Lehigh Valley tea partiers part of "House call"
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Posted by Scott Kraus at 01:07:22 PM on November 5, 2009
Local activists with the conservative "back to constitutional basics" 9/12 Tea Party movement joined right-wing darling Michelle Bachman in Washington D.C. today to protest Democratic health care reform plans.
Bachman, a Congresswoman from Minnesota, has exhorted activists to make a last stand against reform efforts now making their way through Congress.
Never one to shy away from bold, critics would say outrageous statements, here's how Bachman described the protest.
"The people need to make a House Call on Washington this week and tell their Representatives to vote no to a government take-over of one-fifth of our economy. This is gangster government at its worst," she said.
It's an offer local Tea Party activists said they couldn't refuse.
The local Tea Party group says the health care bill "is being sped through Congress and shoved down Americans' throats."
The local activists met up with a group from Lehighton, according to press liaison Bernadette Sukey. They planned to rally, then visit the offices of local Congressmen. In all, about 50 members made the trip by chartered bus.
Some of the Congressmen may not be expecting their visits, she said.
"We're doing a little Hunter Thompson here and ambushing them," she said.
Hatch to fundraise for Toomey
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 12:18:09 PM on October 30, 2009
From Shira Toeplitz at Roll Call...
A top Republican Senator who once dismissed former Rep. Pat Toomey’s (R) chances of winning the Pennsylvania Senate race will host a fundraiser for him in late November.
After Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) announced last April that he was switching parties to run for re-election as a Democrat, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) publicly questioned Toomey’s chances of winning the Senate seat.
“I don’t think there is anybody in the world who believes he can get elected Senator there,” Hatch told a news organization on April 29.
Now Hatch is scheduled to headline a high-dollar fundraising lunch on Nov. 17 “in support of” Toomey, according to a copy of the event invitation obtained by Roll Call.
Ex-Sestak Aide Joins Lentz's Campaign.
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Categories: Current Affairs, Pennsylvania, Politics, Washington D.C.Posted by John Micek at 11:12:00 AM on October 28, 2009
... to U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, Vincent A. Rongione, has joined Democrat Bryan Lentz's effort to win Sestak's 7th Congressional District seat.
Lentz, a state House member from Delaware County, put out a statement today announcing that Rongione, a former campaign manager and communications director for Sestak, had signed on.
"We are very pleased to have Vince on the team,” Lentz said. “He brings a lifetime of experience in Delaware County and an excellent track record both on Capitol Hill and on the campaign trail."
In the same statement, Rongione said he felt "incredibly fortunate to be working for a tough independent leader like Bryan and to be able to serve in the place where I grew up.”
(Cross-Posted to Capitol Ideas)
In bid to replace Gerlach, it's a battle of wealth
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 02:16:33 PM on October 27, 2009
UPDATE: Thursday, Oct. 29
Steve Welch's campaign is in the process of revising the candidate's financial disclosure to reflect his accurate net worth, which is between $6 million and $23 million, according to his campaign. Welch campaign manager Brendan Benner said the candidate had accidentally checked on the disclosure indicating that he held more than $50 million in an escrow account when he should have marked the box between $1 million and $5 million. The bottom line: He's still wealthy, just not quite on the scale he had originally indicated.
UPDATE: Tuesday, Oct. 27
Steve Welch's campaign says the candidate made a rather large error on the financial disclosure he filed earlier this month -- to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. The report indicated that he held more than $50 million in an escrow account, a figure that Welch's campaign manager said is wrong. They're circling back and I'll update with their revised numbers as soon as I get them.
It's been known for some time that the 6th Congressional District battle in Pennsylvania sets up as a wealthy contest, with two top candidates willing to self-fund their campaigns. But how rich has been a guessing game -- until now.
Financial disclosures filed by Democrat Doug Pike and Republican Steven Welch -- two of the hopefuls vying for U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach's seat -- show both candidates to be multi-millionaires, with Welch in a league of his own.
Welch, who founded a biotech company fresh out of college a decade ago, has assets worth at least $55 million, his disclosure shows. The assets are listed as a wide range under disclosure rules -- with lawmakers and candidates only required to itemize assets within certain ranges. Primary residences are not included.
Through the first nine months of this year, Welch earned $163,148 in salary from Parker Hannifin, an engineering firm, as well as $36,351 in what is attributed as an "installment sale income," probably related to the purchase of Mitos Group, the firm Welch founded.
Bottom line: Welch is rich. His net worth would have placed him at No. 14 on the list of wealthiest members of Congress in 2007.
Pike, a former Philadelphia Inquirer writer whose father served in Congress, is a digit less wealthy, but could hardly be considered poor. He reported assets worth between $2.1 million and $4.8 million.
Pike's only non-interest income this year was a $800 research and writing fee from the University of Pennsylvania.
Neither candidate has been shy about hitting up their cash reserves to give themselves a fundraising head start over a crew of other hopefuls. Pike had given his campaign account $620,000 of the $902,000 that it had raised through Sept. 30. Welch loaned himself $500,000 during the period and raised $59,000, as Pa2010.com reported earlier this month.
Pike and Welch are among a handful of candidates vying for the seat. Democrat Manan Trivedi, who has yet to file a financial disclosure, had given himself $13,000 and loaned himself $6,000 through Sept. 30 and raised an additional $109,000.
Republican Curt Schroder, a state House member, had raised $109,000 through September. And Chester County Recorder of Deeds Ryan Costello had collected $31,000 through the quarter.
Sestak fights to get noticed
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 10:16:09 AM on October 26, 2009
U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak needs a comb.
