Getting to know Gary Peters (D): candidate for MI-09

In the spirit of "Gary Peters" week, I wanted to drop some more knowledge on why this candidate, and this race, is important to pro-choice Americans.

When doing some research, I found a post by Howie Klein on Firedoglake that welcomed Gary Peters into Blue America:

Joe Knollenberg's pals in the local media give him some cover and try to paint him as a "moderate" and an "independent voice"...

[Knollenberg is] one of the most extreme anti-Choice members of Congress but had no problem at all voting against stem cell research and against health care for needy children (S-CHIP).

Sounds like Peters is up against a candidate that is being portrayed in very much the same vein as the McCain-Palin ticket is... but DON'T LET THEM FOOL YOU! Knollenberg is no more a maverick than McCain, which is to say, NOT AT ALL.

Another interesting note: The DCCC has named the Gary Peters race one of their Red to Blue races. This is a strong indicator of the campaign's viability, for sure.

Finally, Peters has a history of standing up for his pro-choice values while he served in the state Senate. "Supporters of the bill said they don't want taxpayers' money to go to organizations that support abortion services... Abortion rights advocates, meanwhile, say the bill would hurt Planned Parenthood's ability to provide low-income women with services such as cervical cancer screenings and HIV/AIDS treatment. 'Unwanted pregnancies will occur' because of the funding struggle, said Sen. Gary Peters, D-West Bloomfield. 'This bill is playing a game of risky politics.'" (AP, 5/2/02)

Learn more in our elections section and take a few seconds to learn more about Gary Peters below: