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"Are the Whigs still around?" Likely Republican nominee Pat Toomey is now ahead of both Democrats who are vying to run against him next year in Pennsylvania’s 2010 race for the U.S. Senate. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Pennsylvania voters finds Toomey capturing 46% against incumbent Senator Arlen Specter’s 42%. In October, Toomey had a virtually identical 45% to 40% lead. And this is before Specter has had a chance to open his mouth a lot and torpedo himself.

Liberal Democratic Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts endorsed Rep. Joe Sestak's primary challenge to Sen. Arlen Specter yesterday, becoming the first member of Congress to back the insurgent Pennsylvania candidate. Specter, a 28-year senator who became a Democrat in April, has the support of President Obama, Gov. Rendell, and national and state party leaders in his bid for a sixth term. Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, called Sestak a "true Democrat" and said he valued Sestak's leadership on economic and military issues. Frank, who is openly gay, also said he admired Sestak's commitment to ending the military's...

Clutching signs, banners and flags, a group of 15 stood along Baltimore Pike near Route 252 Saturday afternoon despite a chilly mix of snow and rain to oppose governmental intrusion and spending. It all began in balmier times as Debbie Hughes of Media started a two-person campaign in front of the Media office of U.S. Rep. Joseph Sestak, D-7, of Edgmont, back in August. “We’re really hoping to make a difference and really wake up the area,” she said this weekend, grasping a cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. “People are just tired of all the special interests taking over the...

Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) is expected to endorse Joe "In The Navy" Sestak, Monday, in his bid to unseat fellow Democrat Arlen Specter as senator from Pennsylvania, according to The Hill.

HARRISBURG — Only 31 percent of Pennsylvania voters believe Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter should be re-elected, and 59 percent believe it's time to give someone else a chance, a state poll released today shows. Specter's numbers are "staggering," said pollster Jim Lee, president of Susquehanna Polling and Research. An incumbent typically is vulnerable if fewer than 40 percent approve of his or her re-election, Lee said. The poll of 700 registered voters, conducted Oct. 7-12, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. "When I see a re-elect in the low 30s, that's ... near fatal,"...

A new Quinnipiac University poll found Republican challenger Pat Toomey with a narrow lead over Sen. Arlen Specter. Statistically, the survey's trial race -- 43 percent for Mr. Toomey and 42 percent for the incumbent -- was essentially identical to the school's last survey in July, when Mr. Specter was ahead by the similarly tiny margin of 45 percent to 44 percent. Both results were well within the survey's 3 percentage point margin of error. But the reversal of their positions threw a symbolic spotlight on the veteran's vulnerability in the closely watched race. When he made his surprising departure...

As I reported yesterday, Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) is putting the screws to his primary opponent, incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) by launching a website tying Specter to his 30 year record as a Republican. The site, which bares a non-coincidental resemblance to Specters actual campaign site, has since gone live; you visit it here. Perhaps most damningly, it includes one image tying Specter to liberal bete noir Sarah Palin. A letter from the Sestak campaign warns, "This election, Pennsylvania will have a choice between a principled, accountable leader for the next generation or two long-time Republicans." (Whoever wins the...

Republican former Congressman Pat Toomey leads in a poll against both of the Democrats vying to run against him in the 2010 U.S. Senate election, according to a Rasmussen poll. Rasmussen Reports said today that 48 percent of Pennsylvania voters surveyed support the former Lehigh Valley representative while only 36 percent back Democratic Senator Arlen Specter. U.S. Representative Joe Sestak, D-7th, of Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties only got 35 percent of poll respondents’ support in a match-up against Toomey, with the Republican getting 43 percent. At this early stage, Mr. Sestak is the underdog in the Democratic primary, trailing...

The federal government has only reimbursed auto dealers for 2 percent of the claims they've submitted through the popular "cash for clunkers" program, a Pennsylvania congressman said, calling on the Obama administration to help speed up the process. Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., called for "immediate action" to address the problem in a statement Sunday, after writing a letter to President Obama Saturday expressing his concerns. In the letter, Sestak said only 2 percent of claims have been paid and that four of every five applications have been "rejected for minor oversight." In recent days, auto dealers across the country have...