His wavy, graying hair has been through a hectic morning and the suburban Philadelphia lawmaker is racing toward his third interview of the day, this time with ABC News.
''Nobody under 40 carries a comb,'' he says. ''See, watch this.''
Sestak, 57, looks at one of the young aides rushing ahead of him up an escalator in the Capitol Visitor Center: ''Do you have a comb?''
The staffer answers nervously: ''No, sir.''
Primped or not, Sestak's life as a Democratic Senate candidate is a constant scramble to get his face on the air or his words in print, a frantic push to paint a portrait of himself for state voters -- and anyone else with the time to listen -- as he fights to get noticed. In challenging U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, Sestak is taking on the longest-serving senator in Pennsylvania history and the Democratic establishment in Harrisburg and Washington.
On a recent October day, Sestak rushed from appearance to appearance, all the while navigating a thick legislative agenda and playing dad to a young daughter recovering from a brain tumor. By sunset, his schedule told the tale: C-SPAN, ABC News, MSNBC, Fox 20 News, WHYY Philadelphia, WILK in Scranton, the London Times and the Norristown Times Herald.
He says he never turns down an interview request.
''I need them to understand who I am and what I believe in,'' Sestak says of the Pennsylvania electorate, who in May will decide the Democratic nomination for Senate.
Hidden behind his words is the obvious imprint of a candidate largely unknown beyond southeastern Pennsylvania: He must define himself for voters before his opponent does it for him.
Defining anything in a few words doesn't come easily to Sestak. He responds to questions with long, meandering answers, peppered with references to his 31-year career in the Navy, from which he retired as a rear admiral at the beginning of 2006. He has an earnest, emotional way of speaking, often gesturing, moving forward to the edge of his chair and softening his voice.
On this day, his interviews run the gamut. He waxes about Iran's nuclear ambitions (he favors diplomatic engagement and backs beefed up economic sanctions); the Obama administration's missile defense strategy (he supports it); the possible troop buildup in Afghanistan (he backs the idea as long as there's an exit strategy); and autism. An amendment he introduced to boost assistance for military families with autistic children passed this year, adding to his 19 successful legislative measures in the previous two years, he likes to point out.
Another frequent area of discussion, health care, is the reason Sestak says he entered politics. He backs a government-run health care option to compete with private insurers, arguing that everyone should have access to the same level of care the military provided his daughter, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2005. Her cancer is in remission.
Sestak is, at times to the chagrin of his staff, unfailingly accommodating -- to the press, to lobbyists, and to constituents. He boasts that his aides handled 10,000 constituent cases in his first two years in office.
Not everyone he hires can stand it. Sestak lost staff at a staggering rate during his first two years in office. He went through nearly a half-dozen press secretaries alone in the first year. Chiefs of staff came and went almost as fast.
Sestak: Specter A General Election Loser.
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Posted by John Micek at 06:37:50 AM on October 23, 2009
Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak turned up the heat in his U.S. Senate primary battle with Arlen Specter on Thursday, arguing that tightening poll numbers show the state's senior senator is a ''general electorate failure for the Democrats.''
In an recorded for The Morning Call's ''Politics As Usual'' podcast, Sestak ripped into Specter, who switched his party registration from Republican to Democrat this year.
''We should welcome someone from the GOP into our party,'' said Sestak, a two-term congressman from Delaware County. ''But we should not fall on our sword for that person.''
A pair of public polls released last week had some bad news for Specter, a three-decade political veteran.
An Oct. 15 poll by Rasmussen Reports showed Specter leading Sestak 46 percent to 42 percent among likely Democratic primary voters. In an August poll, Specter held a 13-point lead, 47 percent to 34 percent. The Rasmussen poll sampled the opinions of 469 likely primary voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points.
In an Oct. 14 poll by Susquehanna Polling and Research of Harrisburg, Specter held a 44-16 lead over Sestak, with 22 percent undecided and 18 percent saying they would not vote for either candidate.
More troubling for Specter was a finding that 45 percent of Democrats wanted someone other than Specter, while 44 percent said he deserved re-election. The Susquehanna poll included 700 registered voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
Sestak, who represents the 7th District, told The Morning Call those numbers show voters are in the mood for a change.
''They don't believe he's the individual for the future,'' he said.
Specter's campaign manager, Christopher Nicholas, said: ''It would be more useful if Joe would focus on putting people back to work as Sen. Specter is doing, instead of shirking his job in Congress, missing 125 votes and campaigning full time for a promotion on the taxpayers' dime.''
Barletta mulling a third shot at Kanjorski
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 10:14:37 AM on October 22, 2009
Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta is considering another challenge of U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-11th, according to the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader. It would be his third bid in eight years...
Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, whose campaign committee is still $153,670 in debt from his 2008 losing effort to unseat U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, said he may challenge Kanjorski again next year.
“I’m considering it,” said the Republican. “But I haven’t made any decisions.”
Barletta said losses to Kanjorski in 2002 and 2008 are not enough to sway him from sitting out this next election cycle. He said he’s been urged by members of his party to challenge Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, yet again.
When $2.5 million isn't quite $2.5 million
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 03:25:40 PM on October 20, 2009
Last month's presidential fundraiser for Sen. Arlen Specter in Philadelphia was billed as a $2.5 million event, or thereabouts. But with the filing of campaign finance reports last week comes evidence that it was more like a $1.9 million fundraiser. And even then, only $784,000 went to Specter, the reports show.
