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Arlen Specter’s perfect storm
by G. Terry Madonna and Michael L. Young
The political world watched almost stupefied as the national melodrama played itself out. The pre-primary polls told the startling story while the astonished pols read the increasingly clear tea leaves: Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania’s longest serving U.S. Senator, arguably the state’s most skilled and luckiest politician, was losing. And he was losing to an opponent few had heard of just about a month earlier, losing despite substantial advantages in money and party endorsements, losing despite support from the president, the vice president, and the state’s governor. Specter was losing despite anything he or anyone else could do to stop it.
Now, in the aftermath of the still shocking Specter defeat, the questions abound. Two in particular seem important to answer: Why did Specter lose? And what does it mean for the state and for the country?
The first question seems easier to answer. Specter simply sailed into the perfect political storm. He was caught in a convergence of forces and factors over which he had minimal control.
Everything went wrong for him: he was running for re-election against a tide of virulent anti-incumbency; he was the quintessential moderate in an era given over to the politics of polarization; he drew a younger, vigorous primary opponent not experienced enough to know he couldn’t win; his age and many medical problems appeared to enfeeble him; and his five terms in office weighed him down with too many votes that had angered too many people.
And then there was that party-switch, for him the proverbial straw. But even that was beyond his control. Yes, he could have stayed a Republican, but he would have lost that primary too—and decisively as well.
Specter throughout his political career almost has seemed a force of nature. He always found a way to win and always survived whatever challenge was thrown against him. This year, however, the challenges collectively overwhelmed him. Like many incumbents who preceded him, he ran one time too many.
What Specter’s loss means is harder to answer. For starters it means that Pennsylvania, once one of the more moderate of the mega states, now features a Senate contest between two polar opposites on the political spectrum—a Republican at least as conservative as former arch-conservative Senator Rick Santorum and a Democrat as liberal as any nominated in modern times. Neither party has nominated Senate candidates as ideologically opposite since 1994 when Democrats nominated Harris Wofford and Republicans Rick Santorum.
Certainly it’s unclear which candidate enters the general election better situated to emerge victorious. Pat Toomey may find Sestak harder to beat than Specter. Sestak does not carry the burden of a long incumbency or a lengthy congressional voting record. Nor does he inherit most of Specter’s other lethal liabilities. The admiral turned congressman is also an indefatigable and ruthless campaigner. And despite a nasty primary, state Democrats will quickly endorse and rally around his candidacy.
Nevertheless, Sestak has his work cut out for him. He must run as a Democrat in a state that clocks the president’s job performance at new lows, hovering in the mid 30s range. The ravages of the recession and the unpopularity of many features of Obama’s agenda, notably energy and health care, have made the political environment challenging for Democratic candidates. Moreover, Sestak has never run a general election statewide campaign before. And he’s running in a state often unfriendly to rookie statewide candidates. One thing is certain—neither candidate will give any quarter, nor expect any.
Nationally, the stakes are high. With Democrats likely to lose between three and five Senate seats, the Pennsylvania seat looms crucial. Much of Obama’s presidency now rides on the outcome of a half dozen Senate contests, including the Pennsylvania race.
Beyond that, Specter’s defeat removes another centrist political leader from the American political stage—providing further evidence that the center of American politics is collapsing. Not everyone will be unhappy about that. The advocates of ideological purity have long railed against the politics of compromise and consensus, arguing that accommodation has been the root of the nation’s problems.
They might well be correct. Yet for over 200 years the nation has largely done it Specter’s way—with compromise, bargaining, and moderation. Common belief has long held that America’s complicated federal system of checks and balances functions best in an environment of consensus and moderate politics. Indeed, some believe it only functions in such an environment.
Whether that conventional wisdom remains true, we are about to discover.
Specter is now gone.
The moderate politics he epitomized seems not far behind.
The writers are, respectively, a professor of Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College and a managing partner of Michael Young Strategic Research. Politically Uncorrected, their syndicated column, is published here regularly.
May 19, 2010 at 4:02 pm
--G. Terry Madonna and Michael L. Young
Tags: Arlen Specter, Joe Sestak













Not so liberal
May 19th, 2010
I seem to have read a lot recently about how surprisingly similar Sestak and Specter’s voting records have been. Yes, Sestak ran to the left of Arlen, but he will have a very easy time convincing voters that he’s a moderate, and certainly not a Wofford-type liberal. Moderate Republicans will be just as comfortable with him as they were with Arlen.
