“…[W]e’re hearing it again in the informal conversations we have with Democratic insiders.”

And there you have it. The “insiders” were, almost unanimously, aligned with Specter in the primary. And they were roundly ignored by the real power of the Democratic Party, the grassroots voters. In Montgomery County, the leadership of the Democratic Party was almost entirely on the side of Arlen Specter. But Marcel Groen told a desperate lie to the county endorsement convention in order to prevent the assembled committee members from voting to endorse Joe Sestak, as they most definitely would have.

Shira Toeplitz bases her article on several sources — Altmire, Jim Burn chief among them — who aren’t exactly friends of Sestak. In fact, according the current podcast on politicspa.com, Sestak is opposing Burn as State Democratic Party Chair, which may have something to do with why Burn was so anxious to make Sestak look bad in the Politico piece.

I think this is all insider gaming in the run-up to this week’s State Party Chair vote, in which Sestak is apparently trying to assert himself. (Good for him!)

If the state committee votes for Chuck Pascal (or some other last-minute surprise candidate) as state Chair, you’ll know that the PA Democratic landscape really has changed. And if the result is Burn or Groen, you’ll know that nothing has changed and all state Democratic candidates had better buckle up for a rocky road to November.

I thought for a long time during the primary that he was crazy to have his brother as a campaign manager, since on its face it seems like he probably just settled for his brother. But considering the size of the primary victory, is it time to start asking whether Rich Sestak is actually a really good campaign manager? Seems to me that the Democratic Party has no shortage of terrible campaign consultants who quizzically keep getting hired over and over again despite losing – something that would never happen on the GOP side. So it’s certainly not the case that people have this totally figured out and there’s some kind of “campaign in a box” strategy that always works. Maybe a little polish and some professional Obama organizers are all Rich needs to pull this out.

Jon, here’s a perfect example pulled directly from the Toeplitz article in Politico. One of the sources in that piece is Daren Berringer, who Toeplitz describes as a “Pennsylvania Democratic political operative.” Whatever that means.

If you Google “Daren Berringer”, you’ll find him alternately described over the years as:
- an associate of Joe Trippi
- national field director for John Edwards for President
- Manan Trivedi spokesman
- a top advisor to Patrick Murphy
- Joe Hoeffel’s campaign manager when he ran (briefly) for Lt. Gov. in 2006
- Democratic stategist (generic)
- Jim Eisnhower’s campagin manager for AG in 2000
- Spokesman for Howard Dean in 2004
- General consultant to NY-21 candidate Darius Shahinfar

Other than Murphy (and hopefully to come, Trivedi) there aren’t a lot of wins on that resume.

Joe couldn’t hire anyone who are as competent and work as hard as his family.

As a fan of biology and the natural sciences let me offer a theory that draws on that: Joe Sestak is one of those rare people who has an extremely beneficial genetic mutation/variation that enables him to function (walk, form coherent sentences, hold a polite/non-irritable conversation, read, approve and sign letters to constituents, drive to events, etc.)on very little sleep. The people most likely to share a beneficial mutation are one’s siblings. Joe has stuck with Richard and his sisters because they’re the only people who can keep up with his hours. Most of the rest of us require somewhere between 5 to 8 hours to be fully functioning. This would also explain why Joe Sestak tends to hire staffers under 30. Young people are better able than older folks to burn the candle at both ends, both due to physical reasons and due to the fact they are more likely to be single and unencumbered by small kids, who tend to have 8′o’clock bedtimes.

This election between Pat Toomey and Joe Sestak reminds me of that South Park episode when they had an election featuring a Turd Sandwich (Toomey) versus a Giant Douche (Sestak).

The Primary election was a rejection of Specter outside of SE PA (Specter won overall within SE PA region). So, the primary came down to a referendum on Specter and a lot of Dems looking for payback, rather than excitement about Sestak. The ad campaign was particularly devastating with the quote taken out of context.
The general election will be a referendum on Obama and the Democrats in Washington and which candidate will continue/oppose the current policies.

