretary of State John
Kerry in December 2012. The latest poll
shows that Markey leads his opponent, Republican candidate Gabriel Gomez, by 7
points. (Margin of error 3.3%)
He
is an expert on energy policy – he chaired the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (eliminated
by House Republicans in January 2011) and currently serves on two energy
committees.
He cares about the environment: He has been
endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters. Pressure from Markey prompted British Petroleum to provide a
live underwater video feed showing oil leaking out of a pipe in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Markey has been a longtime critic of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and has
been critical of the NRC's decision-making on the proposed Westinghouse AP1000 reactor design and the NRC response to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.
He has a sense of humor: In August
2010, Markey was quoted as saying: ''An iceberg four times the size of
Manhattan has broken off Greenland, creating plenty of room for global warming
deniers to start their own country.'' Markey also said that, at the time, 2010
was the hottest recorded year, and "scientists agree arctic ice is a
canary in a coal mine that provides clear warnings on climate.'' Markey
has derided Republicans' stance on global warming, stating during a hearing:
"I won't
physically rise, because I'm worried that Republicans will overturn the law of gravity,
sending us floating about the room."
He has been consistently re-elected by his
constituents: As a congressman, Markey has continually been elected by high
margins, with his lowest score of victory being 62% in 1992, in a 3-way
election.
Although
Congressman Markey has a slight lead in the latest polls, Massachusetts is unpredictable: Observers state that his opponent
Gabriel Gomez will need to dominate among the Independent voters who make up
more than half of the Massachusetts electorate, and to convince cross-over
Democrats to vote for him. Gomez is currently winning 56 percent of the state's
independents, while Scott Brown won 65 percent of independent votes in 2010. In
addition, Markey is claiming 14 percent of the state's Republicans, while Gomez is winning
only 12 percent of Democrats.
WE ALL KNOW THAT THE BALANCE OF DEMOCRATS TO
REPUBLICANS IN THE SENATE IS CLOSE – 53 DEMOCRATS, 45 REPUBLICANS AND 2
INDEPENDENTS.
LET'S GET TOGETHER TONIGHT AND SUPPORT DEMOCRATIC
CONGRESSMAN ED MARKEY AS THE NEW SENATOR IN MASS!
DA
members across the world and in 3 cities here in
Switzerland are hosting gatherings in their homes and invite you to
join them on a call with Congressman Markey starting at 8pm (join the party as
of 7:15pm!)
WHERE: GENEVA (near Old Town), ZURICH (near University of ZH) and Winterthur (near train station), each
hosted at the home of a DACH member.
WHEN: Friday May 30th from 7:15pm to
9:30pm
Consider
supporting the campaign with a donation even if you cannot attend tonight!
You can read more about the latest poll here: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/massachusetts-senate-poll-markey-up-by-7-91487.html#ixzz2UcOvA7cW
We
hope you can join us in supporting our campaign to elect Ed Markey for Senate!
Go
Democrats!
Anne-Shelton
Aaron and Renee Rousseau
Chairs,
DA Switzerland and DA Zurich Chapter
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