The Washington Post

pa2012.com is proud to partner with The Washington Post in bringing our originally reported insider political news to a wide audience of decision makers and opinion leaders across the country.

Close it

send to a friend | print | comment

Are the Specter folks peeved at the press? (Updated)

This may be much ado about nothing, but a couple e-mails from Arlen Specter’s campaign on Monday caught my eye, and made me wonder if the campaign is a little annoyed with the media.

One, about the Netroots Nation straw poll which opponent Joe Sestak won last weekend, was standard fare, pointing out the small sample size and Tweets from bloggers who liked Specter more. But it was the subject-line that made me do a bit of a double-take: “Specter at Netroots Nation: What Cillizza missed,” it read.

It’s a reference to Washington Post political reporter Chris Cillizza. I guess they didn’t like his coverage. But the guy’s got a big audience, so I’m not sure he’s the kind of reporter you want to pick a fight with in front of his colleagues.

Later, the campaign forwarded reporters an e-mail to Inquirer writer Sam Wood, which responded to his story about Sestak’s veterans event. Again, the substance of the response was par for the course. But it was the fact that they’re calling out reporters in front of other reporters that interests me.

Maybe I’m making too much of this. Time will tell.

See the text of both e-mails below.

UPDATE: Specter’s campaign manager says I’m “making a mountain out of a molehill.” He says “Cillizza took no offense to my subject line, as he correctly interpreted it as a playful jab, not an attack. And if you had read his initial article, he admitted that he wasn’t at NN as he was home with his new baby…that’s why I used the title what he missed. As for the Inquirer, that was just a standard reply to a story that didn’t yet have anything from us in it…”

Specter at Netroots Nation: What Cillizza missed

The straw poll taken at last week’s Netroots Nation that sampled 16% of the attendees was conducted from Thursday Aug 13 (before Specter and Sestak spoke) to Friday Aug 14…not just after their joint appearance as the new dad reported.

And here are some blog posts and tweets from folks who were at the confab…

Tweets:
re: Sestak

slthomas <http://twitter.com/slthomas>  i want to like sestak, but finding it really hard to take his earnestness seriously. i’m just not feeling sincerity out of him  <http://twitter.com/search?q=%23nn09> #nn09

Specter tweet

Jimdotz <http://twitter.com/Jimdotz>  Senator Specter was more convincing for reelection at  <http://twitter.com/search?q=%23NN09> #NN09 conference than I expected. #PASen <http://twitter.com/search?q=%23PASen>

Blogs…

–The BooMan Tribune (well known PA progressive blog):
“I have to give Specter an A+ for his performance here.  There’s a limit to how much support he can get from this crowd, but he made a good case for himself and he’s getting plenty of applause.”

The Blue Voice blog:

“But I’ve got to say I was impressed with how effective he (Specter) was in his presentation. He’s an old-fashioned here’s-how-I-bring-home-the-bacon politician. So he ticked off a long list of positions he had taken that activist Democrats were likely to favor. He got a big round of applause when he bragged that he had done more town halls than any other member of Congress this month and had been out there facing down the Republican mobs in defense of Obama’s health care plan.

Obamawire.

RE: the Pennsylvania Senate primary
between Democrat-come-lately Sen. Arlen Specter and Rep. Joe Sestak, the former admiral who’s trying to challenge him from the left, despite a voting record that’s not all that much more liberal than Specter’s.  Both candidates came to the convention to try to prove their bona fides for the Netroots crowd, who can help funnel support — and cash — to their campaigns. But Specter may have won the day, if not the battle, with a bit of a stunt on healthcare reform.

MacYapper – John McIntire (personal blogger):
At this EARLY stage, I think Specter still has the best chance to prevail in the fall of ’10 against the evil ultra-conservative nutbaggiest nutbag around, Pat Toomey.  Arlen reminded them that some of his positions have been, on occasion, extraordinarily progressive. Like when he was for Stem Cell research, early…

_______

Specter veterans reply

Sen. Specter held town hall meetings with veterans in Pennsylvania today, bringing in VA Secretary Eric Shinseki. In a copycat move, Sestak too held a veterans town hall meeting and attacked the Senator on veterans issues. Our reply is below…
——Original Message——
From: Chris Nicholas
To: Sam Wood
ReplyTo: Chris Nicholas
Sent: Aug 17, 2009 4:57 PM
Subject:

Sam,

This is our reply to the charges Cong. Sestak made against Sen. Specter today.

=================

As Cong. Sestak has rarely voted or lived in Pennsylvania, he’s obviously missed how Senator Specter has long used his clout and experience to benefit his fellow veterans. As Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, Sen. Specter worked successfully to increase the VA budget by 18% in 2004 and 2005. He was also the driving force behind the opening of four new VA Clinics in the state – in Warren, Fayette, Venango and Northampton counties. These clinics were approved at a time when no other such facilities were opening around the country.

