President Clinton coming to Scranton

MEDIA, Pa. - President Bill Clinton will participate in a rally in support of Joe’s Senate candidacy on Tuesday, August 10 at Scranton High School.


President Clinton, who served from 1993 to 2001, was the first Democratic president to be awarded a second term in six decades. Under his leadership, the United States enjoyed the strongest economy in a generation and the longest economic expansion in U.S. history. His administration resulted in moving the nation from record deficits to record surpluses; the creation of over 22 million jobs; low levels of unemployment, poverty and crime; and the highest home ownership and college enrollment rates in history.

EVENT DETAILS

WHAT: Joe Sestak for Senate Rally
WHO: U.S. Senate candidate Joe Sestak with President Bill Clinton
WHEN: Tuesday, August 10 at 2:00 p.m.
WHERE: Scranton High School Gym, 63 Munchak Way, Scranton, Pa. 18508


Those interested in attending must RSVP and should call the campaign’s Scranton office at (570) 983-2280.

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The latest Q poll shows the race to be a dead heat.

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I'll be at the beach next week so I won't get a chance to hobnob again with the Big Dog and the Admiral.

Sestack wins

The AP just called it.

SESTAK, JOE (DEM)
393,325 53.4%
SPECTER, ARLEN (DEM)
342,883 46.6%

President Obama backs Senator Specter

The has been a lot of buzz all over the intertubes the last few days that the President would hold a weekend rally with Arlen Specter in Philadelphia but that idea was nixed by the White House Press Secretary today.

This is not good news for the Specter campaign. It's bad news because a visit by the President could have provided a last minute boost and it gives the appearance that the White House is reading the polls and doesn't want to be too closely associated with a losing campaign. They don't want a repeat of the Massachusetts Senate special election debacle.

The good news is he has new commercial up with the President saying nice things about him.






This is not the first time that the occupant of the White House at the time has backed Specter's reelection.

Poll time

I will be putting up polls on the left side bar over the next couple of days for the races that interest me.

First up is the US Senate race between Arlen Specter and Joe Sestak. Vote in the poll and tell us in the comments why you think your guy will win.

Senate race tightens

Capitol Ideas reports today that the Morning Call/Muhlenberg College tracking poll shows that Joe Sestak has opened up a 4 point lead (46-42) in his quest to replace Arlen Specter in the US Senate. Sestak has been trending up all week in this poll and we will see if the other polling oufits confirm it.


Sestak will be in Wilkes-Barre again tomorrow

Date: Monday, May 10, 2010
Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Location: Luzerne County Court House
Street: 200 N River St
City/Town: Wilkes-Barre, PA

I think Specter's Captain Queeg ad may have backfired, especially with veterans, and the spot tieing Specter to Bush is devastating. The Pennsylvania Progressive reminds Democrats of all the bad things Specter has voted for in the last few years.

One of the things I will give props to Specter for is his support of medical research and being the champion of National Institutes of Health even when his then Republican collegues wanted to cut funding for the agency.

Michael J Fox agrees

A brief chat with Arlen Specter

After the airport rally yesterday with Vice President Joe Biden I got a chance to ask Senator Arlen Specter a couple of questions. My full report of the event will be forthcoming.


The Vice President made a compelling case to Democrats to vote for you although you were a Republican. What do you tell a lifelong Democrat like myself who never voted for you in the past why should I vote for you this time?

My roots go back to the Democratic Party originally. My parents were immigrants, FDR immigrants, hard hit by the depression. I was a JFK Democrat even served as one of the young lawyers on Warren Commission that investigated the assassination of President Kennedy. Came back to Philadelphia were I won some big cases and wanted to run for DA on the Democratic ticket but the party leaders said we don’t want an honest, tough DA in Philadelphia which won’t shock anybody about Philadelphia. The Republican Party came to me and said we haven’t won an election in a long time run on our ticket no strings attached. I didn’t even change my registration I ran as a Democrat on the Republican ticket ,won, and for a long time tried to bring some moderation to the Republican Party. And when President Obama wanted the stimulus package and we were about to slide into a 1929 Depression I simply would not be part of Republican obstructionism and I joined Obama. During my tenure in the Senate I have voted with Democrats probably more often on the big issues than with Republicans. I supported a woman’s right to choose, I opposed Bork. It would be a different country with Bork. I’m pro labor and got the AFL-CIO endorsement. I’m against warentless wiretapping, against Guantanamo and in favor of raising the minimum wage. Provided the 60th vote for the health care package. When August came I went out to the town hall meetings and defended Obama and the health care package

Part of the Military Commissions Act says that the government can declare a United States citizen arrested in the US an enemy combatant and hold them indefinitely. Is there any chance you can revisit that?

