Congressman Joe Sestak (PA-07), has all but announced that he will take on Senator Arlen Specter (OPPORTUNIST-PA) in next year's Democratic primary. As we are well aware, the Democratic (big D) establishment has already written him off.
"I'm a great admirer of Joe Sestak and worked hard to get him elected and re-elected," Rendell said. "And I'm going to work hard to get him re-elected when he runs for Congress next year. Not for the Senate. Joe should not run for the Senate in the Democratic primary. He would get killed."
"[Sestak] doesn't want to be marginalized," Rendell reasoned. "He doesn't want to get 15 or 18 percent [of the vote]. Joe should run for Congress again; establish some seniority. His time will come... but it is not this year."
Big mistake! I'll tell you why I think so after the jump...
Joe Sestak is serving his second term as the Representative from Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, which includes most of Delaware County and parts of Chester and Montgomery Counties.
Born and raised in Delaware County, Joe Sestak spent 31 years serving our nation in the U.S. Navy, rising to the rank of three-star Admiral.
Joe Sestak brings to Congress the same dedication and commitment with which he served this country in the Navy. As a member of Congress, Joe is working to strengthen our country's national security - national security that begins at home in the health, education, and economic promise of our people, as well as our defense security. Joe's primary focus is on fixing problems and moving our country forward - not on governing from the left or on the right.
During his distinguished career in the Navy, Joe led a series of operational commands, culminating in the command of the George Washington aircraft carrier battle group, which consisted of 30 U.S. and allied ships, 15,000 sailors, and close to 100 aircraft. Under Joe's watch, the George Washington battle group conducted combat operations in Afghanistan and precursor operations to the war in Iraq.
Joe also served in President Clinton's White House as the Director for Defense Policy on the National Security Council. After 9/11, he was selected to serve as the first Director of "Deep Blue," the Navy's anti-terrorism unit where he worked to establish new strategies for the Navy to fight the Global War on Terror.
After graduating from Cardinal O'Hara High School, Joe followed in the footsteps of his father, a Navy captain who served in World War II, and attended the U.S. Naval Academy, where he graduated second in his class. Joe also holds a MPA, and a PhD in Political Economy and Government, from Harvard University.
Joe has one brother and six sisters. He and his wife, Susan, have a daughter, Alexandra.
Back in March 2006, I was the Grievance and Negotiation Chairperson for USW Local 10-1. USW Local 10-1 represents ~700 oil-workers in the Sunoco Philadelphia refinery. It was a position with huge responsibilities and I loved it -- despite the total and nearly never-ending frustration of being a union member, working for an oil company, during the Bush Administration (sic). On top of all that, I had the unfortunate luck to have suffered through nearly twenty years with a truly odious Congressman.
While on vacation in Clearwater, Florida (spring training home of the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies) I received a call on my cell phone. "Hello Jim, this is Joe Sestak..." is how the call began. Now, I don't mind telling you I was more than a little perturbed at myself for answering my phone in the middle of a Phillies game, just to have Curt Weldon's next victim on the other end. Not that I'm a stranger to working against the leaders of the labor movement on losing campaigns, mind you... after all, I took vacation time to travel to Iowa (in January ferchrissakes) and knock on doors for Howard Dean, while many of my Union brothers and sisters were working for Dick Gebhart then I followed that up by volunteering for Joe Hoeffel during the 2004 election. Talk about a tough year.
To make a long story just a little shorter, USW Local 10-1 was the first union to endorse Admiral Sestak. Many, if not most, Delaware County area unions endorsed Weldon, as they always had. The pressure on our Local was tremendous... I can't begin to tell you how many phone calls we had from other unions asking us if we had lost our minds. Less than a week after Candidate Sestak used our union hall for a press conference to unveil his economic plan, we got a call from the Department of Labor. Lucky us, we had been selected for a "random" federal audit of our books. They kept our books for six months... squeaky clean. We never bowed to the pressure, we just kept working... and so did Joe. I have never in my life seen such a prolific campaigner as Joe Sestak. I swear that man shook every hand in the District. The rest is history. That camapign was the most fun I'd ever had politics right up until getting a black man named Barack Hussein Obama elected President of the United States.
Fast forward to 2009...
We all know the details...
- Moderate Pennsylvania Republicans flee the party
- Arlen Specter reads a poll
- Arlen Specter shits his pants
- Arlen Specter switches parties
- Arlen is welcomed into the party with open arms by President Obama, Vice President Biden, Governor Rendell, etc. who immediately endorse the Senator for reelection and promise their support
- Arlen Specter immediately returns the favor by promising he will not be a loyal Dem
- Congressman Sestak says "Wait a minute, guys, not so fast..."
- The bloom starts wilting off the Specter rose
As I say above, Congressman Sestak has all but officially declared. I have reason to believe that he will officially declare on or around July 1st. As Chris Bowers reported, I've recently had the opportunity to spend some time with the Congressman. As I said, "FUCK'M!"
