Poll-itics: Sestak Tied With Specter in Pennsylvania

By GottaLaff

Go Joe Sestak! He and Arlen Specter are now tied at 43% each with 13% still undecided.

This probably had a little something to do with it:



Tying Specter to Boy Georgie and Barbie McLipSchmutz in one 30 second ad? Ouch.

Part of his Wiki:

--Sestak has a 100% rating from NARAL and has stated his support for Roe v. Wade.^[12]

--He is the only Pennsylvanian congressman to have a 100% rating from the League of Conservation Voters and PennEnvironment. He has also been endorsed by the Sierra Club. He voted for the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2007 and the New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security and Consumer Protection Act. He was also an original co-sponsor of the Climate Stewardship Act (H.R. 620) and the Safe Climate Act.^[16]

--Sestak supports gun control and has a 100% rating from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence ^[17] and an F rating from the National Rifle Association^[18]

Sestak has called for the reinstatement of the federal ban on assault weapons.^[19]

--Congressman Sestak is an original co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act and supports the original version that includes card check. He created the Labor Advisory Committee to address the challenges facing working families in his district.^[22]

Win, baby, win.

Sestak Says White House Offered Him Job to End Challenge, White House Denies

By GottaLaff

He said, they said:

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) claims the White House "offered him a federal job in an effort to dissuade him from challenging Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) in the state's Democratic primary."

Said Sestak: "I'm not going to say who or how and what was offered. I don't feel it's appropriate to go beyond what I said."

The White House denied the story.

It worked

By GottaLaff

Earlier I posted about the pressure Joe Sestak was putting on Arlen Specter to "encourage" his support of Dawn Johnsen.

It worked:

Even after he became a Democrat, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter said that he opposed Johnsen’s nomination. However, today his office released a statement in which Specter says that he will now support her:

After voting ‘pass’ (which means no position) in the Judiciary Committee, I had a second extensive meeting with Ms. Johnsen and have been prepared to support her nomination when it reaches the Senate floor.

Spencer Ackerman notes that Republican Sen. Dick Lugar (IN) has also said he is standing by his support for Johnsen, meaning she has the 60 votes necessary to be confirmed.

Sestak To Specter: Don't Screw Over Dawn Johnsen Again

By GottaLaff

All previous posts regarding the obstruction of Dawn Johnsen's confirmation here. How frustrating that there are so many.

Now Joe Sestak is using that obstruction to his, and eventually our, advantage:

Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA), who wants Sen. Arlen Specter's (D-PA) Senate seat, is needling his opponent over his role in preventing the confirmation of one of President Obama's top Justice Department nominees [...]

After you joined your Republican colleagues in successfully blocking Professor Dawn Johnsen from receiving a fair up-or-down vote last year, the President has decided to resubmit her nomination this year.

With Democrat Senator Ben Nelson opposed to Johnsen, but Republican Senator Richard Lugar strongly in favor, that means that all it takes is your vote to put a principled, qualified progressive in this key position.

What really matters is getting Johnsen in... finally, once and for all, at long last, already. Here's why:

Sestak goes on to allege that Specter might not want Johnsen--known for being a strong critic of Bush administration policies--to have the power to pull back the veil on a number of government scandals.

And then he sticks it to Specter. Go here and read all about it. If this is what it takes to get Dawn Johnsen confirmed, then I say, "Stick it to him harder, Joe."

Specter Calls for Repeal of Marriage Act

By GottaLaff

What a good Democrat Arlen's become since he decided he wanted to be re-elected very, very badly:

The announcement by Senator Specter, a longtime supporter of the marriage act who once said he favored fortifying it with a constitutional amendment, came in the midst of his primary battle for the Democratic nomination against Representative Joe Sestak, who favors its repeal.

Both Mr. Sestak and Republicans, in the last 12 hours or so, have been quick to point out that Mr. Specter voted for the act in 1996 and even proposed that it be fortified with a constitutional amendment in 2004, when he faced a tough Republican primary challenge from Pat Toomey, a conservative.

Sestak nailed him with a statement of his own. Here's a taste:

As the long-time Republican Senator carries on his attempt to run away from his 30-year Republican record, this time on his vote to support the Defense of Marriage Act, he should be honest about his votes to oppose equal rights for LGBT Americans. [...]

Senator Specter’s willingness to reposition himself just to help himself politically should give pause to Pennsylvanians who are looking for a loyal Senator who will put principle over politics for the next generation.

Go here for more ouch-worthiness.

Video- Arlen Specter says GOP is party of obstruction

I hope Sestak wipes the floor with this bozo.

Photo-O'-The-Day- Fox News: "Rep. Joke Sestak (D-PA)"

By GottaLaff

From the August 17 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:

The real joke is a so-called "news" network that has no concept of objectivity, fairness, and accuracy whatsoever, or of the meaning of the word, you know, news.

ClusterFox of the highest order.

H/t: VNDNBRG

Joe Sestak Makes it Official

Just FYI, I will be shilling and doing all I can to get the former Vice Admiral elected. More from Sestak here.

After months of hinting, Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) formally announced this morning he would challenge Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Specter Becomes Reliable Democratic Vote

By GottaLaff

I'd amend Taegan's title to say "a more reliable vote", since I don't have a whole lot of trust in Specter the Democrat:

Nate Silver notes that since Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) announced he would almost certainly challenge Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) in a Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, the formerly Republican senator has voted with his new party on 28 out of 29 contentious votes, or 97% of the time.

"Specter's overall party loyalty score since becoming a Democrat -- counting votes both before and after the primary challenge -- is 87%. This contrasts with the 44% of the time that he broke ranks to side with the Democratic on contentious votes while still a member of the Republican Party. He's basically been behaving like a mainline, liberal Democrat."

Good, but I still don't trust him.

An Unlikely Potential Guest At Netroots Nation: Arlen Specter

By GottaLaff

Pressure cooker time:

Okay, so here’s a sign that Arlen Specter may really be sweating the looming challenge from netroots hero Joe Sestak: Specter, a longtime Republican until this year, is considering making an appearance at Netroots Nation next month. [...]

Meanwhile, Sestak adviser Joe Langdon says his boss will be there. For Specter to attend Netroots Nation and take questions alongside Sestak would be a real sign of the times and make for some good — and very valuable — political theater.

Joe Sestak Says He's Running Against Specter

I really like Sestak (even if he does act a little dicky sometimes) and I like the idea of a primary even more, but I can't see this going very far considering the promises that I'm sure had to be made between Obama and Specter.

Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) is privately telling supporters that he intends to run for the U.S. Senate, reports TPM. Sestak would challenge Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) in a Democratic primary.

That's probably why he's not returning phones calls from DSCC Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ).

CNN- Rep. Joe Sestak on Sen. Specter's 'party switch'

Don't know about the President and the rest, but I'm behind Sestak unless Arlen does something HUGE to prove himself.