Ed Show: Rep. Joe Sestak said he will be running in Pennsylvania.

[vaberella]

Who will support him? I think a lot of Pennsylvanian's will be behind Sestak. I'm with Sestak, although I'm not from Pennsylvania. But I don't trust, nor really like Spector.

http://sestak.house.gov/

[DURHAM D]

1. Harry Reid promised this would not happen.

Are you saying that Reid doesn't know what he is talking about or can't control his party?

[vaberella]

2. Yup. Sestak went on The Ed Show and said he was preparing to run. n/t

[Pirate Smile]

9. I just saw him on CNN and he left himself wiggle room by saying he hadn't yet

talked to his 8 year old kid or wife.

I must say he is kicking Schumer's ass re getting face time on TV.

I would bet that pressure to get Specter to suck up and vote the way Dems want isn't exactly a something the White House dislikes. Specter certainly needs the pressure. The primary threat applies the pressure. The fact is that we need Specter's vote to get sh#$ done for the next year and a half. It is when we are going to get universal healthcare and cap/trade etc.

[vaberella]

13. He said the same on Ed, but basically went on the record as saying...

it's almost done and he's ready to commit. Just need the wife and kid on board.

[BlooInBloo]

24. I'm pretty sure you're joking.

[DURHAM D]

27. Nope - Reid promised him no primary opponent.

I think Biden did also.

[BlooInBloo]

28. BWAHAHAAAA!!!!

[blue neen]

3. Things sure are going to get interesting here in PA!

I don't have enough information about Sestak to make a decision yet on who I will support.

[vaberella]

6. I read up on him when the whole Spector crap went down.

He's alright.

[Lugnut]

37. I don't either.

I'd much rather support a real Democrat than a faux one.

[jenmito]

4. Get ready for the media to play this as "Obama weakness" or "Obama vs. Sestak" and

if Sestak beats Specter, this WILL be billed as a BIG defeat for Obama who said he will support Specter.

[vaberella]

5. Yup, but I'm not too worried about that. n/t

[rvablue]

7. Interesting given that I read a headline on the Hill.com today that the President is going to appear

at a Democratic fundraiser with Spector.

[AllentownJake]

8. Oh Fuck,

Looks like I'm going to have people pulling on me like I was a rope in a tug of war battle.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

10. This is Lamont/Lieberman Redux. nt

[ShortnFiery]

11. Rep. Joe Sestak is one excellent legislator. I wish I lived in PA so I could support him. NT

[ClarkUSA]

12. Must read: The inimitable Nate Silver asks, "Is Sestak the Right Choice for the Left?"

When Nate Silver speaks, it's time to listen.

For the time being, however, progressive Democrats have ample reason to be wary of Specter. Their problem is that Joe Sestak, the PA-7 Congressman who has refused to rule out a primary challenge, might not be any better from the standpoint of progressive policy.

In fact, it's plausible that he could be a bit worse. ProgressivePunch.org ranks Sestak as the 158th most progressive member out of 221 non-freshman Democrats, and notes that he's an order of magnitude or so more conservative than you'd expect of a Congressman from his Democratic-leaning district. Sestak's DW-NOMINATE score in the 110th Congress was -.287 on a scale that runs from -1 for extremely liberal to 0 for moderate; this is actually slightly more conservative than the score that we'd projected for Specter, which was -.303. The National Journal, moreover, found that Sestak took the liberal position only 63 percent of the time in the votes they tracked in 2007.

Nor would a primary challenge be without its downsides. For one thing, Sestak would have to give up his seat in the House in order to challenge Specter. Although the Democrat would still be favored in an open seat race in PA-7, which is 3 points more Democratic than the nation as a whole, giving up the incumbency advantage might reduce their odds of retaining the seat from, say, 95 percent to 75 percent.

More here.

[vaberella]

14. Are you kidding?

Now I have to do some more research on the guy. This article doesn't make him that much better and I really support NS's articles. Crud.

[MH1]

21. I'm from Sestak's district, and I say Silver doesn't know what he's talking about.

Unfortunately I'm too tired to write much detail but I've seen Nate's analysis debunked in a couple places, and I gotta tell you as a constituent, Sestak is a fine and LIBERAL congressman. That PP score is bullshit and over-weighted by certain issues where PP thinks Sestak is "wrong" - like when he voted against defunding troops in a war zone with NO plan for redeployment - while at the same time Sestak has introduced at least two bills of his own to redeploy troops out of Iraq.

I repeat, Nate Silver is wrong on Sestak. Sestak is far better than Specter, and reading that crap from Silver made me reassess my thinking about Silver (not that I'd thought very much about him before, just assumed he knew something; now I know better), not Sestak.

[vaberella]

32. Okay, because that's what I've read. I do listen to a lot of Nate Silver's statements.

But liberals don't always get it right. When you get the chance, pass me the debunked work.

