U.S. Senate candidate Joe Sestak accused Sen. Arlen Specter of helping to create the nation’s economic troubles through votes for President Bush’s tax cuts and deregulation of Wall Street.
“And anyone who got us in this mess, we shouldn’t be relying to get us out of this mess,” Mr. Sestak said during a meeting with The Times-Tribune editorial board.
Mr. Sestak, a Democratic congressman who represents a largely Republican district outside Philadelphia, is challenging Mr. Specter for the Democratic Senate nomination in the May 18 primary election.
He met with the editorial board after kicking off his so-called “Kitchen Call” tour of the state at the Tripp House in North Scranton. The tour aims to allow rank-and-file Democrats to meet him and air their views and concerns, he said.
Mr. Sestak promised he would take principled stands on issues rather than judging them by prevailing political winds.
“The gravest damage to our nation is not this economy, and it’s not the health care crisis. It’s a lack of trust in our public officials, which means it tarnishes our public institutions that we stand for,” he said.
Mr. Specter, a Republican virtually all of his political career and endorsed by President Bush in his 2004 re-election bid, switched parties last year because he did not believe he could win re-election as a Republican.
Since then, prominent Democrats such as President Barack Obama, Vice President Joseph Biden and Gov. Ed Rendell have endorsed Mr. Specter.
A Quinnipiac University poll last month showed Mr. Specter leading Mr. Sestak 53 percent to 30 percent – up from a 19-point lead two months earlier – but Mr. Sestak’s percentage has steadily risen since last May.
Read the full Scranton Times article here#mce_temp_url#
Tags: Arlen Specter, Joe Sestak
Loading ...
