Great ad. I was wondering when the Dems were going to go on the offensive with this Club For Growth wingnut weasel, because Sestak will need all the help he can get against this bozo:

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee launched its first television advertisement of the general election today, introducing former Wall Street derivatives trader and Republican Senate candidate Pat Toomey to Pennsylvania voters.

Millionaire Pat Toomey did “pioneering work” with derivatives as a freewheeling Wall Street trader in the 1980s, even praising derivatives as an “enormous good.” After leaving Wall Street, Toomey moved to Washington, where as a Congressman he wrote legislation to weaken oversight of Wall Street, which contributed to the meltdown of our economy. Now, as a Senate candidate, Toomey advocates for the same freewheeling, reckless policies that led to economic collapse, all while taking in more than $1.6 million in campaign contributions from Wall Street and other financial special interests.

“Democrats are not going to let former Wall Street derivatives trader Pat Toomey get away with failing to mention his decades of service to Wall Street,” said DSCC National Press Secretary Deirdre Murphy. “Pennsylvania voters should know that Toomey has fought for Wall Street his entire life, first as a freewheeling derivatives trader, then as a Congressman writing legislation to weaken oversight of Wall Street, and finally as president of the Wall Street-backed Club for Growth. As a Senate candidate, Toomey might be right for Wall Street but he’s flat out wrong for Pennsylvania families.”

One of the reasons I don't have any respect for Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe is that, while they maintain their thin candy shells of "moderation," they are more than willing to give protective cover to the far-right fringe of their party. Case in point: Collins was here in Philly this week, raising money for Pat Toomey, the loony-tunes Club for Growth extremist and former Wall Street broker who's running against Joe Sestak.

Why? Probably because the RSCC figured out a real winger (Sam Brownback etc.) wouldn't get much love in a relatively liberal urban area like Philadelphia. Susan was happy to come in and do her part in making her party even more extreme:

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a prominent moderate Republican, raised campaign cash Monday for Pennsylvania GOP Senate nominee Pat Toomey, a conservative who as recently as last year was trying to defeat people such as Collins.

The endorsement could provide ammunition for Toomey against his Democratic opponent, Rep. Joe Sestak, as they battle to seize the middle ground and define each other as an extremist.

After a fund-raising lunch at the Union League, Collins and Toomey said they were united around the core Republican principles of lower taxes, limited government, and individual freedom.

Never mind that the Club for Growth, a free-market advocacy group that Toomey ran until he declared his Senate candidacy last year, had skewered Collins as "Comrade of the Month" for her vote for President Obama's stimulus legislation.

"This is a pivotal race," Collins said. "It is one of those key Senate races that is going to determine whether the Republicans are able to regain control of the Senate or at least increase our numbers so we can be an effective check on the excesses of this administration."

Toomey, who has made a concerted effort to reach out to moderate Republicans ahead of the general election, said that he believes in the same kind of "big tent" party that Collins does.

"As Republicans, there's lots of individual items we're going to disagree about, but there's a broad theme on which we agree," Toomey said.

Sestak's campaign said voters should not be fooled - Toomey is to the right of the Pennsylvania mainstream. It launched "Republicans for Sestak" at an event outside the Constitution Center, where four GOP voters from his Delaware County district praised him.

Toomey is an "ideologue," while Sestak is a "pragmatic, problem-solving" centrist, said Scott Jenkins, an investor and cochairman of the Republicans for Sestak steering committee. He supported Sestak in his first run for Congress, in 2006.

Toomey's campaign released the names of 40 Democrats from across the state who are supporting the former Lehigh Valley congressman, boasting that its cross-partisan group was 10 times bigger than Sestak's. Jonathon Dworkin, spokesman for Sestak, said 40 to 50 people were on the steering committee of Republicans for Sestak.

Tickets to the Collins-Toomey lunch cost $1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for representatives of PACs, according to an invitation to the event. The Toomey campaign declined to say how much was raised

.

Progressives will be watching some big primary races this Tuesday. But the biggest race of all is in Pennsylvania's Democratic senatorial primary, where groups like MoveOn and Democracy for America have poured resources behind Joe Sestak, backing him against the Obama-backed Sen. Arlen Specter:

Perhaps no race has as much symbolic significance for Obama as the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania between incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter and Rep. Joe Sestak. According to the most recent polls, the two are locked in a virtual tie as they go into Tuesday's voting.

A Specter loss would be viewed by many as a defeat for Obama, even though the president remains highly popular among Pennsylvania's Democrats. That's because Obama was personally involved in wooing Specter to the Democratic Party and promised support in his bid to stay in the Senate. One of the final ads Specter is running features the senator visiting Obama.

The White House signaled more than a week ago that the president would not make another campaign trip for Specter in the final days of the primary race, perhaps wanting to avoid a repeat of the presidential-visit-followed-by-loss sequence that occurred in January when Republican Scott Brown won the open Senate seat in Massachusetts just days after Obama campaigned there for Democrat Martha Coakley.

But a win by Sestak may not offer any lasting damage for Obama. He campaigned as a supporter of the president's, and the congressman could turn out to be a better candidate in the fall against the Republican nominee.

If Specter loses -- or even if he wins by a tiny margin -- it could foreshadow difficulties for all incumbents, as further evidence that voters are fed up with those in power. It would also be an indication of the difficult prospects for party-switchers; Obama is asking many Democrats in Pennsylvania to support Specter after they had spent years campaigning and voting against him.