BLB
May 19th, 2010
Has Toomey ever run a statewide general election campaign? This is a tossup.
Bruce Bailey
May 19th, 2010
Excuse me, but this is revisionist, apologist BS, wrong on any number of points. It’s beneath somebody who is a college faculty member to try and pass this off as serious analysis.
“[H]e was running for re-election against a tide of virulent anti-incumbency…”
How is this relevant to what happened yesterday?
Answer: it’s not. PA Democratic voters were not voting against Arlen Specter because he was an incumbent. They were voting against him because of his history as a Republican, and because it was obvious that his party switch was a sham, based not on belief but on self-interest.
If Arlen Specter had been a 30-year Democratic incumbent whose votes were in line with the Democratic Party for the past three decades, do you think he’d have been defeated yesterday? Do you think he would have had an opponent? Of course not.
Yesterday’s vote had nothing to do with “anti-incumbency.”
Instead (mentioned nowhere in this piece), yesterday’s vote was a slapdown from Democratic rank and file voters to the party leadership. It was a statement that they will not accept top-down orders to vote for bad candidates.
The next reason is just incredibly self-serving: Joe Sestak was “not experienced enough to know he couldn’t win.” What???? So if Sestak was older and wiser, he’d have known to clear the path for Arlen? See, it’s those whippersnapper 60-year-olds, still wet behind the ears. Dang kids!
This piece is just filled with eye-popping misinformation.
Like this:
“[Sestak is]a Democrat as liberal as any nominated in modern times.” Completely and totally wrong. Sestak is not even as “liberal” as Joe Hoeffel, Specter’s opponent just six years ago. Sestak, in fact, is actually a mainstream Democrat, with votes and beliefs that are left, right and center, depending on the issue.
No doubt, Madonna and Young raced this out to try and cover their tails about (once again) being as wrong as wrong can be about an important statewide race.
In 2008, they boldly predicted that, based on her performance in PA, Hillary Clinton would be the Democratic Presidential nominee. Nope, not even close. Obama’s win was mathematically obvious well before PA voted in 2008; Maddona and Young just decided not to notice.
Then, just a month ago, in a piece headlined “The Admiral hits an iceberg,” they made this statement:
“Sestak remains the longest of long shots to beat Specter. The kamikaze mission is cleared for takeoff. The surname on Pennsylvania’s Democratic U.S. Senate ballot this fall will indeed start with an S. But the S will be for Specter, not Sestak.”
Wrong again, guys. Seems like the fabled insights of Madonna & Young have fallen into a bit of a credibility gap.
Or maybe they hit an iceberg.
Willy
May 19th, 2010
Terry you are a fraud and a disgrace to educators everywhere! Whatever happened to the admiral hits an iceberg?you moron. Do you actually get paid for your opinion? My dog could bark a more intelligent analysis than you. Everytime I see your name I will remind you of the iceberg that sank your ship. You are a pure disgrace. Just flat out incompetent. Oh and by the way I’m a republican and didn’t care about this race. I just used to think you were an idiot now I and the rest of the world know you are!
michael livingston
May 19th, 2010
I don’t think that Specter’s loss says much about political moderation. I think it says that voters don’t prefer authenticity to opportunism. Both Corbett and Onorato are more or less moderates, and both Sestak and Toomey will try to portray themselves as such. I think it’s a happy day for the state.
michael livingston
May 19th, 2010
Sorry, voters do prefer authenticity to opportunism, typographical error.
Brett
May 19th, 2010
Terry Madonna is disregarded in political circles as a charlatan and catering to power. He consistenly underpolled Frank Rizzo in ’91 when Rizzo beat Castille for the mayors race in the primary. RIP Frank. And on Inside Story Ch6, his pompous demeanor is only exceeded by his pompous demeanor, that’s right I said it twice for emphasis.