I think that’s wrong unless there is probable cause and a reason to hold them. The federal courts have taken jurisdiction over habeas corpus which I have pushed and I think that is an issue to be revisited and I think that the courts are taking it up. You have seen some limitations on detentions. There has to be a reason, there has to be a risk to the United States government on an evidentiary basis before that kind of detention can be justifiable.

Arlen Specter in Wilkes-Barre

Senator Specter was in Wilkes-Barre yesterday touring the new muli-million dollar over budget and behind schedule parking garage (intermodal transportation center) promising more money for the project. The city needs another $500,000 to replace sidewalks on Public Square. The Blogfather has documented the incompetence of the last administration in doing simple maintenance especially because the materials have been available for years. On a side note Mark is feeling bit neglected by the local blogosphere so I thought a little link love would be appropriate.

While in the area Specter picked up the endorsement of a couple of local unions. Specter has declined a debate invitation from Meet the Press so his Democratic challenger Joe Sestak and Republican Pat Toomey are going to try to recreate the magic of the Alllentown beer summit.

A few months ago the reports I was getting was that Sestak's campaign was a mess. He could show up on MSNBC all the time but his campaign couldn't bother to return a phone call or send out an email alerting local supporters when he would be in town. That is improving.

In his latest web ad he slams President Obama for supporting Specter despite his own support of Hillary Clinton in the primary.





I really can't make up my mind in this race. I've never been an Arlen fan but Sestak's campaign has been just so incompentent until lately.

Joe Sestak was in town yesterday

Congressman Joe Sestak (PA-07) was at Wilkes Unversity in Wilkes-Barre yesterday and the first I heard about it was a message on Facebook from a student the night before. I've been bitching about the poor advance work of the Sestak campaign for months. Maybe I'm getting a big head but I think they should let the the local bloggers know when Joe will be in the neighborhood especially since we want to support him. One wag made the observation that he wants to be the Senator from MSNBC instead of Pennsylvania.

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Sestak is taking on party switcher Arlen Specter in the 2010 Democratic primary for US Senator from Pennsylvania. The President , Governor and the other Senator are backing Arlen after he realized that he couldn't win a Republican primary election against right wing darling Pat Toomey who came close to knocking him off in the 2004 Republican primary. In that election his biggest boosters were White House occupant George W Bush and our junior Senator from Virginia Rick Santorum who is now looking at running for President. There are many Democrats like me that have never voted for Specter and never will. Scottish Law, Anita Hill, single bullet, Ira Eichhorn the list is endless.

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Anyway, we have a report from Wilkes student Tony Thomas about Sestak's visit:

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On October 2nd Congressman Joe Sestak visited Wilkes University for an intimate town hall meeting with college students. Sestak spoke for about and hour and a half on the job market, economy, and his ideas for helping college students. Joe stated he supports investing 85 billion in small businesses through the Small Business Administration which he argues would improve economic recovery and help stem job losses.

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While in Congress Joe voted to increase the maximum for Pell Grants, he voted to increase eligibility for Pell Grants, he voted to increase unsubsidized Stafford Loans by $2,000. He also voted to give parents more time to repay those loans.

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Students and faculty were given the opportunity to ask Sestak his opinions on a variety of issues. Healthcare and the Public Option were the first issues that were brought up in questioning. “I got in Congress for his healthcare bill”, he told the audience. Sestak supports the House bill that mandates all Americans get health insurance or risk a fine for not doing so.

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As for the Public Option, Sestak said that he strongly supported it. His response was met with applause from the audience. He clarified that the plan would not be subsidized by the public, but would be paid for by money the insurance companies receive from premiums paid by the insured. Sestak said that the plan would save money because the government would not have to pay advertising costs and would not be paying tens of millions of dollars for a CEO to run it. Instead Sestak said that the government would have an individual similar to a Cabinet official run the program for a salary of around $200,000 dollars.

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Other questions were on the war in Afghanistan, gay marriage and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, marijuana legalization, and Ron Paul’s Audit the Fed bill.

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War in Afghanistan:

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Sestak acknowledged that the war in Afghanistan is a very difficult issue and he said that if the goal is to eradicate al-Qaida in Afghanistan and along the Pakistan border, then he does support continued efforts. However, if the goal is national building, he stated that he does not support continued efforts. He does support a timetable for withdrawal, but stated that there should not be a mandatory date as of yet to withdraw.

