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PA-Sen: Sestak Reacts to Harry Reid, PASNAP

SestakJoe Sestak has always said he is not the establishment candidate.

That’s become crystal clear over the last 24 hours. In that time, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has publicly predicted McGinty will win the three-way Democratic primary and PASNAP has switched their endorsement from Sestak to McGinty.

The ex-Admiral came out firing this morning in response to Sen. Reid.

“Senator Harry Reid told the Washington Post that the establishment will determine who will win PA’s Senate primary – not the people of Pennsylvania,” Sestak wrote. “Harry’s declaration shows why D.C. is so broken, why people are fed up with the party’s elite, and why Washington’s effort to have absolute control over our campaign is harming what democracy is really all about – ‘We the People.’”

“Harry,” the former Congressman continued. “There are no longer kings or kingmakers in America – certainly not here in Pennsylvania.”

“It’s why I refused the demands of Washington’s powerbrokers when they said:

  • The 422-mile walk across PA in the shoes of Pennsylvanians was a waste of time
  • My book was wrong to publish because it told the people exactly where I stood
  • “Sestak, when I say something to you, your only answer is to be ‘yes.’”

They wanted a candidate that was owned…lock, stock and barrel – but the only ones who will ever own me are Pennsylvanians.”

PASNAP

The Democratic candidate also responded to PASNAP rescinding their endorsement of him and Executive Director Bruce Bill Cruice’s comments to the Inquirer’s Jonathan Tamari about a 2014 rally.

“Bill is just stating the truth,” Sestak said. “I couldn’t be there the day in 2014 that Bill had asked (as I was committed out of Philadelphia) and he said if I didn’t show up he’d pull the endorsement — and I understood that. I continue to believe that nurses are the ‘chief petty officers’ of our nation’s medical field, the ones that truly keep it all running. It’s why each year, at the fundraiser I host for the Brain Tumor Institute, I invite two nurses who helped saved my daughter Alex’s life.”

32 Responses

  1. The empty house in Sestak’s Congressional District will make a wonderful tv commercial for n the General Election if Sestak wins the Primary. GOP TRACKERS are already following McGinty and Sestak. They know what every move the candidates make. They will save the best commercial for the General. They will know exactly how many times Sestak was there in the last year. Sestak really has the same problem Santorum had when he lived in Virginia and owned a small house is Pittsburgh that he never visited. Santorum got away with it until he got greedy and wanted to charge the Pittsburgh Suburb School for cyber schooling his children.

  2. Observer #2-

    The Delco GOP couldn’t find a decent candidate that year. They put up a paper tiger who ran a non-existent campaign as a place-holder.

    But, Montco Dem is right, Sestak raised over $3 million dollars for his reelection campaign (falsely claiming he needed it to hold the seat, but then spent it on his failed senate campaign). Even after he won reelection he sent out more fundraising letters for his congressional campaign, even though the intended it’s use for his senate campaign. At the time, some hand-written fundraising letters was uncovered where Joe not only admitted he was really raising for his senate race, but the letters were written on his official congressional stationery.

    I think he transferred about $4 million from his congressional account to his Senate account.

  3. Sestak treats his staff like slave labor. He doesn’t support fair pay, he doesn’t pay his campaign staff even minimum wage. Virginia Joe does not support Pennsylvanians.

    Go home to Virginia Joe! You’re not welcome here.

  4. This seems way to simple a reason for this. Something that happened over a year ago and now the endorsement is being yanked? Something had to have also happened here. I sense a disturbance in the force.

  5. What??? That can’t be right. Sestak may have only spent $28,000 in 2008 (because he was running against a nobody), but I can almost guarantee he raised more than that for his reelection. And if I remember correctly, he carried a huge amount over into the Senate race in 2010.

    Diano will know the numbers, I can promise you that.

  6. I should have said Joe won RE-ELECTION to Congress with only $28,000. I got this info Sestak’s campaign email list–and if you sign up for his campaign emails and other candidate’s emails you can see what they have to say. So, to re-phrase: Sestak won reelection with basically ZERO money. Sorry for my mistake in the previous email.

  7. ExPhila — I think he’ll be days late, but not weeks or a month. Probably timing it so it comes out late Friday when he hopes no one will notice. But of course, that’s not gonna work.

  8. Observer #2:

    Joe Sestak raised $3.1 million for his 2006 campaign. http://www.fec.gov/fecviewer/CandidateCommitteeDetail.do

    He raised $400,000+ in his first quarter, something he failed to do for the *Senate* in the first quarter of this year.

    So no one has to explain how Sestak won his first campaign with no money, because that’s not a thing that actually happened. He won his first campaign with a TON of money.

