Wow.

That takes some guts (ego) to claim that Sestak thinks Obama “really” endorses him. He almost sounds like a delusional unrequited lover that thinks the object of his affection only pretends to prefer another.

Does Sestak think he got into Obama’s heart in March 2008 when he lent his military image to Hillary’s claim that Obama wasn’t ready to lead (but she and McCain were)?

Yeah. Obama must have “really” loved him for that as well.

Is “hypothesizing” a new euphemism for “lying through his teeth” or “total BS-ing” or “self-deluding?

What’s next? Sestak claiming that Specter “really” wants Sestak to win so Specter can finally retire?

Even if Obama wants a “real Democrat”, that certainly isn’t Sestak. ProgressivePunch.org rating: 1 star out of 5.

As for dragging out his inevitable announcement another month…
July 15th is the filing deadline for the fundraising quarter that ends Jun 30th. At that point, Sestak and Specter both have to “show their cards” and reveal how much they have raised (if they have not done so already).

Does Sestak think we can’t read a calendar?

@ David Diano

Progressive Punch lifetime rating
Joe Sestak: 93.13%
Arlen Specter: 37.12%

http://progressivepunch.org/members.jsp?search=selectName&member=PA7&chamber=Senate&zip=&x=43&y=6

Anon-
There a lot of interesting numbers at Progressive Punch and Sestak’s ranking fluctuates a bit. If you follow that link, and check the sub-categories that make up the score, you will see that Sestak hasn’t a lot of “blank” spaces where he hasn’t made a “qualifying vote”. So, his record is a bit sparse.

However, Specter’s been in since 1980, when PA was far more conservative than it is today. Specter’s lifetime record reflects that for a long time he was serving a conservative state under mostly GOP Presidents.

Also, the Senate is a naturally more conservative body than the House.

They both have 1 star out of 5.

My point is NOT that Specter is a liberal. Specter is a pretty consistent moderate, who will start leaning more to our side since the pressure to vote conservatively is off of him. My point is that Sestak isn’t a true progressive, and while he might be tacking to the Left a bit to battle Arlen, his overall course is leaning more to the Right. The overall difference between them is NOT enough to justify tens of millions wasted that would be better used by real progressives in other Senate races.

An expensive PA Primary is VERY poor overall strategy.

How will progressives feel if they get Sestak as the Senator, but have only a 57 Dem majority, when it could have been Specter and a 63 Dem majority?

Look at the big picture folks.

Specter is NOT a Democrat, and Democrats should NOT vote for a political opportunist like Specter-he has made nothing but promises, his entire political career, and it is now time to put his career to rest. I too might like a more progressive candidate in this race, but unless there a true progressive candidate willing to buck the party powerful and run, I prefer Sestak. With Specter you will never know where he stands. After he would be elected he would go back to being a moving target and an unreliable vote (he said so himself). No, it is time for Specter to end his career on a high note-support Obama these next two years and call it a day-if anyone should drop out and not waste our valuable campaign dollars, it should be Specter.

I halve been a Democrat my whole life and I will Not vote for Sestak He is no more Democratic than your average Republican, just has a D after his name. He thinks he can just sneak in and won’t accept the fact that real Democrats hate him. He is nothing but the product of the Clinton’s. Please do your homework first.

Contact Sport-
Specter is a Democrat now (there’s a D next to his name).

Specter has been pretty consistent in his views over the years and willing to buck the GOP on numerous occasions. AS bad as Clarence Thomas is, without Specter we could have gotten worse, like Robert Bork. Specter’s got a decent record on civil rights and was repeated slapped down when he called for investigations into Bush admin practices (and even mentioned Impeachment, which Sestak has completely refrained from when he’s been asked).

Specter, for all his many flaws, is a known quantity. The “unreliability” is a reference to pure party ideology and an acknowledgment of his independent/moderate voting record.

Would I like a more liberal candidate than Specter? Of course.
Is Sestak better? Unlikely. And CERTAINLY NOT at the price of tens of millions of dollars and 3 or more other Senate seats.

Sestak did not denigrate women all over this country the way Specter did with his behavior towards Anita Hill-is your memory so short that you would vote for someone like that? Sestak is no progressive, and I accept that, and have argued with him over many of his positions on issues, but, he is respectful, always listens, and has always been honest about his positions, even if i disagree with them. Why are we always talking about the lesser of two evils? Find a progressive to run if you are not happy with Sestak-too many Democrats will NOT vote for Specter-so when it comes to the General Election we are in big trouble if we can’t get behind one of our own. I guess that is what the Republicans are hoping for-Specter is NOT a Democrat, regardless of what letter is placed next to his name-you have to do more than that to be embraced by MY party.

contact sport-
We have to play the cards we are dealt. Specter came over to our side (after committing GOP political suicide by helping us). Obama, Biden, Casey and Rendell are backing him and it’s important for us not to screw over moderates that come to our side.

