As you all know by now I supported Ed Rendell in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania governor. Rightfully, he won the election. It was one thing when I saw his attack ads on TV but when I received this postcard a few days before the election I was insulted. I'm still insulted- EXTREMELY.

Who the hell is this buffoon to think that I give a damn who he married? Bob Casey, Jr. counted on me to be swayed by him slyly throwing his wife's maiden name in there??? He obviously counted on me being impressed by the red, white and green color scheme. I assume he simply went through the rolls of registered Democrats whose last name ended in a vowel and blindly shipped out this piece of crap. As my last name is Scarpello, I was obviously thrown in with the rest of the perceived Iroc drivin', pizza slingin' Mafioso...

Look, I don't turn a blind eye to the fact that many people vote by race or ethnicity but I'm not one of them. Casey's assumption that I would insulted me. Can anyone tell me what Italian-American values are? I've been Italian my whole life and I've never even heard the term. I'm extremely proud of my Italian ancestry but I'm much more interested in American values. Notice that there is absolutely no mention of anything here except for the fact that he married a woman with an Italian sounding last name. I'm surprised there wasn't a coupon included for a discount at Pizza Hut...

As for his endorsement by the National Italian-American Political Action Committee, that is also a joke. Turns out they're headquartered in Philly on Locust Street yet I've never heard of them. The entire organization is a farce. The only event they've had was in February OF THIS YEAR. They have no more events scheduled. I smell a political rat. They proudly proclaim on their homepage:

Thank you for your interest in the National Italian-America Political Action Committee (NIA-PAC). Please join our membership and become part of our dynamic and ever growing organization. Our Primary mission is:

To promote Italian-American candidates for political office

To have an active role in the appointment of Italian-Americans to government positions

What if the Italians running for office SUCK?!? Am I still supposed to vote for them? What a stupid and insulting concept.
I spoke to several Italian-Americans who received the same postcard in the mail and every single one of them was equally offended. I'm curious to know if members of other ethnic groups receive this type of targeted campaign crap.

Share your thoughts on Casey's Italian- American postcards right here

Article by Funk Wizard Snow
Editor- PhillyHipHop.com
May, 2002