Bruce-
It’s odd that Sestak would get involved the State chairman’s race, as he rarely endorses/opposes. Interestingly, if Sestak doesn’t like Burn, his choices then are Groen and Pascal. Groen was a big Specter supporter. And Pascal was the attorney for VodVarka’s petition challenge. I doubt that either one likes Sestak any better than Burn does. LOL!
Several people in Delco proposed Tony Campisi as State Party Chairman (now that he’s freed up). Unfortunately, Tony has ruled out such a position. I doubt Joe could talk him into it.

L Jeavons-
Also, a lot of the young workers are students or live at home and can survive without a paycheck or living wage.

Lance-
LOL!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqSBZ8Xsjiw

Lance Armstrong (riding stationary bike): Alphonse!
Alphonse: Yes Lance?
Lance: All right, first things first: No man over the age of 30 will EVER use emoticons. No colon-parentheses smiley faces, no fancy bracketed mustaches; no semi-colon hot winks…
Alphonse: (chuckling) Lance, LOL man, that’s awesome…
Lance: Whoa. LOL? Don’t make me get off this bike.

Bruce..

It looks as though the circular firing squad is still functioning and you are a participant.

How does it help Sestak vs Toomey to rehash the Montco spring democratic county convention? It seems to me that Marcel Groen was upfront & transparent about his feelings and walked a skillful fine line between conformity with the State party rules & recognition of the passionate split among County committeepeople. The result was a ballot that recognized both candidates and that allowed all committeepeople to follow their passion without fear of recrimination.

How will it be accretive to Sestak’s General Election prospects to get involved with a petty dispute over the state chairmanship, especially when the DSC has more often than not proven to be a paper tiger?

If Sestak wins, then he & Sen. Casey (&Dan Onorato if Dan is successful) can get together and put their imprimatur on the DSC.

I would have hoped that, with an impressive 8-ponit win behind them and a tough democratic climate ahead of them, Sestak and his people could have been a bit more graceful & humble in their victory.

But all that pales next to the menace that is Toomey. Sestak people…,Specter people….turn your f…ing heads around & face forward to November!!

Rich-
Many good points as usual. However, Sestak vs Toomey is not the biggest race or danger the party faces. FAR more important is retaining control of the State Legislature so that the GOP doesn’t redistrict the crap out of us (and screw up Congressional and the rest of the elections for a decade).
Most would agree that winning the US Senate and retaining control of the St. Leg and winning the Governor’s mansion are notable goals for an incoming Chairman, for the 2010 cycle. However, the State Chairman needs to be able to handle about 2011, 2012 and 2013 as well.

Sestak vs Toomey is simply less important to the overall goals of the State Committee than the other races that need attention across the state.

The fact that all three of the candidates have no history, desire or intention of kissing Joe’s ass bodes well.
However, Burn will likely focus on Onorato (possibly to the detriment of other candidates). Groen’s base is in Montco and SE PA. I don’t know if he gets along with the Western chairman or not. (I honestly have no idea if they will follow his leadership or not.) Chuck seems like a nice guy, but don’t know much about his history with the party (though I assume there are plenty in State committee who do).

I’ve yet to hear any of their ideas for what they plan to change or improve. I’d enjoy seeing them in a debate on the issues and direction of the party.

Rick, I said before and after the primary that a Sestak win was a transformative win. It wasn’t just beating Arlen Specter, it was a message that PA Democrats were not going to accept top-down leadership from here on.

Ousting TJ Rooney and his henchwoman, Mary Isenhour, is a good first step. But the 2nd step is replacing these two with open, innovative, and yes, progressive new blood. Just as the DNC came to life when Howard Dean succeeded Terry McAuliffe, our state party needs this new infusion to motivate and energize our huge majority of voters. We are a sleeping giant and we need somebody to inspire Democrats to get out and win.

And neither Marcel Groen nor Jim Burn are the guys to do that.

The message that was delivered last month was that we’ve reached a new day for the Democratic Party in Pennsylvania. If the committee members who vote this week didn’t hear that message, then we’re just doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Chuck Pascal is to the left of Gengus Kahn He has been involved in the Party for many Decades . He is a very Smart Guy Even though he is so far left he would make a Good State Chairman He is often seen in every part of the State He is Virtually everywhere and thinks nothing of Driving very Long distances at any hour of the Day of Night

Bruce-
You call for progressive new blood. Neither Sestak nor Onorato is progressive, so they would have no interest in a true progressive at the helm.