Bruce Bailey
May 19th, 2010
How weird and ironic is it that the most insightful and accurate recap of the Sestak-Specter outcome is on National Review Online? I’d have never believed it, but it surely rings true to me:
http://article.nationalreview.com/434449/no-reelection-for-specter/robert-costa?page=1
…[L]ow turnout doesn’t tell us everything about Specter’s defeat. “The key to this is that Pennsylvania had a closed primary,” explains Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “Sestak correctly gambled from the beginning that Democrats — once reminded of Specter’s GOP past — would vote for an alternative, regardless of what the White House or Gov. Ed Rendell said.
Simply stated, and absolutely true.
suburban liberal
May 19th, 2010
when was the last time terry maddonna was right.
fact checker
May 19th, 2010
“The kamikaze mission is cleared for takeoff.” Another miss by the armchair quarterback at a 2nd rate school and a cable access station (PCN) who once in a while fools mainstream media into letting him appear. The pathetic ”keystone” poll is a joke for which Millersville and now F&M makes peanuts “selling” to news outlets in exchange for the publicity to the school. Had Madonna any ability, he would be hired by the campaigns that he pretends to understand.
David Wright
May 19th, 2010
If you look at the county level voting stats from yesterday’s primary, it appears that Sestak is going to be hard to beat in a general election. Sestak ran strongest outside of the cities, destroying Specter by getting anywhere between 55% to 65% of the vote in most non-urban counties, exactly the places he will need to perform well with independents and moderate R’s in order to defeat Toomey. The Democrats in the cities will turn to Sestak regardless, but whether or not his message will have any crossover appeal is the big question. His strong performance across the state, especially in places like Westmoreland County, suggest that it will. Toomey has relatively little cross-over appeal on the other hand. It’s too easy to portray him as a conservative. I think the voting patterns are in Sestak’s favor for the general.
Spector is an arrogant egomaniacle Megalamaniac
May 19th, 2010
Im so Glad To see him outta there as Harry Kalas Used to say
David Diano
May 19th, 2010
David Wright-
Hate to burst your bubble, but despite the heavily advertised Dem primaries, the GOP turned out a higher percentage of their voters.
Imagine how much the GOP will turn out for an actual General election with all those NRA votes out West.
Only 26% of the registered Dems showed up, so Sestak got roughly 14 (1 out of every 7) registered Dem voters. So, 86% of registered Dems didn’t vote for him and 12% of the Dems actually voted against him.
That doesn’t really sound like a landslide over Toomey in November.
This Primary was a referendum on Specter. November will be a referendum on Obama.
WESTPADEM6
May 20th, 2010
David-
Westmoreland Co., fayette and others results will be the same as they were in the 2008 Presidential, but the caveat will be less dem. turnout in the Congressional midterm year.
Obama hurt Specter out there. And as far as vote totals, the Senate and Govs races brought more voters for the dems in these counties because the GOP races lacked a title fight.
Case in point is Armstrong County, which Critz remarkably won because of dramatically depressed GOP turnout, whereas Murtha lost last time pretty good. When the Guvs and Senate race are on the line… i wouldnt bet against these ol boys not showing up.
Couple that with a guaranteed depressed Philly turnout. Nay sayers will point to the PA-12 victory for Critz. Dem registration was 62-31. Crystal ball will change when Tim Murphys voters next door get out.
95 South
May 20th, 2010
Dave, you are right, it will be a referendum on Obama. With devastating results for the Liberal Democrats.
flynnbw
May 20th, 2010
Anyone remember when Mr. Madonna mistakenly included a third-party candidate who wasn’t on the ballot in a PA-08 poll done in 2006? He then claimed, based on that flawed poll, that then-Rep. Fitzpatrick had things locked up …
Delco Blue Dog
May 20th, 2010
Once removed from the hypnotic fabricated narrative created over years of an incumbancy , Arlen was at the end artfully exposed as an amoral opportunist who always saw public service as his chance to hog the limelight and feed his ego and have his family feed at the troth.
Truth be told, he has backstabbed and double dealt everyone who trusted him including the voters which was tolerated and enabled by those who had coincindental intrests not philosophy or principals.
Nothwithstanding David Diano and his ilk pumping a puppy on the metaphorical piano leg of personal (and really creppy ) personal dislike, Sestack comes off like he believes in what he says , has a cigent message and has substance in his history to give him weight.
Watch the Rand Paul implosion in KY and see how much Toomey will want to stay in the hot tub with Palin and the tea baggers
I appreciate the reasoning and articulate nature of Madonna’s opinion but take issue with some of his assumtions. Thats why I like to read this site and can overlook the kooky trolls.
