Leach makes it official: He’s running for Congress
He hopes to win Dem nod to face four-term incumbent Republican Patrick Meehan
Daylin Leach is not one to mince words.
In fact, it’s been his greatest asset in recent months — one simple 140-character insult became a rallying-cry for displaced liberals with the “tweet heard ‘round the world.”
His condemnation of the commander-in-chief might just give the progressive from Wayne the boost he needs.
After about a month of rumblings, state Sen. Leach, D-17 of Lower Merion, made it official: He’s running for the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan, R-7, of Chadds Ford.
However, his true target remains the same: President Donald Trump.
“I have to be a part of the resistance for core American values,” Leach said on Monday. “I’ve reached tens of thousands of messages saying, ‘Thank you for giving us hope.’”
To those feeling “helpless” in the current political spectrum, Leach promised, “I’ll use whatever small modicum of talent I have to make sure we’re not numb.”
Leach holds no restraint in expressing his progressive liberal values seeded in points driven to the mainstream by the Bernie Sanders’ of the world, with priorities including but not limited to a base-$15 minimum wage, a free college option, paid sick and maternity leave and a single-payer health insurance policy.
“Health care is human right. We need a single-payer health care system that can’t be taken away from you,” Leach said. “People before profits for everyone in American.
“The Koch brothers will still be able to go on vacation,” he said, imbuing the Leach-ian quality that propelled him into the national spotlight with his rather vociferous condemnation of the president of the United States.
“Donald Trump doesn’t have respect for the basics of democracy,” Leach said. “Our values are under attack by a guy who wants to be an authoritarian.”
After Trump had threaten to “destroy” the career of a Texas legislator who stood opposed to civil asset forfeiture, Leach, using Trump’s favorite form of communication, Twitter, prodded the chief executive with a perfunctory-yet-effective use of profanity and insult.
“Hey @RealDonaldTrump I oppose civil asset forfeiture too! Why don’t you try to destroy my career you fascist, loofa-faced, s--gibbon!” @daylinleach tweeted in February.
It generated more than 34,000 “likes” and 14,000 retweets and reportedly catalyzed interview requests from London and beyond.
His response Monday to standing up to Trump?
“With Trump, we all have an obligation to stand up and say, ‘This is not normal,’” Leach said. “Whether it’s being funny or standing on the steps of the Capitol with a megaphone, we have to do everything we can to prevent this from being normal.”
Leach previously ran for the Democratic nod in Montgomery County’s 13th Congressional District in 2014 where he finished a distant third.
In the time since, Leach as a state senator co-sponsored the medical marijuana bill which became Act 16 of 2016 following majority votes in the House and Senate and upon receiving the signature of Gov. Tom Wolf. It was a major bipartisan victory
In Congress, Leach is determined to push legislation that will ease restrictions to allow the states more leniency in how they’re able to treat patients using medical cannabis.
“There’s a few things we can do on the federal level, and that’s changing the banking rules that would allow for coverage of medical marijuana,” he said.
Marijuana remains illegal under federal law and is not an FDAapproved medical treatment.
“Also, delisting marijuana from Schedule 1 would enable for more research.”
Leach joins the growing crowd of potential Democratic challengers to Meehan that includes Drew McGinty, Elizabeth Moro, Dan Muroff, Paul Perry and Molly Sheehan, who want to reverse the GOP’s gain of 2016.
The so-called “Trump Effect” has those looking to capitalize on resistance in the wake of Trump’s victory as a time to strike. Yet, all the special elections this year have already gone the GOP’s way — Republican wins in Georgia’s 6th and South Carolina’s 5th Congressional Districts among them. “Those were some extremely difficult districts, but you saw a surge in Democratic turnout, even in the Georgia race,” Leach said. “We’re going to see a huge Democratic wave, or else America will decide that this okay.”
He admitted that how well Trump is favored prior to the November 2018 general election will affect all of the legislative campaigns.
“If Trump does well, this will embolden him to go further,” Leach said. “The attacks on women, attacks on racial groups, crazy tweets, undermining our alliances — we have to fight that, or else we don’t deserve (our democracy).
“If we continue to cower to this guy, we can’t continue to be surprised.”
Regarding Republican incumbent, Meehan, Leach sang his praises.
“I personally like Pat Meehan. He’s an affable guy,” Leach said. “We have to get over this idea in America that in a competition of ideas that we have to be hostile.”
A spokesman for Meehan, a four-term incumbent, welcomed Leach to the race.
“We welcome him and the other five left-wing Democrats looking to challenge Congressman Meehan to the race and look forward to the exchange of ideas,” offered spokesman John Elizandro.
“I’m not running against Pat Meehan because I don’t like him,” Leach said.
Rather, he said, he’s running on a podium of values that are contrary to Republican stands.
“It’s not what they say in their district that matters, it’s what they vote in Washington,” Leach said. “We both have records. It comes down to whose plan is better for people of the 7th District.”