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Gay Marriage and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell:

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Sestak stated that he believes all Americans are equal. He highlighted his support for repealing the Defense of Marriage Act. Joe clarified that he believes marriage is up to a church, but he said that if a church wants to perform same-sex marriage they should be allowed to do so. On DADT, Sestak highlighted his 31 year career in the Navy and told the audience that he strongly supports repealing DADT. Joe stated that he believes that the Obama Administration must do something for equality by the end of the year and he suggested either ending DADT or DOMA.

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Marijuana Legalization:

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Sestak stated that he does not support legalizing marijuana even for taxing the substance. He suggested that perhaps a generation difference contributed to his opinion being different from the student who questioned him. Sestak did point out that he supports medicinal marijuana.

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Audit the Fed:

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Joe was asked about Ron Paul’s Audit the Fed bill and stated that he supports the bill 50%. He believes in transparency of government and accountability, but pointed out that a truly independent investigation is needed and he wants to avoid a political investigation of the Fed.

Joe concluded the event by thanking all those in attendance and said that he in this race for Pennsylvanians and not for political interest. He criticized Arlen Specter’s conversion to the Democratic Party and said that Specter is a flight-risk if elected. Sestak slammed Specter for putting politics above governing by highlighting when Harry Reid recessed the Senate so Specter could attend a fundraiser and not be criticized for missing votes. Sestak said that he would never put politics above his elected duties.

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Thanks to Tony for covering this event. I can't make it to everything so I am asking my readers to help me out. Please cover and write-up anything to do with local or state politics and send it to me. Maybe I should offer a prize like a tee shirt for being a front page guest poster on Gort42. The Mean Old Man will probably just shoot the thing with a shotgun.

The Rodney Dangerfield of this race is State Rep Bill Kortz. He gets no respect.

2010 Senate race

Pat Toomey was in town on Friday which was a surprise to me and many of my Republican friends. He talked with Bill O'Boyle of the Times-Leader and decried "the lurch to the left” of the federal government. His solution to the health care crises is tort reform. He also continued to hammer Senator Arlen Specter (PA-D,R,?, plaid) He said he decided long ago that he would challenge Specter – then a Republican – in the 2010 primary. “Then a poll came out and Specter decided to switch parties,” Toomey said. “I think voters are fed up with the political opportunism of Arlen Specter.”

The polls are all over the place in this race which is to be expected this early in the contest but Specter's reelect number is not good.

In an interesting twist Toomey has agreed to meet with Democratic Senate candidate Joe Sestak to hold a joint town hall on health care in Toomey's home town of Allentown. Afterward he wants to go drinking, "I'm happy to welcome Joe to the great city of Allentown and I'd extend to him an invitation to share a beer with me at one of our fine local establishments after the town hall meeting." I would like to be part of that, I'd buy them both a Yuengling. I think the country needs more beer summits.

I don't know if Republican Senate candidate Peg Lusik drinks beer but her campaign is doing a good job of keeping bloggers updated.

Where’s the Bill?

She is touring the state and when she makes it to Luzerne County I hope to talk with her and give you a report.

Specter on CNN

Senator Arlen Specter (PA-D/R/?) got the last word on CNN's State of the Union with John King today and discussed health care and his reelection campaign.

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King asked him he thought if all the ruckus going on in town hall meetings across the country was orchestrated or just people expressing their opinions spontaneously, he said it was both.

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On the much maligned public option that seems to be driving much of the misinformation about the health insurance reform proposal he said it would be very helpful and should be fully explored but reminded King that the Senate has not produced a bill yet.

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King then showed a clip from 1994 where Specter was on the Senate floor with a complicated flow chart outlining Hillary Care. I think you may have seen something similar about the present proposal. Specter said that the 1994 plan was different because it included a single payer system and the new plan doesn't.

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Responding to Joe Sestak's contention that "I'm not sure he is a Democrat" he pointed out that he broke with the Bush administration over stem cell research, was pro choice and supported the nuclear test ban treaty.

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He then attacked Sestak for missing 104 votes saying if he was still in the Navy he would be court martialed for being AWOL.

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They finished up with the recent polling showing people in PA don't think he should be reelected and is in dead heat with Pat Toomey. He said he is willing to go toe to toe with all comers and said

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"I didn't ask the President to clear the field."

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I think if he was asked what his favorite color was he would respond plaid.

Joe Sestak announces he is running for Senate

FOLSOM—Congressman Joe Sestak officially entered the race for Senate Tuesday morning, ending his long march toward a primary showdown against Senator Arlen Specter next year and setting up what will be one of the most high-profile races in the country.