The event's proceeds went directly into a campaign committee set up for the event -- Pennsylvania Senate Victory 2010 -- which reported receipts of less than $1.9 million through Sept. 30. The committee then transferred cash to Specter and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Through September, $784,000 had made its way into Specter's account.
To be fair, Specter campaign manager Christopher Nicholas stressed from the get-go that proceeds from the event would be shared between Specter and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. But it wasn't clear until today that Specter had gained less than half of the fundraising haul, in large part because the donors paying to attend had given the maximum contribution and their excess cash was funneled to the DSCC.
Nicholas said that money is "indirectly" streaming in from the fundraiser, and the event -- all told -- brought in about $2.2 million. His logic: many invitees responded that they couldn't make the event but that they'd send money later on directly to Specter's campaign account.
No doubt President Obama padded Specter's war chest, but not nearly to the tune of $2.5 million. More like $784,000.
Toomey's wife is pregnant
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 01:36:03 PM on October 19, 2009
The wife of Republican Senate candidate Pat Toomey is pregnant with the couple's third child and is due in May, right when the former Lehigh Valley lawmaker finds out who he'd face in the general election.
Toomey, 47, and his wife, Kris, have two school-age children.
This from a blog entry from Kris on the campaign Web site. (Hat tip: grassrootspa.com)
Hello Friends,
The end of the warm weather and the beginning of the cold is always a melancholy time at the Toomey house. But this year we have reason to celebrate. Pat and I were given the terrific news just recently that we’re expecting another child!
Team Toomey has another member on the way! We’re very excited about this great news and we’re so happy to share it with all of you who support us. The baby is due in May – just in time for the May 18 primary. Our children always seem to come along during election time. Bridget was about a month and a half when she attended George W. Bush’s nomination at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. We like to make sure they are started on the RIGHT path from the start. Haha!
Lafayette College part of new OFA healthcare push
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Categories: Pennsylvania, Politics, Washington D.C.Posted by Scott Kraus at 12:02:09 PM on October 19, 2009
Organizing for America, the group that took over President Barack Obama's grass roots campaign organization, is launching another of its health care reform phone banks.
This time it's students calling students, and Lafayette College is one of four Pennsylvania locations the group, under the aegis of of the Democratic National Committee, is spotlighting.
The event is being called "Time to Deliver." Students will be urging their cohorts to call their member of Congress and ask them to vote for health care reform. OFA points out the president's plan would allow students, and other "young people" to stay on their parents' health insurance through age 26. Hear that Mom and Dad? Perfect for collegians on the 9-year plan.
Students will be getting together at 12:30 p.m.Tuesday to burn up the phone lines. And you thought those young people only communicated via text messages and Facebook.
Callahan's big stash of cash
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 05:29:42 PM on October 16, 2009
Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan raised an impressive $346,000 during his first three months as a congressional candidate while spending only $20,000. So who's contributing to the Democrat in the early going of his contest against Republican incumbent Charlie Dent?
The list is here for you to peruse. And if you're curious what he's spending his cash on, that list is here.
Dent, meanwhile, raised a modest $233,000 during the quarter. Here's who's giving to him and what he's spending his money on.
Ned Lamont to endorse Sestak: report
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 03:51:21 PM on October 15, 2009
From the Philadelphia Inquirer:
U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, trying to knock off a veteran Democratic incumbent senator in the primary, will get an endorsement Monday from somebody who succeeded in doing just that: Connecticut's Ned Lamont.
Lamont defeated Sen. Joseph Lieberman in the 2006 Democratic primary, largely by running against the Iraq war and Lieberman's support of the Bush administration's war policy. But Lamont did not win the general election. After losing the nomination, Lieberman ran as an independent in the fall, defeating Lamont and the Republican nominee.
Sources close to the Sestak campaign confirmed that Lamont is the "mystery endorser" it announced would be coming to Independence Hall Monday.
Sestak raises $758,000 in third quarter
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 03:43:35 PM on October 15, 2009
U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak raised $758,000 in the third quarter, and has $4.7 million in the bank, his campaign announced today.
The haul is modest compared to the $1.6 that Sestak brought in between April and July. It puts him roughly $4 million behind rival U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter in the cash sweepstakes ahead of the Democratic primary next May.
Toomey spends heavily in 3rd quarter
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 02:59:10 PM on October 15, 2009
Republican Pat Toomey, who has raised $3 million-plus in less than six months as a Senate candidate, has burned through cash in the early stages of his race as he builds a campaign infrastructure.
In the three-month period that ended Sept. 30, Toomey spent a whopping $861,000, more than half of what he raised during the quarter. He ended the month with $1.8 million in cash on hand.
What exactly he spent it on is not yet clear. The former Lehigh Valley congressman's financial statement won't be available for several more days. A review of his previous quarterly report suggests he's doling out a huge share on donor databases and fundraising solicitations.
FEC Report Q3 2009
Sestak brings Anita Hill into Senate contest
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 02:55:21 PM on October 15, 2009
In 2004, it was Sen. Arlen Specter's opposition to Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork that his Senate rival used against him. This year, it's Specter's grilling of Anita Hill during Clarence Thomas' confirmation hearings.
U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak posted a video of Specter's hard questioning of Hill on the site therealspecter2010.com and referenced it in a fundraising solicitation to supporters today.
"What's Arlen done for Democrats?" Sestak asked in the e-mail. "A simple reminder -- besides supporting Geroge Bush's [sic] policies with 2000 votes -- on the anniversary week of Professor Anita Hill's testimony, the actual painful impact on America caused by Arlen's true beliefs and approach."
