What a shock: Toomey supporting Sestak.

Of course, if Sestak defeated Specter, Toomey would be running the same ad or worse.

If Representative Sestak cannot stand the heat, then perhaps it is time he got out of the kitchen.

Amen. If Sestak can’t stand the heat, he should get out of the kitchen and exit the primary. But all this whinning has got to stop!

Like I said yesterday…Sestak is continually attcking the democratic party all the while making nice with the Republicans like Toomey and Santorum. Maybe Sestak should change parties!

Doesn’t Sestak and his people realize this only draws attention to the ad and that more voters will realize that he was relieved of his post for “poor command climate?” I think this will only encourage Specter to run the ad more often becuase it’s obviously hit a nerve.

I have been a long time Sestak supporter for (4.5years)….
I and everyone else believed as Joe always put it, in his literature, commercials, ads and political signs, e-mails, you name it, that he was a Three Star Admiral!

Now I have confirmation from the Chris Mathews show that not only was he actually a Vice Admiral but a Two Star Vice Admiral at that!

This is not Swift Boating, this is the truth! I had checked and he was relieved of duty in the Navy for creating a poor command climate. Joe never answered that remark on the Chris Mathews Show and just danced all around the question of him being fired and talked about everything else!

Joe let me and the democrat party down the moment he decided to take on DEMOCRAT Arlen Specter in the US Senate race.

The only thing Joe will succeed at in this race is dent the armor of Democrat SENATOR Arlen Specter, the Democrat party and himself!

I was very upset knowing Joe Sestak, some time ago, had planned to run for President in 2016. He put the “political cart far ahead of the horse” and because his future plan was being delayed, he decided to run roughshod through this Senate race that will and already has harmed his future!

Joe Sestak is SCUTTLING the Democratic Party ship, the question is why?
I’ll let you know the next time and you will all understand why Joe must go!!!

GET IT RIGHT-

A Vice Admiral calls himself Admiral in the same way that a Major General or Lt. General is called General. The proper form of address is “Admiral” regardless of the stars.

Just an observation. But has anyone else noticed the Pat Toomey ad to “Retire Arlen Specter” that is being shown on pa2010.com?

Clearly, Toomey knows that Sestak doesn’t stand a chance of winning on May 18th. Toomey is only siding with Sestak on this issue to harm Specter in some way. We all know that if Sestak won the primary race (heaven forbid), Toomey would be running this ad himself.

Anybody know of a board where there is intelligent discussion about this race? I’m getting very tired of the Specter puppet show here.

That’s because “the Specter puppet show” is continually raising legitimate questions and sticking with the facts. While “the Sestak puppet show” can only whine and complain about it, and try to get “the Specter puppet show” off the subject.

Dem Voter: Precisely. Meanwhile, the question remains: why doesn’t Sestak commit some of his $5 million to campaign ads which could refute Specter’s claims? If Sestak is truly a legitimate primary contender, and if Specter’s accusations are truly unfounded, then the most obvious course of action is to launch TV ads. Sestak purports to be a genuine primary candidate, and he insists that he is incensed by Specter’s ad. Why, then, has he failed to launch ads in response? Unless, of course, there is more to this story…

I forget, which one of you is Bert and which one is Ernie?

SORRY ANON -

My point is the points on the STARS, LIKE 3 STARS VS 2 STARS, do you get the point…I don’t understand why Sestak set himself up for all of this…

Because Sestak left the Navy before he had been a Vice Admiral long enough to be able to retire at that rank, he retired at the lower rank of a two star Rear Admiral!

Sestak is a retired two-star Rear Admiral, if he stretched this fact, what could we expect if he became a senator!

Bailey: I’ll pose the (obviously legitimate) question yet again: why doesn’t Representative Sestak simply launch a TV ad of his own to refute Senator Specter’s claims? This is how a candidate for public office would ordinarily respond to a supposedly unfounded claim by an opponent. If Sestak is truly committed to victory, why doesn’t he invest his $5 million in such an ad? I suspect that you and other would-be Sestak followers are wondering the same thing…

Bruce-
“Get it RIGHT!” is a local Delco Dem and VERY dedicated union guy who used to be a huge Sestak supporter. He’s the one that actually told be about Sestak’s end-run around card-check and supporting the compromise plan before the regular card-check was even up for a vote. Basically, undermining card-check while pretending to be fully behind it.
This union guy is also very supportive of the military and very bothered by Sestak’s use of his jacket as a prop. This guy is not even close to a Specter guy, but he is convinced that Joe can’t win and very bother by Richard Mellon Scaife supporting Joe.

Assuming that everybody that disagrees with Sestak is somehow a Specter puppet is not only mistaken, it’s going to leave you without an explanation when Specter beats Sestak at the polls next month with more votes.

Simply amazing how you magically have insight into all of these anonymous-to-the-rest-us commenters, David. Amazing is one of several words I can think of, actually.