** Netroots Nation 2009 Straw Poll Results ** Aug 15 02:44 PM US/Eastern NETROOTS see health care reform as top priority, prefer Sestak over Specter for SENATE nomination PITTSBURGH, Aug. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Progressive bloggers and activists are focused on pushing comprehensive health care reform this year and overwhelmingly support Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., over Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., for the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate nomination, according to a straw poll at this year's Netroots Nation convention conducted by the Campaign for America's Future and Democracy Corps. Sixty percent of respondents said overhauling the nation's health care system is one of...

got an opportunity to speak with Pat Toomey, former Congressman and president of the Club for Growth, who will run for the US Senate against either incumbent Arlen Specter or Rep. Joe Sestak. Toomey talks about the broad appeal of economic freedom, and how he routinely attracted Democrats to his banner in a working-class Congressional district. Find out the shocking thing Toomey did as a politician, and don’t forget to visit his campaign website and read his new book, The Road to Prosperity: How to Grow Our Economy and Revive the American Dream.

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter (D., Pa.) told a wary audience today at the Netroots Nation convention of liberal bloggers and activists that he is the only Democrat vigorously defending President Obama's plans to overhaul the health care system before hostile crowds. He spoke just before his primary challenger, Rep. Joe Sestak, took the stage to make his pitch and answer questions in a back-to-back bid for the influential ears of several hundred bloggers attending from around the nation. "I carried the president's message," said Specter, who switched from the Republican Party in the spring and is seeking reelection to a...

Uncomfortable town hall meetings are just the tip of the iceberg for Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter. He now trails Republican Pat Toomey by double digits in his bid for reelection next year and is viewed unfavorably by a majority of the state’s voters. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Pennsylvania voters shows 48% would vote for Toomey if the election were held today. Just 36% would vote for Specter while four percent (4%) prefer a third option, and 12% are not sure. These figures reflect a dramatic reversal since June. At that time, before the public health care debate...

About 650 people - diverse in age, race, and occupation, but nearly all supporters of a health-care overhaul - tonight crowded into a Center City church for a town meeting with U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak (D., Pa.) that, in sharp contrast to recent gatherings across the country, was overwhelmingly civil. Many said they went to Broad Street Ministry because they felt their point of view wasn't being heard. "We just haven't been getting our story told," said Antoinette Kraus, an organizer with Health Care for America Now. "The supporters of health reform have been missing from the debate. We support...

Former U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan (R), who was running for governor of Pennsylvania in 2010, has begun making calls and telling supporters that he will run for the open 7th district seat instead, according to a GOP source in the Keystone State. Meehan’s campaign released a statement Friday afternoon announcing his departure from the gubernatorial race. “Pat is more committed than ever to helping return Pennsylvania to a path of prosperity, and he is now seriously considering a run for congress in the Seventh Congressional District to fulfill that commitment,’’ his spokeswoman said in a statement. Meehan’s move dramatically boosts...

Arlen Specter left the GOP primarily to avoid another tough primary attack from the right, thinking that the Dems would honor his seniority and support his re-election. What an error. Now he finds himself challenged by an ideological leftist congressman who's also a retired Vice Admiral, Joe Sestak. Good, luck, Arlen, you snake. You're on your own now.

It's Official-- Joe "I Believe The World Is Burning To The Ground And Grandpa Doesn't Need That Pacemaker Anyway" Sestak To Face Arlen "Why Read The Bill?" Specter

A congressman from the Philadelphia suburbs will challenge U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter in the Democratic Senate primary. In an interview with The Wayne Independent Wednesday morning, U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa.,confirmed his intention to run against Specter, a long-time Republican who switched to the Democratic party earlier this year. “I am going to get into the race against Arlen Specter ... for senator,” said Sestak in his first media interview as part of a three-week tour through all of the Commonwealth’s 67 counties. Wayne County was his first stop where he met with local Democrats prior to his interview with...

Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestak stands on the precipice of not only taking on U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter in a Democratic primary, but beating him. Numerous polls back up that scenario; the only thing that stands in the way is his "official" announcement. Without the announcment, Markos Moulitsas, editor of the left-leaning DailyKos.com political blog, said he can't raise money for Sestak. The Daily Kos was instrumental in the insurgent candidacy of Connecticut businessman Ned Lamont in the 2006 Democratic primary election against incumbent Sen. Joe Lieberman. The blog began a netroots phenomenon that gave Lamont a legitimate resume, daily message...

Sen. Arlen Specter continues to pick up support from Democratic party leaders across Pennsylvania. However, a new poll indicates that the five-term incumbent has not convinced a majority of Pennsylvania voters that he should be re-elected. According to a new Franklin & Marshall poll released Thursday, only 28 percent of registered voters in Pennsylvania think Specter should be re-elected. That number is down from 40 percent in March, a month before Specter's "conversion" to the Democratic Party. Back then, roughly half the voters in each party said that Specter was doing an excellent or good job in the Senate. The...