In 2005 when Sen. Patty Murray offered an amendment to the emergency supplemental spending for Iraq and Afghanistan, which would have increased veterans health care by $2 billion, Senator Specter was the only Republican to cross party lines and support the amendment.

And in May 2003, Sen. Specter introduced the bill to direct  the VA to open a new Veterans Cemetary in southeast Pennsylvania. The groundbreaking ceremony for that facility in Washington’s Crossing, Bucks County took place last fall.

As for any negligence, it’s Cong. Sestak who knows all about that, as he has neglected his Congressional duties this year, missing 105 votes — giving him the worst attendance record of any Pennsylvania Representative.

share001btn Are the Specter folks peeved at the press? (Updated)

August 17, 2009 at 7:06 pm

--Dan Hirschhorn

Tags:

comments

comments [16] | post a comment

  1. Jack

    Aug 17th, 2009

    I think Arlen Specter is peeved that he’s got a race on his hands that he’s not quite sure he can keep up in.

  2. flynnbw

    Aug 17th, 2009

    Washington Crossing National Cemetery! Bucks Countians and veterans throughout Southeastern PA are looking forward to the cemetery opening in late 2009. What an honor to have a national cemetery in our back yard.

  3. David Diano

    Aug 17th, 2009

    Dan-
    The thing about the Netroots poll being started BEFORE Specter had a chance to be interviewed IS news. While I wouldn’t expect Specter to win outright, that might explain the 33% that were “unsure”, if they were waiting to hear Specter.

    Specter has a Veteran with a good reputation on veteran affairs. Why is Sestak attacking a fellow veteran? (oh, right, … it’s Sestak).

    Dan, have you watched the full interview of both? I did, and I found the press reports left out a lot of Specter stuff and concentrated on the Sestak-the-challenger storyline. Sometimes, I think the media is more interested in having a hot primary than the voters.

    Specter certainly benefited from the exposure and made inroads. In two days, he added more Twitter followers than Sestak’s total following (including those girls that want Sestak to view their sexy pix).

  4. Jack

    Aug 17th, 2009

    Specter has a good rep on Veteran Affairs according to who? Ask all the Vets he kicked to the curb and ignored as chair of the VA committee AFTER HE SENT THEM TO WAR.

    This all illustrates Specter’s failure to lead. Opening hospitals doesn’t help the hundreds of thousands of vets kicked out in 2003 because they made just above poverty level.

    It doesn’t forgive him for voting against the Obama budget and all the money that went to vets.

    And a new cemetery? Wow. Come on.

  5. Jim

    Aug 17th, 2009

    Just think of all those vets that have suffered in PA because of Specter’s votes to cut funding for the VA.

    Just think of all those vets that have suffered in PA because of Specter’s votes to cut funding for the VA in order pay for Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy.

    Just think of all those vets that have suffered in PA because of Specter’s support of Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy, that were funded by Specter cutting money from the VA.

    Just think of all those vets that have suffered and died in PA because of Specter cutting funds from the VA, and that will now be buried in a PA cemetery obtained by former Bucks County Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick (who was the real driver behind getting the National Cemetery, not Specter, ask any vet up in Bucks County)

    Just think of all those vets in PA that would not have suffered and would have lived, if Specter had been doing his job.

  6. Jack

    Aug 17th, 2009

    Just think of all the people who suffered while Joe Sestak was not living in Pennsylvania, but serving America at sea and in Washington.

    Just think of all the people who suffered when Joe Sestak missed 6% of his votes for the year.

    Doesn’t really play out. Typical Specter crap: Lead with an unrelated attack, tell half the story, and then close with another unrelated attack.

    Pennsylvania’s gotta tire of this after some time.

  7. John

    Aug 17th, 2009

    Jim and Jack –
    I understand that Sestak has to try to make Specter look bad on vets issues in order to have a prayer at winning.

    But I can’t believe you’d participate in this kind of hack job against a Senator who’s devoted his entire career to caring for our vets.

    Specter grew the budget of the VA by billions of dollars, immensely expanded services for veterans’ families, introduced the legislation that expanded the GI bill, increased money for vets mental health treatment, worked to provide a free university education to post 9/11 veterans, and yes, brought a dozen VA hospitals and clinics to Pennsylvania.

    Opening hospitals doesn’t help people, Jack? Obviously you’ve never had to drive a relative 2 and half hours to the nearest VA just to get him basic medical care.

    You can hit Specter for alot of things, but veterans issues just isn’t one of them.

    And blaming Specter for veterans’ deaths Jim? Despicable.

