Joe Sestak and the Democratic Party have still not resolved their issues.
That’s the core of a major piece by Burgess Everett of Politico about the former Congressman’s strained relationship with his party’s establishment.
Some of that animosity goes back to his defeat of Arlen Specter in the 2010 Democratic Primary, when most party leaders supported Specter.
The issues rose up again in 2015, when Sestak hired a first-time campaign manager instead of one backed by the DSCC. After that final break, half a dozen candidates were pursued by the party to challenge Sestak in the primary until McGinty finally agreed to run.
“It’s a disgrace,” fumes David Landau, chairman of the Delaware County Democratic Party Chair David Landau told Everett. “It’s personal. They don’t like him. Joe’s quirky sometimes. He’s independent. He’s not going to always do what the leadership tells him to do.”
While the article does make the case that really Democrats should be happy with Sestak, Sestak just simply does not want to be controlled by them.
“If you lease a part of your soul in a campaign, Washington, D.C., and the establishment … will think they have an option to buy,” Sestak says. “For them, it’s so important to have 51 [votes]. But what they’ve lost sight of is: The people aren’t looking for D.C. control over what they think.”
Sestak could go on all day (and almost did) about his difficulties with the party, and yet without their support he is still leading multiple polls as we near the April 26th primary.
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37 Responses
steventodd-
Joe “leans to the right” on stuff like continuing funding the Iraq War without a timetable for withdrawal, warrantless wiretaps and telecom immunity.
Considering Joe campaigned specifically on timetables as pre-condition, then bailed on the Dems, I think it’s pretty clear that Joe has the WRONG judgment on military/foreign affairs.
If elected, Joe will be a one term Senator that will not run in 2022 and have to face the voters again.
We can’t afford to have an un-checked Sestak in the Senate. Aren’t there enough old, white, pro-war, rich men in the Senate?
Weeding out all the back and forth between Diano and the world on his nemesis, I come away with two hard to dispute posts:
Mcginty’s revolving door to $$$ says:
April 8, 2016 at 10:13 pm
This article should be titled “Sestak Versus the Democratic Machine” not Party. The Democratic Party rank and file seem to be quite happy with Joe. The bosses couldn’t even get McG the endorsement of the state party…
And:
Charlie says:
April 11, 2016 at 9:37 am
Not voting %100 along party lines? Not controlled by the Democratic Party? Leans to the right occasionally. I am a Democrat and he has my vote. YOU GO JOE !
Not voting %100 along party lines? Not controlled by the Democratic Party? Leans to the right occasionally. I am a Democrat and he has my vote. YOU GO JOE !
ADV-
1) You seem fine with Sestak being AWOL his second term.
2) “the only foreign policy-qualified Senate candidate” ?? Are you kidding me? Joe’s foreign policy is more war, unlimited funding and no timetables. If you think Sestak will vote differently from the Republican, you don’t know Joe. Joe’s got the wrong kind of experience: the right-wing experience
3) Sestak is ahead in the polls because he has name recognition and is great at fooling voters into believing he’s a liberal/progressive or even a Democrat. Most of his supporters have NO IDEA he voted with the Republicans, and against the majority of Dems, to keep funding the Iraq War without a plan, timetable or criteria for withdrawal. He voted the opposite of how he campaigned, and his “followers” don’t even realize he betrayed them.
4) Joe was relieved of command for abusing his staff. He served, but let the power go to his head. Mistreating your men is not honorable. Admiral Mullen certainly didn’t think so. On his first day in charge, he gave Sestak the boot after years of complaints had been ignored by Mullen’s predecessor.
5) Yes. Joe has worked hard to be a Senator. In the process he has damaged the party and screwed over down-ticket candidates. In 2010, his campaign put out GOTV door-knockers with JUST Joe’s name, and not the other candidates. Other candidates put out door-knockers with the entire slate. During the 2010 primary, Sestak asked to “lead the ticket”, but once he won, he immediately abandoned the party and remove the word “Democrat” from advertising and even new t-shirts. The new shirts said “Admiral” instead. Why? Because it’s all about Joe and his image.
6) Joe Sestak is not perfect. (That is the understatement of the year)
7) I refer to him as “Joe” all the time. I rarely refer to him as “Admiral” and never as admirable.
8) The issue is not what he did to serve our country, but rather the disservice he’s been doing to the Democratic party.