David Diano
May 20th, 2010
Delco Blue Dog-
If you think Sestak sounds sincere, my friends in Vegas would probably love to have you in their poker game.
As for backstabbing and double-dealing, you ain’t see nothing yet if Sestak prevails.
Kevin Shaw
May 20th, 2010
David –
Drop it already. Your slander during the campaign could be tolerated as emotional as it was certainly not rational, but you need to stop this now.
And take that damned website down before you are permanently tarred as an enemy of Democratic politics. It is neither satire nor humor, but mere mockery.
Bruce Bailey
May 20th, 2010
Frustrating and infuriating, isn’t it Kevin? There’s a real disconnect in David’s post-election comments – in some, he’s telling us how he has said his “peace” and is going to sit this out, and yet he continues to post smearing messages about our party’s candidate. I hope he finds the will to just stop; it is going to be hard enough to fight against Republicans in the next six months without taking shots from somebody who’s supposed to be on our side.
JoeMontco
May 20th, 2010
Wait a second. I didn’t see the website until Kevin mentioned it. This is beyond the pale.
Obviously, we are in a free country and you can say what you want about public officials. But if you want to be an active member of the Democratic party, you can’t verbally spit at the party’s nominee for the United States Senate, a seat we need to keep the Senate under Democratic control. Sestak won the primary by a significant margin, with support across the state. Specter made his case and was rejected by the Party. It’s over. No one wants Toomey in the Senate.
Doesn’t Diano sell databases or something to Democratic candidates? Not anymore, I guess.
WESTPADEM6
May 20th, 2010
Maybe Diano should start selling his dem voter data to the GOP. Shouldnt be a problem with it, that is, if there’s no problem with Sestak taking money from Scaife and propping up Toomey to moderates before, right? The example was set by Sestak in that regard i suppose. Atleast they’d pay for it as opposed to stealing it, as ive read on here, when the Sestaks ripped him off.
It was okay for Joe… but its not okay for Diano. Sounds a tad hypocritical.
Point being, if i were him id sell it to everyone and anyone that wanted it.
JoeMontco
May 20th, 2010
Sell it to whomever you want. Just stay away from the Democratic party and Democratic campaigns.
Love Sestak
May 20th, 2010
Thank you all for giving Diano what he deserves. I specfically am visiting today to see what he says about the Sestak win.
If I owned this site, I would seriously consider chastising Diano and his alter ego, Hate Sestak by not allowing him to post here again.
A real Democrat should support the Primary winner, Joe Sestak! A true Dem would NEVER slime a Dem candidate as David did here day after day after day.
You should be ashamed of yourself, you Specter shill!
David Diano
May 20th, 2010
Kevin-
I can put up any “damn” website I want. I’m certainly not going to take it down on “your” say so.
I hadn’t plan to continue the site and had made my last post, but now I think I just might continue.
Bruce-
No disconnect. I’ve commented on the results, and defended myself against attacks. YOU guys are keeping this alive at this point. Not me.
You guys need to grow up find the will to stop.
My concern is for the down-ticket candidates. I think it’s mistake to focus on the Senate race and sacrifice the state house, state senate and governor.
JoeMontco-
You are a day late and a dollar short. With the exception of my post-election comments, all my comments are pre-primary when Sestak wasn’t “THE” nominee.
I think the majority of the entire party (actually the 25% who voted) made a mistake. The majority of the SE, with Philly, where both candidates are based, picked Specter. The Western Dems screwed up (as usual) and many will probably go for pro-NRA, anti-Obama Toomey over Sestak.
Actually, I’m pretty up front with my clients about Sestak. With 44% of the State picking Specter, it’s not hard to find anti-Sestak clients. However, I have plenty Sestak ass-kissers for clients too, who are going to pick the best value for their dollar, because Sestak isn’t going to help them anyway.
WestDem-
I wouldn’t sell to the GOP (although my brother is always telling me I could make a ton doing so).
There is a lot of hypocrisy from the Sestak camp asking me to sit down, shut-up and get out, when that is EXACTLY what Sestak complained about.
The difference that all I need to be an “active Dem” is being registered to vote and show up at the polls each election (which makes more ‘active’ than 80% of the other Dems).