Sestak has toured all 67 counties in Pennsylvania drumming up support and has been exchanging barbs with Sen. Arlen Specter (PA-?) for months. My favorite was Specter's criticism of Sestak joining the Democratic Party "only" in 2006 so he could run for Congress. The irony of that statement is that Specter switched party's a few months ago because he said he couldn't win a Republican primary against Pat Toomey. Many of my Republican friends would say that he has been a Democrat at heart for a long time. Toomey welcomed him to race.

"Pennsylvania Democrats will make an important choice between Joe Sestak, a consistent liberal who really believes in his values, and Arlen Specter, a career political opportunist who believes in nothing but his own reelection."

Toomey has an op-ed in today's Inky announcing that he would vote to confirm Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court. I'm sure that is going over well with the abortion hot heads and gun nuts that make up the GOP primary electorate.

Here is the welcome video from Sestak's website.





Check The Pennsylvania Progressive for video of his speech later in the day. He also has a Facebook page.

You can meet Joe Sestak in Scranton tomorrow 1:30pm at Tripp House, 1011 N Main Ave, Scranton, PA 18505

Other candidates in the race are Republicans

Peg Lusik

Larry Murphy

Robert Townsend

and Democrat

Bill Kortz

Joe Sestak for Senate

Congressman Joe Sestak was in Luzerne County over the weekend. Bill O'Boyle and Mike Sisak had a chance to chat with him and he laid out his case for taking on Arlen Specter in the Democratic primary. He earlier described Specter as a "flight risk."
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Specter was a Democrat when it helped him win office in Philadelphia then switched to the GOP to win a Senate seat. Now he is a Democrat again because he knows he can't beat Pat Toomey in a Republican primary this time. I'm no fan of Toomey but at least he knows what he believes in and I can respect that.

Rapid Edward, Bob Casey and the President are in Specter' s corner but the idea of Arlen Specter as the Democratic nominee for US Senate makes me and many of my friends in the blogosphere and elsewhere in Pennsylvania want to throw up.

Some choice quotes:

“I’m getting in this because Pennsylvania voters need a choice, a choice of someone who will vote for them and their values.”


“I believe changing parties is not the change Pennsylvanians need for the future. We also need a senator who is in this for Pennsylvania and not for saving their legacy.”


"If you run on principle, politics will take care of itself.”

“But he actually voted with President George Bush four out of five times. This country has seen an economic collapse; good families have lost jobs and health care benefits. We need a senator that will fight for them and those key issues.”


"It's about Pennsylvanians, it's not about your job," Sestak said of Specter. "We Pennsylvanians have lost too many jobs in this recession to worry about his job security, particularly since he voted with President Bush on the economic tax policies that sent us over the precipice into this recession."

YouTube weekend

This fits with the news


The Psychedelic Furs - Heartbreak beat (live Palma, Spain)

Heartbreak Ridge

To the disappointment of some of the few Republicans in Pennsylvania and nationally that are not willing to keep driving the party's bus off the hard right cliff former PA Governor Tom Ridge announced he will not run for the GOP Senate nomination in 2010.

From pa2010.com

BREAKING NEWS: Ridge won’t run for Senate

After much speculation, former Gov. Tom Ridge today announced that he would not seek the GOP nomination for Senate next year.

In a statement, Ridge said he had been heartened by the support and encouragement he received from within the party and that it had been a difficult decision for him. He expressed a desire to still be involved in the party’s development.

Will Specter pull a Lieberman

Or

Arlen Specter vs. Toomey, Luksik, Ridge, Sestak, Torsella, Lamb, Watkins and a cast of thousands.

About the only people I have heard that are happy about the possibility of Arlen Specter winning another term in the US Senate are the talking heads on cable TV news, the top brass of the PA Democratic Party and this guy.

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I have never have been a Specter fan but always enjoyed how he had a way of pissing off my republican friends and annoying my fellow Democrats.

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Just a few highlights from his career that have rubbed me the wrong way in addition to his voting record, there are more. He came up with the single bullet theory to explain the murder of President Kennedy when he was working for the Warren Commission in 1964. We all believe that one. He voted "Not Proved" in the Senate trial of President Clinton after he was impeached by the House of Representatives invoking Scottish Law. That was not an an option and his vote was recorded as not guilty. He should have voted to convict or acquit not invent some third way. He also wanted to stick his nose into the NFL. His treatment of Anita Hill (she's a liar) in the Supreme Court nomination hearing of Clarence Thomas inspired me to work for Lynn Yeakel. We came close in that one only losing Wayne County by 20% instead of 40% and statewide by 3%.