Get it right- you actually have it right, but you’ve latched on to a semantical point that you correct yourself on, but nevertheless fail to change your point. Specifically speaking, you admit that he was a three star admiral, but because of the date on which he retired, he retired at the rank of a two star admiral. Sestak was indeed a former three star admiral. There is nothing stretching the truth here. His last awarded rank was to become a Rear Admiral (three stars). He was never court-martialed, nor stripped of his rank. What is actually seemingly a pension issue, you have (mistakenly) turned into an issue of Mr. Sestak trying to stretch his resume. Should you, or anyone else, have evidence that Mr. Sestak was no awarded his third star or had it taken away for reasons other than his early retirement, please present it here post-haste for analysis. An analogous situation would be if I had been promoted from Vice President to President of a company (voted on by the board of directors, (aka congress)), but left the company before my health benefits kicked in. Did I not still earn my promotion in the first place?

Bruce-
The author emailed me this afternoon to see what he wrote. It didn’t take a lot of insight. I’d be happy to share his name and background with Dan if you think he’s a shill. The guy calls me every time Sestak gets some good press because he’s concerned that Sestak might win, thus giving the Senate seat away to Toomey. He’s on good terms with Joe’s campaign, and Joe believes him to be a supporter. But privately he’s sending emails to his union brethren asking them to support Specter because he feels Joe doesn’t really support Unions and is just saying what he needs to get elected. He doesn’t oppose Joe openly, because Joe is his congressman. However, he is afraid Joe might fail to help his union (out of spite) if he had to ask Joe for help in his official capacity.

BTW, tonight I had dinner with a friend of mine and his wife. I’ll discuss their reaction to Sestak’s ad in a separate post. However, my friend is a former Naval officer. I showed him the Specter ad. He found nothing “swift-boat” about it and thought Sestak was ridiculous to claim it was a slam against veterans. He also thought it was foolish to write a crybaby letter to Biden, knowing full well that Biden was the one that recruited Specter and was campaigning for him.

David- I’m curious to know how you know the identity of Get it Right, his entire story and the reasons for why he is posting. So far I have seen nothing identifying himself in any of these posts other than the length of time in which he supported Sestak. Also havent you previously supported Specter’s position on EFCA, which also includes a compromise eliminating card-check? I think the notion that the people on this particular site who repeatedly parrot each other are puppets of the Specter campaign comes from the fact that they will post disparaging comments on any article posted with a tag of ‘Sestak’ within minutes of its posting and usually having little to nothing to do with the article itself.

The self-affirmation and eerily similar language that goes on between you, HateSestak, Chesco Dem, lana, Steelblitz1 and others is what raises suspicions of a connection. This ability to magically discern Get it Right’s identity and story does not help you in any way in this regard. If he or she were truly independently posting, how were you to know who they were and what their story was with no identifying subject matter?

While posting, Dave has posted his response. That was entirely unintentional. However, I would like to hear the story from Get it Right, instead of from David, as frankly David’s personal conflicts do little but set off my impartial alarm.

Unsolicited Reaction to Sestak’s ad:

Tonight I was dining with my friend, his wife and their two children (one of whom is seriously handicapped). They live in the 6th district, and while they are well aware of Sestak, they don’t really pay much attention to him.
Anyway, as we were sitting down, they mentioned that they saw Sestak’s ad.
I asked “What did you think of it?” (without interjecting my opinion first)
They both were completely disgusted by the way they perceived Sestak as exploiting his child’s illness. The was particularly appalled by chosen clip of Sestak turning his daughter to expose her falling out hair. She said she could never consider voting for someone who would use his child that way. The husband concurred. The wife was deeply and visibly upset.
Prior to this, they hadn’t really made up their minds, because they hadn’t seen much about Sestak since his 2006 ads and occasionally on the news. Now, Joe has irretrievably lost their vote.

In case you were wondering, they are solid Dems, but we don’t often agree on candidates. Ex: They were totally behind Hillary and are not fond of Obama (though they realize he’s better than McCain) and wish Hillary was in charge instead.
We argue about health care, Israel policy, etc. and which Democratic approach is superior. We pretty much only agree that the Republicans have it wrong and that Fox News is a joke.

Also, my friends always vote, but are not otherwise politically active. They don’t wear candidate buttons, get lawnsigns, work the polls, go to candidate events (even local school board and township), etc. They are only now starting to pay attention to the candidates (they didn’t even know who Jack Wagner was or what party he was in).

When I saw Sestak exploit his child (yet again), I just thought “what a jerk”. But, already jaded and used to it. But, the reaction of my friends was visceral. Having a special needs child may make them especially sensitive, but the sensitivity was in the opposite direction Sestak intended.
Since my friends brought the matter up to me, unsolicited, I have to tag it as a self-inflicted wound by Sestak’s campaign. Their perception of Sestak is forever colored by this. I can’t image what Specter could do to lose their vote at this point.