Another difference between me and Sestak, is that I’ve ALWAYS been a Dem and I put the party’s interests over any one candidate. People may disagree on the best course for the party, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t trying for what they think is best.
Let me ask this question: If a crook like Fumo had been the candidate, would I have been inappropriate for opposing him?
I don’t find Sestak anymore ethical, honest or desirable than Fumo, despite that Fumo would have a better voting record than Toomey.
The “he’s a crook, but I like his votes” philosophy doesn’t impress me. The candidate still has to deserve the office.
I think every ballot should have the option “none of the above”.
I feel Sestak is unfit to hold public office. Period. The same goes for Toomey (based on his bad policies).
When faced with two terrible candidates, sometimes the most “representative” choice is “none”.
David Diano
May 20th, 2010
Love Sestak-
You should marry Sestak. You could be a spouse that registers in PA.
Maddonna give us a Break
May 20th, 2010
These 2 guys are the Biggest Media Pigs that ever came up the Pike
David Diano Give it Up already
May 20th, 2010
Your Hook Nosed Guy Lost David Give it up and shut your Pie Hole Unless you are supporting Tomby
David Diano
May 20th, 2010
Give-it-up
Who is “Tomby”?
BB
May 20th, 2010
Everyone has an opinion that’s what makes the world go round. Entertaining opinions by BOTH the authors and comments from readers of the blog. One element seems likely, an interesting race between Sestak and Toomey until Nov.
Ed H.
May 20th, 2010
I’ll make no bones about having had supported Specter in the primary but am now completely behind Joe Sestak for Senate. The option of seeing Toomey represent our great state just isn’t one that would do any of us who work for a living any good.
Delco Blue Dog
May 21st, 2010
Ok, now I get it – David- All this vitrol spewing from you is about punishing Seastack and his campaign not buying some crap you are selling.
I dont know if cheesey or sleezy is the word. Your should have come clean up front with this agenda. This is just like the Glenn Beck gold and survival food shilling disguised as politcal commentary.
I thought you were just another treckie cyber troll drooling in a basement somewhere.
Now, It looks like you are selling worthless crap or a bad salesman.
Nice business ethics.
David Diano
May 21st, 2010
Delco Blue Dog-
Actually, you don’t “get it”.
I’m not trying to sell the Sestak campaign my software. They STOLE data from me 2006 and failed to honor our compensation agreement when I caught them red-handed.
As for my software, I give it out FREE to hundreds Democratic committee people. Basically, I provide a valuable service to the Democratic party. I charge a few candidates a modest fee to defer my operating expenses. I sell mostly to underfunded underdog candidates who can’t afford the state party’s system (or who are locked out if they challenge an incumbent).
For all the “REAL Democrat” blather here with Sestak vs Specter, did ANY of you lift a finger to help Sheila Dow-Ford against Tim Holden in the 17th-CD? Holden is far more conservative than Specter, and Sheila is a genuine liberal Democrat (unlike Sestak). Holden even voted against healthcare reform.
So, spare me your self-righteous BS about supporting Sestak, when you ignore races with clear policy differences to distinguish the Primary candidates.
Dat dude
May 21st, 2010
David Diano is a holier-than-thou martyr type of Democrat that pisses me off. Did it ever occur to you that only a small percentage of Democrats who read this site live in the 17th district? I’m sure that we’re all free to call around the state in our free time and help every Democrat in every race statewide. Take your faulty logic and stick it down your throat.
Notsure
May 21st, 2010
If Joe or his campaign broke a contract with you, I am sure you sued him. If not, It sounds like you screwed up and did not make a sale after giveing the customer a “taste” of your product.
Still, it seems all this blather is aboout you making money.
I am guessing that all candidates are top shelf if they just grease your palm.
Money grubber!
David Diano
May 21st, 2010
NotSure-
I actually did look into suing them, but the cost of litigation would have been prohibitive and not worth the risk against someone with Sestak’s resources, deep pockets and ability to drag out proceedings. Even if I prevailed on the merits, there was no guarantee that a judge would have the understanding of computers to properly assess the value of the data and services. If I had my own law degree, I would have pursued it. I determined that the best option available to me was to eat the loss, and chalk it up to a lesson learned about who couldn’t be trusted, and warn others about Sestak.