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Penn Patriot has the Republican take and The Pennsylvania Progressive thinks that PA Democrats can do better.

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So the question is will Arlen Specter see all this opposition from the base of both party's and try to run as an independent? He said he wouldn't but who can believe anything he says now.

Kanjo welcomes Specter

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (PA-11) issued the following statement regarding Senator Arlen Specter’s (D-PA) announcement to join the Democratic Party.

“As a Pennsylvanian and a Democrat, I welcome Senator Specter to the Democratic Party. I greatly respect the Senator for his independent voice and I hope that he will feel more at home in a political party which I believe is more accepting of the kind of thoughtful representation that he has provided for Pennsylvania for so many years. Senator Specter and I have a long history of working together in the interest of Pennsylvanians and I hope that relationship will only continue to grow as he joins the Democratic Party.”


A friend tonight reminded me of this blast from the recent past when Specter warned against one party rule in Washington.

TV Ad: Hackett-Specter





I have also asked Conressman Chris Carney for a statement.

Specter now a Democrat

Statement by Senator Arlen Specter

I have been a Republican since 1966. I have been working extremely hard for the Party, for its candidates and for the ideals of a Republican Party whose tent is big enough to welcome diverse points of view. While I have been comfortable being a Republican, my Party has not defined who I am. I have taken each issue one at a time and have exercised independent judgment to do what I thought was best for Pennsylvania and the nation.

.Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans.

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When I supported the stimulus package, I knew that it would not be popular with the Republican Party. But, I saw the stimulus as necessary to lessen the risk of a far more serious recession than we are now experiencing.

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Since then, I have traveled the State, talked to Republican leaders and office-holders and my supporters and I have carefully examined public opinion. It has become clear to me that the stimulus vote caused a schism which makes our differences irreconcilable. On this state of the record, I am unwilling to have my twenty-nine year Senate record judged by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate. I have not represented the Republican Party. I have represented the people of Pennsylvania.

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I have decided to run for re-election in 2010 in the Democratic primary.

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I am ready, willing and anxious to take on all comers and have my candidacy for re-election determined in a general election.

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I deeply regret that I will be disappointing many friends and supporters. I can understand their disappointment. I am also disappointed that so many in the Party I have worked for for more than four decades do not want me to be their candidate. It is very painful on both sides. I thank especially Senators McConnell and Cornyn for their forbearance.

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I am not making this decision because there are no important and interesting opportunities outside the Senate. I take on this complicated run for re-election because I am deeply concerned about the future of our country and I believe I have a significant contribution to make on many of the key issues of the day, especially medical research. NIH funding has saved or lengthened thousands of lives, including mine, and much more needs to be done. And my seniority is very important to continue to bring important projects vital to Pennsylvania's economy.

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I am taking this action now because there are fewer than thirteen months to the 2010 Pennsylvania Primary and there is much to be done in preparation for that election. Upon request, I will return campaign contributions contributed during this cycle.

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While each member of the Senate caucuses with his Party, what each of us hopes to accomplish is distinct from his party affiliation. The American people do not care which Party solves the problems confronting our nation. And no Senator, no matter how loyal he is to his Party, should or would put party loyalty above his duty to the state and nation.

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My change in party affiliation does not mean that I will be a party-line voter any more for the Democrats that I have been for the Republicans. Unlike Senator Jeffords' switch which changed party control, I will not be an automatic 60th vote for cloture. For example, my position on Employees Free Choice (Card Check) will not change.

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Whatever my party affiliation, I will continue to be guided by President Kennedy's statement that sometimes Party asks too much. When it does, I will continue my independent voting and follow my conscience on what I think is best for Pennsylvania and America.

Photo via GrassrootsPA

Ride the Bus from Pittsburgh to Washington

Or the Immaculate Election

There has been rampant speculation that Steelers' great Franco Harris will run against Senator Arlen Specter in 2010. The last time a jock ran statewide he got clobbered. I think the difference is that Lynn Swann went from being a sideline reporter to candidate without paying his political dues. That and he had the the misfortune of running against a popular incumbent Governor. Harris appears on the football pregame shows but he has also been involved in Democratic party politics.

Harris was an Obama delegate at the Democratic National Convention and a campaign surrogate and I think that it would be a good bet that the President would campaign for him. He also helped raise money for Democratic candidates even attending a fundraiser in Williamsport for one of my favorite Congresscritters, Chris Carney, in his longshot campaign in 2006. BTW, Carney won with just a little help from Franco.