FH-
I’ve been encouraging “GetItRight” to post on PA2010 for a few months. He’ll often call me with something he doesn’t like about Sestak and asked me to post it for him. It’s usually about an issue or point that isn’t my focus, so always tell him to post it himself.
For example, he’s really into naval patches and their history. He was really offended by Joe parading around with his Naval jacket and patch, like a prop. He was convinced that Sestak was wearing the patch incorrectly, but I didn’t understand the subtleties of his point or references. I made passing mention that a friend of mine didn’t like Sestak’s use of the patch, but I refused to post his argument because it was his argument to make (and defend if challenged).

I’ve got a lot of friends in the Delco Dems who don’t like Sestak. But, none of them are in positions to challenge him openly because of the power he wields with his supporters. My friends tried to dissuade me from posting under my name, for fear Sestak’s people would trash my voter software and hurt future opportunities for advancement of it and my position within the party.
I like my friends, but they are p*ssies in this regard. I won’t kiss anyone’s ass to advance myself. My voter system has expanded far beyond my initial dreams for it. I have no aspirations for political office or an official position in the party. I have nothing to lose, and it gives me more free time if people don’t want my help.

If my friends had the balls to unite and stand together against Sestak, from the beginning, they might have gotten him to do a little more work for the party and not take their support for granted. Soon, Sestak will be whittled down to bite-size, and leave the scene with his tail between his legs. Without a political office, active campaign or a financial warchest, no one is going to put up with his sh*t anymore.

FH-
I know who Steel Blitz is. He’s a somewhat conservative (pro-gun) Dem committee man from around Allegheny/Pittsburgh part of the state. He’s a Steeler’s fan. He and I regularly email articles we see and he tells me the occasional story about Sestak’s visits to the Western part of the state, and gives me insights on how Specter is viewed out there.
I’ve figured out Lana’s identity from the age and other clues she’s mentioned. (or at least I’ve found a “lana” who matches). I’ve never contacted her or communicated directly.

I do agree that Hater and Chesco Dem are the same person. I also agree that Hater is over the top in his characterizations (to the point where he sometimes makes me look like the President of Sestak’s fan club). However, give the egregious wrong he believes Sestak has leveled on his friends, I understand the source of Hater’s hatred. If true, it’s a hundred times worse than any wrong Sestak did to me or any of my friends.

FH, by your own logic, as long as you post anonymously, I could easily accuse you of being an alias for Bruce (but I wouldn’t because Bruce is honest). Heck, you could really be a creation of mine to act as a straw man to knock down. You could also be a paid Sestak staffer (or rather underpaid). You could even be a Toomey supporter, here to prop up Joe.
I’m not the slightest bit impressed by criticism from an anonymous poster with an unknown agenda.

Dave- FH happens to be my initials. It also happens to represent my “agenda” here, Freedom from Hypocrisy (Cheesy, I know). I work for no political campaign, live in Philadelphia, and work as a paralegal at a small law firm.

Just so I can get a better picture of who you are, what “wrong” has Sestak done to you, your friends and to Hater/chesco. From a previous comment, it seems as if you are mad that Sestak did not do enough, in your opinion, to help local Delco Dems. You quoted his brother? Richard Sestak as saying something to the effect of ‘Why should we help them if they never helped us?’ You took specific offense to this particular statement. You’ve also chastised him for not contributing enough to local delco dems (your friends?) While I dont know who did help who or did not help whom, I think it is very important that you disclose this information as it clearly colors your opinions towards Sestak. While you’re allowed to hold grudges and vote or not vote for someone based on any criteria you choose, when advising on others as to how to vote I would hope that you realize that your particular issues may not apply to everyone and your comments attacking Sestak should be known to be influenced by a personal dispute.

Also, you’ve admitted to communicating and trading talking points with two (or three if HateSestak and Chesco are the same) of the most vocal and frequent posters on the site. Do you not see a potential problem there? Not to suggest that you dont have a right to communicate with whomever you choose, but wen the two (three) people who regularly attack one candidate with anywhere from 50-75% of the comments on a given site are communicating and trading talking points (mostly amongst themselves) how is independent thought and real conversation supposed to take place? I mean half the comments are “yeah I agree with you! That negative point is quite negative and we all hate sestak!” Its just not an intelligent discussion, nor is it a just basis on which to influence readers.

On a completely unrelated and ideological point of mine (this would make a great topic for discourse between the two of us), I do not feel any politician should be held accountable to pay their dues to any party structure or political quid pro quo. You shouldn’t expect Sestak to support local delco dems, especially if they never supported him. I dont know the facts, but I dont ever think you, or any party member should expect a quid pro quo of support for support.

