Subj: 67 Counties in 3 Weeks
Date: 7/5/2009 3:48:30 PM Central Daylight Time
From:

To: Mitch Dworkin
Sent from the Internet (Details)

NEWS FROM JOE SESTAK

MEDIA ADVISORY
For Immediate Release: July 5, 2009

67 Counties in 3 Weeks
Joe Sestak Continues his Trip across Pennsylvania

On July 1, at 4 am, Congressman Joe Sestak began a 3-week trip to visit all of Pennsylvania's 67 counties to listen to and meet with the good people of Pennsylvania, including local Democrats and members of the media. The first leg of the trip concluded Friday evening in Lawrence County, near the Ohio border, at a VFW Post where more than 100 Pennsylvanians came out to speak with Joe. After a late-night drive across the state to his District on the southeastern border, Joe enjoyed a traditional Fourth of July celebration that began with the annual Marple Newtown parade and included visits around the three counties in the 7th District. This morning, Joe embarked on the second stage of his statewide trip, where he will visit Pike, Monroe, and Northhampton counties.

You can follow the journey on Twitter and Facebook, where he is posting details and pictures of his travels.

http://twitter.com/sestak2010

Sestak 2010

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Joseph-Sestak-Jr/6985950786

Joseph Sestak Jr. is on Facebook
Sign up for Facebook to connect with Joseph Sestak Jr.

The trip has already been a tremendous opportunity to discuss the issues and challenges facing communities throughout the state and to talk about what needs to be done in the future. Joe looks forward to providing updates over the next few weeks as he continues to travel our beautiful state.

Joe Sestak was elected to Congress in 2006 after a distinguished 31-year career in the United States Navy, and he is honored to represent the Southeastern Pennsylvania district where he was born and raised. During his Navy career, Joe attained the rank of 3-star Admiral, served in the White House as Director for Defense Policy on President Clinton's National Security Council, served in the Pentagon as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, and led a series of operational commands at sea, culminating in command of the USS George Washington Aircraft Carrier Battle Group (30 ships, 100 aircraft, and 15,000 sailors/marines/aviators/SEALs) during combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. In our nation's time of crisis in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the Navy turned to Joe Sestak to serve as the first Director of "Deep Blue," the Navy anti-terrorism unit formed in response to the attacks. Joe is the highest-ranking former military officer ever elected to either branch of Congress. He graduated second in his class from the U.S. Naval Academy and holds a Master's in Public Administration and a PhD in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University. Joe lives in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Susan, and daughter, Alex, and proudly represents the 7th District, where his parents and six of his siblings still reside.

###

Powered by Democracy in Action

Paid for by Sestak for Congress

http://sestakforcongress.com/

Sestak for Congress | PO Box 16 | Media | PA | 19063 | (610) 891-8956

go down without a really tough primary fight (I subscribe to the e mail lists of any candidates who I am for and against so that I know what each one is doing and saying):

Subj: Arlen Specter Campaign Update 
Date: 7/6/2009 1:35:47 PM Central Daylight Time
From: info@specter2010.com
To: Mitch Dworkin
Sent from the Internet (Details)

Dear Mitch,

Welcome to the first edition of the Specter 2010 campaign update. Last week was an exciting one as Senator Specter met with hundreds of Party leaders across nine counties to talk about their shared Democratic values.

1. "Sen. Specter always gathered support in the county," said Greg Leathers, chairman of the Greene County Democratic Committee. "He has been a friend of labor and the AFL-CIO." Leathers added that a challenger would have a hard time establishing the legitimacy and credibility that comes with a 29-year incumbent, and the senator's chances of re-election are good.
-The Herald Standard, 7/4/09

http://specter2010.com/news/headlines/greene_democrats/

Senator Specter concluded another successful tour through central and western Pennsylvania last week, visiting with grassroots Democrats in nine counties. Click here to read about his visit with Adams County Democrats and click here to read more about his visit with Greene County Democrats.

http://specter2010.com/news/headlines/gettysburg_boro/

http://specter2010.com/news/headlines/greene_democrats/

2. Rep. Joe Sestak called himself the only "true Democrat" in Pennsylvania's 2010 U.S. Senate race during a visit to Northampton County this afternoon.
-The Express Times, 7/5/09

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/elections/index.ssf/2009/07/expresstimes_photo_joe_gillrep.html
That's ironic, since Sestak has only been a Democrat since 2006.

According to records on file at the Delaware County Voter Registration office, Sestak did not register as a Democrat until February 2006. (Prior to that, he had been a lifelong Independent.) He announced his campaign for Congress, as a Democrat, in March 2006.

http://www.co.delaware.pa.us/depts/voterregis.html

3. "I am going to get into the race against Arlen Specter... for senator," said Sestak in his first media interview as part of a three-week tour through all of the Commonwealth's 67 counties. The statement, made early in the 45-minute interview, was point blank with no follow-up qualms or hesitancy.
-The Wayne Independent, 7/1/09

http://www.wayneindependent.com/news/x135735829/Congressman-tells-TWI-he-will-run-against-Specter

But then later in the day a Sestak spokesman backed away from his boss's comments, saying there had been no announcement about a campaign against Specter. Sestak has "kind of" announced several times in the past four weeks, sparking confusion among state political leaders. And as one reporter noted, "If this keeps up much longer, no one is actually going TO CARE whether Sestak gets into the race or not."

http://blogs.mcall.com/capitol_ideas/2009/07/the-new-skinny.html

4. "I do not take the nomination for granted and am happy to learn from these experienced Democratic leaders."
-Senator Arlen Specter, 6/15/09

As Senator Specter has criss-crossed the state meeting with local Democrats, he has assembled a team of experienced Democratic grass roots leaders to serve on his Statewide Advisory Committee. If you'd like to join the Committee and help the Senator's campaign, please contact us at

http://specter2010.com/endorsements/advisory_committee/

Make sure you receive email from Arlen Specter 2010. Add info@Specter2010.com to your approved senders list.

