Casey and friends visit Pitt campus

The party came complete with speeches from Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, State Representative Dan… The party came complete with speeches from Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, State Representative Dan Frankel, Congressman Mike Doyle, Chris and Andre Heinz and Senate hopeful Bob Casey.

Before the rally, students lined Fifth Avenue bearing “Bob Casey for U.S. Senate” posters and called for support from passing motorists and pedestrians.

Rick Santorum supporters also took a stand along Fifth, holding posters and cheering for their candidate.

In from the rain and armed with buttons, bumper stickers and signs, students and Pittsburghers welcomed Mayor Ravenstahl, who was the first to offer support to Casey’s campaign.

“We have the opportunity to change the way Washington is working,” Ravenstahl said. “We can get rid of the Bush administration — well, we can’t get rid of the Bush administration, but we can lead the change by electing Bob Casey.”

Frankel took the mic next, asking the audience, “Have you had enough of rising deficits and reduced student loans? Have you had enough of incompetent foreign policy that has divided our country? We’ve had enough of Rick Santorum.”

Frankel predicted a “clean sweep” for Democrats in the coming elections because, he said, “this state, this city, this University has had enough.”

Congressman Doyle followed Frankel and led the crowd in a cheer, spelling out “Pitt Dems” and calling for personal initiative to get out and vote.

“Republicans are going to begin a campaign of ‘fear and smear’ now,” Doyle said of upcoming political ads. “They’re going to show you Osama Bin Laden, remember him? He’s the guy who attacked us four years ago who Bush never went after.”

Advising Democrats to ignore what he called “propaganda,” Doyle said, “It’s all about turnout now. I promise you, if we show up to vote, we win.”

Repeatedly referring to current Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum as “George Bush’s rubber stamp junior senator,” Doyle said, “If we gain control over the House and the Senate, George Bush won’t have any more rubber stamps and will have to answer to the American people he’s been screwing over.”

“Eleven days to change America,” Doyle said. “Do you want to do it?” The crowd responded with a standing ovation for the congressman.

Following Doyle was Chris Heinz, the Republican-turned-Democrat stepson of Sen. John Kerry. “I don’t get to talk about Rick Santorum very much,” Heinz said. “In fact, this might be my last chance.”

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Heinz said, “He is, in my mind, bar none, the worst senator I’ve ever seen in my life,” a comment that drew strong applause.

Planning to be out of town for the election on Nov. 7, Heinz brought his completed absentee ballot to the rally. Showing the envelope to the crowd, Heinz said, “I voted for firing Donald Rumsfeld, which felt good.”

Still, said Heinz, “I don’t consider myself a partisan man. I am first and foremost an American. This is a democracy and just because a Democrat is going to be elected, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be held accountable.”

Casey took the stage last and was greeted by applause from the crowd and handshakes from the preceding speakers.

He thanked the Heinz brothers for their support, and Casey said of their late father, “John Heinz grew up with wealth but understood he had an obligation to serve if given the chance, and I’m thinking about him today and thinking about this region, and I think the future looks bright.”

Two student Santorum supporters shouted to Casey, “Where’s your commitment to HIV/AIDS? Are you going to do better than Santorum?”

“I’m going to do a lot of things better than Santorum,” Casey said. “I put 10 specific plans forth in this campaign. The score right now is 10 to one. His only plan right now is privatize social security, and that is a bad plan.”

Casey’s top concerns were improving childcare and reducing global warming.

“If we invest in children in their younger lives, they’re not only going to be brighter, happier people, but they’re going to contribute more to society,” Casey said.

He said that solving global warming was one of the government’s responsibilities.

“We have to have mandatory reductions of carbon emissions, because unless we confront this crisis, we might as well not have Congress or other governmental leaders,” he said.

“The urgency for change across Pennsylvania and across the country is a tidal wave,” Casey said. “This is the year America says no to more of the same, no to divide and conquer and yes to a new direction.”