President Obama is suddenly seizing on the role of Democratic kingmaker, stepping in to protect or promote colleagues in Congress. Early after his election victory, Obama did not expend political capital on congressional races, but in recent weeks he has sought to lengthen his coattails by protecting vulnerable Democratic lawmakers facing tough election races in 2010. From sharing credit on key legislation to fundraising pitches, the new president has bolstered his party members not just in coming general election campaigns but also helping them avoid rough primary battles as well. And with Obama’s popularity still high throughout the country, many...

Word out of Washington is that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the political wise-guys from the Obama administration plan on "visiting with" Pennsylvania Democrat Rep. Joe Sestak. Their objective? A clear message: Get off of the stage and out of a possible primary race against "incumbent" Democrat Sen. Arlen Specter. "I have received a call from DSCC chair Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey," admitted Sestak in an interview. "But we keep missing each other." Probably a good thing for both men at this moment: Sestak has no inclination to be pushed out of a race and Menendez's marching...

Link Only:http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/20090505_Weldon_probe_may_be_over____without_indictment.html

Not all Pennsylvania Democrats are down with Arlen Specter. Though the party-switching senator has the support of President Obama and Gov. Ed Rendell, at least two potential candidates are leaving open the door to challenge Specter in the 2010 Democratic primary. Rep. Joe Sestak, who's been a prolific fundraiser, is considering defying party leaders and running against Specter despite Tuesday's hoopla, though he told FOXNews.com on Wednesday, "I have not made up my mind on it."

Sen. Arlen Specter has lost the trust of Pennsylvania voters after his "betrayal," Former Rep. Pat Toomey told FOX News on Wednesday, saying he's not even certain the five-time senator will be the Democratic nominee after Specter's self-proclaimed hide-saving party shift on Tuesday. Toomey, who is now the favorite in the GOP primary, said he's "confident" he can represent the state in the U.S. Senate. "I'm not sure how much Pennsylvania voters are going to trust him," Toomey said. "He just demonstrated that his political career is more important than those principles." Toomey was narrowly defeated by Specter in the...

What was Joe Sestak D-PA saying? That Obama never said what we know what Obama said that he didn't say to pull troops out of Iraq? Sestak statements supporting Obama did not make any sense. Did anyone catch the Sestak segment on Fox and what he was trying to say ...with clarity? The guy is a piece of work.

It was particularly memorable, Craig Williams said, the night he almost died.Williams, 44, is a Concord resident, and, among many other accomplishments, is a former federal prosecutor and the endorsed Republican candidate for the 7th Congressional seat, U.S. Congress, House of Representatives. The year of his near death was 1991, it was the dead of winter and he was flying across the icy North Atlantic with his squadron, the VMFA(AW)-121 Green Knights. He was a first lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, flying as a Weapons and Sensor Officer in the back seat of a two-seater F/A-18D Hornet, on...

Professional GOP operative Pete Peterson saw a lot of potential Tuesday. With a 60 percent Democratic voter turnout in the hotly contested Pennsylvania presidential primary election compared to just 26 percent for Republicans in Delaware County, Republican challenger W. Craig Williams was able to secure 39,707 votes in the race for the 7th Congressional District, a seat currently held by freshman Democrat Joseph Sestak, of Edgmont. Williams, 43, of Concord, secured 51,703 votes overall when lumping in the portion of Chester and Montgomery counties that fall into the 7th District. Sestak, 56, garnered 64,809 votes in the county and 89,041...

DELAWARE COUNTY Republicans have endorsed a federal prosecutor and decorated veteran of the first Gulf War to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak in this year's 7th Congressional District race. W. Craig Williams, who resigned this week as an assistant U.S. attorney in Philadelphia to run for office, got the nod last night from GOP leaders to take on Sestak, a retired Navy admiral serving his first term in Congress. He secured the party's endorsement without a vote. No other Republican candidates came forward at the Paxon Hollow Country Club. "Hopefully," Williams said, "the election in November goes about that...

Dozens of pro-life activists gathered on the steps of the Delaware County Courthouse to protest the abortion policy of freshman Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.). The pro-lifers, brought together through the Pro-Life Coalition of Delaware County, marched from the courthouse on West Front Street in Media past the Planned Parenthood headquarters on West State Street and toward the congressman's district office on North Jackson Street. Their concern centered on what they see as a contradiction between Rep. Sestak's avowed Catholic faith and his unmitigated support for abortion since his election to Congress last year. "We're here to save a soul," Fr....

