In case you weren’t aware, Joe Sestak is serious about his 2016 rematch with Senator Pat Toomey.
In his first campaign email since the end of the 2014 midterms, the former Congressman and 2010 Senate nominee raised the stakes.
“We are in a fight for the soul of America — ‘we the people.’ The U.S. Senate is now controlled by a reactionary Republican leadership – and has complete control over the legislative branch – with the battle cry, ‘each American is on their own.’,” he writes.
“I intend to sail in harm’s way.”
Sestak goes on to lay out the ways Sen. Toomey has been harmful to his constituents and brings up the fact that several prognosticators rank the state’s junior senator as among the most vulnerable incumbents in 2016.
“This will take ‘all hands on deck’,” the former Navy Admiral concludes. “Join me — in the fight for America’s soul.”
Suffice to say, of all the potential 2016 contenders, Sestak is the only one already all in. He wouldn’t have it any other way. The only question now is whether he can rally enough troops behind him. In the coming months we’ll find out if voters view him as a George Washington or a Don Quixote.
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15 Responses
Looks like Toomey will cruz to re-election.
More naval nonsense from the campaign today:
“Though Joe was able to successfully navigate his ships through stormy waters in the Navy, this might be the stormiest of all without your support. Can you chip in to help calm the seas of Washington?”
While the race in PA is winnable with Presidential year voter turnout, Sestak is the last person we should risk on the ticket. We have many better choices in the state from a generation that can serve several terms once elected. Joe, himself, declared he would not run in 2022. So, why should we pick a guy running to be a one-term senator, and and then have to deal with an open seat in the 2022 mid-term?
Kathleen3
I should hope the Dems could do better than Sestak (it would be hard to do worse).
Pretty much every name on the short list is better than him and can raise more money. Sestak raised much of his money last time from his congressional account, when he was a sitting member of congress.
Now, he’s a washed up has-been, with no new material. He’s telling the same old tired Navy stories, and not any better after the 100th retelling.
Seriously, is the multi-recycled Sestak the best the Democrats can do? I suspect we will next hear Patrick Murphy is also running.
Now Jim, there’s no need for name calling. I was only paraphrasing the Inquirer article. But in reading your substance-less post it looks like you’re one of the jobless folks I was referring to.
I’ve said this many times before. We have a chance to take out a right wing tea partier but the candidate can’t be Sestak. When Toomey says his prayers before going to bed he implores that Sestak be his opponent. David Diano–Toomey isn’t under the radar he’s a sneak and a double dealer who shouldn’t be representing Pennsylvania. John Timond–to suggest Toomey is bipartisian just shows your ignorance/blindness. When Toomey represented the Allentown area in the U.S. House there was a reason he was called “Looney Toomey” and it wasn’t because he was bipartisian.
Bleed Green-
People like Josh are far more qualified than I am. If was elected, most of my floor speeches would be bleeped out on C-SPAN for calling the Republicans lying motherf*ckers.
I say we nominate Diano to run since he has all the answers!
Stosh-
You are completely correct. I was around when Joe first came on the scene in early 2006. He seems to be trying to imitate what he thought a politician should seem like from a movie he saw. But, Joe is a terrible actor who memorizes lines, but delivers them poorly. He raised and dropped his voice at all the wrong beats.
I think Sestak is the most annoying, phony, self-serving, faux sincere politicians I have ever seen. There are plenty of politicians I disagree with on the issues. But I don’t really dislike them as people like i do with Sestak. Its just his phoniness. Must be the Holden Caulfield in me.
ROFLMAO @ Montco PA Dem.
John-
Toomey is ultra-conservative but he’s not a bomb-thrower like Rick Santorum, so he’s more under-the-radar about it. He can afford to make a few moderate votes for “cover”, just like the R’s would do with Specter if they didn’t need his vote as critical.
But, the the problem with Joe was that he was offering a fake “civility” theme, and wouldn’t really go after Toomey hard on his record. So, Toomey captured the center. Specter had years of opposition research on Toomey, and Specter was so in the center that he got royalty payments whenever anyone moved to the center.
Add to that the facts that Sestak is a piss-poor debater and inherently a conservative pretending to be a liberal. So, since Sestak only mouths the Democratic talking points, but has never lived them, he doesn’t know how to deconstruct someone like Toomey (who he actually agrees with).
Sestak is irrelevant. In 2010 his campaign was all fear mongering trying to define Toomey as an ultra conservative on economic and social issues. Toomey now has a 4 year record in the Senate of working in a bipartisan manner as the Inquirer article highlighted. Rather than changing course, Sestak has doubled down on his strategy by making even more extreme statements about Toomey in an effort to raise money. Hey Joe, the only people stupid enough to believe your nonsensical email probably don’t have jobs and therefore can’t afford to send you any money.
I got this email myself a little while ago. I was going to post it in the other thread about how silly Sestak is with his navy references.
Joe likes to keep talking about sailing into harm’s way. What harm? During his last campaign he talked about how he loved sending his men into harm’s way. Can you imagine what the Republicans would do to Obama if he said he liked sending men into harm’s way?
Well, we want to get out of harm’s way by electing a REAL Dem who can not only win, but is young enough to be around for a few terms. Sestak’s the biggest harm we have to worry about.
Fortunately, Sestak won’t be the Dem facing Toomey. Everybody else on the short list can outraise his current cash-on-hand in one quarter. His tired old stories aren’t a substitute for real debate on the issues.
BTW, Nick, you missed Sestak’s other goofy naval reference when he wrote: “I laid the keel of our Senate effort almost two years ago”.
Joe’s not a ship builder, and his current campaign is full of holes and taking on water.
How desperate is Sestak for money that he’s sending fundraising letters to ME ???
BTW, Montco Dem, it’s clear from your blog that you feel Marcel let Sestak down. However, I spoke to Specter supporters/staffers who offered to help Sestak after the primary and they were turned away. Sestak wanted nothing to do with the party or a coordinated campaign. He REFUSED to work on join efforts with State committee when they insisted that paid workers be paid minimum wage. Sestak’s loss was self-inflicted.
Diano posting anti-Sestak rant in 3…2…1…