  9. Joe won his Congressional seat with basically zero money. Explain that. McG will have fracking money galore, but you can’t shine “stuff”—-and Fetterman is looking good. Fetterman or Sestak can beat Toomey—Rendell’s puppet cannot win.

  10. Quote:
    “We were just very disappointed in Joe Sestak in the fact that he steadfastly refused to stand publicly with nurses who were in a difficult situation”
    -Bill Cruice, executive director of a union that represents around 5,500 nurses and hospital staff across the state, including about 3,500 in the Philadelphia area.

    I couldn’t have said it better myself.

    Virginia Joe doesn’t stand with the p people of Pennsylvania!

    Everyday that goes by more and more Pennsylvanians see Joe Sestak as the phony and narcissist he truly is. Joe only cares about himself and advancing his own career.
    Go home to Virginia Joe. You’re not welcome here!

  11. Is McG for single payer, either in PA, or nationwide? It was reported to me she told some folks she was for it recently. Not that we can trust her answers, but I am curious if she is working both sides of the question.

  12. He didn’t quote we the peolple when he (little joe) voted for Obama care contrary to the concern of the majority of people in pa when the little dick represented us….

  13. So Sestak didn’t go to a PASNAP action in 2014, and the endorsement wasn’t pulled til October, 2015. That means Sestak did nothing in over a year to attempt to fix his sleight. Another example of why Joe is an ineffective politician. He stabs his friends in the back and doesn’t say sorry and make nice.

  14. I’m with Sestak. Fetterman is probably OK, but need to know more. McG—under no conditions can I ever support/vote for this puppet and wannabe. She’s out of her league and in over her head.

  15. Billy-

    We definitely have to have a pool on when Sestak’s house goes up for sale. Someone should put a For Sale sign on his lawn April 1st. 🙂

    Observer #2-

    Sestak’s ahead of McGinty before there has been any campaigning or TV ads. Fetterman has not be factored into the polls, and even once he is, we won’t see the impact for several months, until his campaign is fully running.

    Sestak has no campaign manager nor senior staff/advisers as far as anyone can tell. He’s got inexperienced young staff that he is ordering about, and he’s steering the ship into the rocks.

    He’s got no union endorsements.

    Watch his campaign implode as McGinty and Fetterman explode with money, endorsements and rising poll numbers.

    Sestak will come in third.

  16. I’m sticking with Sestak and the 10% point advantage he has over McG.
    You guys are full of rage—is McG imploding? Is she for single payer, since you seem to know so much about her?? Just wondering.

  17. How does Sestak feel about the “establishment” picking Hillary? Sestak ran all over the place for Hillary, even going up to New Hampshire in 2007 on her behalf. He also went to Nevada for her at one point. (I remember because he was at some local event bitching about how hard the Clinton campaign was working him and sending him places.) But, this was his quid-pro-quo for Bill’s campaigning for him in 2006 (and 2010).

    So, Joe is 100% full of sh*t when it comes to criticizing the very same “establishment” he’s always been willing to be a part of (if they would have him). Let’s not forget, the “establishment” tried to recruit Sestak for senate in early 2009 BEFORE Specter fell out of favor with the GOP, and was looking unbeatable. Joe said “no thanks”. But, when the party flipped Specter, Sestak was “Hey, it’s my turn”. The party was “F*ck you, Joe. You had your chance.”

  18. Observer #2, will you be sticking with Sestak when he puts his PA house up for sale 1 minute after he loses the primary?

  19. God, I love watching the Sestak campaign self-implode, reminds me of McCord’s desperate campaign.

    A candidate always on the defense is a losing one.

    Getting my popcorn ready for when Virginia Joe releases his Q3 numbers!! Can’t wait…

  20. 11/12/13 Harper Poll for PA Governor. Schwartz 22%, Wolf 5%. Know a sinking ship when you see one, Observer 2

  21. “They wanted a candidate that was owned…lock, stock and barrel – but the only ones who will ever own me are Pennsylvanians*.”

    *Or Virginians where his family has been based out of for years.

  22. Oh cry me a river… Whine whine whine…

    Everyday that goes by more and more Pennsylvanians see Joe Sestak as the phony and narcissist he truly is. Joe only cares about himself and advancing his own career.

    Go home to Virginia Joe. You’re not welcome here!

  23. “The 422-mile walk across PA in the shoes of Pennsylvanians was a waste of time ”

    That is really hard to argue against, and would only make sense to complete out of touch narcissist.

    Joe, if you have time to walk across the state, you’re not walking in our shoes.

    The walk accomplished nothing for anyone, except Joe.

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