Congressman Joe Sestak (D-PA), a former US Navy Admiral, recently revealed that he is indifferent about the well-being of US veterans of the Iraq war, that he is either careless or clueless about domestic security concerns, and that he would be grateful if voters dumped him from office. The Democrat and Republican parties apparently do not think such actions warrant even running a viable candidate against Sestak. Is it because Sestak has connections to the powerful Wahhabi Lobby that no one cares? Sestak, along with 3 rabidly anti-US and anti-Semitic activists, were touted as the featured speakers at Philly CAIR's...

Congressman Joe Sestak (D-PA), a former US Navy Admiral, recently revealed that he is indifferent about the well-being of US veterans of the Iraq war, that he is either careless or clueless about domestic security concerns, and that he would be grateful if voters dumped him from office. The Democrat and Republican parties apparently do not think such actions warrant even running a viable candidate against Sestak. Is it because Sestak has connections to the powerful Wahhabi Lobby that no one cares? Sestak, along with 3 rabidly anti-US and anti-Semitic activists, were touted as the featured speakers at Philly CAIR's...

Freshman Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), a retired three-star Navy admiral, has fast developed a reputation for being a temperamental and demanding boss. Thirteen staffers have quit this year, say former aides citing public records. Sestak’s reputation as a difficult manager, which hounded him in the Navy, has followed him to Congress. The Navy Times reported in 2005 that Sestak was relieved from his last post as deputy chief of Naval operations because of “poor command climate.” Now, in running his congressional office, Sestak has imported a measure of military toughness; he is battling a “misguided” culture in Washington, said William...

The War on Weldon Gets Scarier, Part II © Jack Cashill WorldNetDaily.com August 21, 2007 This the second in a four part series detailing how and why a collaboration of Democratic activists conspired to unseat Pennsylvania congressman, Curt Weldon, in the November 2006 elections. Read Part 1. I met Congressman Curt Weldon for the first (and only) time in July 2006. He graciously consented to assist me in some research I was doing. I, in turn, was able to help connect some of the dots in the chain of forces aligned against him. All dots led to former national security...

The new member of the U.S. House spoke to a Muslim group. He offered praise as well as some admonishment. Inside the posh Hilton Philadelphia last night, a dinner crowd of several hundred Muslims was full of praise for the political courage it said U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak had shown merely by showing up to speak. Outside the City Avenue hotel, amid Passover week snow flurries, about a dozen Jewish protesters held up signs blasting Sestak for what they said was his nerve in showing up. One sign read, "Say it ain't so, Joe." Sestak, a Democrat from Philadelphia's western...

Here is a copy of the speech Congressman Joe Sestak should give (but won’t) at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) banquet Saturday. I am honored to be here today -- despite what some people are saying -- and to have the chance to talk to you all about something that concerns us all. That thing, is terrorism. And, lately, some people in this country seem to think we have less and less reason to be concerned about it. It has been six years since the infamous 9/11 attacks engineered by Osama bin Laden and al Qaida. ---snip-- If you...

Why is Congressman and former Navy Vice Admiral Joe Sestak raising funds for CAIR? by Lori Lowenthal Marcus American Congress for Truth, Action Alert, April 6, 2007 Why is a US Congressman helping to raise money for an American Islamic organization of which nearly a dozen associates have verified connections to terrorism? Freshman Congressman and former Navy Vice Admiral Joe Sestak (District 7-PA) obstinately refuses to withdraw from speaking at a CAIR fundraiser in Philadelphia tomorrow, April 7th. CAIR, the Council on American Islamic Relations, has a lengthy dossier proving it has had and continues to have associated with it...

Philadelphia Rally against CAIR 4/7/07

Give Joe Sestak a break. The freshman congressman is now under fire by critics for agreeing to attend an event sponsored by the Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) on April 7 at the Philadelphia Hilton hotel. This first-time annual banquet's theme is "American Muslims: Connecting & Sharing." Critics allege the organization receives funding from "Wahhabists," a term for certain fundamentalist Muslims. If the Philadelphia chapter of the organization has ties to militant Islam or supports suspected terrorist groups, why hasn't there been prolonged public outcry? The FBI has not said it does, and if CAIR...