As for Arlen, the highest judge of an elected official should be how you vote, and that should be of his or her own conscience, but they should have to live with the decisions which they have made and supported. That is one of the major reasons I have problems with Specter. While in the Republican Party, he has a moderate voting record on some things, but incredibly conservative on other things. As soon as he switches, he promises not to be an automatic 60th vote, but then proceeds to vote incredibly liberally, often in contradiction of earlier vote for which he has said he could defend and supported before the switch. Arlen Specter should be Arlen Specter, whether there is a D next to his name or an R, but hes not. There’s Arlen before the switch and Arlen after the switch. His votes and statements on the records just out and out change. How can I, as a democratic voter reconcile the two Arlen’s? Thats just my two cents.

As I’ve stated here when I started posting, I only spoke up because I got so sick of hearing all the three/four way roundabout discussions that fed off each other’s hate and repeating generalities and talking points and failed to even address articles at hand. It just made me angry, upset and spurred me to action. As for the anonymity, I’ve at least used my initials. If you’re smart enough to figure out all this other stuff about everyone, I’m sure it should be exceedingly easy to find me as well.

Toomey is a Republican.
Specter used to be a Republican.
Sestak wants to be a Repulican.
Any Democrats in the race?

Anon / FH
• Military rank is a title, just as is Mister, Master, Madam, or Miss. An officer’s rank is in fact a commission given by the US Congress. Once a military person has retired, their rank is a permanent title. The title comes first.
Ex: Dr. Physician B. Medicine, MD.
Or: ex. RAdmL. Phineas L. Richards, USN (ret.)
The affiliation comes last, MD for Medical Doctor or USN for United States Navy.
Rank Given Surname
Branch, Retired

Where:
****Rank = Last rank held*****
Given = First name
Surname = Last name
Branch = Branch of service (US Army, US Navy, US Marine Corps, US Air Force, US Coast Guard)
Retired = self-explanatory

For example:

RDML. Phineas L. Richards
United States Navy, Retired

The error lies in the abbreviated version which is only partly incorrect as it should be for the above example:

RAdmL. Phineas L. Richards, USN (ret.)

Abbreviation for Rear Admiral, in fact RADM or RAdm are both acceptable, as is RAdmL (indicating 2 star admiral lower half – the USN has no 1 star rank, but has two, 2 star ranks, upper and lower half of Rear Admiral. A one star Admiral is called a Commodore, and this is only used in time of war.)

However, in using the formal method, neither the rank, nor the service should be abbreviated. So the example is most correct for the formal method as example:

Rear Admiral Phineas L. Richards
United States Navy, Retired

FH-
Shouldn’t Freedom from Hypocrisy be FFH? I was going to guess Fat Ho.

The point about Richard is that it was part of an overall pattern of dismissal and disloyalty by the Sestak toward the very people and organizations that worked to elect Sestak in the first place. Richard’s remark came minutes after a speech where Sestak told a room full if Delco Dems “It wasn’t MY victory; it was YOUR victory.” and that he couldn’t have one without us. It’s a difference between his words and empty platitudes vs his actions. Since Sestak makes such a point about is supposed honor/integrity, it goes to his character, loyalty and trustworthiness.

So, while it is a different criteria than his “voting record”, it does go to show his loyalty to the party and willingness to support Democratic goals by helping elect other Dems. When he first campaign, Sestak had promised to help the local party and candidates financially if he got elected. Once in, he found excuse after excuse. He told one friend of mine seeking $200 for a mailing for a local council race in 2007: “If I help you, then I have to help everybody.” He called the poor guy to come down to his office at 7 or 8 on a Saturday morning, just to reject him. This was a guy who had busted his ass for Sestak in 2006.

Specter, to his credit (and self-serving nature), does understand about helping other members of the party you are in. His campaign did a better job helping other candidates and committees than Sestak did.

As for Arlen’s voting record, my impression has been that the GOP had him by the balls for some of the more conservative votes. There were a lot of key social issues where he defied them, and then had to make it up with some distasteful conservative votes.

In 2004, he barely beat Toomey and had a to make some conservative votes to get the GOP endorsement. If he didn’t, we could have had 6 years of Senator Toomey instead.

While I don’t like it, I realize that the nature of politics involves horsetrading for votes and various negotiations to stay viable and get other things you want accomplished. Look at what the Dems had to do with Health Care to get Ben Nelson on board.
But, I believe that Specter’s vote on the stimulus package helped save the country. Had Sestak (or Toomey) been there, we could not have passed it and gotten Snowe and Collins. For me, that one vote canceled enough of Specter’s previous bad votes to give him a clean slate. I think it was a vote of courage and responsibility on his part, and an unwillingness to follow the GOP marching orders of obstructionism.

I think Specter is our best chance to beat Toomey, and that is also an overriding concern. I’m convinced that Sestak is incapable of beating Toomey, so it’s perfectly appropriate for me to suggest that people who like Sestak go for Specter. Sestak’s voting record won’t matter if he can’t get elected.

