Murphy agrees with prez on McChrystal firing

The first Iraq War veteran elected to Congress says he agrees with President Obama’s decision to fire his top general in Afghanistan.

That was the message from Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-8) on Monday morning, when he told Fox29 that it was the “right move” for Obama to fire General Stanley McChrystal in the wake of disparaging comments McChrystal and his staff made to Rolling Stone.

“You can’t have a general criticizing our allies,” Murphy said.…

June 28, 2010 at 10:39 am | Comments (2)

OFA e-mails for Sestak

After going pedal to the metal for his Senate primary opponent, Organizing for America is embracing Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7).

President Obama’s grassroots arm of the Democratic National Committee utilized its massive e-mail list for the first time on Sestak’s behalf Wednesday. “In the fall election, voters will face a decision between a Democrat who represents a progressive vision for the future of Pennsylvania, and a Republican who made his fortune trading the derivatives that…

June 24, 2010 at 8:13 am | Comments (17)

Issa not letting up on ‘Jobgate’ anytime soon

HERSHEY—Asked how much longer he’ll keep pushing the White House for answers on its attempts to coax Democrats out of primaries by dangling job offers, Darrell Issa had a simple reply.

“Until I get them,” Issa said.

The Republican congressman from California was speaking to reporters here Friday evening before he was set to deliver the keynote speech at the state GOP’s summer dinner. Issa has become something of a hero to Pennsylvania Republicans after…

June 12, 2010 at 6:17 pm | Comments (19)

Sestak still hitting party leaders

Democrat Joe Sestak’s victory in the Senate primary last month doesn’t mean he’s done criticizing his party’s establishment for backing Arlen Specter instead.

Sestak, in an interview on PBS, said it was “wrong” for President Obama and others to back Specter.

“There’s no more kings, there’s no more king makers in America,” Sestak said the “Travis Smiley” show. “And if the Democratic Party should stand for anything when they are trying to get me out…

June 8, 2010 at 2:42 pm | Comments (36)

LEFTOVERS: Obama & Sestak, Halliburton & Toomey, generals in Pa., Romney endorsements

There was apparently some intrigue on Wednesday when Joe Sestak wasn’t one of the elected officials who joined pSestak was on the other end of the state, but there were early conflicting accounts as to whether…

June 2, 2010 at 11:22 pm | Comments (3)

Obama blasts Republicans in Pa. visit, GOP fires back

PITTSBURGH—President Obama used a brief visit here Wednesday to challenge Republicans more directly than at anytime before in his presidency, accusing the GOP of cozying up to Big Business and obstructing any efforts to deal with the economic downturn he inherited.

As November approaches, leaders in the other party will campaign furiously on the same economic argument they’ve been making for decades,” Obama said at Carnegie Mellon University. “Fortunately, we don’t have to look back…

June 2, 2010 at 5:32 pm | Comments (13)

Pols pass on a chance to hang with Obama

Elected officials aren’t exactly tripping over themselves to spend time with President Obama during his visit to Pittsburgh Wednesday.

The Tribune-Review

June 2, 2010 at 10:25 am | Comments (18)

White House dispatched Clinton to float an unpaid job for Sestak (Updated)

The Obama administration said Friday that it had called upon former President Bill Clinton last year to gauge Congressman Joe Sestak’s interest in an unpaid advisory position as the White House sought to dissuade Sestak from a primary run against Senator Arlen Specter.

The disclosure, made by White House counsel Robert Bauer, came as questions about the job offer reached a fever pitch, with Republicans calling for an investigation, Democrats recommending disclosure and the issue…

May 28, 2010 at 2:47 pm | Comments (86)

Obama: White House response to Sestak’s claim coming soon

President Obama says the answers are coming “shortly.”

During a news conference Thursday, Obama was, not surprisingly, asked about Congressman Joe Sestak’s (D-7) claim that the White House offered him a job to get out of the Senate primary against Arlen Specter. The White House has been tight-lipped on the matter, and Sestak has refused to offer up any details beyond reaffirming his initial claim. Republicans have pushed for an investigation, and even Democrats are…

May 27, 2010 at 3:37 pm | Comments (39)

Questions keep coming on Sestak’s job offer claim

Even after his big primary win last week, Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) just can’t seem to on on national TV without being asked about his explosive claim that the White House offered him a job to nudge him out of the Democratic contest against Arlen Specter. It came up anew Sunday, with NBC‘s David Gregory grilling Sestak about it on “Meet the Press.”

As he has for weeks, Sestak stuck by his story that he…

May 23, 2010 at 4:00 pm | Comments (57)