Specter raises $1.8 million during quarter
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 05:03:22 PM on October 14, 2009
Sen. Arlen Specter raised $1.8 million during the third quarter of the year, a big haul that was aided significantly by President Obama's fundraising trip to Philadelphia last month.
The haul put Specter's total cash on hand at $8.7 million. His Democratic opponent Joe Sestak has yet to release his totals.
Despite the large sum for Specter, expectations for a mammoth fundraising quarter had been raised because of the Obama fundraiser, with campaign officials saying the event had brought in $2.5 million for Specter and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
It now appears that much of that total went to the DSCC.
Callahan off to fast fundraising start
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 11:22:08 AM on October 14, 2009
Democrat John Callahan, challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent in the Lehigh Valley's 15th District, is off to a fast fundraising start, collecting about $345,000 in the three months that ended Sept. 30, according to his campaign.
Equally impressive is the figure his campaign says it has on hand: approximately $325,000.
The total puts Callahan, Bethlehem's mayor, on solid financial footing with more than a year until the general election.
The sum reflects Callahan's standing locally and nationwide as the first legitimate Democratic contender for the seat since Dent arrived in Congress in 2005. But whether he can keep up the pace is another question. It's not yet clear who gave to the mayor and how much of the haul is in big chunks from high-profile donors who may not be able to give anymore to the campaign, under Federal Election Commission rules.
Callahan's fundraising report isn't due until tomorrow.
Dent, meanwhile, is expected to have raised upwards of $230,000 for the quarter, adding to the $337,000 that his campaign had in the bank through the end of June.
Not since Dent and Democrat Joe Driscoll battled for the 15th District's open seat in 2004 has Dent faced a challenge from a candidate who stood on equal financial footing. Driscoll outraised Dent, but was tagged as a carpetbagger and lost by nearly 20 percentage points.
Democrat Sam Bennett, who lost to Dent in another landslide last year, raised nearly $1 million, but she burned through cash during the early stages of her campaign, spending a third of what she'd raised before the crucial post-Labor Day stretch. Also, it took long before she was able to get a fundraising operation in place, having collected just $91,000 in the first six months of her candidacy.
Roddey rips Gerlach: "intentional deception"
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 04:48:21 PM on October 12, 2009
The lesson of the still early 2010 campaign season so far: don't use someone else's quote against your opponent. Particularly when it comes from the mouth of a political player who has yet to publicly weigh in on the race.
Hence, the predicament facing GOP gubernatorial hopeful U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach, whose campaign sent a press release Friday blaring: "Allegheny GOP chair makes clear case for Corbett resignation."
What Jim Roddey said, though, made no mention of Attorney General Tom Corbett, Gerlach's Republican primary opponent. Instead, he was referring to possible U.S. House candidate Mary Beth Buchanan, a U.S. attorney from western Pennsylvania, and how she was entitled to ponder a bid for office while keeping her prosecutor job.
All of which steamed Roddey into writing a nasty letter to Gerlach Monday, calling the Berks County lawmaker out for what he called "intentional deception."
"I had a great deal of respect for you," Roddey wrote. "Unfortunately, that has now changed."
He went on to endorse Corbett.
Here's the letter. (Hat tip: grassrootspa.com)
RoddeyCorbettEndorsement[1]
Retired judge joins ranks of Senate hopefuls
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 11:24:16 AM on October 12, 2009
Pa2010.com broke the newsFriday that retired Commonwealth Court judge Doris Smith-Ribner planned to run for the Democratic nomination for Senate...
A former Commonwealth Court judge has decided to seek the Democratic nomination for Senate, adding another face to one of the country’s most high-profile and contentious primaries.
Doris Smith-Ribner, who served on the Commonwealth Court for more than two decades before retiring this summer, told Democrats gathered at an NAACP gala Friday night that she would be entering the race, according to someone who was there. She had been increasingly showing up at political events for weeks, and pa2010.com had heard rumors of her looming decision, but was unable to reach her after multiple attempts.
But in an interview with pa2010.com late Friday night, Smith-Ribner said she had decided to run after receiving a great deal of encouragement from supporters across the state.
“It’s not a decision that you make lightly,” she said. “This is a very major undertaking, and after spending 21 years as a state appeals court judge, you don’t just go out and make a decision on a whim. It was after a lot of reflection and deliberation.”
Romney to endorse Toomey in Philly
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 10:20:55 AM on October 12, 2009
Republicans Mitt Romney and Pat Toomey will trade help Tuesday, with the former Massachusetts governor and presidential hopeful set to endorse Toomey in Philadelphia.
The news here has more to do with the fact that Romney is traveling to Pennsylvania three years ahead of the next election, the latest in a series of stops throughout the country in anticipation of a repeat bid for the presidency in 2012. (Toomey, after all, doesn't have a top-tier challenger for the GOP nod for Senate).
The endorsement will come Tuesday morning at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel.
UPDATE: Turns out it will be an endorsement Tuesday for Toomey, with the six Pennsylvania chapters of the Associated Builders and Contractors giving their backing to the former Lehigh Valley congressman in Harrisburg.
Chamber keeps up pressure on card check
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 10:22:37 AM on October 8, 2009
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, looking to keep up the pressure against the so-called card check legislation, is pointing to internal polling showing that the bill is opposed by a majority of Pennsylvanians.
The July survey, released to The Morning Call in its entirety, shows that less than four in 10 voters have heard about the bill, a top legislative priority for labor that would make it easier for workers to unionize.
Of those who have heard about the measure, 30 percent say they support it; 54 percent say they're opposed.