Specter2010.com | Harrisburg, PA
© 2009 Arlen Specter | Plus Three | ARCOS

At about 2:25 into this video, Joe Sestak mentioned Gen. Clark positively in his interview with Andrea Mitchell today:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/31851942#31851942  (04:12)

Sestak announces Pennsylvania run
July 10: Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., joins Andrea Mitchell Reports to discuss his announcement that he will run against Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., in the Democratic Pennsylvania primary.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/31851942#31851942  (04:12)

This was a really good interview.  Joe Sestak will definitely be an excellent Senator in my opinion!

fascinating

will support Joe thru this website

what are the chances Arlen will retire?

Bill (from RI)

with my answers to Specter's 3 points!

Here are my answers to Arlen Specter's 3 points in his campaign e mail below (please also see Joe Sestak's campaign e mail in the comment below this one which documents some of my answers): 

1) "He (Sestak) only became a Democrat in February of 2006, shortly before he began his Congressional campaign."

Answers:

A) Joe Sestak credibly answered that in his e mail posted below (and he mentioned Gen. Clark in a positive manner in his answer):

"I was registered as an Independent during the 35 years I served in the U.S. Navy protecting our country because, like Generals Colin Powell and Wesley Clark - who were also registered as Independents, I believe it is important that military officers should be nonpartisan."

B) I also documented in this post where Jon Soltz of VoteVets.org dealt with this issue back in 2007 by making the the point that "you don't use a military uniform to speak politics, our military is above politics, it is against the law, it is illegal to wear your uniform:"

http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/12958

VIDEO: Jon Soltz was "Swift-Boated" by several Neocon blogs during YearlyKos!

Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on August 8, 2007 - 3:30am.

C) Arlen Specter is acting like a total hypocrite to even bring this up as an issue when Bush endorsed him in 2004 saying about Specter "I can count on this man" and "he's a firm ally when it matters most:"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2q7hei3T3E

Arlen Specter loved Bush and Santorum in 2004  (0:36)

SantorumExposed
April 28, 2009

"An Arlen Specter TV ad from 2004 featuring Santorum and Bush."

I wonder if Arlen Specter has ever heard of the saying about hypocrisy which goes something like "take the log out of your own eye before you take the splinter out of someone else's eye."

2) "Sestak voted in just 13 of the 35 (37%) general elections from 1971 through 2005..."

Answers:

A) Joe Sestak in his e mail below said:

"Let's be clear: I voted for Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, and Barack Obama while Arlen Specter voted for George Bush, Bob Dole, and John McCain. Running in a Democratic primary, Arlen knows he cannot win on his three decade Republican Senatorial record, where he steadfastly supported the Republican agenda, including the last eight years of the failed Bush Presidency.  Instead, Arlen has decided his only shot at winning in the primary is to run a "negative campaign" against me; hence his attack on my military service and integrity..."

B) I think that the answer in point 1 about mixing politics and military service still applies and as far as who Sestak voted for, it basically comes down to Specter's word versus Sestak's word if Specter tries to contest who Sestak voted for when he voted.  Is Specter ready to come out and formally call Sestak a liar about who he voted for?

C) Even granting that Specter is right about this (which I am NOT doing), that point still does not answer Specter's strong support of Bush in the past, it has nothing to do with where each candidate currently stands on the issues, and it has nothing to do with how each candidate will vote in the Senate going forward for the next 6 years.  Obviously Sestak's House voting record is far more Democratic than Specter's Senate voting record is which in my opinion should send a very strong message about how each candidate will vote in the Senate over the next 6 years if they win!

3) "Despite his continuous barrage of negative comments against Senator Specter’s record, Sestak has still declined to say that he is definitively a candidate for the U.S. Senate..."

Answer:

A) Joe Sestak has already formally announced that he is running as I documented in this post:

http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/17773

VIDEO: Joe Sestak made it official that he is challenging Specter in a primary!

Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on July 10, 2009 - 3:48pm.

What more does Specter want?  Does he want Sestak to write it in blood as opposed to ink that he is running against Specter in a Democratic primary?  Is Specter ready to come out and officially call Sestak a liar about whether he is running?  If he will not call Sestak a liar, then he cannot legitimately bring this up as a point in my opinion!