However, for those who think that we should be supporting Sestak as a matter of Democratic party principle, I have sought to under-cut that argument by pointing out how I think Sestak is not a “real Democrat”.

So, to sum it up:
1) Sestak is running on character, but me and my friends, and plenty of others have seen his bad character and understand the charade he’s created.
2) Specter has a better shot of beating Toomey.
3) Sestak is not the “real Democrat” he pretends to be.

FH, as for your identity, Philly is a big place and outside the 7th district. So, at least you’ve revealed that Sestak’s not your congressman and you have little basis to know much about internal Delco Dem politics. If want to play identity guessing games, you’re going to need to give up a few more facts. Philly is so big that it’s wards are like whole townships in the suburbs. How about your ward, age, middle initial, or even zodiac signs (so maybe I can find an astrologer to match your personality to the star you were born under)?

BTW, I didn’t say that we’ve communicated “talking points” but we have discussed issues, facts, news articles, etc. But, I post what I think, in my own words/voice/style, and I encourage others to do the same. Some of the Sestak people seem to be getting their research/talking points directly from the campaign or are volunteers for it.

Jim-
You are right. There are no Democrats in the race. Specter is merely the least objectionable person running.

Get it Right!
I read that Sestak may be in a little hot water with his ad. Apparently, when you use your military photos in political ads, you are supposed to include a disclaimer that they do not represent an endorsement by the US military.

FH, no one could speak better on behalf of ALL the People than you. You point out how twisted the interpretations are of those that obviously have vendettas. Fairness/honesty/integrity is what I am searching for in humans which are sorely lacking here. Cannot believe that Dan or PA2410.com would even allow the slander/lies to escalate and be repeated daily. Guess this is the only way they can build up this site. It would behoove them to delete slanderous remarks that hold no truth whatsoever. Using Dan’s name or anonymous persons to make oneself sound more important truly shows a serious lack of credibility. Opinions are one thing..boldface lies are not, I believe, what is meant by “Freedom of Speech”. That would be considered illegal and room left for lawsuits.

Oooh… an another anonymous “follower” claiming not to be a follower and praising someone for speaking for ALL the people.
Seems like a stretch.

Where are the boldface lies?

Characterizing Sestak as having little integrity, isn’t that different than the claims he and his supporters are making against Specter. Sestak claims Specter can’t be trusted. I, and others, claim Sestak can’t be trusted.

Sestak’s dismissal from his DCNO position DID occur and swiftly as the one of the first things Admiral Mullen did. The reporting at the time (before Sestak entered politics) about Sestak’s management style is consistent with the behavior he’s exhibited with both his congressional and campaign staffs and reinforced by his record rate of turnover. Sestak’s clear “pattern and practice” gives much more weight to the conclusion that Sestak was removed for being an abusive boss, rather than ruffling feathers by analyzing proposed defense cuts.

As for the truth of other statements, beyond what I’ve personally observed, I’m more than willing to repeat the stories and observations of people I’ve encountered along the way (those of whom I have found to be credible). In most cases, I know the person who told me the story (in some cases it’s a person whom I know by sight rather than name, or whose name eludes me, or I know position like “the guy that used to be the campaign manager for xxx”). But, I don’t have to make up stories about Sestak. The real ones are damning enough.

Truth/integrity, etc. is not a word you could understand.

ok, “words”.

JOE IS WELDON LIGHT, A MORE SUBTLE FORM OF ME-ISM.

BlindFollower-
I understand a lot of words. Feel free to show some truth and integrity by posting under your real name.

Anonymous-
I tend to look as Sestak as a “me-ist” on steroids. Nothing subtle about it. Check out his campaign office sometimes and see all the HUGE blown-up pictures he has of himself plastered all over the place. The only thing limiting the size of his ego in that regard is the height of the ceilings. It kind of reminds me of Kim Jong Il’s fondness for his own picture.

NotABlindFollowerOfAnyone: Your disparaging comments with respect to Mr. Hirschhorn are uncalled for. As I mentioned previously, a hidebound bigot voiced his opinions on this site recently. He was not censored. Perhaps Mr. Hirschhorn is simply an avid believer in free speech – unlike you, apparently.

Sestak, unfortunately, is a public official and primary candidate. In a representative democracy, public officials and primary candidates are frequently subjected to adverse criticism, warranted and unwarranted. If Representative Sestak is so oversensitive, so fragile, so feeble, that he cannot stomach adverse criticism, then perhaps he should not be a public official or a primary candidate. Can’t bear the heat? GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN.

Senator Specter, meanwhile, has been characterized as decrepit and senile by Sestak supporters (in this forum and elsewhere). These comments obviously are deeply offensive to both the Senator and to America’s sizable senior citizen population. But the Senator has not dispatched a letter to the Vice-President of the United States clamoring about it. Nor did the Senator summon other senior citizens to a news conference to denounce these comments. Senator Specter is a resolute, staunch, purposeful man – unwavering and unyielding. He did not whimper and whine. Representative Sestak, on the other hand, has proven himself to be a POLITICAL PANTYWAIST.