The bill has stalled in Congress, with centrist Democrats uneasy about giving unions more power while the economy is in a deep recession. Views about labor unions are roughly split with 46 percent of respondents giving them a favorable nod, and 40 percent unfavorable.
The Employee Free Choice Act, as it is formally called, is a complicated measure, but has focused on a couple key areas significant to the organizing process. One is the vote to unionize. Labor, which argues that the process is now fraught with intimidation by business, wants to bypass the secret ballot elections if more than half of workers sign cards in support of an election. Right now, signing cards of support sets up an election down the road.
The second involves the labor negotiations once a majority of workers have voted to unionize, a process that can take years. Labor wants a mandatory arbitration if the two sides can't come to agreement within a set period.
Voters surveyed in the Chamber poll said they opposed the prospect of skipping secret ballot elections but supported a shortened election period, an idea promoted by some Democrats eager to reach consensus on the bill.
Views about arbitration are mixed.
Here's the entire poll, as provided by the Chamber of Commerce...
Chamber of Commerce Card Check Poll
Specter wants "robust" public option
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 10:07:48 AM on October 8, 2009
Sen. Arlen Specter, writing in a op-ed published in the liberal Web site Huffington Post today, urges his colleagues to back a "robust public option."
As debate continues on much needed health care reform, I urge my Senate colleagues to support a robust public option plan. It's important that the President's ideas on the public option be implemented to maintain a level playing field.
The public option will create competition in the marketplace and will help to provide affordable choices for American families. It will also allow us to greatly expand the number of Americans with health insurance, and that is an imperative.
When President Obama's call for health care reform came under right wing attack this summer, as millions saw in my well-publicized Health Care Town Hall meetings, I pushed back at the critics in order to set the record straight about the direction of health care reform.
As competing bills come up for votes in the Senate, here's the type of bill I'm for:
-I'm for a bill that provides for universal coverage.
-I'm for a bill which is deficit neutral.
-I'm for a bill which has specific savings, such as annual examinations to have early detection of diseases.
-I'm for a bill that does not deny coverage on the basis of preexisting conditions and bans annual and lifetime caps on coverage.
-I'm for a bill which will bring mandatory sentences for Medicare and Medicaid fraud because it will be a deterrent as opposed to fines.-I'm for a bill which will further increase funding for the National Institutes of Health to prevent a lot of illnesses.
-I'm for a bill that does not erect a massive bureaucracy between the doctor and the patient.The bottom line is that Americans have a right to be healthy and stay healthy. As I've done throughout my career, I will continue to push for better health care for all Americans.
Sestak: Two Senate terms and I'm out
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 11:50:50 AM on October 7, 2009
U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak said today that he'd likely bow out of the Senate after two terms because he doesn't want to serve if he can't keep his current pace.
A shot at his elderly opponent, U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter? Sestak insisted not.
"If someone else is there at a certain age, that might be fine for them," Sestak said in an interview with The Morning Call.
The 57-year-old Sestak, though, said he doesn't "want to sit in a car during a parade."
Sestak said he's not making a firm commitment about how long he'd remain in the Senate, but said he thinks "a couple terms would be about right."
If Sestak ends up winning the Senate seat, and another race six years later, he'd be 70 when his second term ends in 2023 -- a full 10 years younger, mind you -- than Specter will be at the start of the next Congress in 2011.
Specter, 79, it should be noted, is far from frail. He still plays squash regularly to start the day and works out in the Senate gym. And anyone who has seen him at bat during a softball game can attest to his skills at the plate.
Toomey raises $1.5 million, again
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 11:20:25 AM on October 7, 2009
Republican Senate candidate Pat Toomey raised more than $1.5 million during the three-month period that ended Sept. 30, his campaign said Wednesday, a figure that added to a $1.6 million fundraising haul during the second quarter.
The take is particularly impressive for Toomey because it came during the traditionally slow summer months. It puts him on solid financial standing as he builds a campaign infrastructure in advance of the May primary and November 2010 general election.
That said, his campaign has yet to say how much cash on hand it finished the quarter with. At the end of June that number stood at $1.1 million.
Toomey is the first of the three high-profile Senate candidates to release his third quarter numbers. U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak and Sen. Arlen Specter have significant head-starts on Toomey, but will be forced to spend a solid chuck of their war chests battling one another in the Democratic primary.
Through the end of June, Sestak had $4.3 million in cash, while Specter had $7.5 million.
Murphy takes to floor on DADT
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 11:33:20 AM on October 6, 2009
U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, three months into his stint as lead sponsor of the bill to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" military policy, will take to the House floor tonight.
Murphy has garnered two dozen additional co-sponsors for the legislation since he took over the lead from former Rep. Ellen Tauscher of California. (There are now 176 co-sponsors). Still, with the administration focused on several other policy areas, none greater than health care, there's been little pressure put on Congress to overturn the 16-year-old law that bars gays from serving openly in the military.
Murphy's "special order hour" on the subject is tentatively scheduled to start at 9 p.m. and can be viewed live on C-SPAN. Other supporters of a repeal are expected to speak.
Sestak looks to get back on offense
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 01:25:34 PM on October 5, 2009
Hounded relentlessly by Sen. Arlen Specter over missed votes in Congress, U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak is going back on offense this week with a new Web site that plays up Specter's Republican past.
TheRealSpecter2010.com, due to go live tomorrow, will include a 96-second video that features Specter telling "Meet the Press" host David Gregory that he opposes the public health insurance option and explaining to "Hardball" host Chris Matthews that he voted for John McCain last year.