In conclusion, the bottom line to all of this in my opinion is that NONE of Arlen Specter's points in his campaign e mail below answers his past support of Bush & Bush's past support of him calling him "a firm ally when it matters most," Specter doing virtually nothing to try and change the Republican Party for the better before leaving it when he saw in the polls that he could not win against Pat Toomey in a Republican primary, where each candidate currently stands on the issues, how each candidate will vote in the Senate over the next 6 years if they win, and it especially shows that Specter has nothing left to run on in a Democratic Senate primary with his past record except for mentioning very trivial issues and going negative on Sestak:

Subj: Joe Sestak: Confused 
Date: 7/13/2009 12:34:31 PM Central Daylight Time
From: info@specter2010.com
To: Mitch Dworkin
Sent from the Internet (Details)

Dear Mitch,

How can Joe Sestak claim to be a non-partisan Independent and the “real Democrat” at the same time?

1) Congressman Sestak has claimed to be the only “Real Democrat” in this race. However, official Delaware County voting records show that Sestak was a registered Independent from August 1971 to early 2006. He only became a Democrat in February of 2006, shortly before he began his Congressional campaign.

Sestak told the AP for a July 7, 2009 story that he registered as an independent throughout his military career because he believed it inappropriate for a military officer to be affiliated with a political party and that he registered as a Democrat shortly after retiring in January 2006. Congressman Sestak said, “I have always believed in the Democratic principle.”

However, when he was asked by KDKA TV in June if he was a lifelong Democrat, Congressman Sestak said, “Actually I was a registered Independent in the military. I voted for both Democrats and Republicans . . .” (Starting at 4:15, through 6:15).

http://kdka.com/video/?id=58575@kdka.dayport.com

On MSNBC on July 10th, Sestak told Andrea Mitchell, “I lived Democratic principles the entire time I was Independent.” (Starting at 2:45, through 3:20).

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/31851942#31851942

So, how can Sestak claim to be a non-partisan Independent and the ‘real Democrat” at the same time?

2) Sestak voted in just 13 of the 35 (37%) general elections from 1971 through 2005, according to official records available at the Delaware County Courthouse.
When confronted by this information Sestak said in response: “In other years for example, in 1994 -- the records show that I requested an absentee ballot because I was serving out of Pennsylvania.”

That's true, sort of: Sestak was serving 'out of Pennsylvania' in 1994. Where was he serving? In DC, with the National Security Council...at the White House!

Check out his bio at the National Defense University website.

http://www.ndu.edu/inss/symposia/jointops00/sestak.html

There it says: “In July 1993, Rear Admiral Sestak reported to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations as Head, Strategy and Concepts Branch. From November 1994 to March 1997, he was the Director for Defense Policy on the National Security Council staff at the White House.

All that being said, the bottom line is Joe Sestak did not vote in 1994.

3) Despite his continuous barrage of negative comments against Senator Specter’s record, Sestak has still declined to say that he is definitively a candidate for the U.S. Senate. First he stated that he needed to discuss it with his family. He then said that he got the go-ahead from his wife, but he still had to talk to his eight-year-old daughter.

Though an early July news article cited Sestak as saying he was running against Senator Specter, his staff quickly retracted it, stating that it was a mistake. More recently Sestak has said it will be several months before a final decision is made. Sestak can’t make up his mind whether or not he’s actually running for Senate.

Make sure you receive email from Arlen Specter 2010. Add info@Specter2010.com to your approved senders list.

Specter2010.com | Harrisburg, PA
© 2009 Arlen Specter | Plus Three | ARCOS

in Specter's campaign e mail above, where Sestak truly defines himself as a candidate, and where Sestak brings up real issues that matter as opposed to the trivial issues that Specter brought up:

Subj: "Never Again" 
Date: 7/13/2009 9:08:42 AM Central Daylight Time
From: info@sestakforcongress.com
To: Mitch Dworkin
Sent from the Internet (Details)

Dear Mitch,

Many have doubted that we would be able to raise sufficient money for our upcoming race against Arlen Specter, but we raised over $1 million last quarter ... thanks to you ... and now have over $4.2 million cash-on-hand, making us the number one Senate challenger in the nation!

But we can't stop there; here's why we need to raise additional funds to continue this extraordinary momentum  --  Arlen has decided to start running his  "GOP negative style campaign" against us!

Please Contribute: Contribute

https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12839 

"Never again." said Senator John Kerry, a distinguished Vietnam War veteran last year, on behalf of Democrats:

"I support Barack Obama because he doesn't seek to perfect the politics of swiftboating - he seeks to end it. ... As a veteran, it disgusts me that the Swift Boats we loved while we were in uniform on the Mekong Delta have been rendered, in Karl Rove's twisted politics, an ugly verb meaning to lie about someone's character just to win an election. ... We must be determined never again to lose any election to a lie."

Arlen Specter vowed he's not a loyal Democrat; last week he proved it ... because while Arlen may have abandoned his party, he just can't quit making Republican "swift boat attacks" on the integrity of Democrats who served in our military:

Arlen said, "Congressman Sestak is a flagrant hypocrite in challenging my being a real Democrat when he did not register as a Democrat until 2006, just in time to run for Congress. His lame excuse for avoiding party affiliation, [was] because he was in the service...."

I was registered as an Independent during the 35 years I served in the U.S. Navy protecting our country because, like Generals Colin Powell and Wesley Clark - who were also registered as Independents, I believe it is important that military officers should be nonpartisan.

I'm proud that I was an Independent during my military service; proud that I immediately registered as a Democrat upon retiring from active duty in 2006; and proud that I opposed President Bush's policies that year beating a 20-year Republican Congressman who had the full-throated backing of both President Bush and Arlen Specter.