The Sestak campaign had “more than a taste” of my system, and liked the it enough to STEAL it by walking through each precinct and capturing the data to Excel files.
You’ve assumed the agreed upon compensation was monetary. It wasn’t.
However, I made it clear to the campaign from the beginning that I could not offer the service for free to a Federal candidate because that would constitute a violation of FEC contribution limits. The terms of compensation were clear from the beginning. They used my software for over 6 months, yet they put no “in-kind” contribution entry in their FEC filing. I hadn’t made a “contribution”. They reneged on their end of the deal.
If they didn’t like the “deal” as you suggest, then they shouldn’t have used the software. Use of the system constituted an agreement to the terms under which it was offered (in order to avoid violating FEC contribution limits).
Notsure
May 21st, 2010
Other than the late confession of what this continuing nervestorm and character sliming was all about- By the way what was the compensation you expected?
Did you send a bill, or a statment of worth etc.
Specter’s suit wearing henchmen would have gladly ghost wrote and filed a lawsuit -if it had merit- I am guessing you piped all this crap into Specter’s campaign and they threw it into the trash can.
David Diano
May 21st, 2010
Notsure-
The agreement was an exchange of contact data linked to voters (nothing to with donors). It wouldn’t have “cost” them anything to make a copy of some data files. My longstanding agreement was that I would accept data instead of a cash payment. And, yes, I did send them a “demand letter” reiterating the terms of the agreement and request for payment.
Essentially, it was a barter arrangement data-for-data as a straight-up trade. They were still getting the better end of the deal, as they had produced the information as a byproduct of their efforts (and use of my system), so there wasn’t any additional cost to them.
Why would I even consider involving the Specter team? Any data from 2006 would be stale and worthless at this point.
Back in 2006, the SAGE voter program was being sold to congressional candidates in PA for around $25,000 per district. While it had some features mine did not, I had features it didn’t and my voter data was more up-to-date because I got it directly from the county board-of-elections on a regular basis. SAGE also tended to hang. I’d put the value-of-service of my system conservatively around $10,000. Others familiar with both systems at the time have come up with similar or higher figures. (Some even considered my system superior, or at least preferred it.) Even today, some users with access to both VoteBuilder and my system prefer mine (but I readily acknowledge that opinion varies by user based on what features they prefer).
But, I never asked for $10,000 or even $1. I asked for the data I’d been promised. I held up my end. (It’s kind of like the “Transporter” movies where the driver makes a deal, and sticks to it.) At the time, plenty of people advised me to cut-off the campaign because they wouldn’t honor the agreement, but I had the integrity to honor my end of the deal. If the Sestak campaign didn’t think the data exchange was a “fair” deal, they should have walked away not used my system. Why don’t you ask the Sestak campaign why they would expect to get thousands of dollars of free service (in violation of FEC rules)?
BTW, currently the state party charges about $3,500 for VoteBuilder access at the congressional level and $60,000 for the entire state. This is a HUGE drop from the 2006 pricing. VoteBuilder is heavily subsidized by the DNC and state party. Essentially, it’s now a party-run monopoly with below-market pricing and they pretty much lock-out challengers.
Even getting ALL 19 Congressional districts in PA at competitive pricing would be under $70,000 and no company could get all 19 districts with the DNC and state party behind VoteBuilder and pushing it on candidates.
Fortunately, I have a regular job. The idea put out by some that I’m looking to make any kind of significant money on this is absurd because their isn’t any significant money to be made. The DNC can operate it at a loss, because it’s the cost of campaigning.
My goal in this was to provide FREE grassroots access to the committees to counteract the GOP’s advantages. The few candidates that I charge are to cover my out of pocket expenses like high-speed internet access, equipment and maintenance. This past month alone, I’ve had about 200 users access my system for look-ups, street lists, etc. Basically, my “business model” is a charity and I collect what I can to cover overhead expenses and a portion of my time (like when I missed work to drive to Harrisburg last week to get the final data file).
Delco Blue Dog
May 21st, 2010
David:
Your response ro notsure convienced me you should seek professional help and pharmacuticals.
Move on. Join the peace corp or go be a buddist monk and spread you talent and good cheer elsewhere ( maybe on planet Dave),but please go for god’s sake
You sound like a combination of a bad businessman and a twit.
