From Pennsylvania: Chuck Pennachio brings the AP to its knees

We're blogging today from the City of Brotherly Love, Rocky, and the Liberty Bell. Which is why it's appropriate that this story found its way to our inbox.

Democrat Bob Casey Jr. is running for U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania - but he's not exactly the favorite of progresives. You see, his father was one of the more famous pro-life Democrats when he was Governor, and Bobby Jr. is a chip off the ol' block.

Chuck Pennacchio, on the other hand, is a Wellstone-esque progressive (he's even a college professor just like the late, great Paul Wellstone.) Curiously, he's had quite a bit of trouble getting the mainstream media to cover his candidacy.

So, what do you do when the media won't cover your big campaign? In Chuck's own words:

On March 4, Bob Casey Jr. entered Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate race amid much fanfare from the "mainstream media" and political pundits. Before the evening ended, our campaign faced its first test of organizational strength. Despite spending a lengthy amount of time on the phone with the Associated Press; the AP reporter omitted our campaign from their article, going as far as to cite a party spokesperson saying that no one else would enter the race.

We quickly mobilized the muscle of our budding campaign structure, putting out the call to our fledgling email list, local and national bloggers, asking them to contact the AP and voice their opinion about the omission. I can't even guess how many calls and emails they received, but first thing that Monday morning, I received a phone call from an editor that simply said, "We got the message." We have been in every AP article since.

Elsewhere
Raw Story: Progressive candidate for Penn. Senate race says Democrats have stifled his campaign
Swing State Project: Choice in Pennsylvania: Abortion and 2006 Democratic Primary for U.S. Senate