FH: Your understanding of free speech is obviously quite limited, nescient one. In our present-day society, there are right-wing lunatics who are unapologetic Holocaust Deniers. These people disseminate falsehoods about the Jewish community and its history on a daily basis. Unfortunately, such deplorable conduct is permissible under the laws which govern this republic (though it is not permissible in some other Western democracies). If Mr. Diano wishes to lambaste Representative Sestak – who is a public figure – he enjoys that right. And you should not be attempting to strip him of that right. And if Mr. Diano’s remarks – or those of Senator Specter for that matter – are truly defamatory or scurrilous, then Sestak should take legal action. Of course, Sestak has not done so. Nor will he.

Curious, is it not? Sestak adamantly insists that the Specter ad is calumnious and false. Yet Sestak has not countered with an advertsiement of his own, nor has he taken any legal action. If Specter’s assertions are libelous, one would think that Sestak would do more than simply bellow and bluster.

Sestak is a political pantywaist – a namby-pamby who cannot brook or tolerate any adverse criticism, valid or invalid.

Quit your whining HS, DD,CD, L, etc. Take your blankies and go to bed. Ask someone for forgiveness. You all represent everything that is wrong with this country and it has nothing to do with freedom of speech if you actually read my posts. Nite nite kids.

BlindFollower (off a cliff)

I haven’t stated anything that I don’t believe to be true or the most likely explanation. Free speech is especially relevant for politics to praise or denounce elected officials and candidates for office.

You seem to want to deny and dismiss Sestak’s critics, and you offer no actual defense or counter-argument supporting Sestak.

If Sestak doesn’t want his character to be an issue, he shouldn’t run on it.

David Diano, keep drinking your poison and wearing your straitjacket. David Diano will not win election for Delaware County Democratic Chair.

No coincidence that Toomey is siding with Rep. Sestak, as did Dick Scaife when he cut Joe a big campaign check. Some “pals” Joe has these days huh? I wonder when Democrats will demand Joe refund Scaife’s money and tell him to shove it. Answer: Never. We’re not allowed to talk about that.

I’ve been troubled by what seems that Sestak has one special set of rules for himself as Specter did rightfully mention and everyone else has to somehow play by them or else.

An aside, If i lived in Delco, Id give sestak as much help as he’s given the county party and other candidates over the past years. That’s fair isnt it?

George Maniatty-
Check your meds. Do you even know who is running for County Chair?

HateSestak- Actually, your understanding of free speech is the one that is wrong. If you would care to have a lesson on defamation, I will give it to you at any time you wish, However, I have not tried to strip anyone of their rights to speech, only suggested (I’d like to demand, but I’m not the editor here, so I can’t do anything) that verifiable facts and quotes rather than anecdotes and name-calling. You, Mr. Diano, and everyone else have every right to lambaste whatever public figure they would like, so long as it does not rise to the tort of libel. Since Mr. Sestak is a public figure, the issue becomes that of what is known as ‘fair comment’, which protects persons from the tort of libel against a public figure so long as such comments are made without any malice of foresight and/or that a reasonable person could recognize such a comment as being one of opinion. Oh, and just as an aside, maybe you arent the best judge of how Sestak should choose to advertise, you know, being all biased… But the thought of that never crossed your mind, did it?

@Diano- Now Dave, it isnt very sporting of you to criticize supporters from one side of posing anonymously and then gloss over the issue with supporters of your side. Now THAT is a rule that only applies to one side (yours). (See what I did there? I took the charge that you’ve made against Sestak, without any evidence, and pointed out that you’ve done THE VERY SAME THING, right here! Isn’t hypocrisy grand?!)

Also, when pressed for facts and figures concerning your claims, you resort to, “well my friend heard this…and that makes Sestak a bad person!” Never mind that you do not provide who the friend is, where such a conversation took place, did anyone else here such a comment made…you know details that would make such a claim rather easy to verify? But that wouldn’t make nearly as good a point as your vague accusations? Btw- I thought you never worked for Sestak’s campaign, so how would you know what his campaign office looks like? I mean his district office, sure…but his campaign office is in an entirely different place. I know this because the lawyer I work for in media is right down the street from his district office, and he is friendly with the lawyer who shares space with his congressional office, so seeing as I’ve had to drop things off in two separate places, they are not one in the same. Oh and the comment, “Fat Ho. ” is derogatory and I would like an apology.

Westpadem6- Oh what a familiar talking point, I’ve never heard anything of the sort before. Oh wait, I remember a guy spouting off some really vague generalities before about something like that, but you repeating the comment just reinforces the notion!