I think either Chuck or Marcel needs to pull out, because they will split the non-conservative Dems.

sounds to me like the same ld insiders that ran specter’s campaign from the rendell money machine are carping.

lots of those guys need jobs…they had arlen paying them thru november…now what? out of work consultants and hangers on…adding to the deficit…lmao

Bruce B
Thanks for your great post. You seem to be so right.
I have been making calls to the State Committee members as a former member but I am hearing that they are split and some say they will go with tradition and vote for whoever the Candidate for Gov wants which is nuts. If they want to win they would have to go with Chuck Pascal or some other
person that is yet to be announced.

We had a a Victory on Sunday when we were able to elect a new County Chairman and got rid of the old reign. We have tried for many years to get rid of Cliff Wilson and his do nothing people and we finally did just that. We are now looking forward to a new day for the party.
Don’t think that everyone in Delaware County is for Sestak as they are not one bit. I can see where they will NOT vote for either of the two Candidates as it is very hard to tell them apart.
We are again down to no real choice at all. It is another lose, lose
If State Committee members really want a change they will vote for Chuck Pascal and start a new day in the Democratic Party to continue to only go with Philadelphia or Pittsburgh ! We have 67 counties in PA so why sick with the two big cities only
We will have to wait to see just how smart the entire State Party members really are and if they have any common sense at all. I do know that they for the most part were only elected because of ballot position as they nor no one else really knows what they do. Delaware County ended the rule of dumbness by Wilson last Sunday but we are stuck with the Wilson folks on Staten Committee that only won because of their ballot positions and a very low voter turnout in May. Shame on those that didn’t vote in the Primary as you really don’t have any choice in the Fall.
Low pay Joe, No show Joe is not the answer nor is the nut job Toomey.

Where is the choice? I will be voting for the Green Candidate for the first time in my life and will be happy to do so.!

Chuck Pascal would be a D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R. Every vote for him is a vote taken form Marcel Groen. If you want Jim Burn but have friends who can’t hold their nose enough to vote for him, then just work to keep votes from Marcel Groen. Not sure whether he or Burn is worse…don’t think any of them are particularly inspiring..but anything is better than Rooney, I guess.
@Lana-get over yourself and your hate. It is not becoming of you.

Lana-
It was nice to finally meet you at the election on Sunday, but I have to disagree with you: it’s the “do nothing” crowd that won. There were a lot of people with Landau stickers who never show up when there’s work to be done.
As for the 10 state committee people, there were only 5 women, so they “won” automatically. Nothing was stopping women in the “anti-Cliff” camp from running for state committee (except their sheer laziness).
For the men, Bob Stump got in and he was last in ballot position (bottom of second column) and it was his first time running. John Innelli won despite being at the bottom of the first column (below Wilson and Moore, who didn’t win). So, please spare us the false meme about ballot position.
You won’t get any argument that Cliff was not a prolific fundraiser, but please don’t question his intelligence. He’s got the sharpest political mind in Delaware county. He also built up the committee system A LOT.
It will be interesting to see whom the anti-Cliff crowd will blame now for it’s own failures and short-comings.

Lana, your hatred for Sestak is a huge problem, one that makes me shudder to think that we may be pulling for the same candidate for state party Chair.

Not that it really matters at this point. I’m resigned to hearing that Burn gets this. And the beat goes on…

I think it will be between Burn and Pascal. They are both good candidates. New change, new look… in the end i have to go with Chuck Pascal.

Bruce-
I like Marcel, but I don’t think he’s popular enough. I got the impression that he was not well-received in how he handled the Specter/Sestak issue at state committee. Either he or Chuck needs to step aside if there is any chance of defeating Burn.
As for Sestak, you aren’t getting a Sestak fan in any of the candidates, so under that criteria, it doesn’t matter who wins. Sestak will get the bare minimum as the winner (properly) focuses on keeping the state house.

Joe, Richard and Elizabeth Sestak.

Unlike a lot of consultants they have not worked a campaign every six months for 20 years (losing most or they would be off somewhere with a better paying less insane job as a chief-of-staff or high paid lobbyist); instead team Sestak has two knockout wins over long term-better funded-better staffed-heavyweights, and a third victory over a weaker candidate but still on the home court of Pennsylvania’s #1 Republican machine. How do they do this?