No, I haven’t forgotten about Anita Hill, but there are bigger issues to deal with. I’ve dealt with Sestak in the past, too, and I’m far less convinced of his honesty and explanations for his positions. His current phoniness about why he is running and whether he’s decided is so blatant that a friend of mine in Vegas wants to play poker against Sestak because (in my friend’s opinion) Sestak is a poor and obvious liar.

Specter can win the general election if Sestak doesn’t drain his budget. A Sestak primary victory would leave the party damaged financially and fractured politically as well as embarrassing the leadership.

Sometimes you have to pick your battles. After Arlen wins, we can get a real progressive the next time. Sestak’s political career will be kaput, so he won’t be around to challenge a progressive candidate.

Sestak running is a bad idea. However, since it’s all but certain he’s running, the important thing is not to waste progressive money on his folly.

Back to the original topic… Obama had the audacity of hope. Sestak has the audacity of audacity.

Molly-
More people need to wake up to what you know.

Right now, Specter’s caught a lot of negative flack and been vilified by the right-wing. Sestak’s never really undergone the kind of scrutiny that’s needed because he uses his military career like he won the immunity challenge in Survivor. There are plenty of liberals that would like to vote Sestak off the island.

According to a report in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, http://www2.seattlepi.com/articles/407190.html
Bill Clinton will not be campaigning for Sestak in the PA primary.

The question becomes: what is Sestak’s strategy?

It appears to be pulling himself up by his own bootstraps and “image” (and millions in donations). But, when Sestak won in 2006, he had the full backing of Rendell and Casey in the coordinated campaign and no primary challenger and a special appearance by Bill Clinton. He also had the support of the unions
NONE of those conditions applies this cycle, especially the union support once Specter votes for EFCA.

Sestak runs his campaigns with a fiercely loyal (from the same womb) inner circle. A statewide campaign requires a level of diversity, trust and non-oversight that new is territory.

While Sestak is the strongest candidate to offer a challenge to Specter, it will be a lot of wasted effort for a negative outcome for the party.

Numbers don’t lie; only people do.

I. ProgressivePunch.org’s scores of the current 11 Democratic Congressmen of the PA Delegation.

A. ProgressivePunch.orgs LIFETIME scores:

(1) Sestak 93.13
(2) Chaka Fatah 92.23
(3) Schwartz 91.85
(4) Brady 90.40
(5) Murphy 88.30
(6) Kanjorski 80.07
(7) Carney 79.19
(8) Doyle 78.18
(9) Altmire 77.53
(10)Murtha 72.10
(11)Holden 70.84

B. ProgressivePunch.orgs 2009-10 scores:

(1) Brady 98.82
(2) Chaka Fatah 98.80
(3) Doyle 98.79
(4) Schwartz 97.04
(5) Murtha 96.41
(6) Murphy 93.53
(7) Kanjorski 92.31
(8) Sestak 92.02
(9) Holden 90.48
(10) Carney 80.12
(11) Altmire 77.65

Sestak was elected in 2006, along with Atmire, Carney and Murphy.

http://www.progressivepunch.org/members.jsp?chamber=House&sort=crucial-lifetime&order=down&party=All&x=17&y=0

II. ProgressivePunch.org’s scores of the current PA Senators

A. ProgressivePunch.orgs LIFETIME scores:

(1) Casey 91.16
(2) Specter 37.12

B. ProgressivePunch.orgs 2009-10 scores:

(1) Casey 91.03
(2) Specter 46.45

http://www.progressivepunch.org/members.jsp?chamber=Senate&sort=crucial-lifetime&order=down&party=All&x=16&y=7

Sestak is a true progressive. Specter is not. The numbers do not lie. Only people do.

Neither is a progressive. But, at least Specter isn’t trying to fool people into thinking he is.

Sestak is a true progressive. Votes don’t lie. Only people do.

We work hard at ProgressivePunch.org to ensure the accuracy of the voting records of all Congressman and Senators. Please do not misrepresent the votes and scores on our web-site when referencing them. Thank you.

PAProgressive-
From your own site:

1) Sestak is ranked 193rd out of 255 for the 2009-2010 session. That puts him in the bottom quartile.

2) On “Crucial Votes” his progressive score is only 72.13%

3) His progressive score vs district tilt is 1 star out of 5.

All of these show that Sestak is not particularly progressive and reinforce my contention that he is shifting to the Right to appeal to the more conservative parts of PA. With Specter in the race, Sestak may have to tack a bit to the Left for a short while, but his main course is heading more to the Right.

In Delaware county, Sestak has shown little appetite for helping the Democratic party gain ground in controlling local government, recruit committee, help find judges of election, or help us in our fundraising efforts. Rather, Sestak has tried to build his own “Sestak” party. In 2007, he went AWOL from Delco politics and concentrated his efforts campaigning for Hillary instead of busting his hump helping the people that got him elected in 2006.