Democrats have been voting for Specter for a long time, so I don't think that's a real problem. If anything, people will vote against him because they think it's time for new blood.

So Joe Sestak says the White House offered him a job to keep him from running against Specter. That part doesn't surprise me; I imagine the White House did try to keep him out of the race. The part that's fascinating is that Sestak went public with it.

In politics, other politicians need to trust you - and your sense of discretion. Embarrassing the White House publicly probably isn't a good way to build relationships:

In the face of a White House denial, U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak stuck to his story yesterday that the Obama administration offered him a "high-ranking" government post if he would not run against U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania's Democratic primary.

A White House official "vociferously" denied his account yesterday as Sestak insisted on national television that he had told the truth, but declined for a second day to divulge details.

[...] Sestak made his startling claim Thursday during the taping of Comcast Network's Larry Kane: Voice of Reason, a public affairs show televised on Sunday evenings.

"Were you ever offered a federal job to get out of this race?" Kane asked near the end of the 30-minute interview.

"Yes," Sestak answered.

"Was it Navy secretary?" Kane asked.

"No comment," Sestak replied.

Interesting story in the L.A. Times about Joe Sestak's campaign to win the Democratic nomination for Senate in Pennsylvania. Looks like the campaign is inoculating themselves about the single biggest negative about Sestak - the nagging rumor that he's impossible to work for:

Sestak is, at times to the chagrin of his staff, unfailingly accommodating -- to the media, to lobbyists and to constituents. He boasts that his aides handled 10,000 constituent cases in his first two years in office.

Not everyone he hires can stand it. Sestak lost staff at a staggering rate during his first two years in office. He went through nearly half a dozen press secretaries alone in the first year. Chiefs of staff came and went almost as fast.

He asks aides to work six days a week, 12-plus hours a day. Staff salaries are among the lowest on Capitol Hill, according to congressional records. No one in Pennsylvania's 19-member congressional delegation had a smaller payroll than Sestak in the 18-month period that ended June 30, records show, while only two members had larger staffs.

Chief of Staff Bibiana Boerio, who took over in February 2008, said that the office likes to hire recent college graduates in part because of the energy they bring to the job. She said they are paid in line with their experience.

Job applicants are given six reading and research assignments before their interviews. Among them is a review of a book by entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki, who espouses the belief that success comes in 80-hour work weeks.

"I try to let them know what the expectations are," Sestak said. "We don't try to measure ourselves by other offices."

The money Sestak saves on staff salaries is in part devoted to constituent mailings and brochures highlighting his positions on issues. Sestak last year spent more on mail than anyone in the delegation.

His reputation as a demanding boss predates his time in Congress. He was relieved as a deputy chief of naval operations in 2005 for what Navy sources called "poor command climate," an assessment Sestak disputes. He retired six months later. He said his departure had to do with Pentagon politics. His job at the end of his career involved providing an "alternative analysis" about the Navy's infrastructure, and he'd recommended a leaner operation, which he said had upset others at the top.

Those who stick around Sestak's congressional and district offices quickly learn that he likes employees who embrace his work ethic, immersing themselves completely in their jobs, mastering the details of legislation and following up with everyone who writes or calls the office or meets with the lawmaker. The reward is a quicker-than-usual path up the organizational ladder.

"He wanted us to dig deep in the substance of the issues," recalled Clarence Tong, 27, who spent 19 months in Sestak's office before leaving to get his master's degree in public policy. "While he expects a lot, he gave me every opportunity to learn."

Continue reading »

C&L is honored to have proud progressives Congressman Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania, and 2006 Democratic nominee for US Senate from Connecticut Ned Lamont, joining us for a live chat at 3 pm Pacific / 6 pm Eastern. The conversation will be wide-ranging, from health care and the economy to the upcoming 2010 mid-term elections. Ned Lamont endorsed Joe Sestak in the Pennsylvania Senate race earlier today.

Everyone is invited; if you haven't registered as a commenter here you will need to do that at this link in order to participate.

This was a really productive discussion, and I'd like your thoughts. I talked to Joe Sestak (PA-7) backstage after the panel, and he told me he would start a netroots caucus in the House - and one in the Senate if he wins!

It might be the answer we're looking for; I believe it could increase our clout. (As someone commented to me today, politicians just don't care about one $20 contributor. But a few thousand $20 contributors can inspire a little respect.)

If Joe makes this happen, it means that caucus members will keep us informed on developments regarding our issues, and it means that caucus members who respond to our issues will be able to use us as attack dogs more effectively. This seems like a win/win.

Rep. Pat Murphy (PA-8), an early netroots favorite who joined the Blue Dogs after his election, approached me in the convention center lobby and quite enthusiastically told me if there was a netroots caucus, he would "absolutely" join. (This was after I first called him a few rude names over his FISA vote. But we kissed and made up, and he told me to call him any time I had a question. The fact is, he is with us on most of the issues. Not all, but most.)

AttyTood:

"Why give your vote to a president who has taken you into a tragic misadventure in Iraq?"

-- Joe Sestak as a Democratic candidate for Congress, Oct. 6, 2006.

Rep. Joe Sestak of Delaware County is my congressman. OK, let me rephrase that, actually. Joe Sestak is the congressman in the 7th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, where I reside.

I stopped calling him "my congressman" about two hours ago. Read on...