[ClarkUSA]

39. Sestak is a DLC "New Democrat" like Evan Bayh and Ben Nelson. He's no liberal/progressive.

Your opinion notwithstanding, the facts show that Sestak and Spector are both conservaDems now. I will support whoever wins the primary. Hundreds of thousands of moderate Republicans who are solid Specter voters will also be voting in the primary, so I expect the primary to be challenging, especially if Sestak wants to make the contest a party purity test.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Democrat_Coalition

[ebbie15644]

38. re: Joe Sestak

I am from PA and I will vote for Joe Sestak over Arlan Specter and I think many PA Dem's will also. I emailed the state Dem's and told them that I would not vote for Arlan and that I would vote for Joe Sestak.

[RamboLiberal]

15. I'm from PA and I will support Sestak

In fact I emailed him after Specter did that dance on MTP. I will definitely send whatever $'s I can to Sestak's campaign and perhaps if I have the time do some support work in SW PA area.

[Senator]

16. Sestak Coulld Kill Two Beltway-BS Birds With One Stone

He could exorcise us once and for all of Arlen Specter, and turn Ed Rendell into a bankrupted broker in search of an influence bailout.

Well worth supporting in any way we can.

---

[solstice]

17. Good and I hope he wins!

[Lochloosa]

18. Welcome to DU solstice

:toast:

[solstice]

20. Thank you very much :)

[DCBob]

19. Not sure how I feel about this...

I like Specter and think he could be a significant moderating voice and someone who could help bridge the divide in this country.

[wisteria]

22. I am from Pa and he willl lose. This is a foolish career move on his part if he pushes on with this.

He shows a lot of promise but now is not his time.

[AllentownJake]

23. Alot can happen between now and Aprill 2010

[Freddie Stubbs]

44. May 2010

The PA primary is in April only during presidential election years.

[MadBadger]

25. What has he got to lose?

If he wins in the primary, he stands a good chance of winning the seat. If he loses the primary, he can keep his house seat in the fall.

[wisteria]

35. And, he loses any change of Dem backing in any future race. n/t

[BlooInBloo]

29. I'm from PA and it's not foolish.

Where does that leave us? lol!

[wisteria]

33. He will run and lose. The party is behind Specter and he is well respected and liked throughout PA.

[wisteria]

34. The Dem vote will be weakened and Toomey has a better chance of winning.

Toomey is a nightmare- I would rather support Spector's run. A nasty primary will just divide and weaken our candidate and turn older people away from the Dems's and Toomey, with his major backers, will pick up a win.

[AlexanderProgressive]

26. I support Sestak over the long-time Republican opportunist flip-flopper n/t

[bigwillq]

30. Run, Sestak, Run!

:bounce:

[invictus]

31. Sestak will win!

nt

[wisteria]

36. I don't think so. He has the party backing, more money and respect and name recognition

that Sestak can not match. Older Democrats and Republicans have always liked Spector and consider him to be fair, honest and hardworking.

[Number9Dream]

40. Lehigh Valley, PA resident for over thirty years

Arlen Specter never fails to disappoint. I don't know any Democrats who like him. I'd vote for Sestak in an instant.

"Senator Santorum's reelection is my top priority in 2006" - Arlen Specter

http://rittenhouse.blogspot.com/2006/03/sen.html

[Adelante]

43. Specter has 74% approval among PA Dems

May 28, 2009 - Specter Tops Toomey By 9 Pts. In Pennsylvania Senate Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; New Democratic Senator Has Big Primary Lead


In this latest look at the Specter-Toomey matchup, Republicans back Toomey 73 - 16 percent. Specter leads 73 - 10 percent among Democrats and 43 - 33 percent among independent voters. The Democrat leads 47 - 39 percent among men and 45 - 35 percent among women.

In a Democratic primary, Specter tops U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak 50 - 21 percent.

-snip

Pennsylvania voters approve 51 - 39 percent, including 74 - 16 percent among Democrats, of the job Specter is doing.

http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1327.xml?ReleaseID=1304


Sestak will have to become a whole lot better known for this primary.

[Number9Dream]

45. That's sad - even among the 561 Dems surveyed

During his first run against Toomey, Specter's TV ads bragged how he voted with Dubya 95% of the time, and showed Specter with his arm around Dubya.
Guess I'll console myself with the fact that was a very small sample.

[Adelante]

47. It's a pretty typical sample size for a state poll

I supported Sestak in 2006, because I thought he could take a conservative district and he did. I'm not sure he can carry statewide just yet, though. He needs to get himself known right quick.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

41. I live in MD and prepared to drive up to Philly and elsewhere to GOTV for Sestak

I don't care what the president and VP say. I'm sick and tired of fake-ass Democrats running the party. Can I get a REAL Democrat, please? No more DemoCRAPS!!!!!!

[kjackson227]

42. I like Sestak (he seems like the real deal), I hope he wins...

but why would Reid say that, and why do the Dems seem so intent on backing Specter??? I don't get it.

Nevermind, I found my answer above. Just by listening to him over the last few weeks, I'm surprised to learn that he's almost as conservative as Specter. But, according to the NS article, he's still more liberal than Specter, so what's the deal???

[WeDidIt]

46. Ya know, I think I'll donate to Specter on this one

Before I get slammed, I'm going to put my trust in Obama and Obama has promised to campaign for Specter in the primary.

Okay, now slam away.