After the above I would not buy anything from you at any price
David Diano
May 22nd, 2010
Delco Blue Dog-
P*ssies like you and “not sure” don’t have the courage to attack me using your own names. Buddhist monks are probably too tough for you.
I’m NOT a businessman, I never wanted to be, and I would be highly insulted to be grouped in the same category. I’m more interested in being a philanthropist in my spare time.
I started my computer system initially to help my local township committee print their own street lists, then it grew to the county, then the neighboring counties, and finally I expanded the database to the whole state. My entire purpose was to “multiply” my vote, by using my computer skills to improve GOTV efforts in light of the 2000 Florida fiasco. Every vote counts.
I never intended to make a profit, because I was developing it for the Delco Dems who didn’t have two nickels to rub together. I was using some old spare computer I had lying around. However, when the Sestak campaign came along in 2006, I was very much aware of campaign finance limits and I did not believe that I could legally offer the system for free for a Federal campaign. Therefore, to protect myself, I insisted that there had to be some form of compensation. I was willing to except a data exchange and defer payment until the end of the campaign based upon the “word of honor” of a 30-year military Vet. I discovered I’ve got more honor in my handshake than he had in his whole body.
Post Sestak, I kept getting more requests for my system and the data base got bigger. So, I had to switch to a bigger computer, buy bigger hard drives, take time off from work, etc. So, I’ve charged modest fees to recoup some of my time and expenses. I don’t mind giving out free service, but I can’t afford to operate at a loss. Selfish pr*cks don’t understand altruism.
Don’t worry “Blue Dog”, I would never sell my services to you at any price. I built the system to push liberal candidates and causes, not dirty blue dogs who f*ck up key votes.
Blue Dogs are like “Old Yeller” at the end.
Notsure
May 22nd, 2010
So this electronic street list is like a cure for cancer or feeding the poor.
What do Sestack’s donors gpt to do with a street list other than you using and selling their identies for your owsn purposes.
Anyhow,you have a poor grasp of federal election law so it dosent surprise me that also have apoor grasp of contract law.
Yorr frothing and vitriol leaves little doubt that your mistaken understanding of a deal with Sestack it more likely that he did not treat you as god who walks the earth you think you are.
Although the bluedog “peed your leg” a little too much and maybe hit too close to the truth of your motives, you confirmed in your respose that you are not noble knoight of the round table, a businessman or even have a functining civilian’s understnding of the law in areas you profess to have expertese leaves me to conclude he or she was right that you are a twit.
David Diano
May 22nd, 2010
notsure-
Are you mentally retarded? I specifically indicated contact data but NOT for the donors. Hire someone to read to you.
You obviously don’t read too many campaign finance reports, haven’t attended any lectures about the subject, nor read up on in-kind contributions.
IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS are defined under federal guidelines as “contributions other than cash.” While they usually add real value to a project, they do not require an actual cash outlay. Some examples of in-kind contributions are lecturer replacement, indirect costs not charged to the sponsor, third-party contributions, and donated labor, materials, and services.
As for “contract law”, an agreement is an agreement.
A contract which is implied in fact is one in which the circumstances imply that parties have reached an agreement even though they have not done so expressly. For example, by going to a doctor for a physical, a patient agrees that he will pay a fair price for the service. If he refuses to pay after being examined, he has breached a contract implied in fact.
Even an oral contract is binding. From Wikipedia:
For example, In 1984 after Getty Oil was sold to Pennzoil in a handshake deal, Texaco made a higher offer, and the company was sold to Texaco. Pennzoil filed a lawsuit alleging tortious interference with this oral contract, which the court upheld and awarded $11.1 billion in damages, later reduced to $9.1 billion, but increased again by interest and penalties.
So, “notsure”, I’m sure I know a lot more about this than you, and not just because I was there.
My point is this is clear up the false assertions that this is about money, since money was never the issue. But, also, this is just another example of how the Sestak campaign cannot be trusted to keep its word. I learned my lesson about them years ago. Others have since learned similar lessons.
My advise to anyone dealing with Sestak and his campaign is to structure any deals/agreements in such a way that he can’t weasel out of them by not holding up his end. This advice also extends to any colleagues he may work with in Congress.
Notsure
May 22nd, 2010
Now you are a legal expert but couldent find you way into District Court to file pro se complaint.
