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Laura Vecsey's Blog

Laura Vecsey's Blog

Middle Ground

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Props to Toomey’s press release writer

Colorful writing is greatly appreciated in the realm of political press releases. And on that note, we give serious kudos to Pat Pat Toomey’s campaign spokesperson, Nachama Soloveichik, a very smart and on-point political operative.

Soloveichik issues some of the most timely and effective responses to news pertaining to the 2010 Senate race, especially in regards to the two Democratic primary opponents.

This week, Soloveichik conjured images of Joe Sestak and Arlen Specter as radical, left-wing operatives thanks to their positions on health care, card check, bailouts and assorted other issues, including the endorsement of Sestak by former Democratic Senate candidate Ned Lamont.

Invoking Lamont’s campaign contributions from Moveon. org, Toomey’s campaign had us imagining Sestak in jungle warfare fatigues or Specter as the latest incarnation of Che Guevara.

The revelatory moment for a political neophyte like myself is to wonder how come both the GOP and Democrats are so eager to sling rhetoric that makes their opponents seem like Attila the Hun on various issues.

In fact, that is exactly the way Toomey has been characterized, due to his strict adherence to voting ‘NO’ against any congressional spending bill except defense spending. His conservative bona fides prompt make him “to the right of Attila the Hun,” all across the Internet.

Still, the language does continue to conjure fantastic and frightening images.

“Since Rep. Joe Sestak hinted he would enter the Democratic primary, he and Sen. Arlen Specter have been engaged in a constant race to demonstrate how closely they are aligned with the views and values of the extreme left-wing of the Democratic Party,” Toomey’s press release said.

“Lamont’s 2006 leftist candidacy against Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman was enthusiastically supported by the most radical wing of the Democratic Party,” Soloveichik wrote.

I think Woody Allen could cast a good comedy based on these kinds of “extreme” and “radical” assertions. Not that it would be better than “Sleeper.”

share001btn Props to Toomeys press release writer

October 20, 2009 at 10:13 pm

--Laura Vecsey

comments

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  1. KG

    Oct 20th, 2009

    I thought this column would be about the Obama and sickle ad from the PA GOP last week, also examples of the radical left and extreme right mixing it up for colorful campaign imagery, and also very funny.

  2. Karen

    Oct 21st, 2009

    The scary part is, are they really as left as they are professing to be. One will surely wind up out doing the other but there is a general election to consider.They will have produced an awful lot of
    ammo for Toomey.It doesn’t seem to matter whether they are principled in any of those positions, after all it’s a democratic primary.

  3. David Diano

    Oct 21st, 2009

    Laura-
    Sleeper is one of my all-time favorite movies.
    I’m not sure how conservative Attila was… but according to FiveThirtyEight.com analysis a few months ago, Toomey would be ranked something like the 5th most conservative member of congress. That’s pretty conservative.

    Karen-
    Are you a Toomey staffer? Please confess. :-)

    “they really as left as they are professing to be”??
    Are you kidding?
    Sestak is in the bottom third of Dems in liberal ranking. Specter is no lefty. He’s more of an ambidextrous switch-hitter and plays in center field.

    Sestak wasn’t that far to the Left when he voted against States having the option of doing single-payer (even some GOP were for it as a states-rights principle). Sestak voted FOR Iraq war blank check to Bush. Sestak voted FOR funding Cheney’s office.
    If you think Sestak’s on the Left, you are holding your map upside-down.

  4. Karen

    Oct 21st, 2009

    My point exactly! so who are they? Does’nt that concern you?

  5. David Diano

    Oct 21st, 2009

    Karen-
    Specter is a moderate/independent. He’s a bit conservative on business stuff and liberal on social issues.
    If the GOP wasn’t trying to be stubborn against Obama, they’d be on board with health care reform. So, Specter’s support of it is in line with his good track record on health care.
    The stimulus package, again, was the right thing to do to avert disaster, and Specter pulled two Republicans to help (neither of whom is a Leftist, though they are treated as such by right-wing extremists).
    EFCA: Specter’s enjoyed a good relationship with Unions and Labor. Specter has voted for increases to the minimum wage.

    These are key issues for Dems, but ones where Specter has been with us. Not because it’s a LEFT position, but because it’s a proper MODERATE position.

    Sestak is the phony here. Sestak has shown himself to be a conservative while pretending to be a progressive liberal.

    Specter is NOT going around claiming to be an LEFT ideologue, but treating each vote/issue separately.

    I AM concerned about Sestak (gee, I hope you were sitting down for that shocker).

    Specter is a guy that can things done. He has every reason to hate the GOP that treated him like a leper. He’s got every reason to reciprocate the warm treatment he’s gotten from the Obama administration.

    Fundamentally, I think Specter’s natural equilibrium point is to the LEFT of Sestak’s natural point, and that Sestak can’t be trusted.

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