Rep. Joe Sestak on Sen. Specter

Run time: 05:26 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elL8ZaMd-no   Posted on YouTube: May 03, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: May 03, 2009 By DU Member: L. Coyote Views on DU: 1449

 
State of the Union: Rep. Joe Sestak on Sen. Specter's 'party switch' 05_03_09
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Maybe I'm cynical, but that's what I think.

I think he's been tasked to nip at Arlen's heels to keep him in line, and play the challenging, independent thinker. If Arlen balks, he's the next in line. It wouldn't surprise me if Arlen's been told he'll get one more term and no more--that JS is "next."

Who knows, though? Time will tell.

If Specter gets the seat, then that will be yet another DINO is a critical seat for 6 years. That is an outrageous proposition. Maybe we have to live with an empty suit like Evan Bayh in Indiana, but we don't have to take that deal in Pennsylvania.

Mark my words, this is a job for the netroots, and will be our next big win.

Specter LOVES Judiciary. LOVES it. It's "his." If he doesn't play ball, he'll end up on the "Assholes and Elbows Subcommittee on Bullshit and Nonsense" and that's all he'll get.

Here are his assignments now: http://specter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=AboutArlenSpecter.CommitteeAssignments

Who knows, maybe he covets a seat on another committee, too.

The Majority Leader retains that hammer. Without committee assignments, a Senator has no clout, no reason for lobbyists to come calling, no donations to PACs to use to acquire influence, and so on.

And "Arlen's Assignments" is a topic that can be revisited on a regular basis, too.

Nothing to prevent that!!

Never happen.

Why would we want that guy in charge of Judiciary?

Being the most moderate Republican is like being the tallest midget.

But he'll keep his seat, and maybe be called the Assistant/Deputy chair, and chair the meetings when Leahy doesn't feel like doing it.

You're unlikely to get your wish. Biden brokered this deal for a reason....or three.

This is a democracy, and we've seen lots of cases recently where the people have not complied with the deals their politicians tried to push down their throats. Obama and Biden don't own Pennsylvania. The other way around, actually.

Obama and Biden don't "own" Pennsylvania, but they're the ones who have access to the DNC coffers and can make decisions about where that campaign money goes. And they can also make life fucking miserable for any politician who doesn't play ball and stay within the system and take advice from party leadership. How? No money, no support, and if they made it, NO COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS. Without those, you might as well stay home.

It's how it works. Don't get mad at me for pointing it out, now.

Maybe you haven't heard of a guy named Lieberman.

The Dems simply don't do the stuff you are talking about. They don't have the balls.

They're IN the club--they're just not far enough to the edge to suit YOU. However, they suit a sufficient number of people to return to their seats each election cycle. When Reid says "We need this vote" they will play ball, or not get their DNC money for their reelection, and the DNC will encourage primary challengers.

The battle now, between the Democrats and the Republicans, and within those parties, is not for fringe warriors from the right OR the left, but for the mushy middle.

That's the battleground. Where's the right going to go? Where's the left going to go? Using a very GENERIC "YOU," if you're a Democrat, you will dance with the one that brung ya--or you'll be an oddball crank who runs off to the Greens and shakes your fist. If you're a Republican, you can run off to the Constitutionalists or the Reform Party or some other fringe outfit, but you won't be part of the rebuilding of the party and you'll be regarded as a wuss if you ever come back to the fold in later years.

But you'll be, as Heidi Klum says "OUT." Out of the game, out of the picture, and out of the process. You'll be an irrelevant scold. A whiner from the sidelines.

Lieberman caucuses with the Dems, and when Reid wants his vote, he gets it.

FWIW, if you don't like " The Dems" who according to you "don't have the balls" then why the fuck are you here? This is a board for Democrats and other progressives who support the party and its goals--it's a place where Democrats can come and discuss issues of import. Your "balls" criticism is broad brush, bullshit, and hardly constructive (nothing wrong with constructive criticism, but you aren't offering any--"The party isn't left enough for me" isn't a valid argument). You are coming across like someone who dislikes the party, not someone interested in improving it.

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Consider that Obama has already thought it through. He threw a life saver to Specter, and in return, he gets a better opportunity to get his agenda passed in the next 12 months. He has pledged to support Specter in the Dem primary in 2010. But, you know, if the good people of PA stand up and say they actually would prefer a real Democrat, what's a guy supposed to do? "Arlen, I gave it my best shot."

This is a signal for us to take matters into our own hands and get a real Democrat into that seat in 2010. Obama won't oppose that.

A granite pizza.

They posted the same diatribe at four (at least) Specter threads--cut/paste.

Obama told Biden to go "get" Specter. That's why Biden was involved in working the deal.

They have their reasons for wanting him on the team, and I think the Supremes and health care are what's on the menu.

I can see why the dem establishment might want to welcome him, maybe encourage other republicans to switch, but I can also see dem primary voters saying to the party leaders, ok you want him that's fine but we're the voters we don't want him.