Still sounds like your “in kind” contribution was deminimus or had no value or maybe, gasp, they thought your “contribution” of already public data was crappy and not worth using.
A contribution has to have , it seems to me, have to have a bona fide value and be accepted. Sounds like neither happed.
Next time you get pulled over in your clown car cite wikpedia and your douce bag punk slobbering chetto dust laden froth to the cop and the Judge. Lotsaluck sport.
Get a life and grow up.
David Diano
May 22nd, 2010
Notsure-
Again, you demonstrate your ignorance (no wonder you hide behind an alias).
The SAGE system was selling their “public data” for around $25,000. Last summer, Sestak paid $60,000 for the VoteBuilder “public data”. He’s going to owe another $60,000 soon for this year’s subscription. (That’s a lot of money to pay for the statewide database that is available for $20 and actually used to feed the system.)
Not only did the Sestak campaign use my system exclusively for the first six-months of their campaign, but actually found it valuable enough to STEAL data from it. So, you are wrong on three points.
1) Not all the data was publicly available.
2) Even the public data was not available in the format I converted it to. That’s called value added, which is what SAGE, VoteBuilder and I provide through the software.
3) My system had not only the public voter data, but non-voter data I had obtained from outside phone lists, as well as unique results I had derived from my analysis of the data.
By your logic, Excel and Word should be “free” because they don’t contain any data and you have to type everything in yourself.
The “value” of my system could easily be determined by a comparison with the market value that was being paid for similar systems/features at the time. However the “accepted value”, per my agreement with the campaign, was an exchange of data. No one has denied that they used my software exclusively for at least six months.
Bruce Bailey was actually my first contact person in Montco who after seeing my system, helped me connect with Montco’s tech guy and spread the system to his county, where it is still used extensively. So, the idea that my system was “crappy” is also belied by the events and evidence.
Get a clue and grow up, you nameless coward.
Notsure
May 22nd, 2010
David:
Oh yeah- have you spent 50 seconds in service to your country? How many hours ha ve you spendt defaming a combat vetren?
You are the tough guy who sits in his mom’s basement slobbering and whinning about everyone else is crook or stupid etc.
I doubt you use any of this talk or even say any of this gibberiash to anyone’s face
If you dont like the traditon of free seech on the internet go out in public and say all the crap to strangers, and if you are the mother teresa of geeks hopefully you can get a lawwyer gy bartering your top secret super duper street-listg-omatic to avenge all these endless injustices you have suffered.
Twit
David Diano
May 22nd, 2010
NotSure-
I say this stuff at Dem events, at work, at restaurants, stores, etc. to friend and stranger alike. I don’t hide like you do.
I spend 5 years doing work for the NADC (in service to my county). I also pay taxes, which fund the services my country provides, including the military’s budget. I’ve spent the past 6 years providing valuable services to my fellow Democratic party members. I could bury you in the testimonials and thanks I get for my work on behalf of the party.
You remain a nameless coward who doesn’t appear to have made ANY contribution to society or the Democratic party (or even this blog).
It seems you can express your opinions only when hiding behind a keyboard and an alias (and possibly drunk or on drugs based on your typing). I’m out in the real world, and also here under my own name.
You wouldn’t last 50 seconds in my world.
Delco Blue Dog
May 23rd, 2010
I don’t think there is anyone in “your world” but you David.
As I recall, the Delco Times tossed you off their blog because of your “nameless” attacks. You are a goofy self absorbed hypocrite.
Notsure should be appreciated for provoking your St Vitus dance nerve-storms.
Thanks for the early morning laughs oh king of planet Dave and chairman of the Dave party.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahah
Notsure
May 23rd, 2010
One last tip David, unless your therapist has already pegged it, look up personality disorders in DSM-IV or wikpedia.
Peace- I am outta here
David Diano
May 23rd, 2010
Delco Blue Dog-
I got tossed off of Gil Spencer’s blog (not the Delco Times Blog) about three different times. But, it was under my own name and for calling out Spencer’s frequent racist and homophobic bigotry.
“My world” is simply one where people use their real names. You have yet to last one-second in it, but I’ve been posting under my own name for years. You guys (gals?) are the hypocrites for cowering behind your keyboards.
Notsure-
War- I am still here.