David:
Why don’t YOU “show up” with some measured temperament? You are simply over the top on your hatred of Admiral Sestak—the only foreign policy-qualified Senate candidate, including the non-military/Wall Street darling Pat Toomey. Your extremist views on Joe Sestak are really “out there.” You have been going on and on for months and apparently for years acc. to you own words, trying to undermine Mr. Sestak. Obviously your hatred has been refuted here at this blog as well as in polls which show Joe ahead. Your temperament is really turning us off, man. Why not adopt a more serene, rational approach. And, why not come up with something different than your belabored, pathetic attempts vs. a man who served his country and who has worked harder than any person in this race to become our next U.S. Senator. Joe Sestak is not perfect, but he has earned my respect and admiration!!!!!!!!!!! And, by the way, people who have contact with Admiral Sestak call him Joe. Stop making fun of his title and what he has done to serve our country.
ADV-
Why didn’t Sestak show up for his whole second term in Congress?
Oh… right… he was running all around PA looking for a promotion to Senator after only one term in Congress.
Why didn’t McGinty show up for the foreign policy debate? NO SHOW MCGINTY is not a good message to send to voters.
Nobody Cares Who You Support-
It’s not as simple as you pretend. You really need to have a lawyer file it properly or it will get dismissed if you miss dotting one i or crossing one t or make any other mistake. I doubt you can just make the charge, with doing a whole bunch of research and document gathering, like copies of real estate transactions, mortgages, financial statements, etc.
For example: I’ve got a copy (screen shot) of a building permit from Alexandria’s website from Sestak’s 2010 request to build an extension on his house. (Permit Number: MEC2010-01657 with the name of both Joe and his wife)
But, that wouldn’t be admissible in court. I’d have to get official/notarized paper copies from Alexandria. Also, I’d need stuff like current property tax payment records.
There is no possibility of me going before a judge without a lawyer and avoiding a contempt citation for my lay person attitude toward the judiciary. A good lawyer is not cheap.
Besides, I fully expected the other campaigns, particularly McGinty’s, to mount such a challenge. Had I realize in advance that they weren’t going to challenge Sestak’s residency, then I would have started the process a month before and tried to raise enough money for the legal fees.
I think it’s complete political malpractice on the part of the McGinty campaign to have failed to bring this challenge. After the primary, maybe an insider in the campaign will explain to me who argued for/against it.
I was too busy during the challenge period helping my own clients to even follow up on this. I’m proud to say that none of my clients got knocked off the ballot.
But, let me ask you this:
Where do YOU think Sestak really lives?
A) In the $1 million home in Alexandria, VA that he has owned since 1998 (and built an extension on in 2010), and his wife and daughter live in. 3,107 sq ft Realtor.com listing:
“a Single family located in Seminary Hill, VA, in Alexandria county. Built in 1973, this property was last sold for $441,500 in 1998 and currently has an estimated value of $991,483. The median price for this area is $494,950. ”
B) A smaller house 1,972 sq ft in PA with a Realtor.com listing:
“This property was last sold for $334,000 in 2007 and currently has an estimated value of $291,241. The median price for this area is $575,000. ”
So, one house that is twice the median value in the neighborhood, or one worth half the value.
What’s the purpose of the house in Virginia?
Diano – If you think Sestak is ineligible to serve in the US Senate, you should have challenged his nomination petition. It is quite simple, you could have filed a petition to set aside his nomination petition alleging that he does not live at the address he listed on the candidate’s affidavit. If your legal theory (based on the rantings of a nutcase who is obsessed with Sestak and has zero legal education or knowledge) is correct, he would have been stricken from the ballot based on a deficient and unamendable candidate’s affidavit and petitions. Additionally, you could have made a second argument in the same petition to set aside that his lack of residency in Pennsylvania makes him ineligible to represent Pennsylvania in Congress. If you are ineligible to serve in the office you seek, a candidate may be stricken from the ballot.
You are a resident of the district represented by the office he seeks (Pennsylvania) and a registered member of his political party (a Democrat). With a simple petition to set aside and a filing fee of less than $200 you could have made your argument in Commonwealth Court and potentially had him removed from the ballot. You would have needed no other objector and nothing else.
If you were smart, believe in your theory, and had courage you would have filed a challenge. But we know you didn’t. Instead of doing that, you just run your mouth on this website. Why?