Let's be clear: I voted for Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, and Barack Obama while Arlen Specter voted for George Bush, Bob Dole, and John McCain. Running in a Democratic primary, Arlen knows he cannot win on his three decade Republican Senatorial record, where he steadfastly supported the Republican agenda, including the last eight years of the failed Bush Presidency.  Instead, Arlen has decided his only shot at winning in the primary is to run a "negative campaign" against me; hence his attack on my military service and integrity.

That is completely unacceptable! That's why we are asking you  --  today, of all days --  to help us continue our momentum by responding to this specific attack  -- the opening salvo by Arlen.  Help us send a message by what we raise in response to this email blast.

Please Contribute: Contribute

https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12839

With only 28% of Pennsylvanians wanting him re-elected, Arlen has fully embraced his slashing "GOP  negative-style campaigning" for which he is well-known.  

Arlen has hired for his re-election the same Republican media consultant who worked for President George W. Bush in his re-election campaign against Senator Kerry!  We all remember those "swift-boat" attacks that impugned the integrity of Senator Kerry. We are not going to stand by and let these attacks pass.  We will continue to respond ... "fast and hard", while emphasizing the issues that need to be addressed for all Pennsylvanians, and America.  Please contribute $5, $10, $15, $25, $50, $75, $100; or $250 ... every dollar does make a difference in this type of negative campaign being waged by Arlen Specter.

Please Contribute: Contribute

https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12839

Leading an aircraft carrier battle group in the war in Afghanistan, heading up the Navy's ant-terrorism unit after 9/11, or advising President Clinton in the White House as his Director of Defense Policy, I never considered my military service to our country a "lame excuse" for anything, but rather an honor.  At the end of the day, this election is about accountable leadership!

Please continue our momentum, by responding to this specific attack.  Never again!

Warmly,

Joe Sestak
Congressman, PA-7

Please Contribute: Contribute

You can make a secure online contribution via Act Blue at the following link https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12839.  Individual contributions are limited to $4,800 and can be made at one time ($2,400 for the primary election and $2,400 for the general election).  Contributions are not tax deductible.

Powered by Democracy in Action

http://joesestak.com/contact

Here is my response to Arlen Specter's latest deceptive smear e mail about Joe Sestak below:

1) Specter's main point in his e mail below is this statistic:

"Congressman Joe Sestak. Sestak has missed 78 votes in Congress so far this year, or nearly 15%, while campaigning for his theoretical Senate run."

A) Here is what is deceptive about this when using the link that he provided:

The 78 or so votes that Rep. Sestak missed were out of "457 votes cast" which Specter did not bother to mention:

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/111/house/vote-missers/

Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA)
Representing: Pennsylvania, District 7
Votes: 81 votes missed (15.1%), 457 votes cast

B) Here is what is very hypocritical on the part of Specter about this:

Specter mentioned the statistic that "Sestak has missed 78 votes in Congress" in the context of Rep. Sestak "campaigning for his theoretical Senate run."

Specter needs to be reminded about how he missed 27.3 % of his Senate votes in the fourth quarter of 2004 when he was running for reelection:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=300092&tab=votes

Arlen Specter
U.S. Senator, Pennsylvania

Time Period, Number of Votes, Missed Votes, Missed Percent 

2004-Q4 22 6 27.3%

It is not uncommon for a candidate to miss some votes when they are running in a race.  About 78 votes out of 457 is not very bad when running in a serious election.

2) Here is how to go on the offensive with Specter about this:

A) Using Specter's own link, it says that "Joe Sestak has voted with a majority of his Democratic colleagues 97.4% of the time during the current Congress:"

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/s001169/

Voting with Party

"Joe Sestak has voted with a majority of his Democratic colleagues 97.4% of the time during the current Congress..."

That voting record is better than Specter's even after his party switch using his own source:

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/s000709/

Voting with Party

"Arlen Specter has voted with a majority of his Democratic colleagues 91.1% of the time during the current Congress..."

B) Before Specter's party switch, he voted Republican a lot which these Washington post voting links will verify:

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/s000709/votes/against-party/page1/

Members of Congress / Arlen Specter / Votes Against Party

The list is very long and it goes back a very long way:

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/s000709/votes/against-party/page2/

Older votes against party | More recent votes against party

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/s000709/votes/against-party/page3/

Older votes against party | More recent votes against party

C) The real questions that Pennsylvania Democratic primary voters have to ask themselves between Joe Sestak and Arlen Specter are who has voted more Democratic recently, who has voted more Democratic in the past, and who is most likely to vote Democratic going forward in the future over the next 6 years?

3) The other points that Specter brought up are about Rep. Sestak voting while he was still in the military which I have already answered in this post:

http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/17773#comment-347615

Arlen Specter's latest campaign e mail smearing Joe Sestak...

Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on July 14, 2009 - 2:51am.

In conclusion, you can fully trust Joe Sestak to represent you over the next 6 years with his voting record while Arlen Specter cannot be trusted with a 6 year blank check with his voting record and after George W. Bush saying about him in 2004 "I can count on this man" and "he's a firm ally when it matters most:"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2q7hei3T3E

Arlen Specter loved Bush and Santorum in 2004  (0:36)

SantorumExposed
April 28, 2009

"An Arlen Specter TV ad from 2004 featuring Santorum and Bush." 