Sestak and Specter are vying for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in a race that won't be decided until May.
The new site from Sestak's campaign comes amidst repeated cracks by the Specter campaign that Sestak has ignored his job as a lawmaker from suburban Philadelphia to campaign for Senate. Sestak has missed 125 votes this year -- about 17 percent -- according to the Washington Post votes database. That's more than most lawmakers.
Specter last called on Sestak to quit office while he runs for Senate.
Here's the video prepared by the Sestak campaign...
Sestak chips at Specter's lead in poll
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 06:28:52 AM on October 1, 2009
U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter still holds a sizable advantage over U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak in the Pennsylvania Democratic contest, a new poll shows. But for the first time since Quinnipiac has been surveying the race, Specter's support has dropped below 50 percent, a worrying sign for the five-term incumbent.
The head-to-head matchup between the two lawmakers shows Specter with a 44 percent to 25 percent edge, down from 55-23 margin in July.
Specter's favorable rating continues to drop among all voters -- down to 42 percent -- but remains relatively firm among Democrats, who could ultimately determine whether he gets a sixth term. Among the party faithful, he is viewed favorably by two-thirds of voters.
All along, Sestak's biggest challenge has been to get noticed in a state as big as Pennsylvania (it takes five hours to drive from Allentown to Pittsburgh -- a haul). That still appears to be an uphill climb with seven in 10 voters saying they haven't heard enough about him to weigh in.
As for the potential general election races, both Sestak and Specter would fare similarly against Republican Pat Toomey if the election were held today, with both in neck-and-neck races against the former Lehigh Valley Republican.
President Barack Obama, meanwhile, gets some bad news with the poll. Only 49 percent of Pennsylvania voters approve of his job performance, the lowest number yet.
Specter, tentatively, backs climate change bill
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 12:13:28 PM on September 30, 2009
Sen. Arlen Specter gave a tentative endorsement of the climate change bill unveiled today by U.S. Sens. John Kerry and Barbara Boxer that will serve as the starting point for the chamber to produce legislation to tackle cuts in greenhouse gases.
Here's his statement, which lists a series of vague "considerations" that must be included in the measure to attract Specter's support.
“I support legislation to create clean domestic energy and address climate change in a way that is economically responsible, environmentally effective, and encourages action by other countries to achieve these goals. I believe the Kerry-Boxer bill can be structured, with Committee and floor amendments, to meet these goals subject to the following considerations:
-A modified price collar should be structured, linked to a strategic pool of allowances, which will give greater price certainty than the House bill while maintaining the emissions cap.
-Creating the right combination of incentives and mandates to ensure the commercial deployment of carbon capture and sequestration technology.
This includes advance payments of bonus allowances for qualifying projects (coal plants with the new technology) in order to protect consumers from electricity rate increases associated with the cost of building these new plants.
-The inclusion of adequate allowances to protect steel and other energy-intensive manufacturing from detrimental foreign competitiveness impacts.
-The inclusion of provisions based on the CLEAN-TEA bill, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.
-The inclusion of appropriate incentives for natural gas, while recognizing that a price on carbon is itself an incentive to natural gas.”
Democrat set to challenge Kanjorski
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 11:39:29 AM on September 30, 2009
U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski will have to look to his left after this weekend, when Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O'Brien is expected to announce his candidacy for the 11th District congressional seat. Kanjorski, a 13-term Democratic incumbent, faced the most difficult race of his congressional career last cycle when he squeaked out a victory against Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta.
Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O’Brien seems ready to make his race for Congress official Saturday morning, when he will address supporters “from the steps of his childhood home” in Dunmore, his campaign said.
O’Brien, who was elected county commissioner in 2007, has been making noise about a primary challenge to Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-11) for months. In April, he assailed Kanjorski’s vote against President Obama’s stimulus package as “insulting,” and he filed FEC paperwork to form a campaign in mid-September.
While Kanjorski has been seen as vulnerable in a general election, party insiders say he remains popular among Democrats in the district, which also includes parts of Carbon, Monroe, Luzerne and Columbia counties. After public polling had forecasted a loss, Kanjorski narrowly held off Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta last November.
Specter "disappointed" by public option vote
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 05:40:11 PM on September 29, 2009
Sen. Arlen Specter, whose views toward the public health insurance option have evolved from opposition to emphatic support since his party switch in April, said he is disappointed by the Finance Committee vote against the plan today.
Tweeting his reaction to the 15-8 vote against including a public option in the proposal working its way through the Senate Finance Committee, Specter said:
"I am disappointed by today’s vote in the Finance Committee preventing the inclusion of a public option in the health care reform bill. A robust public option will create competition in the marketplace and will help to provide affordable choices for American families. I will continue to work with my colleagues for a public option once the legislation arrives at the Senate floor."
Republican Pat Toomey had the opposite reaction, praising the panel's vote in his own tweet.
Casey: Senate must move on Iran sanctions
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 05:31:17 PM on September 29, 2009
Sen. Bob Casey today urged quick action on sanctions towards Iran, pushing a series of measures to allow state pension funds to divest from companies that do business with Iran and sanction foreign firms that export gas to the country.
"Iran will only cease its illicit nuclear program, end its support for terrorists in Hamas and Hezbollah and stop arming militant groups in Iraq when it is compelled to pay an economic price," Casey said.
Here's his full floor statement...