FH: The Philadelphia Inquirer, the major newspaper in the Philadelphia metro area, has officially endorsed Senator Arlen Specter. The Inquirer characterized Specter as “a vital player and a worthy choice for Democrats.” When you look at the sum of his career and what it has meant to Pennsylvania,” The Inquirer asserted, “you have to conclude that he’s a good choice for Democrats, which is why The Philadelphia Inquirer endorses ARLEN SPECTER for the Democratic nomination.”

Sestak, meanwhile, was endorsed by ex-congressman Eric Massa, who gropes the genitals of young males (including, apparently, members of his own staff). Specter has been endorsed by the President and Vice-President of the United States, virtually every prominent Democrat in the state of Pennsylvania, and now by Pennsylvania’s leading newspaper. Sestak, by contrast, has been endorsed by a lawbreaking sexual deviant. Nuff’ said.

FH-

There is a connection between all of us… we’re voting for the winning democratic candidate, Specter. You are quite the detective. You’ve cracked the case! I dont even know who in the hell these people are (no offense).

As for Diano… I’ve learned i dont have very much in common politically with him or very many others out in Philly. However, I must admit that i’ve come to find Dianos analysis somewhat insightful, not to mention entertaining when he and everyone is arguing on here. For instance, I call Sestak “Admiral Sleezstak” now, as ive picked up on here. Though, I only started calling him it when he started copping that army jacket of his for votes. When i first started reading this blog, I was like who the hell is this guy. It doesnt seem like sestak talks about what hed do very much to me. Kind of like he’s a monday morning QB or disgruntled or something.

George-

Wipe the Sestak kool aid stains off your face.

David Diano-

After Sestak loses, will you be able to run for chair? Are u running for county chair? And Sestak then can get that White House job right? As chair, one of your first orders will be to assign latrine maintenance duty to George at the summer county picnic. Sestak will have to hand over his army jacket for you to then wear at all county meetings.

WesternPAD-

Sestak taking that $$$ from Mellon shows how much he is really 150% about democratic principles doesnt it? Wow, some real democrat for yinz.

Also I would like to point out that Mr. Diano admits, “While I don’t like it, I realize that the nature of politics involves horsetrading for votes and various negotiations to stay viable and get other things you want accomplished.” I don’t know about you, but that reminds me of a little story that was on here a week or so ago where Specter was accused of trading votes to stay viable. Just saying is all…

Furthermore, you just rationalized away hundreds of Conservative votes by Specter by saying that Specter voted conservatively just to try and be elected (“In 2004, he barely beat Toomey and had a to make some conservative votes to get the GOP endorsement. If he didn’t, we could have had 6 years of Senator Toomey instead.”) Your argument is that Arlen Specter really truly wanted to vote liberally on his conservative votes but he did changed his votes to gain the GOP endorsements from, among others, George W. Bush and Rick Santorum, all in an effort to save us from Pat Toomey? HALLELUJAH! ARLEN SPECTER IS THE MOST SELFLESS MAN EVER! Oh wait…he saved us from an ultra-conservative, by being a conservative? What about all those PA families that those conservative votes affected? Should they feel ok about it because it MIGHT have been Pat Toomey instead? How about after he won the election, couldn’t he have switched back to the progressive voting you seem to assert that he always wanted to go to? Wouldn’t six years of liberal, progressive voting be better than one year after switching parties? This whole scenario is crazier than HateSestak’s conspiracy theories.

And one last thing, if you want to get into a discussion on who might be more electable in the General, lets do so right now. Do you even think for one second that Arlen Specter would get one single registered republicans vote in this state? He was polling abysmally low within the party before (causing) his switch (http://www.pa2010.com/2009/04/the-specter-myth/ http://www.pa2010.com/2009/04/on-npr-specter-acknowledges-bleak-polls/ ect.) Do you think its better now? Though Democrats may hold a sizable advantage in voter registration across the state, such voters must be motivated to come out and vote. Republicans already have their rallying cry tee’d up for them, ‘Come out to vote against Arlen, the guy who stabbed you in the back!’ ‘Flip the switch’ as those incessant Toomey banner ads state at the top of every page here. They’ve got people ready to vote, but how about the dems? Are some democrats really gonna get up and go vote for a guy they saw on the other side of the ballot for so long? At least Sestak would have a fighting chance at winning independents and crossover voters who are not prepared to go as conservative as Toomey, as his main problem is lack of people knowing him, not his politics. But that’s just my way of seeing this election…

Mr. Diano: I recently suggested that Sestak is an example of the “authoritarian personality” that noted scholar Theodore Adorno first discussed in 1950. Apparently, many of Sestak’s flunkeys fall into the same category.

STEELBLITZ: Valid points indeed.

HateSestak- Some other people who have endorsed Arlen Specter: President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Senator Rick Santorum, Karl Rove, William Parker (Founder, Club for Growth, and supporting him over Toomey http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/harrisburg_politics/Former_PA_Club_for_Growth_President_Endorses_Specter.html), and John Cornyn.