That is the real issue in this Democratic primary despite all of Specter's spin and rhetoric below.  The bottom line in my opinion is that Specter has nothing left to run on in a Democratic Senate primary with his past voting record except for mentioning very trivial issues and going negative on Sestak:

Subj: The Sestak Report: Joe Sestak - AWOL 
Date: 7/15/2009 2:54:27 PM Central Daylight Time
From: info@specter2010.com
To: Mitch Dworkin
Sent from the Internet (Details)

Joe Sestak – AWOL

Dear Mitch,

Q. In the 19-member Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation, who’s missed the most votes this year?
A. Congressman Joe Sestak. Sestak has missed 78 votes in Congress so far this year, or nearly 15%, while campaigning for his theoretical Senate run.

Q. Who has the 13th worst attendance record this year in the entire Congress?
A. Joe Sestak. That’s right. Only twelve other Members of Congress have missed more votes than Sestak in 2009, including two members who are in rehab, one recovering from back surgery and several under government investigation.

Q. Is it true that 97% of all members of Congress have a better attendance record than Congressman Sestak.
A. Yes. Sestak ranks that low -- 97% of all members of Congress have a better attendance record than Congressman Sestak.

Q. What’s Senator Specter’s attendance?
A. Specter has been present for 98.7% of all votes in the Senate this year.

You can learn more about Sestak’s poor attendance record here.

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/s001169/

Sestak voted in just 13 of the 35 (37%) general elections from 1971 through 2005, according to official records available at the Delaware County Courthouse.

When confronted by this information Sestak said in response: “In other years for example, in 1994 -- the records show that I requested an absentee ballot because I was serving out of Pennsylvania.”

That's true, sort of: Sestak was serving ‘out of Pennsylvania’ in 1994. Where was he serving? In Washington DC, with the National Security Council...at the White House!

Joe Sestak. He doesn’t vote in Pennsylvania and he doesn’t vote in Congress.

P.S. Sestak said what?

On MSNBC last week, Congressman Joe Sestak told host Andrea Mitchell that “Every officer is a Democrat.”
To watch for yourself, click here. Sestak makes this absurd statement at about the 2:40 mark.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/31851942#31851942

Make sure you receive email from Arlen Specter 2010. Add info@Specter2010.com to your approved senders list.

Specter2010.com | Harrisburg, PA
© 2009 Arlen Specter | Plus Three | ARCOS

Joe Sestak compared himself to Ned Lamont in the Ed Show video right below from last night when he said "I feel like Ned Lamont. Remember, he was 40 points down before he took..."

Sestak then went on to say after comparing himself to Ned Lamont:

"Remember what that poll said. And I just finished the tour in three weeks, and all 67 counties in Pennsylvania saw the same thing.

Seventy percent of the people say we can't make our decision yet on Joe. We don't know him. I'd have a group of 50 or 40 people at the end of that, and they say, you know, we do have a choice now that's credible..."

That statement is probably true BUT it can ONLY happen statewide in all of Pennsylvania IF Sestak can get about as big of a national grassroots movement behind him that Ned Lamont was able to get in 2006 which was extremely massive!

If Joe Sestak cannot get a nationwide grassroots movement behind him which is about the same size of what Ned Lamont and Jim Webb were able to get in 2006 in order to seriously compete with their Democratic establishment primary opponents who they defeated (Joe Lieberman and Harris Miller), then I do not see how Sestak can connect his message that he mentioned above with the entire state IF he does not have the amount of supporters and the amount of money that he needs to compete in EVERY Pennsylvania media market which Arlen Specter is definitely able to do with his name recognition, his big money, and with his establishment support:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/32091221#32091221  (2:41)

Senate race consumes Pennsylvania politics
July 22: Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., talks about his campaign to unseat Arlen Specter to represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/32091221#32091221  (2:41)

In addition to this, Sestak also has to respond to ALL of Specter's many attacks on him RIGHT AWAY and I have not nearly seen his campaign do that on a full time basis yet. Every attack from Specter that Sestak's campaign does not immediately respond to in both a timely and credible manner is the same thing as Sestak just allowing Specter to negatively define him to the entire state of Pennsylvania however he chooses to!

Any serious campaign should be able to understand this concept in my opinion which means that Sestak will probably have more problems than just getting the grassroots support and the money that he needs if his campaign is not fighting back against all of Specter's attacks on a full time basis right now!

Here is the MSNBC transcript of this video:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32104145/ns/msnbc_tv-tucker/

'The Ed Show' for Wednesday, July 22, 6 PM
Read the transcript to the Wednesday show

Guests: Jay Rockefeller, John Barrasso, Barbara Boxer, Joe Sestak, Sen. Sherrod Brown, Jamal Simmons, John Feehery, Laura Flanders, Valerie Jarrett, Jack Layton

SCHULTZ: Thanks so much..."

either by e mail (I would have received those e mails if they were sent) or anywhere on his campaign website as of the time that I posted this comment (I just looked at Sestak's entire website):

http://joesestak.com/

Again, if Joe Sestak's campaign is not IMMEDIATELY responding to these kind of attacks, then they are just allowing Arlen Specter to negatively define Sestak to the entire state of Pennsylvania however Specter chooses to:

Subj: Joe Sestak - AWOL 
Date: 7/21/2009 10:36:19 AM Central Daylight Time
From: info@specter2010.com
To: Mitch Dworkin
Sent from the Internet (Details)

Dear Mitch,

What would you say to an employee who skipped work 84 times, then asked for a promotion?

