My
former Congressman and retired Admiral, Joe Sestak, has started a walk across
Pennsylvania. As he walks from county to county he highlights an issue of
importance to the Commonwealth and gathers with local citizens to discuss it.
Admiral Sestak ran for the US Senate I 2010 as a Democrat. He lost narrowly in what was otherwise a
banner Republican year. Now he is running again for that Senate seat.
Political
pundits and consultants will tell you and anyone who wants to listen that you
can’t run for the Senate a second time unless you hold an office or run for
some high visibility office in the interim years. And that’s what I told Joe Sestak in
2011. But he has decided to again
disprove the prognosticators and professional pundits and has been maintaining
a campaign schedule across this Commonwealth since Nov. 2010.
Admiral
Sestak is not a typical politician -- in fact don’t let his candidate skills
and governing skills fool you He Is Not a Politician. Neither politics nor polls sway his opinion
once he has studied a question and determined his approach to a solution. He is
in my opinion a pragmatic liberal who seeks the solutions that help the most
people and hurt the fewest.
As a
retired military officer he is the antithesis of John McCain - holding to the
belief that the military needs to be modern and strong and used only as a last
resort when diplomatic and economic means are unsuccessful. He long thought the Iraq war was a mistake
and makes a sound argument for same as regards Libya. With chaos reigning in
those countries today few would debate him on this.
He
knows how to fight and hold his own in War and in Politics. He took on and defeated two of the political
giants of Pennsylvania: Cong. Curt Weldon and Sen. Arlen Specter. He cast his
votes in Washington as a Democrat whom I would classify and independent
progressive.
Now
that Admiral Sestak has again decided to defy the odds and run a second time
for the same seat after a gap of five years the self anointed “party leaders”
have spent these past months denigrating his candidacy and floating every trial
balloon they can blow up as a primary opponent.
They will argue that Sestak is not a friend of the Democratic
organization nor its leaders and marches to his own drummer. I was county leader of the Democratic of
Delaware County during Joe Sestak’s terms in the House of Representatives --
they are right he does his own thing and doesn’t follow lock step the orders of
party leaders. I can personally attest
to that.
I have
been an elected state legislator and a county party chairman. Our democratic system will work for all our
citizens when conscientious elected officials do what they believe is right not
what power or money tell them to do.
The US
Senate was once considered the most deliberative body in the democratic
lexicon. Today it has become almost a
joke. It desperately needs more Senators
of stature, ethical character, courage of conviction and unflagging devotion to
the nation.
Admiral
Joe Sestak has served our nation on the high seas and in the hallowed halls of
Congress. He is ready to serve again and
this Commonwealth and this nation need him.
10
March 2015
