DavidNYC, "I have a very strong feeling that Ginny Schrader will be the first Representative in Congress to unofficially carry a (D-Blogosphere) tag, and proudly so."
We have all seen Kos's polling analysis, if Ginny can make choice the issue, she can win. Read the lead paragraph from this morning's Intelligencer debate coverage:
Democrat Ginny Schrader successfully played to what some believe is Republican Mike Fitzpatrick's greatest weakness among Bucks County voters - his pro-life stance - during a debate at Tifereth Israel synagogue in Bensalem Sunday.
The story continues:
Fitzpatrick said he opposes partial-birth abortion and favors parental consent for women under 18 who seek to end a pregnancy. "I believe my morals are more in line with the district," Fitzpatrick said. Yet, even as he spoke, audience members grumbled.
"You lost my vote!" one man shouted.
Capitalizing on the sentiment, Schrader said her pro-choice stance is clear. "And make no mistake about it," she said, "it's a very important issue in the Congress."
I think that last line may be a reference to this quote, "Fitzpatrick said abortion isn't a U.S. House of Representatives issue..."
Not only is Ginny leading the issues debate with choice, but she is also doing a great job of introducing herself to voters, as Brian Callaway reported:
There she was, a divorced young mother of two toddlers, with only a high school diploma and a department store sales job.
Ginny Schrader didn't need anyone to tell her the obvious.
"I was responsible for these two babies," she said, "and it sunk in that ... this was not gonna work."
It was the 1960s, and the options weren't exactly plentiful for single mothers.
Her parents were supportive, but not very optimistic about her future. "They just didn't see how it was going to happen," she said.
If they were alive to see her today, it would be interesting to hear what they'd say because Schrader raised her children, earned a slew of degrees and scraped her way into a six-figure salary in a top job with a Fortune 500 company.
Now, the Lower Makefield resident is stumping for less expensive health care, abortion rights and a new course for the war in Iraq as the Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives.
Because of Republican Jim Greenwood's retirement, many agree that Schrader's battle with her GOP opponent - Bucks County Commissioner Mike Fitzpatrick - is the first competitive race the 8th Congressional District has seen since President Clinton took office.
How did she make it this far? "I did what I had to do," she said.
You see why Ginny is so driven as you find out more about her history, Callaway continues:
She was born Virginia Waters 60 years ago in Braintree, Mass. Her father was a salesman and her mother, like most women in her family, was a schoolteacher.
As for young Ginny, it was decided she would be a dancer. She wasn't necessarily opposed to the idea. She began ballet lessons at 5, pirouetted happily through her teens and picked up cheerleading and gymnastics along the way.
But something still nagged at her.
She realized what it was one night when her family was debating whether her brother should be a doctor or a lawyer. "I'm sitting there," Schrader said, "and no one was asking me what I wanted to be."
Callaway lets the story unfold:
About how she made the decision - largely unheard of then for young mothers - to go to college. About how she sold her furniture to pay tuition and moved herself and her kids back in with her parents. About how she earned her bachelor's degree in government from Massachusetts' Suffolk University after only two years.
"I thought I was so old that I had to hurry," she said, looking back on those 20-something years. "Going back to school with two kids - nobody did that."
She admits her parents were disbelieving as well, but Schrader's daughter said it was a good way to grow up.
"To me, that was the norm," said Lisa Freedman, now a teacher in the Pennsbury School District and mother to two of Schrader's four granddaughters. "We didn't know any different. My mom, she was fun, she was our parent. ... She was always surrounded by books and papers, but she was there."
Schrader's supporters point to her biography as one of her best qualifications for public office.
Callaway also examines the source of Ginny's political leadership:
Schrader said she was convinced the Supreme Court would order a vote recount, not decide the election in President Bush's favor in 2000. Because of "exasperation" about the outcome of that presidential election, she changed her registration from independent to Democrat later that year.
"I just swore I would never watch this on television again," she said. "I would become part of the process; I would do whatever I could."
www.ginnyschrader.com