So far this year, Congressman Joe Sestak has missed more votes than any other Pennsylvania member of Congress.

Why is Sestak's job performance so poor? He's busy campaigning for a promotion to the U.S. Senate.

The Sestak Report #1
Joe Sestak: AWOL

http://specter2010.com/multimedia/video/AWOL/

Make sure you receive email from Arlen Specter 2010. Add info@Specter2010.com to your approved senders list.


Specter2010.com | Harrisburg, PA
© 2009 Arlen Specter | Plus Three | ARCOS

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Subj: Arlen Specter Campaign Update 
Date: 7/20/2009 2:16:08 PM Central Daylight Time
From: info@specter2010.com
To: Mitch Dworkin
Sent from the Internet (Details)

Dear Mitch,

It's a busy summer in the U.S. Senate, and Arlen Specter continues to work hard for Pennsylvania.

The article below, which appeared this weekend in the Harrisburg Patriot-News, talks about Senator Specter's important work.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2009/07/commentary_in_one_week_sen_arl.html

In One Week, Sen. Arlen Specter Restores Political Clout

Laura Vescey
The Patriot News
Jul 18, 2009

So much for the theory that Arlen Specter had to prove himself a loyal liberal Democrat who faithfully pushed the Barack Obama agenda in order to have a shot at a sixth Senate term.

That, at least, has been the narrative pushed by Specter's potential 2010 Democratic primary challenger, U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak: Specter is the opportunist whose time has passed.

In one week, however, the 79-year-old Specter appears to have reaffirmed not only a good chunk of his political clout, but also his knack for being at the center of U.S. policy-making.

Charles Dharapak/The Associated Press Senate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., questions Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday during her confirmation hearing before the committee.

This week, Specter was a fixture on CNN and other cable stations during Senate confirmation hearings for Sonia Sotomayor. Specter held center court, going technical on Obama's Supreme Court nominee -- the first for a Democratic president in 15 years.

Specter grilled Sotomayor on the nuances of several legal issues -- separation of powers, and wireless wiretaps, and secret CIA programs, and voting rights, and the Americans With Disabilities Act, and abortion rights, and the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Clean Water Act, and televisions in court, and the Second Amendment.

He grew frustrated when Sotomayor's industrial-strength ability to limit the scope of her answers prevented Specter's and other senators' questions from being answered.

On Friday, Specter announced that Sotomayor's "intellect, restraint and judicial demeanor" will lead him to vote for her confirmation.

And then there's card check, otherwise called the "Employee Free Choice Act," the major labor-reform law that Specter voted last year to allow out of committee, but then said on the Senate floor this spring that he would not support.

As a Democrat whose voting record is under scrutiny by a new slew of Pennsylvania voters, the Employee Free Choice Act was going to be Specter's make-or-break issue.

The New York Times reported Friday that a new version of the bill is being drafted by half-dozen moderate senators, including Specter. The story said the new version eliminates card check.

The Associated Press said it confirmed that Democratic lawmakers have spent "weeks in closed-door meetings trying to work out a compromise version of [the bill] that can muster the 60 votes in the Senate needed to overcome a GOP filibuster."

Instead of being only one of three GOP moderates, which Specter was when he crossed party lines and voted with the Dems for the $787 billion stimulus, he finds he has some company in a group of about a dozen senators.

That means Specter remains part of an influential swing group whose input is sought and whose votes are courted by administration officials and Obama on issues such as health care and cap-and-trade legislation.

In other words, instead of being a powerless pariah who can't get a committee chair because his fellow Dems are peeved at him, Specter is doing what Specter has always done.

He remains an independent drummer who positions himself to be a playmaker.

His party switch in April was political expediency?

Suddenly, that critique reads like old news.

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© 2009 Arlen Specter | Plus Three | ARCOS

in order to be able to seriously compete with Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary in my opinion:

Joe Sestak in my opinion is a much better candidate than Arlen Specter is but I agree with John King of CNN that Sestak will have to get an awful lot of grassroots support in order to beat Specter in the Democratic Senate primary when he said "it will be a fascinating race to see if grassroots Democrats say that even the president can't tell us what to do:"

http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/17637

Joe Sestak intends to challenge Arlen Specter; John King on Joe Sestak's chances

Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on May 29, 2009 - 2:52am.

Joe Sestak compared himself to Ned Lamont on 'The Ed Show' back on July 22 when he said "I feel like Ned Lamont:"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32104145/ns/msnbc_tv-tucker/

'The Ed Show' for Wednesday, July 22, 6 PM
Read the transcript to the Wednesday show

Guests: Jay Rockefeller, John Barrasso, Barbara Boxer, Joe Sestak, Sen. Sherrod Brown, Jamal Simmons, John Feehery, Laura Flanders, Valerie Jarrett, Jack Layton

ED SCHULTZ, HOST: "We've got ourselves a competition. Congressman Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania is going to challenge Senator Arlen Specter in the Democratic primary in 2010.

