Carney is among centrist Democrats who won

He is opposed to abortion and gun control

By TOM KANE

DUNMORE, PA — Chris Carney, the Congressman-elect for the 10th Congressional District, is among those newly elected Democrats who are being called centrists rather than liberals.

Many pundits are claiming that it was the independents and the disaffected Republicans that swung the election to the Democrats. It was not solely the traditional base of the party which has been more liberal than centrist, they say.

Carney and many of the others who won on election day are a new breed of Democrat who do not reflect the traditional left-leaning philosophy of the party.

Most of Carney’s positions on the issues are clearly traditionally Democratic, but not all of them.

For example, while he deplores the war in Iraq, he seeks victory as the ultimate goal. He has a plan that would re-deploy one American battalion for every fully-trained Iraqi battalion. Many in his party do not accept out and out victory as the ultimate goal.

As a Naval officer, senior terrorism advisor and consultant to the Department of Defense, Carney has unusual insight into the intelligence leading to the war and to the war on terrorism in general.

Carney also opposes abortion and the open acceptance of a woman’s right to choose, which is clearly against the majority of his party. “I am a Roman Catholic father of five,” he said. “I do not favor abortion. I favor adoption, responsible education and access to comprehensive reproductive health care.”

Also, contrary to many in his party, Carney is against what he calls “the over-regulation of guns owned by responsible Americans.”

Many political analysts see the need for the Democratic leadership to recognize this new wing of the party if they wish to succeed in legislating in the coming two years before the next presidential election.

Apart from these positions, Carney reflects the philosophy of the party in such areas as protecting the Social Security system. Carney’s website, www.carneyforcongress.com, states that “Chris will fight to make sure that Social Security is guaranteed for future generations of workers, retirees and their families and will not be jeopardized by market fluctuations.”

In the Democratic tradition, Carney says he will fight for the middle class by proposing tax cuts that provide real relief for working families and will work to reduce and eventually eliminate the deficit, which will lessen the burden of debt on future generations.

This week, Carney attended the orientation for new members of Congress in Washington, DC.