Tuesday, March 10, 2015

SESTAK IS WALKING THE WALK



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

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