Today we got the latest numbers on the Senate race in Pennsylvania. Specter still leads Sestak in the polls 55-23, but Specter is at a 17-year low when it comes to his approval ratings.

Joining us now is Congressman Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania.

Joe, nice to meet you. We've had you on the program a lot.

REP. JOE SESTAK (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Good to see you, Ed.

SCHULTZ: The 23 percent number, does it bother you?

SESTAK: Not at all. I mean, I feel like Ned Lamont. Remember, he was 40 points down before he took..."

Ned Lamont's Democratic primary candidacy in 2006 was not just a regular political campaign, it was a nationwide grassroots movement involving people from all over the country volunteering to help him in a massive effort to try and get rid of Joe Lieberman. Without the huge amount of nationwide grassroots support that Ned Lamont got, he probably never would have been able to defeat an establishment primary candidate like Joe Lieberman.

Joe Sestak will be running against Arlen Specter's huge name recognition, his establishment support from Obama and many other Democratic leaders, and Arlen Specter's $30 Million war chest. Chris Matthews brought that up to Sestak on Hardball last night:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyVzgp3dg6g

Hardball: Joe Sestak one-on-one with Chris Matthews (05:03)

Sestak2010
August 04, 2009

"Joe Sestak discusses his Senate challenge to Arlen Specter with Hardball's Chris Matthews on MSNBC on August 4, 2009."

Jim Webb's Senate candidacy in 2006 was also huge national grassroots movement as well. It involved many people from all over the country and a lot of volunteer bloggers for the Raising Kaine blog to instantly respond to all of George Allen's attacks and to constantly attack George Allen. That race was very close which means that Jim Webb probably would not have won that race without having a huge national grassroots movement supporting him in both the Democratic primary and in the general election.

The bottom line in my opinion is that Joe Sestak's campaign will probably have to be a very huge national grassroots movement about the same size that Ned Lamont and Jim Webb were able to get in order for Sestak to seriously compete with Specter in a state as big as Pennsylvania.

Also, I do not think that Joe Sestak will get many high profile endorsements to support his Senate campaign. That is because any high profile Democrat who endorses Sestak will be crossing Obama, Biden, Ed Rendell, and many other Democratic establishment leaders which could come back to hurt them politically sometime in the future.

I wish Sestak the best so I hope that he can get the huge nationwide grassroots movement which I think he needs to possibly become another Ned Lamont or Jim Webb!

how utterly uncommitted the Dem leadership is in building a strong majority. They think we're so stupid that we'll be dazzled by mere numbers of people with the D after their name, whether those people actually support Dem values and policies or not. That the president, his henchman, and others in the Dem leadership would stand behind Specter instead of Sestak tells us all we need to know. I will be contributing to Sestak, and Massa and the few other real Dems. And I told the DCCC as much when they called the other night for a contribution.

Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right.

has the opportunity to take advantage of if his campaign caught them. Here are Specter's two mistakes that I saw:

1) Right after Specter blasted Sestak by saying "he's missed 105 votes; worst record of any Pennsylvania member of the House of Representatives. He's AWOL, been absent without leave," he said about Sestak "I think he's a fine Congressman, and ought to stay in the House of Representatives."

Sestak should YouTube Specter saying about him "I think he's a fine Congressman, and ought to stay in the House of Representatives" and then ask Specter "how can I (Joe Sestak) be as bad as you are trying to make me look when you think that I am "a fine Congressman?" Sestak should also ask Specter that if he thinks Sestak is "a fine Congressman," then why would he also not be "a fine Senator?"

Sestak should then go on to mention how many times that Specter bragged about all of his establishment support and say something like "Specter really thinks that he owns his Senate seat and is entitled to it when he said "I think he's a fine Congressman, and ought to stay in the House of Representatives."

2) Specter claimed that he was trying to bring moderation to the Republican Party when said about himself "And I was trying to work within the Republican party, and trying to bring moderation to the Republican party" and "But when you're in a party and you work for a party and you're trying to work within the structure to moderate the party, I think that's the correct thing to do."

I have never seen Specter ever stand up to Rush Limbaugh and to the extreme right wing of the Republican Party to try to bring moderation to the Republican Party except for when he stood up to Laura Ingraham on her own radio program when she got out of line with him and when he gave a good speech about what was wrong with the Republican Party the day he made his party switch.

Sestak should ask Specter "what specific things did you do to try and bring moderation to the Republican Party? All I have seen you do was stand up to Laura Ingraham on her radio program when she got out of line with you and you gave a good speech about what was wrong with the Republican Party the day you made your switch. I have seen Colin Powell and Tom Ridge going on the Sunday shows to criticize Rush Limbaugh and the extreme right wing of the Republican Party but I have not seen you do that yet. What have you specifically done to try and bring moderation to the Republican Party and when did you do it?

I wonder if Sestak's campaign caught these things when they saw Specter on Hardball last night?