I guess you lack that intelligence, belief in your own theory, or courage. Most likely, you lack all three.
Tony-
Sestak was the “out-of-stater” who dictated the outcome by defeating Specter, who was a sure thing to beat Toomey.
Sestak is every bit the political hack he complains about. When he won the primary, he acted like he was suddenly the leader of the PA Dems and could dictate how the party operated. He even had his own pick for chairman (and that went nowhere).
Tony, if you had the slightest clue about my background and involvement with the Democratic party over the past decade, you would kick yourself for making such a ridiculous statement about me supporting Republicans. Even my GOP enemies on this site would confirm my anti-Republican bonofides.
Sounds to me like you are a Toomey supporter who wants the most beatable Dem as the opponent.
Joe has shamelessly exploited his child’s illness. You should complain to him.
This still doesn’t explain why he feels he has to lie on his campaign literature that his wife and daughter live in PA, when they clearly don’t.
How can you trust a candidate on the hard-to-prove lies, when he can’t even tell the truth on the easily verified.
David Diano: I finally got around to examining what you wrote to me and others. YOU GOT NOTHING. So his wife works and maybe votes in Virginia. Big f__ing deal. I’m much more worried about out-of-state big shot Senators dictating who should be our Senator.
I don’t have much time to waste with the likes of you. I suspect you are a Republican trying to derail our strongest candidate. But let me say one very personal thing. It takes a special kind of sickness to criticize a person because their daughter has cancer. A child no less. I’m thrilled that she has been declared cured, that is most wonderful news. But if you know anything about cancer, or have ever had it, you know that it can always come back.
Others who want an objective assesment of Joe Sestak can go to the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Sestak
garet jax-
I’ve asked myself that many times, because it’s powerful attack. It’s well known among the political insiders and upper ranks that Sestak is a carpetbagger pulling the same crap as Santorum. (A simple online white pages search for Joe Sestak and Virginia turns up he and his wife in Alexandria.)
Joe’s wife is NOT registered in PA. She briefly registered in 2006 (voting in primary and general) then dropped her registration in 2007 when Sestak bought a house here. I’ve heard that she is registered to vote in Virginia (though I haven’t seen the VA voter files myself). She works down there. Their daughter goes to school there.
Maybe they are afraid of damaging him against Toomey, but Toomey knows this as well. (I bet his tracker has plenty of video of Joe at home in Virginia.)
When this issue came up in 2006, Sestak’s daughter was still undergoing treatments, and Joe claimed that they wanted to stay close to her doctor. But, she’s been cured for years (even ran in a 5K with Joe), and Joe’s been exploiting her in commercials since 2006.
Maybe they are afraid Joe will pull the “my child is sick card”, even though he’s been playing “my child was cured” card to continue to exploit her.
If I was one of the other candidates, I would say it was disgusting how he exploits his daughter for his own political ambitions, if he tries to pull this crap.
Sestak claims in his literature that his wife and daughter live with him in PA. Call him out on that lie and ask why he doesn’t admit they live in VA, like Santorum’s wife and children did.
If the other candidates don’t have the guts to call him out on obvious lies, then what are they going to do against Toomey or the GOP if elected?
@Diano-if sestsk lives in Va., why doesn’t McGinty or Fetterman simply challenge him based in his residency? He should be disqualified.?
Tony
I am not being paid by any campaign, group, entity, person, etc to expose Sestak.
I’ve been trying to educate people about the real Joe Sestak for the past 9 years. He screwed us on his Iraq votes, and worked behind the scenes to undermine the democratic party and down ticket candidates for his own advantage.
Joe thinks everybody is unworthy because they don’t work as hard as him. Therefore, he rationalizes any theft of service, votes, information from them as justified.
Complete narcissism.
David Diano: Interesting. Nowhere in your post did you deny being paid in some way for your “services”. I have enough of a brain to notice stuff like that.
Tony-
Wow. You are really new here. I would pay to get rid of Sestak. I’d help him pack up his PA house and drop his ass off in Virginia to be rid of him.
PoliticsPA doesn’t even pay me for all the extra hits I generate.