Read More...Mr. President, I rise today with respect to Iran’s nuclear program. The Iranian regime, discredited this summer by the deplorable repression of peaceful pro-democracy demonstrators across the country, has reached a new low on the international stage. The disclosure of the uranium enrichment facility near the city of Qum should serve as a wakeup call for those who believed that Iran’s nuclear program was only for peaceful purposes. It continues to deceive the international community about its nuclear intentions and program development. It continues to threaten our ally Israel. It continues to disregard its international commitments. And yes, Mr. President, it continues to directly threaten the national security interests of the United States.
As the Administration begins talks on Thursday, we in the Senate should be prepared to do our part and pass tougher sanctions on the Iranian regime to compel its compliance with international standards. We have a responsibility to provide the Administration the tools it needs to maximize pressure on this increasingly intransigent regime.
Sestak hits back on Specter's Amtrak support
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 05:10:03 PM on September 29, 2009
Sen. Arlen Specter's push last week for more stimulus dollars for Amtrak has ignited a tit-for-tat in the Democratic Senate contest, with U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak calling out Specter for not backing a fuller stimulus plan to begin with in a letter to the Inquirer this week.
The backdrop is a story about the deteriorating state of Amtrak bridges by the Inquirer's Paul Nussbaum.
This letter from Sestak ran in the Inquirer Monday. Specter's original letter is after the jump...
"I am writing to correct Sen. Arlen Specter's misleading letter about Amtrak funding ("Senator has supported funding for Amtrak," Thursday)," Sestak wrote in a letter to the Philadelphia Inquirer Monday. "His Web site states plainly that he would have preferred a stimulus bill of only tax cuts, eliminating all other provisions, including Amtrak funding. Why did he vote for that version and say it was a better bill than the final version that included $850 million for Amtrak to begin addressing decades of deferred maintenance?"
"The point I made was that his letter requesting stimulus funds that he didn't want to be available in the first place adds to his long history of taking action too late and seemingly for political calculation, rather than preventing matters from developing into a crisis.
Specter recently held hearings on the Philadelphia Veterans Administration only after news reports that cancer patients had been mistreated after years of underfunding the VA. He held hearings on President George W. Bush's use of "signing statements" to ignore laws only after Bush set a record for 'signing statements.' It's what one does with one's job that matters, not after-the-fact headlines."
Specter's letter last week to the Inquirer...
Read More...
OFA delivering health care petitions to Specter
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 10:44:47 AM on September 29, 2009
Organizing for America, President Obama's grassroots organizing arm, plans to deliver 70,000 "declarations of support" for a health care overhaul to Sen. Arlen Specter's Allentown office today.
The 1:30 p.m. event will bring several Allentown residents supportive of Obama's health care proposal to the office of a senator who is firmly behind the president's plan. It is part of a series of events nationwide.
Specter hits Inky on Amtrak story
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 01:10:45 PM on September 24, 2009
Sen. Arlen Specter sent this letter to the Philadelphia Inquirer, hitting the paper for not giving him a chance to weigh in after being criticized by U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak for a story that ran Tuesday. Specter had followed up on a Sunday story by Paul Nussbaum detailing the deteriorating condition of Amtrak bridges. On Monday, Specter called for more stimulus funds to be spent on repairs....
Your article on my advocacy for funding to repair Amtrak's crumbling bridges correctly details my efforts. However, the story also contains a false claim - without rebuttal from me - from U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak (D., Pa.) that I am a late convert to funding for Amtrak ("Specter seeks stimulus for train bridges," Tuesday).
Sestak is entitled to his own opinions, but not his own facts. I have consistently and successfully advocated for increased funding for Amtrak, particularly in my capacity as a senior member of the Senate appropriations subcommittee on transportation, and have been recognized for these efforts by the National Association of Railroad Passengers. Last year, I pushed for legislation to authorize $13 billion for Amtrak over five years. During consideration of the economic stimulus bill, for which I provided one of the deciding votes, I worked to include $850 million for Amtrak capital grants, $50 million more than the amount proposed in the House of Representatives. I will continue to be a champion for Amtrak in the U.S. Senate so that it may succeed as an essential mode of transportation across the country.
Biden, Specter to raise money for Bucks County Democrats
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Posted by Scott Kraus at 12:02:25 PM on September 24, 2009
Bucks County Democrats have landed a pretty solid one-two punch for their annual Jefferson Dinner fundraiser. Think Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Donnie and Marie? Martin and Lewis?
Try Biden and Specter.
Vice President Joe Biden and longtime friend Sen. Arlen Specter, who famously took many Amtrak train rides together, will headline the Bucks County party's Oct. 2 fund-raising dinner.
The annual event is a fixture in the Bucks County Democratic Party's annual fundraising lineup. No word on whether there will be a separate Specter fundraiser in connection with the event. Specter's Democratic primary challenger Congressman Joe Sestak is not scheduled to appear.
The event will be held at the ever-popular King's Caterers in the Democratic stronghold of Bristol. For $2,400, donors can be a VIP sponsor. Folks who simply want to attend the event can pony up $100.
Specter, Casey urge Iran to release hikers
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 02:54:48 PM on September 23, 2009
Sens. Arlen Specter and Bob Casey today joined a call for Iran to release three Americans who were detained in Iran in late July after crossing the border from Iraqi Kurdistan.
Joshua Fattal, Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd were hiking along the border when they crossed over into Iranian territory on July 31. They've been held ever since. Fattal's parents live in the Philadelphia suburb of Elkins Park.
The senators joined with others to introduce a resolution to grant consular access to the government of Switzerland to the three Americans and encourage Iran to let them call their families in the United States.
U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz, D-13th, introduced an indentical resolution in the House.