Some People Arlen Himself has endorsed (something he has full control over): George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Rick Santorum, Sara Palin, John McCain, Larry ‘Tap Three Times’ Craig. He also supported the following controversial judiciary candidates: Alito, Roberts, and my favorite Leon Holmes who stated “the woman is to place herself under the authority of the man.”

Just a few pieces of food for thought there…

FH-
As you could be anyone, or several people, I could guess you are child rapist, but you didn’t post as CR.

Unknown people posting anonymously is different than me posting under my own name, relating a story, and protecting the identity of my sources. If push came to shove, I can back up my claims.

So you live in Philly and work for a small law firm in Media? I hope they appreciate your efforts emptying wastebaskets, sweeping floors and cleaning toilets as you try to pick up some legal lingo while you study for your G.E.D.

As has been pointed out to you already, I have criticized the anonymous posters who support my position and called upon them to post under their own names.

In 2006, I helped the campaign set up the office, computers, printers, copier, etc. I didn’t “work for them”, but like many other Delco Dems who helped, I was in there often.
As for Joe’s giant pictures of himself still hanging in the office, of course I’m referring to the campaign office, his supporters post pictures of the office all the time. (see links below) I haven’t set foot in the office since Joe got elected in 2006 (though I might show up May 19th to help him pack up and leave).

Here are the pictures of Joe’s Media HQ with the giant wall posters:
http://joesestak.ning.com/photo/sestak-officetoomey-debate-015-9
http://joesestak.ning.com/photo/sestak-officetoomey-debate-015-14
(even a picture with Obama, who prefers Specter)
http://joesestak.ning.com/photo/health-care-town-hall-philly-1

Hater-

BTW, here’s an interesting picture from Friday of Vets in Scranton to deliver a letter to Biden as part of a political stunt. ON JOE’S CAMPAIGN SITE: Notice in the picture is Bill Walsh, the head of Joe’s District office, doing what appears to be campaigning. Can someone explain if Bill is violating the Hatch Act by participating in a campaign stunt on a Friday when he’s supposed to be working in the district on the taxpayer dime? Joe’s people work dawn to dusk, at least 6 days a week, but here is Bill broad daylight. He’s wearing his heavy jacket like a prop, while some others around him are not wearing jackets and one of the girls is in short sleeves. The people with Bill are wearing Sestak for Senate buttons.

http://joesestak.ning.com/photo/biden-specter-scranton-pa-6
http://joesestak.ning.com/photo/biden-specter-scranton-pa-5
http://joesestak.ning.com/photo/biden-specter-scranton-pa-7
http://joesestak.ning.com/photo/biden-specter-scranton-pa-4

Steelblitz-
You couldn’t pay me to run for County Chair. It’s a thankless job. You have to put up with the petty territorial squabbles and factions while run a party in a very tough fundraising environment against an entrenched and corrupt GOP party and county government. No thanks.
George is some putz accountant from Leigh county who doesn’t know jack sh*t about Delaware county’s Democratic party and doesn’t seem to be able to add 2 + 2. I doubt he could be trusted with even latrine duty.

Meanwhile, let’s see how Specter’s smear is playing in PA’s “T” country: from the Sunday Tri-County Courier Express in DuBois, PA:

http://tinyurl.com/3yn4zd2

“Sen. Arlen Specter’s attacks on the Naval service record of retired Adm. Joe Sestak are worse than the “Swift Boat” attacks launched against Sen. John Kerry by President Bush’s supporters during the 2004 election.

“The Specter attacks are worse because they are patently false, whereas there was some doubt, due to the passage of time and difference in memory, as to the details of Kerry’s service aboard one of those-named craft in the Vietnam War.

“There is no doubt about Sestak’s service. It was honorable, and outstanding.

“Specter’s claim that Sestak was “relieved of duty” relies on an ordinary-speech interpretation of that phrase, rather than the specialized military interpretation of that phrase. Most of us think that someone “relieved of duty” is guilty of some crime. When admirals or generals are relieved, the action can be taken because of failure in command, or because of politics, or merely because a new commander wants members of his/her own team in place…

…[F]or Arlen Specter, himself a veteran (Air Force, early 1950s) to “go negative” in such a patently inappropriate way speaks far more badly of the character of Specter than it does of the character of Sestak.

“By most accounts, Sestak was not a much-loved military officer. He was a workaholic, blunt, demanding, sometimes intolerant – and very competent…

“Sestak served honorably in the U.S. Navy, and deserves praise, not censure, for that service, according to all the information we can find.

“Specter’s charges border on flat-out lies.”

Bruce-

Whats a lie, that he was relieved as deputy CNO for poor command climate? Thats quite a stab at revisionist history by Sestak. Its a fact. Should we use removed or fired as Deputy CNO? Whats the correct parlance? The author of this article mustnt have seem the 2005 navy times article.