I'm the President of USW Local 10-1 now. I also serve as a Vice President on the Executive Board of the Philadelphia AFL-CIO. There is no doubt in my mind that the "leaders" of the labor movement are preparing an "escape hatch" for Senator Specter in the form of an Employee Free Choice Act "compromise." There is also no doubt in my mind that it's "too little, too late." I never bought in to that "moderate" bullshit foisted upon us by our "leaders" when it came to Arlen Specter. Never. The last straw for me came when Arlen, finally finding himslef in a circle he couldn't square, practically called us thugs on the floor of the United States Senate while announcing he would not support the Employee Free Choice Act. Some things are unforgivable. Good ole Arlen... always there when you don't need him!
And here's where we come in...
The Democratic Establishment is not very happy that Joe Sestak wants to crash the pre-ordained party. In the past few weeks, several already-scheduled fundraisers have been cancelled at the last minute. It's apparent to me that Rendell and Company have taken out the long knives and they are pressuring donors to avoid a primary! The second quarter fundraising numbers will be very important to Congressman Sestak. Joe is trying to raise $70,000 by the end of the month:
Dear Jim,
I wanted to relay to you a conversation I recently had with my 88 year-old Dad ... the man I admire most in life and whom I always wanted to be like.
I asked my Dad if I should run for the U.S. Senate and, with a heart-felt smile on his face and in his unassuming way ... as so many members of his "greatest generation" were ... he simply said "absolutely, why not".
You see my Dad is the embodiment of the American Dream, and reflects what is best about America.
Dad had come to America at a young age from then-Czechoslovakia with his father who became a Pennsylvania steelworker. Dad worked hard in high school; graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy; fought in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans during WW II ; rose to be a Captain in the U.S. Navy; married Mom (a Catholic high school math teacher - they'll be celebrating their 63rd wedding anniversary this year) and had eight children; and put all eight through high school and college, while encouraging us that the only limitation in life that could hold us back was ourselves.
We weren't different than any other families of my generation, whose parents instilled in them the same values of hard-work and accountability for our actions, while teaching us that America was a land of meritocracy.
But with recent political events, some have gotten away from that sentiment which is affecting us - and our electoral process - here in Pennsylvania.
The Washington D.C. "establishment" has told us that THEIR standard-bearer for Pennsylvania Democrats should be a 45-year Republican Party member who stood "shoulder-to-shoulder" with George W. Bush on the President's failed policies that we are now suffering from ... and now the D.C. insiders are telling us we are to vote for this Republican, someone who:
four weeks before switching parties emphatically told Pennsylvanians that "to eliminate any doubt, I am a Republican, and I am running for reelection in 2010 as Republican on the Republican ticket";
who four weeks after making that express commitment, then breached it and switched parties ... not to help Pennsylvanians ... but rather to help himself personally because, as he said, his internal polling showed he could not beat his Republican challenger; and,
who, after breaking his commitment, then announced to the nation "I did not say that I would be a loyal Democrat ... I did not say that I am a loyal Democrat"!
Is that someone who Pennsylvania Democrats really want as OUR standard-bearer? I just don't think so.
If you believe - like I was raised by my parents to believe - that America is a land of meritocracy and that we are accountable for our actions, then I ask you to join me, and fight! Fight for accountablility, for consistency of purpose, for honest commitment. And to help me do that, I ask you to please immediately contribute $5, $10, $25; $50; $100, $250 ... to my campaign ... a campaign for a choice for someone who is running for Pennsylvania, for Democrats, not for himself.
PLEASE CONTRIBUTE: Contribute.
We've set an an ambitious goal of raising $70,000 in 7 days - by midnight, next Tuesday, June 30th, the end of the quarter.
We've got 7 days to raise $70,000! Not only is your financial support needed, but your help in getting others to contribute is critical to reaching our goal. Please forward this e-mail to others, with your own personal note, and ask your family and friends to please make a donation of just $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, $250 ... to support what is shaping up to be "the race"of the election cycle.
PLEASE CONTRIBUTE: Contribute.
"Courage, Honor, Commitment" is the Navy's honor code that extends back over 200 years, and which our Dad imparted on us as we grew up and, upon entering the U.S. Naval Academy, I became part of that tradition.
While career politicians often do things for their own political survivability, I just believe that there is still a place for courage, honor and commitment in public office ... and in our elected officials. If you agree, then please make a contribution to my campaign.
You have been, and continue to be, the best grassroots organization in the nation!
Warmly,
Joe Sestak
Congressman PA-07
P.S. Don't forget, please forward this email to your family and friends and ask them to please make a small donation to reach our goal -- $70,000 in 7 days!
Please contribute now: Contribute.
It is time to retire Arlen Specter. PLEASE HELP -- IT'S UP TO US!