Freshman Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) has ignited a controversy after agreeing to be the keynote speaker at an April 7 banquet and fundraiser hosted by the Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. CAIR is the largest Muslim civil rights group in the country, with 30 chapters nationwide. Jewish organizations and conservative groups have criticized CAIR for not labeling Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations and for not specifically denouncing suicide bombings against Israelis. Sestak's acceptance of the invitation has particularly enraged members of the Philadelphia Jewish community, who bombarded him with critical questions at a two-hour forum last...

A blundering congressman needs to be called to account for lending his support to a dangerous group

If President Bush’s Iraq strategy succeeds, will Congressman Joe Sestak: A. Admit he was wrong and apologize? B. Insist it has not, and hope the old media follows along? C. Pretend he was never against it in the first place and hope the old media follows along? D. Insist he was right the whole while and that Bush simply got lucky -- and have complete confidence the old media will follow along?

Our new Congressman Joe (Cut and Run) Sestak (D-7) would have fit right in with antiwar Democrats in the North, during the Civil War. They described themselves as "Peace Democrats" but were celebrated by Republicans as subversive Copperheads. Confederate General Robert E. Lee was no dummy. He examined the stories in the northern press and knew how disheartened the northern Democrats were regarding the War. There was, like today, also concern among some Republicans. Lee, acting on the information, invaded Maryland with his gray clad army. His main purpose was to manipulate the congressional elections in favor of Democrats who...

03/07/2007 Commentary: Sestak Must Rescind His Ties To CAIR By: Beila Rabinowitz , For The Bulletin Congressman Joe Sestak is scheduled to speak at a Town Hall Forum being co-sponsored by the Suburban Jewish Community Center Bnai Aaron (SJCCBA) of Havertown and the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia on Sunday. U.S. Rep. Sestak is also slated to be the keynote speaker at the fundraiser banquet dinner for the the Council on American Islamic Relations, a Saudi-funded front group for Hamas on April 7. In addition, he has hired the head of the CAIR office and former media coordinator Adeeba Al...

Philadelphia Congressman Joe Sestak employs staffer from Saudi funded front group for Hamas - Adeeba Al Zaman : From CAIR to Congressman's office

U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak’s scheduled appearance at next month’s Council on American-Islamic Relations’ banquet has enraged conservatives who say the group sympathizes with terrorist groups. "Just showing up to an event makes it seem as though this organization is credible," said Joe Kaufman, chairman of the Florida-based Americans Against Hate. "The congressman should be working to shut down this organization for its ties to Hamas." Last month, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer rescinded an award her office gave to the head of CAIR’s Sacramento office, saying her staff had turned up a "laundry list" of problems with the Islamic advocacy group....

On July 6, 2006, Stonebridge International, a global strategy firm, announced that it had added a new member to its high-profile, five-member advisory board—former Democratic Congressman Lee Hamilton. True to form, the major media ignored the Hamilton appointment. They should not have. Hamilton, who had served as Vice-Chairman of the 9/11 Commission, had just joined a firm headed by the man who had criminally undermined that very Commission, Stonebridge chairman and founder, Samuel "Sandy" Berger.

Joseph Sestak took heavy fire Wednesday from state Republicans and U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon’s campaign for refusing to denounce John Kerry’s suggestion that American troops are unintelligent. Democrat Sestak not only stood by the Massachusetts senator and declined to return more than $100,000 in campaign contributions, but sent an e-mail urging supporters to visit Kerry’s Web site as part of a last-minute fundraising contest to steer national money to the 7th District.

CREW - Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics in government (eye roll) have launched a new dirty trick against Curt Weldon and it is clear it was done in conjunction with the Sestak campaign. What remains to be seen is if the Mainstream media reports it objectively given the obvious facts. E-mails received by CREW have prompted us to ask the Department of Justice to investigate whether Congressman Curt Weldon (R-PA) violated the law by intimidating government personnel "in the national security field" who support his opponent, Joe Sestak. The first e-mail describes a "hit list" compiled of Weldon opponent's supporters....

SPRINGFIELD - Congressman Curt Weldon is leading his opponent by 19 percentage points according to his campaign's latest internal polling, demonstrating significant support from local voters for his reelection campaign in Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District. According to a poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies on September 12-13, 2006, Weldon leads his opponent Joe Sestak by a 52 percent to 33 percent margin. The district wide survey of 400 likely voters has a margin of error of +/- 4.9 percent in 95 out of 100 cases. These positive numbers for Congressman Weldon are despite poll results that show both Bob Casey...