Dems To Sestak: Stay In Your Place
The White House has been pretty clear for weeks now that they want Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) to sail smoothly to re-election in 2010. But now, apparently, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is getting in on the act.
Word out of Washington, D.C., is that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the political wiseguys from the Obama administration plan on "visiting with" Pennsylvania Democrat Rep. Joe Sestak.Sestak seems to have scaled back his attacks on Specter in the last week or two, and he suggested he approves of Specter's efforts to reach a compromise on the Employee Free Choice Act with the bill's sponsor Sen. Tom Harkin (R-IA). But he's also said he'd likely get into the race unless Specter came into line with the Democrats on a whole host of issues. Does this change his calculus?Their objective is clear: Get him off the stage and out of a primary race against incumbent (and now Democrat) Sen. Arlen Specter.
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Josh
Matt
Eric
Sestak has to stay in because the moment he drops out, Specter will revert to being a total asshole once again. So far Specter has only made cryptic noises about being a real Democrat -- history shows he won't follow through unless the pressure remains.
May 25, 2009 1:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Brian, Tom Harkin is a Democrat, and a fairly liberal one at that.
May 25, 2009 1:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
So the DSCC does not want to spend any money or effort on a senate race in PA. But almost any Dem can win against Toomey.
First Arlen Narcissist can not be depended on as a Dem vote, and he is Too Old. What if PA gets a Repug Gov (many think this is likely - ugh) in 2010 and then Arlen croaks? Could that Gov appoint an interim Repub senator - or a new race then could be won by a Repug?
NO. Arlen Narcissist Needs To Go!
And Senator Sestak has a nice ring to it. But Let the Dem Voters of PA decide.
May 25, 2009 6:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sestak (or somebody) must keep the pressure on Spectre (misspelling deliberate!). His "conversion" to the Democratic Party was about has half-hearted and wishy-washy as possible. But he responds to pressure so don't let up. At a minimum, if he won't vote for the EFCA, he should be challenged in the primary and Sestak is the man to do it. And its good press and a win-win for Joe!
Lark
May 25, 2009 7:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's all rather depressing - Obama and the DSCC are clearing the way for appointed Kirsten Gillibrand and party-switching Arlen Specter. In Gillibrands case she was appointed by a Governor who himself wasn't elected into that position and who is almost surely out as soon as his term is up.
Both cases deserve wide open primaries with vigorous debate, not the garbage the Dems are trying to force on Pa and NY residents here with the same old political games.
Rahm Emanuel uses every threat in his arsenal to get Rep. Israel to bow out of challenging Gillibrand. So she was appointed by a lame duck non-elected Governor, then has her path cleared to a general, she's 100% illegitimate. Sure she might win re-election, but that' because folks vote for the party not the person. In the primaries, folks can vote for the person.
This is criminal.
May 25, 2009 10:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Translation: Say, Joe, nice little political career ya got there... be a shame if something happened to it. Really, a damn shame.
May 26, 2009 3:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Walter Mitty, you've got it right: all of this has Rahm Emanuel's dirty fingerprints all over it.
He always wants to push Dems to the right [which he perceives of as the "Center"] because it's the "safe" place to be. Recall his crappy running of the DCCC and refusal to fund progressive Dems in 2006.
All of these shenanigans also cement the "centrists" at the Incumbency Trough, from which it's impossible to dislodge them. Since they're "Democrats" [in name only, of course] Rahm & Obama won't countenance any primary opposition [see Lieberman, Joe], and thus efforts to get real Democrats in these slots are doomed to failure.
Tell me, did we elect Rahm President?
May 26, 2009 7:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Correction, Nat'l Dems want Sestak to stay out. He(Sestak) is very, very popular in the state party. Especially at county and grass roots level..
May 27, 2009 4:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
amazing how obama and the dems can only get tough with other dems.
name one example where the dems or obama have put ANY republican serving past or present in his/her place with force?
May 27, 2009 10:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
has there ever been a more corrupt senator then "single bullet". specter?
and you still wonder why he will always be protected?????
May 27, 2009 10:50 PM | Reply | Permalink