He has screwed up this party and wasted $20 million trying to satisfy his ego, and given us nothing to show for it. He’s been a blight on the party. Talk to his former staffers. Plenty of stories. Look at his FEC reports. He lists his staffers as “consultants” and doesn’t pay their benefits or payroll taxes. It’s all there in black and white. You can use your “eyes” and maybe start using your brain.
David Diano: Do I believe my “lying” eyes and ears, or your lying mouth. Tough choice (not). You seem to have an axe to grind, and wouldn’t be at all surprised if you are being paid to do it.
Tony-
Well, your “impression” doesn’t match the facts. All the ex-staffers I run into all say that about him. In 2006, his field director said to me: “F*ck the other candidates. I don’t care if they all lose. Joe’s the only one that matters.” That is a verbatim direct quote. Joe is THE most selfish politician it’s been my displeasure to meet.
You “believe your eyes and ears”, watching only the debate and not checking Joe’s record? Yeah, that sounds like a good strategy.
How’s this: Go look up Joe’s vote in May 2007 to continue funding the Iraq War (without timetable for withdrawal, and the majority of House Dems voting against it). Joe (as the highest ranking former military officer ever elected) gave cover to the Republicans and turncoat Dems.
From a Philly mag piece in 2009 profiling Sestak:
“According to a 2007 investigation by The Hill, 13 of Sestak’s employees quit their jobs in the first eight months after he was sworn in. They cited 14-hour days, being forced to work on holidays, and Sestak’s temper….By churning through so much staff, Sestak is failing to build institutional knowledge, and institutional knowledge is how you traditionally amass power on the Hill; you find people who know how to work process, to interact with the think tanks and the committees and the consultants and, yes, the lobbyists (they’re not all evil!), and nurture and reward them so they’ll help you construct a little empire. If you’re not doing that, you’re not elevating service, and you’re isolating yourself.”
http://www.phillymag.com/articles/joe-sestak-profile-run-joe-run/?all=1
And that’s how badly he treated his congressional staff.
Divide their pay by their hours (over 70 per week, and many made less than minimum).
David Diano: Coming off the rails, are you?
Don’t have time to reply to your entire screed. But when you say “Because: It’s all about Joe.”, that’s not my impression at all.
I saw the Pittsburgh debate, and I believe my eyes and ears much more than your invective. I believe any sane person would conclude that Sestak is quite selfless, incredibly so for a politician, genuinely focused (like Fetterman) on the common good.
Sestak’s ad with his daughter’s cancer is creepy. I don’t like any of these 3 candidates. Toomey will be safe. This is a lost opportunity for Dems. Why is Shapiro running for the unqualified AG seat instead of US Senate? McGinty was pro corporate energy at the DEP. I will vote for Fetterman by default.
Tony-
“They have committed a great crime by using money supposed to be used against Republicans to tear down our best Democrat.” They haven’t torn down Fetterman. And, they haven’t even used it to tear down our worse Democrat (Sestak). I haven’t seen any negative ads run against Joe so far. Have you?
Sestak lied about living in PA. I guess that doesn’t count?
Sestak lied about opposing Iraq War. (He participated without complaint, and voted to keep funding it without a timetable or criteria for withdrawal.)
Sestak lied about supporting a $15 minimum wage. He paid his congressional staff less than PA minimum wage when he was in office. And there is no way in hell that his campaign staff is making $15/hour. They should all go on strike! 🙂
Sestak lies about supporting gay marriage even when he was in Navy. When I met him in early 2006 and asked if he would support a constitutional amendment protecting gay marriage, he said: “Marriage is between a man and a woman.”
Sestak lies about why he lost in 2010, blaming the party, instead of himself. He refused help that was offered and refused to coordinate his campaign. His attitude was that the party and everyone he “beat” was a lazy loser who wasn’t going to be loyal enough to him. Note: “loyalty” to Sestak means working only on his campaign and not putting time/resources into any other campaigns on the ticket. Because: It’s all about Joe.
I saw the Pittsburgh debate, and McGinty lied about Sestak, claiming he had proposed raising the retirement age to 69. I don’t like liars.
I also don’t like Party bosses, who know only where the money is. They have committed a great crime by using money supposed to be used against Republicans to tear down our best Democrat.
