Toomey, Sestak to face off at town hall-style meeting

http://www.mcall.com/news/all-a1_5debate.6996546aug22,0,2846592.story

-- In an unusual bit of gamesmanship, U.S. Senate hopefuls Pat Toomey and U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak agreed Friday to face one another at a town hall-style meeting in Allentown next month to discuss the proposed health care overhaul.

The event, scheduled for Sept. 2, came about after two days of jovial bickering about health care between the campaigns of the two candidates, who have reserved their strongest barbs for U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter in a battle that is still in its infancy. The town hall will bring together Toomey and Sestak prematurely in the race, considering the two candidates are vying for party nominations -- Sestak as a Democrat, Toomey as a Republican -- that won't be decided for nine months.

Specter, whose fiery town halls dominated the health care discussion last week and thrust the five-term Democrat onto the front pages of newspapers nationwide, was left out of the two candidates' invitation, although Toomey suggested he and Specter sit down separately at some point.

Specter campaign manager Christopher Nicholas declined to comment.

more ...

and hope that Pennsylvanians get the message that Arlen is not acceptable to many of us.

He will never get my vote, even if the alternative is Toomey. There are real Democrats who deserve our support. That traitor does not.

Is this a desperate campaign ploy already? From what i've observed, it seems that Sestak has a hard time staying relevant on this issue of health care, when compared to Senator Specter. I suspect this will be a significant problem from time to time for him. Of course, at the meeting I am sure that Toomey will pretend everything is fine and Joe will write it off as a victory. Nonetheless... they each search for relevancy and attention by holding this event.

Fox hosted Specter to attack booklet for veterans, despite Wash. Post report that he hadn't read it

If this is how Sen. Specter is "relevant on health care", he should just keep quiet.

http://mediamatters.org/research/200908250030

snip> "On August 25, Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly hosted Sen. Arlen Specter to discuss his call for hearings regarding a Veterans Health Administration booklet about end-of-life decisions -- a booklet Specter characterized during the segment as "tough on veterans" and not "appropriate counseling." However, Kelly did not note that The Washington Post reported that day in its print edition that Specter "said in an interview yesterday that he had not read the booklet but was disturbed by what he had gleaned thus far.""

snip> "The booklet emphasizes that "your wishes will direct future health care decisions" and presents preserving one's life "using any means possible" as an option to consider. Really, if the document was really trying to get veterans to pull the plug on themselves, then first suggesting to them that their life should be prolonged at all costs is a pretty stupid way to do it".

Sen. Specter should have read the document and discussed it with Secretary Eric Shinseki and Assistant Secretary Tammy Duckworth (who were each wounded in war), before jumping on the FAUX bandwagon by calling for hearings. Sen. Specter helped the right-wing noise machine push their lies.

Here, is the entire fox news interview regarding the VA End of Life Decisions Booklet:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gDSnmpuSOA (Towey)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSghLPrNrfc (Duckworth)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqX11PfHwtg (Specter)

Folks, number9dream fails to find it concerning that veterans are asked to fill out possibly suggestive questions on a questionnaire
such as, "is my life worth living if i am in a wheel chair" or "is my life worth living because i am a financial
burden". We all know know under each scenario that our veterans have, can, and deserve to lead productive lives
when being in these situations. These are inappropriate questions in my mind to be asking veterans, who deserve
with our full support. Minds can differ. There is a reason this booklet was suspended.

I applaud Senator Specter for pledging to commit to explore the nature and texture of these questions. This matter as Towey, Duckworth, and Specter mention has not been brought to President Obama's attention yet. It is right for Senator Specter to be aggressive in wanting to call for a hearing on the Veterans Committee to examine the contents of this booklet (particularly the questionnaire) and to offer any additional legislation, if necessary. The contents, particularly the questionnaire, which indeed may need some of its contents stripped. I agree that if these questions are inappropriate and this matter should be taken up immediately, as Sen. Specter mentions by the Veterans Committee. Apparently, Number9Dream... u are arguing that we should ignore the matter????

Have fun hanging out with your new friend Pat Toomey Number9Dream. You accuse Specter of agreeing with and co-mingling
with "faux" news on a veterans issue... lets not politicize this issue. Id say its rather hypocritical of you to try and tie
Specter coming in to discuss a matter of importance for veterans with patronizing fox. Again, this from a supporter of
a candidate, Sestak that is so desparate that he feels the need to appear with Right winger Pat Toomey, in order
to stay relevant!

What I find concerning is that people like Sen. Specter and PADEMJES are quick to comment on a booklet which neither has read, instead accepting Fox distortions as facts. My criticism is of the way Sen. Specter handled any concerns he might have had, not of being concerned. AFTER reading the booklet, Sen. Specter should have discussed his concerns with the VA, and taken it from there. When Sen. Specter calls for hearings based on Fox distortions, without first fact-checking, it helps Fox politicize a veterans issue.

Here is the booklet:

http://www.rihlp.org/pubs/Your_life_your_choices.pdf

The booklet's correct subtitle is: Planning for Future Medical Decisions: How to Prepare a Personalized Living Will. (Not the Fox news: VA End of Life Decisions Booklet as quoted above).

From page 3: "There’s only one person who is truly qualified to tell health care providers how you feel about different kinds of health care issues—and that’s you. But, what if you get sick, or injured so severely that you can’t communicate with your doctors or family members?" It's about living wills.

The misquoted "suggestive questions", are part of a section encouraging the person to express their wishes to their family regarding what makes life worth living . "Discussing your answers with others can help them understand what is important to you and where you stand with respect to health care decisions." Sounds like a good idea to me. Please at least skim the booklet, before condemning it.

I'm a veteran, my father was a veteran, and nowhere did I say to ignore any veteran's issue.

snip> "Here is something else that Jim Towey isn't telling you: He wants to kill the "Your Life, Your Choices" pamphlet because he has been trying to sell his own "Five Questions" document to the VA for use in VHA medical centers."

http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=E92C3115AEF3222434DA520E0B436AF0?diaryId=3084

Jim Towey and Faux argue that veterans should be presented with LESS information, not MORE, when it comes to making a living will. Tammy Duckworth was arguing that veterans should have MORE information.

From Rep. Sestak:

Sestak acknowledges that “Anyone may criticize — and, indeed, suggest improvements to the pamphlet”

I am indeed questioning suggestive nature and selection of some of the questions. The veterans committee is right in exploring this issue and Specter is right to have the committee examine the pamphlet. In fact, Sestak himself acknowledges that the pamphlet may be criticized or improvements suggested, but then attacks Arlen????

Again, Isn't that kinda hypocritical of Joe in an attempt to score political points? Sen. Specter wants to examine the pamphlet and its contents, which according to Rep. Sestak is fine to do. In fact, Im glad our Senator is doing this, as opposed to trying to play Monday morning quarterback like Sestak.

The meeting is being held in a room that only holds a few hundred. Almost no tickets are available for the general public.

Muhlenberg is offering tickets to the town hall meeting, as long as you don't mind being in a different room and watching it on TV. They say you will still be able to submit questions.