Massa says get out and vote: Challenger to Randy Kuhl leads Hornell rally with Gen. Wesley Clark

November 6, 2006
STEVEN HERNACKI | STAFF WRITER | from Hornell Evening Tribune

Clark:“Since 9-11, America has made more enemies than friends in the world. In Iraq, the failure is palpable, the casualties build every day.”

HORNELL - In an election-eve event to win hearts, minds and votes, Eric Massa finished his Sunday campaigning in Hornell, calling upon all in attendance to vote and get others to vote.

“All we need to do in this country today, with all those who have sacrificed before us, is vote,” said Massa.

With Election Day fast approaching, the Democratic challenger to Republican incumbent John “Randy” Kuhl for the 20th Congressional District seat was running full steam as he addressed Hornell area residents Sunday night at Elks Lodge No. 364 in Hornell.

General Wesley Clark, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and Vietnam War veteran, also spoke at the event, reiterating what both parties and Massa are saying: “It's gonna be a close race.”

Clark also spoke on the importance of this election and of Massa supporters reaching out to the politically nonaligned.

“You must go beyond your intimate circle of Democrats,” said Clark, adding they should seek out people without signs on their lawns or buttons on their shirts.

Massa laid out the reasons for his campaign in a forceful message to the overflow crowd.

“I only want what every member of Congress already has,” said Massa outlining his plan to obtain universal healthcare.

Massa once was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and it was Gen. Clark who sent him home with a predicted eight months to live. But Massa beat the odds and cancer and finished out 24 years of service in the U.S. Navy.

“No man who has never worn a uniform has the right to call me a coward,” said Massa, referring to Kuhl.

Massa also voiced his views on border security, saying, “If we build a 16-foot wall, all it will do is make a Mexican factory work an 18-hour day.”

The only good thing about the Bush administration, according to Massa, is that “they've screwed up everything,” and therefore everything now has a chance to be fixed.

Relating a story about a voter who asked him what his dreams were and why he was running for Congress instead of following his dreams, Massa said it was not about his dreams but about her dreams and the dreams of others.

“I'm tired of people telling me that Steuben County cannot be won by a Democrat,” exclaimed Massa, issuing a call to arms to all of his supporters, Republicans, Independents and Democrats, to get people to vote.

When Hornell Mayor Shawn Hogan introduced Gen. Clark it was difficult to tell who received more applause from the audience.

“Since 9-11, America has made more enemies than friends in the world,” said Clark. “In Iraq, the failure is palpable, the casualties build every day.”

He added that foreign and domestic policy are intimately linked in America, saying, “We can't have change at home without change abroad.”

At 10 a.m. today, Massa was to speak at a rally in Rochester with former President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland. On Tuesday, Massa plans an Election Day tour that will include Canandaigua, Bath, Hornell and Corning.

The Kuhl campaign has announced just one event for the incumbent, that being a pre-election victory rally this evening at Three Birds Restaurant on Market Street in Corning with former Congressman Amo Houghton.