  8. Jack

    Aug 17th, 2009

    They certainly help those who are allowed to go. I never said they didn’t. Specter played a large part in allowing hundreds of thousands to be kicked out of the VA as chairman between 2003-2005.

    It’s sort of like NIH funding- only really helps those who can afford the treatments that come from the research.

  9. Jim

    Aug 18th, 2009

    John,

    Joe Sestak is not making Specter “look bad on vet issues”.

    Specter is doing it all himself — his voting record, is coming home to roost.

    Joe Sestak is right, Specter is accountable for his votes.

    Specter only has himself to blame for the cutting of the VA, while he was chairman of the committee on Veterans Affairs.

  10. Jim

    Aug 18th, 2009

    You think the Specter folks were peeved today about the press —- wait until they read the Washington Post article that just hit on-line:

    “The Keystone Candidacy: Arlen Specter Crossed the Aisle, but Still Faces Heat From Both Parties, The Public — and Rival Joe Sestak”

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/17/AR2009081703083.html?hpid=artslot

  11. Jim

    Aug 18th, 2009

    Here’s how the Washington Post reported Specter’s and Sestak’s appearance at the Netroots convention:

    “Specter believes his steady town hall appearances will endear him to his new party’s voters. At each stop, he vigorously defended Obama. When a man in Lewisburg asked, “Is the president lying? Is he confused?,” a forthright Specter cut him off and shouted: “No!”

    Specter used such encounters to apply his Capitol Hill sobriquet — Snarlin’ Arlen — in service to a new conclave of progressive bloggers and liberal activists. “When tough issues come up and President Obama needs a spokesman to go out and face hostile crowds, I can do it effectively,” he told the Netroots Nation convention in Pittsburgh on Friday.

    For all his fire, Specter seemed out of place onstage wooing liberal bloggers, who sat around tables typing on their laptops. He griped onstage about his contemporary and adversary, Iowa GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley, a dispute over “death panels” that, later in the day, resulted in a Twitter spat between the two elderly newcomers to the technology. When the senator plugged his campaign’s latest text-messaging gimmick, he resorted to reading from a notecard, never betraying any unease that it has all come to this. As Specter left the stage, he stepped slowly down a set of stairs, gripping the rail.

    The more youthful Sestak was at home with the Netroots Nation, by contrast, racing up the steps to roaring applause just after Specter climbed down. And in a straw poll following the back-to-back sessions, the liberals overwhelmingly supported the challenger. “

  12. WESTPADEM6

    Aug 18th, 2009

    Jim, if you think sestak did good at netroots, then i flat out don’t know what to say other than i couldnt figure out what the heck he was talking about sometimes because he rambled on and on, and kinda lost me on some of the questions.

  13. John

    Aug 18th, 2009

    Jim and Jack –
    Our veterans need representatives like Arlen Specter and Joe Sestak who have their interests at heart.

    It is very upsetting and disappointing that you would tear down a servant to vets like Arlen Specter just to score points in a primary. I think even Sestak himself would be disgusted at your attacks on Specter, who has gone to bat for vets for 30 years.

    In Congress, Specter did everything he could to expand services for vets. If you have a problem with the administration of the VA, call President Bush.

  14. David Diano

    Aug 18th, 2009

    Jack-
    This is the dumbest thing you’ve said yet:
    “It’s sort of like NIH funding- only really helps those who can afford the treatments that come from the research.”
    http://www.nih.gov/about/researchresultsforthepublic/index.htm

    Unfortunately, they still haven’t found a cure for “stupid”.

  15. Jim

    Aug 18th, 2009

    John,

    You are wrong.

    It’s Specter’s fault, not President Bush’s.

    Congress controls the purse strings of the federal government, not the Presidency.

    Specter was THE chairman of the Commmitte on Veterans Affairs. Specter could have shown leadership and stood up and opposed cuts to the VA — he did not.

    Instead, Specter as THE Chairman of the Committee on Veterans Affairs, voted to cut the VA’s funding.

    Specter is accountable for his actions. Specter is accountable for his votes. Specter is accountable for his lack of leadership.

    And that is not an attack on Specter, it is simply a statement of the facts.

  16. John

    Aug 18th, 2009

    Jim –
    I will give you the benefit of the doubt and refrain from calling your rant a boldface lie, but your statements on this matter do not match the facts. I hope it is a mistake on your part and not a deliberate smear.

    Read about it here:
    http://www.votesmart.org/speech_detail.php?sc_id=368218&keyword=&phrase=&contain=

    Specter “Has consistently supported large increases for the Department of Veterans Affairs budget.”
    -Project VoteSmart

Leave a Reply


- will not be published


pa2012.com blogs