Encouraging the Government of Iran to grant consular access by the Government of Switzerland to Joshua Fattal, Shane Bauer, and Sarah Shourd, and to allow the 3 young people to reunite with their families in the United States as soon as possible.
Whereas, on July 31, 2009, officials of the Government of Iran took 3 United States citizens, Joshua Fattal, Shane Bauer, and Sarah Shourd, into custody near the Ahmed Awa region of northern Iraq, after the 3 United States citizens reportedly crossed into the territory of Iran while hiking in Iraq;
Whereas officials of the Government of Iran have confirmed that they are holding the 3 United States citizens; and
Whereas officials of the Government of Iran have not allowed consular access by the Embassy of the Government of Switzerland (in its formal capacity as the representative of the interests of the United States in Iran) to the 3 young United States citizens in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, done at Vienna April 24, 1963: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That Congress –
(1) Encourages the Government of Iran to grant consular access by the Government of Switzerland to Joshua Fattal, Shane Bauer, and Sarah Shourd, and to allow the 3 young people to communicate by telephone with their families in the United States; and
(2) Encourages the Government of Iran to allow Joshua Fattal, Shane Bauer, and Sarah Shourd to reunite with their families in the United States as soon as possible.
Sestak hits White House on Specter support
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 03:12:22 PM on September 22, 2009
Until yesterday, U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak had kept his powder dry when asked about the White House's support of Sen. Arlen Specter, taking a diplomatic approach about the endorsement of his Democratic rival.
That's changed. Interviewed for a front-page New York Times story today about the administration's involvement in political races, Sestak took a more aggressive tone: "The Democratic Party under Barack Obama did not come into office because of political calculation; it got there because of audacity. To be seen like you are selecting winners and losers in a party-boss way will breed some resentment, and in a longer term it won't bode well."
The new tone from Sestak toward the administration comes a week after Obama showed up in Philadelphia for a Specter fundraiser.
Not to be outdone, though, Gov. Ed Rendell saved his own bit of wrist-slapping for the president, telling the Times that he would have approached the situation with New York Gov. David Paterson differently. (Obama folks asked Paterson to drop his reelection bid, as the Times reported last weekend.)
"The president is the head of the party, and he has a right to express his opinion," Rendell was quoted as saying. "The only thing I would have done differently is not let it become known. This can't be helpful for the governor."
Sestak looks to win over LGBT community
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 11:42:38 AM on September 22, 2009
U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, seeking to win over gays and bisexuals in advance of next year's Democratic Senate primary, urged a vote to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The Philadelphia area congressman also criticized U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter for supporting the act in 1996.
"As you know too well-- having voted against DOMA in 1996-- there is strong support for repealing the Act. President Obama and other leaders in Congress have called for DOMA's repeal. We now have the chance to act on that belief," Sestak wrote in the letter.
With an opponent -- in Specter -- who spent 28 years caucusing with the GOP, Sestak has plenty of material to work with as he fights to win over Democrats. His strategy: lean hard to the left and remind those he's trying to woo that Specter isn't a true Democrat.
Of course, the knock against him -- played up by Specter's campaign -- is that neither is Sestak, who was registered as an independent until he left the Navy to run for Congress earlier this decade.
DOMA Letter
Hawk Mountain to get House shout-out
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 11:11:49 AM on September 22, 2009
Being in the minority can be a tough gig, depending on how you look at it. Chances for legislative accomplishments are few and far between -- unless, of course, you set your sights a tad lower.
Which brings us to a measure sponsored by U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent that honors Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Berks County, a resolution that is slated for approval by the House today.
The Lehigh Valley Republican introduced the measure in July to commend "Hawk Mountain Sanctuary for its contributions to the preservation of wildlife and the native ecology of the Appalachian Mountains and eastern Pennsylvania, and commending the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary for its dedication to educating the public and the international community about wildlife conservation."
The resolution also congratulates Hawk Mountain for celebrating its 75-year anniversary.
Not a health care bill. But one small step for ... well ... hawks.
Gerlach asks for audit of ACORN
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Posted by Josh Drobnyk at 05:47:17 PM on September 21, 2009
U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach, R-6th, is asking for an audit of ACORN's use of federal funds over the past 10 years, keeping the pressure on the embattled anti-poverty community group.
Gerlach, also a Republican gubernatorial candidate in Pennsylvania, sent the letter signed by 27 other Republicans Monday to the inspector general of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the source of ACORN's federal funding. The group has received more than $53 million in federal money over the past 15 years.
That funding has been jeopardized after two conservative activists filmed themselves posing as a pimp and prostitute and getting housing and tax advice from ACORN employees in various field offices of the organization.
ACORN stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.
"The American taxpayers deserve to know how their hard-earned dollars that this organization received were used and for what specific purpose," Gerlach wrote.
Republicans have been after ACORN for years, arguing that the group, through its voter registration efforts, is a partisan organization. Several employees have been arrested on charges of falsifying voters applications in the build-up to last year's election. The Census Bureau cut its ties with the organization this month.
The House and Senate, meanwhile, have voted to deny federal funds to the group in recent days.
Pressure, though, is unlikely to let up. The GOP has successfully seized on an issue that has put some Democrats on the defensive.
Here's the letter...
Acorn Letter
Scott Kraus is a general assignment reporter in The Morning Call’s Allentown headquarters whose focus includes regional politics.
John Micek is The Morning Call's state reporter based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. You can find John blogging on a regular basis at Capitol Ideas.- Lehigh Valley tea partiers part of "House call"
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