Here is the Hardball video link of this dialogue:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/32289870#32289870 (08:36)

Pennsylvania primary heats up
Aug. 4: Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., joins Hardball's Chris Matthews to discuss the announcement from Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., that he will be challenging Specter in the 2010 Senate race. (Hardball)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/32289870#32289870 (08:36)

Here is the Hardball transcript of the key parts of this video:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32284387/ns/msnbc_tv-hardball_with_chris_matthews/

'Hardball with Chris Matthews' for Tuesday, August 4
Read the transcript to the Tuesday show

Guests: Mike Huckman, Chris Cillizza, Jeanne Cummings, Sen. Barbara Boxer, Sen. Judd Gregg, Sen. Arlen Specter, Rep. Joe Sestak, Pat Toomey

CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: "Senator Specter, you put out a Twitter today which was pretty tough about your new opponent in the Democratic primary. Quote, "his months of indecisiveness on his candidacy raise a real question as to his competency to handle the tough rapid fire decisions required of a senator. During his continuing tax-payer financed self-promotion tour around the state, Sestak should explain why, when Pennsylvanians are working harder, he can barely show up for work."

Is this your sentiment towards this guy?

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Well, Chris, he's missed 105 votes; worst record of any Pennsylvania member of the House of Representatives. He's AWOL, been absent without leave. If he were still in the Navy, he would shall court martialed. Now he wants to be promoted. How can you be promoted with a voting record like that?

MATTHEWS: What do you think of Sestak?

SPECTER: I think he's a fine Congressman, and ought to stay in the House of Representatives. Look, I want to talk about myself in this campaign. I want to talk about what I've done for jobs in Pennsylvania.

MATTHEWS: Right.

SPECTER: Increased funding for health care, education, environmental protection; the experience I have had touching all 67 counties. Listen, I have been in a lot of tough campaigns, and I'm ready for another. I'm ready to take on all comers. It's nice to have President Obama and Vice President Biden and Governor Rendell all endorsing me. But I'm taking my case to the people. That's what I have always done and I'm going to do it again...

SPECTER: And I was trying to work within the Republican party, and trying to bring moderation to the Republican party. The decisive step I took was when I heard President Obama early this year say we were on the verge of sliding into a 1929 Depression, and a new president with a new mandate. And I voted for the stimulus package.

Now, up until then, Biden and Rendell and a lot of people had been trying to get me to become a Democrat. When I voted for the stimulus package, I had more Republicans urging me to become a Democrat than the Democrats. And the effort to bring moderation to the Republican party was not successful. And I feel very comfortable as a Democrat...

MATTHEWS: But what does that feel like now? You say you're comfortable as a Democrat. Is it comfortable to remember that you thought you'd make Sarah Palin a heartbeat away from the presidency? Does that feel comfortable?

SPECTER: Well, I didn't-

MATTHEWS: Right now.

SPECTER: Chris, I didn't exactly think my vote would be decisive. But when you're in a party and you work for a party and you're trying to work within the structure to moderate the party, I think that's the correct thing to do..."

votes by answering that question just saying "Yes" without giving some kind of a reasonable explanation as to why he missed those votes in my opinion.  I also think that Sestak's answer of "Well, I don‘t know" was a very weak answer to Schultz's question "But he says you‘re AWOL.  He says you‘ve missed more votes than anybody else.  Is that true?"

Joe Sestak in my opinion is very lucky that Arlen Specter's campaign has not yet used those quotes in an e mail blast or put them on YouTube to turn them into a campaign ad.  That is what I would have done right away if I was a strategist for Specter's campaign and if I saw this interview:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32372078/ns/msnbc_tv-the_ed_show/

'The Ed Show' for Monday, August 10, 2009
Read the transcript to the Monday show

Guests: Robert Greenwald, Nancy Giles, Michael Medved, Sam Stein, Todd Rutherford, Max Pappas, John Dingell, Joe Sestak, Roger Simon

ED SCHULTZ, HOST:  "Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestek is officially running for Senate.  His first hurdle is taking on born-again Democrat Arlen Specter in the Democratic primary, and Senator Specter is already taking some swipes at his opponent. 

Check it out. 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (D), PENNSYLVANIA:  When Congressman Sestak starts to throw stones, he lives in a big glass house.  The guy has the worst voting record in the Congress from the Pennsylvania delegation.  He‘s just 104 votes this year. 

If he was still in the service, he would be court-martialed.  He‘s been AWOL, absent without leave.  If Congressman Sestak wants to go negative, I‘m prepared to battle him toe to toe. 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHULTZ:  Well, let‘s see what the congressman from Pennsylvania has to say about all of that...

SCHULTZ:  But he says you‘re AWOL.  He says you‘ve missed more votes than anybody else. 

Is that true? 

REP. JOE SESTAK (D), PENNSYLVANIA:  Well, I don‘t know.  But I do know this—I‘m extremely proud of my 93 percent voting record.  I‘m extremely proud that we keep our office open for two and a half years, seven days a week, and have handled three times the constituency cases than any other congressional service... 

SCHULTZ:  I‘ve got to ask you, finally, Congressman, did you miss 104 votes? 

SESTAK:  Yes.   

SCHULTZ:  OK. 

SESTAK:  But 93 percent voting record. 

SCHULTZ:  All right.

SESTAK:  But I would—go ahead. 

SCHULTZ:  Well, I‘m out of time, unfortunately, Joe.  We‘re going to have you back, Congressman Sestak.  Thanks so much..."

Here is the MSNBC video link to watch this entire interview:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/32364581#32364581  (04:54)

It’s getting ugly in Pennsylvania
Aug. 10: Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., discusses some of the shots his opponent Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., has taken against him during the Democratic primary race.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/32364581#32364581  (04:54)