This article should be titled “Sestak Versus the Democratic Machine” not Party. The Democratic Party rank and file seem to be quite happy with Joe. The bosses couldn’t even get McG the endorsement of the state party. Rank and file disdain the Party big-wigs telling them who to vote for. It’s all an insider game for the “suits” in the establishment. McG has been described as a political operative—a very spot-on characterization. Moving in and out and back in then out again in the corridors of power in corporate and government suites, then profiting from it all, that’s Katie McGinty.
David may be a bit goofy but every single point he made about Sestak right there was spot on as far as his foreign policy “expertise” is concerned.
My bigger issue right now is the disgusting way in which he is using his daughter’s fight with cancer for his political gain. Now by all means he should talk about it from time to time when it is particularly relevant but now he runs commercials with her as the focal point all for his personal gain. My wife is the least political person ever and knows I cant get enough of this stuff and she said to me this week that her only rule is that I don’t vote for the guy who is using his daughter like that. He’s a creep.
Can somebody check and see if Lunatic Diano is off his meds again? Anyone says the word “Sestak” and he erupts like a cornered wolf. Sick, sick man.
Mcginty’s revolving door to $$$-
Joe didn’t need to show up. He could have sent in a sheet of paper with following bullet points:
1) I was in the Navy for 31 years (in case you hadn’t heard it the first 5,000 times I mentioned it).
2) I was on the ground in Afghanistan for a few hours before the war visiting somebody (so, somehow I can pretend to know about Afghanistan).
3) I fully supported the war without any verifiable evidence of dissent, like a memo or testimony or resigning in protest.
4) In debates, I claim one I had one private conversation were I suggested the Iraq War could be a tragedy, but there is no evidence of this conversation actually occurring, and no one calls me on it.
5) I was part of US anti-terrorism strategy. (Please ignore that this was under Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld who seemed pleased with my work and world view, and the complete failure of Bush’s War on Terror.)
6) When I campaigned in 2006, I said TIMETABLES all the time and that we could be out of Iraq within a year, but a year later, in office, I voted to fund the Iraq War without timetables for withdrawal. (But, in my floor speech I said timetables were the ONLY VIABLE OPTION, and no one called me out on the hypocrisy of that statement.) I also started saying that it could take two years to pull out and using the word “logistics”.
7) After my 2010 defeat, I went on TV and criticized Obama for announcing a timetable for withdrawing from Afghanistan.
8) I’m with the Republicans on foreign policy, and really don’t know jack shit about diplomacy other that at the end of a gun.
Tanya:
It was televised on statewide TV—PCN TV— which includes all or nearly all cable stations in PA. I recommend you start watching PCN for political shows each week.
And, tell your friend McG to “SHOW UP” for the debates, even when she has no knowledge of the subject matter (this debate was on foreign policy). Her absence was pretty pathetic and cowardly.
There was a debate last night? I don’t see anything about it online. I guess that’s what happens when the only good candidate isn’t there. No press for the undercard….
Billy says:
I’m in agreement with you.
eagleswing-
Those are all restrictions. The states can impose ADDITIONAL restrictions like residency and ballot access requirements (# of signatures, etc.)
And let’s not forget that inhabitant, resident, etc were probably synonymous, so you have to careful reading 200+ year old words whose meaning may have changed or been clarified through court rulings.
But, Sestak’s residency should be front and center for voters to consider as part of their decision.
I think Sestak should have been challenged when he submitted his petitions, put on the stand under oath, and disqualified from the ballot. Joe should release his tax returns to show how he declared his PA and VA houses for IRS, and also for any bank loans or tax rebates.
A much more productive research project would be the true authorship of Sestak’s book. His former students might be interested in comparing their term papers with passages in the book.
before continuing to ride his his never-ending band wagon on US senate qualifications, DD might want to read the US Constitution requirements for US Senate: Article I Sec . 3: ‘…No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state for which he shall be chosen…’
legal minds opine that ‘ inhabitant’ is a looser standard than ‘resident’ or ‘domicile.’ (One can be an inhabitant of a state if one has a winter condo he rents or owns– not even his principal residence there.) Slick Rick Santorum managed to be elected as a US Senator from PA while his family was living in VA by Rick’s artifice of claiming to ‘rent’ the little 3 bedroom house in penn hills owned by his wife’s parents, the Garvins. courts found that lease to be enough evidence of Santorum ‘inhabiting’ in PA to allow him to stay on the ballot.
so give it a rest, DD. there are much more important claims to be made in the upcoming Senate elections, much more worthy of your research talents. For one, why not research th truth of Fetterman’s claims that Mc is lying about not receiving o a nd G contributions– such as mc Ginty’s campaign contributions on her FEC reports from principals in ‘Big Apple,’ whose subsidiary does O G and fracking ?
