Toomey not counting on Specter match-up

Republican Pat Toomey p“He has a tough primary on his hands,” Toomey said. “It’s a different year, a different environment.”/p
pA Rasmussen survey last week showed Specter leading Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2009/06/specter-leads-sestak-by-19-in-new-poll/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2009%2F06%2Fspecter-leads-sestak-by-19-in-new-poll%2F','by+19+points')" target="_blank"by 19 points/a in the primary, and Toomey a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2009/06/toomey-trails-both-specter-and-sestak-according-to-poll/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2009%2F06%2Ftoomey-trails-both-specter-and-sestak-according-to-poll%2F','losing+to+both+Democrats')" target="_blank">losing to both Democrats in the general election.

June 24, 2009 at 12:09 pm | Comments (2)

Weighing in on Specter vs. Sestak

While the potential battle between incumbent Senator Arlen Specter and Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) has been covered extensively, both here at pa2010.com and elsewhere, I thought I’d go ahead and add my two cents just the same.

Personally, I’m glad Sestak has not ruled out a possible run against the newly Democratic Specter in next year’s primary, and that opinion has nothing whatsoever to do with my feelings toward Specter.

Truth be told, I’ve always …

June 22, 2009 at 3:41 pm | Comments (0)

No surprises in new Rasmussen poll

Last week, …

June 22, 2009 at 1:51 pm | Comments (1)

Sestak vs. Specter

What’s interesting about …

June 22, 2009 at 9:00 am | Comments (1)

Toomey: not so far behind?

I’m fascinated by …

June 22, 2009 at 8:30 am | Comments (2)

Specter and Sestak go back-to-back with DelCo Dems

BROOMALL—Delaware County Democrats packed the Marple Public Library’s meeting room here Thursday night to hear the party’s two leading Senate candidates speak one after the other, but the event had an away-game feel for incumbent Senator Arlen Specter.

Specter, who recently became a Democrat after decades as a Republican, took his re-election campaign to the political home base of his likely rival, Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7). And even as Specter sought to win over some …

June 19, 2009 at 1:17 am | Comments (20)

Toomey trails both Specter and Sestak in new poll

Republican Pat Toomey trails both of his potential Democratic rivals for Senate, according to a poll released today.

The …

June 18, 2009 at 12:57 pm | Comments (2)

Sestak endorses smoking legislation awaiting Obama’s signature

Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7), pThe Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (HR 1256) would authorize the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the sale and distribution of tobacco products. The House a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/13/business/13tobacco.html?ref=politics" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.nytimes.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2009%2F06%2F13%2Fbusiness%2F13tobacco.html%3Fref%3Dpolitics','voted+307-97')" target="_blank"voted 307-97/a for the bill, which now awaits President Barack Obama’s signature./p
pThe legislation would give the FDA greater authority to regulate access to, and the advertising and promotion of, tobacco products. It also would allow the FDA to adopt rulings it believes are “appropriate to protect the public health.”/p
pOne of the main goals of the bill is to prevent underage smoking. “As a father, it is of upmost (sic) importance to me that we discourage teenage smoking,” Sestak said in a a href="http://sestak.house.gov/apps/list/press/pa07_sestak/090612_tobacco.shtml" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://sestak.house.gov']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fsestak.house.gov%2Fapps%2Flist%2Fpress%2Fpa07_sestak%2F090612_tobacco.shtml','statement')" target="_blank">statement on his pAccording to data cited by a href="http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/index.php" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.tobaccofreekids.org']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tobaccofreekids.org%2Findex.php','Campaign+for+Tobacco-Free+Kids')" target="_blank"Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids/a, Pennsylvania minors smoke 32.9 million packs of cigarettes each year./p
pUnder the new bill, tobacco manufacturers would be forced to disclose the contents of cigarettes and list harmful ingredients in their current products. Tobacco manufacturers would no longer be able to sell products that suggest a modified or reduced risk, such as “light” cigarettes, unless evidence suggests that these cigarettes significantly reduce the risk of tobacco-related disease. The marketing of flavored cigarettes, exempting menthol-flavored cigarettes, also would be prohibited./p
pThere are a href="http://www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/health/cwp/view.asp?A=174&Q=236092" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.dsf.health.state.pa.us']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dsf.health.state.pa.us%2Fhealth%2Fcwp%2Fview.asp%3FA%3D174%26amp%3BQ%3D236092','approximately+2%2C200%2C000+cigarette+smokers+in+Pennsylvania')" target="_blank">approximately 2,200,000 cigarette smokers in Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Thirty percent of Pennsylvanians aged 18 to 29 smoke cigarettes, while 10 percent in that age group identified as former smokers.

Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris USA, reported spending at least 13.8 million last year to lobby the federal government, according to a …

June 18, 2009 at 9:45 am | Comments (0)

Sestak: Specter is a flight risk… so gimme money

It’s always interesting to observe what politicians write in their fundraising e-mails to supporters. It is in these letters that candidates for office communicate most directly with their most fervent—and yes, wealthy—backers, and use their strongest political rhetoric to ply the pump for donations. A recent such e-mail from Joe Sestak provides insight into the line of attack he is fine-tuning for use in what looks like an inevitable primary run against Arlen Specter. Sestak …

June 18, 2009 at 9:00 am | Comments (1)

Specter leads Sestak by 19 in new poll

Senator Arlen Specter continues to hold a significant lead over Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) in a likely primary matchup, but that edge could be closing slowly as Sestak gains more name recognition from his public crusade against Specter, according to a new poll.

The …

June 17, 2009 at 11:00 pm | Comments (3)