All three are incredibly smart (Annapolis, Harvard, Stanford, ok- Villanova, doctorate, law degree, MBA).

All three are unbelievably hard working.

All three were tremendously successful in careers before politics (Navy Admiral, big firm lawyer, Fortune 500 executive).

They look (at data, history, information), they listen to others (to consultants, elected officials, party insiders), and then they make informed good decisions which they outwork everyone else to execute.

You can’t hire people with those qualifications and qualities to work campaigns.

Bruce B. – Speaking of TJ Rooney and Mary Isenhour, have you seen how many Democratic wins they have racked up since they took of the state party? You clearly have a hatred for them but you may want to look before you leap.

And speaking of wins, I did Google Daren Berringer and I find it funny that you were pretty selective in the clients you choose to highlight. Ever hear of Bob Casey, Jack Wagner, John Hall, Tim Holden and the PA Democratic Party you love to hate? Lots of wins behind those names . . . LOTS.

There is a big difference between you, Bruce and the people you love to insult. They are in the game and winning for Democrats and you are on the sidelines posting comments all day. Pathetic.

What I saw, Tracy, and what is truly pathetic is how TJ and Mary went out of their way to lie about and smear Joe Sestak this spring.

What I saw was a Democratic organization so intractable that it couldn’t hear or see what was good for Democratic voters and for the November election.

What I saw was an organization intent on ramming a fake Democrat down the throats of its members without any regard to ideals or beliefs or anything that Democrats supposedly stand for.

And actually, Tracy, I was in the game on the grassroots level until this past primary. I was on the Montco Executive Committee and was Dem municipal chair in my little township. We just got done a great year in a town where we’re outnumbered almost 2:1 – elected a township supervisor and three Democratic school board members in November. And I walked away from it in May, did not circulate a petition or appear on the ballot, because I could no longer support what I saw the leadership of my party doing.

You see, Tracy, I think you confuse the Democratic Party with the elite insiders that think the party revolves around them. It doesn’t. The Party is bigger and better than that, and every registered Democrat plays a role. Somewhere along the line, the guys calling the shots have forgotten that.

Fortunately, there are plenty of us “on the sidelines” that haven’t.

in the know (but not in the dough)
You wrote:

“You can’t hire people with those qualifications and qualities to work campaigns.”

Their “official” salary (i.e. reported) from campaign is $3,000/month = $36,000/year.

Hardly seems like the wages one expects of “law degree, MBA”, “big firm lawyer, Fortune 500 executive”.

I’ve heard numerous stories from college grads who were offered $400/month to work for the campaign and delay/forgo grad school or real employment (with the suggestion that they should live at home and sponge off their parents for another year or two).

Bruce- In your world you dub anybody who supported Specter as an “insider” but anybody who supported Sestak was “grassroots”.

The fact of the matter is that Rooney was right in that a Sestak nomination would be cataclysmic. Its been a month since the primary and there is still tension because Joe is still crying and whining about people who didn’t endorse him…..CRY ME A RIVER WHY DON’T YOU JOE!!! This guy is the worst and Sestak-Rats like you are pathetic. You think that everybody should just bow down to your lord and savior Admiral Joe. Well I’m with Lana because I’m voting for the only true progressive in this election and that’s the Green candidate!

This general election is shaping out to be like that Southpark episode that featured a Turd Sandwich (Toomey) in an election versus a Giant Douche (Sestak).

I am 100% behind CHUCK PASCAL.

It’s about time for Democrats outside the Pittsburgh and Philly center cities and close-in suburbs to be heard too, and for the rest of PA to matter.

Rank and file voters are SO sick of ‘business as usual’ and this is our chance for real change.

So let everyone on state committee know this:
If you want to win AND get this party back on track, Chuck Pascal is the one to do it.

And Admiral Joe, please take notice. You are running for change, so please put your support where your mouth is and choose Chuck.

Jim Burn just got elected Dem State Chairman

Jim Burn, chair, and Penny Gerber, vice-chair.
Chuck Pascal as “outreach to the party’s progressive base.”

Nothing has changed.