Establishment Democrats like to ignore the fact they they lost the senate election by refusing to support Sestak, and they are responsible for six years of Toomey. The wheeler-dealers who are constantly back-stabbing each other in power struggles in the Democratic state & county committees like to whine that Sestak lost because he insisted on running his own campaign and not letting them help. The way I saw it, he would not trade his political independence via quid pro quos to get their financial assistance. Good for him! The Dems are still pissed at Sestak because he knocked out Arlen (Magic Bullet/pro-Clarence Thomas) Specter.
In my 46 years as a Pennsylvania voter and Democratic campaign worker, 10 years working for the Democratic caucus in the State House, and going into my 6th year as an elected official, I have often seen the would be Dem. party power-broker wannabes tell the party faithful NOT to vote if it meant an independent Democrat would win. Pittsburgh Mayor, Pete Flaherty, was a prime example. Pete's nickname was "nobody's boy" because he wouldn't sell out. Even farther back, I remember how the Democratic party in Pittsburgh/Allegheny county effectively suppressed the vote for George McGovern.
Another example, from 1999 was when Republican Jim Roddy defeated Democrat Cyril Wecht for the office of County Executive (top office in the county). The Democrats have always had an overwhelming registration advantage in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh). Currently, there are 527,078 Democrats and only 238,692 Republicans registered. Yet Roddy won with only178,312 votes. But Democrats won the majority of the seats on the new Council.
Currently they are foaming at the mouth to defeat incumbent Democratic County Controller, Chelsa Wagner, in the coming primary because she dared audit other Democratic office holders and their agencies, and published the audit results My God! "That Woman" - as officious, sexist, old white male Dem committee members scathingly refer to her - had the Effrontery, the Temerity, to use the threat of subpoenas to force OTHER DEMOCRATS!!! (county officials and the superintendent of the county police) to provide information for audits - after they had repeatedly failed to provide information they were legally required to provide. (need I add a sarcasm emoticon?) There is far too much entrenched self-promotion and self-dealing in the state Democratic party. Electing independent, ETHICAL office holders like Joe Sestak and Chelsa Wagner will start to flush out the Augean stables (google Hercules' Fifth Labor) known as the state Democratic party.
“His biggest challenge will not be Sestak, or any other Democrat they get in to run,” Dent said. “His challenge will be the political environment surrounding the presidential cycle in our state. Republican candidates haven't won a general election here since 1988.”
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A competitive Democratic primary, though, could ultimately weaken the candidate who survives it. Though Sestak may have differences with the party’s establishment, he did pose a formidable challenge to Toomey in 2010. And his more stubborn, independent attitude may be part of what endears him to voters.
“What this highlights is there is always a bit of distance between what party leaders want and what voters want,” said Dan Fee, a Philadelphia-based Democratic consultant. “This is a guy who, in a terrible year, barely lost. At the very least, he starts ahead.”
Sestak has my support, for sure!
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