Mcginty’s revolving door to $$$, I watched the debate as well, and thought it was a good contrast of two very different experiences and styles.
I thought Joe was a little zzzzzz at times, but still a competent guy that I won’t have a problem supporting if the primary goes his way. It seems like they respect and perhaps even like each other. I don’t get that vibe when McGinty is around. She has no character and they both know it.
Serious Questions Need Answered-
Sestak has lived in his VA home since 1998. In 2006, Joe changed the plates on his car from VA to PA. (The bolts were so rusted, we couldn’t remove them with the tools we had at campaign HQ.)
gulag
In his literature, Joe claims he lives with his wife and daughter here in PA. Why lie about it?
The rule is “primary residence”, and the VA home, with his wife and daughter is clearly his primary residence.
Joe’s wife isn’t even registered in PA.
Santorum pulled this sh*t for years.
“No show” McGinty avoided last night’s debate on foreign policy. Unless she had a doctor’s excuse, she just did her whole campaign in! Everyone had a 15 minute introductory remark period—apparently McG cannot find 15 minutes worth of foreign policy expertise, simply because she lacks any such experience. Sestak showed his extensive understanding of the problems with “regime change” and with unleashing our military without understanding the blowback and unintended consequences–not gaining the peace and the tremendous resource drain and toll in human death such adventures bring. The debate with Fetterman was very civil, unlike the low blows she usually brings to these events. She is DEFINITELY a light-weight and out of her league. Sestak vs. Toomey in the Fall. Fetterman is a good guy, it seems, and should run again.
Not picking sides here, but Serious Questions should be whether thinking PA is the best place to raise a kid is a qualification for US Senate. Being intelligent and independent are worth more than being a hometeam cheerleader at the local football games.
When will the press seriously begin to ask questions surrounding Joe Sestak’s residency? It’s clear through public records and permits that Joe Sestak owns a home in Alexandria, Virginia where he and his family have lived since before 2010. In fact, Joe’s school-age daughter attends a prestigious private school there in Virginia, instead of Pennsylvania schools. Pennsylvanians deserve a U.S. Senator grounded in Pennsylvania’s working class values. Pennsylvanian’s didn’t send Joe Sestak to D.C. in 2010, he chose to live there and raise his family there instead of Pennsylvania. While Katie McGinty has been fighting for Pennsylvanians and raising her family here in Pennsylvania, with her husband in Chester County, Joe Sestak has been raising his family in Virginia. Instead of contributing to Pennsylvanian’s economy and working to make Pennsylvania a better place to live, Joe Sestak has been contributing to Virginia’s economy. Joe Sestak’s claims to not be a member of the establish and yet he chose to live in Metropolitan D.C.
Pennsylvanian’s deserve a Senator who believes that Pennsylvania is the best place to live and raise a family. Why did Joe Sestak choose Virginia over Pennsylvania? Why did Joe Sestak choose to send his daughter to a private school where he lives in Virginia, instead of Pennsylvania schools? Shame on you Joe Sestak.
In 2008, no one called Barack Obama a member of the establishment. I’m proud that President Obama, Vice President Biden, Governor Wolf and Senator Casey have endorsed the only real champion for working families Katie McGinty.
In 2016 Pennsylvanian’s have the incredible opportunity to send a progressive, pro-choice Democratic woman to United States Senate and I’m glad President Obama is with Katie McGinty!
On April 26th vote Katie McGinty in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.
#NeverSestak
“and yet without their support he is still leading multiple polls as we near the April 26th primary”…. but not the General.
From the article:
“They believe, for the second time since 2010, that he could blow a winnable Senate race because of his tendency to reject the slightest hint of marching orders from party bosses. Sestak is the first to admit he likes doing things his way, and party leaders quickly tired of constantly being told, in so many words, to take a hike.”
Translation: Sestak pissed away support in 2010 and sunk his own ship out of ego and spite, so the party doesn’t want a replay.
Sestak has no soul to lease. He already sold to the devil in 2010. But, he didn’t read the fine print which was to win primaries, not general elections.