PA-07: Sestak Sinks Swiftboaters - Take the Pledge

Sestak Sinks Swiftboaters

Curt Weldon chose the wrong guy to swiftboat.

He's been attacking Vice Admiral Joe Sestak (ret. Navy) for months now. In recent weeks, the RNCC has sent out some campaign mailers for Weldon and in their slimy and despicable way, they try to swiftboat Sestak. The RNCC has dedicated over a half million dollars to this race with their glossy pieces of slime, tv ads and who knows what else is coming as the election nears.

Sestak said this:

"We don't expect the other side to play fair all the time.
But I hope to get a fair hearing...
We will fight back.

Below you will find scanned versions of Weldon's swiftboat (or "shrimpboat" as Wes Clark calls it) brochures. You won't believe the crap he's sending out. You will also find some quotes from a roundtable discussion Sestak held with veterans and other citizens early this month, and an excellent letter to the editor sent by a friend of mine after he received one of the swiftboat ads in his mailbox.

Take the Pledge

Kossack mariawells posted an excellent diary yesterday titled "PA-07: My Pledge to Joe Sestak" where she pledges to donate $10 each time Weldon's campaign sends out one of the negative mailers. This is a great idea. I took the pledge too. I'm writing this "anti-swiftboat" diary and there will be more to follow.

Sestak emphasizes that he needs the help of his supporters. So let's help him sink the swiftboaters by countering every swiftboat attack and by sending money each time they lob their piles of nastiness his way.

Roundtable Discussion on Swiftboating with Sestak

On Monday, October 2nd, Sestak held a roundtable discussion at his campaign headquarters in Media, PA. It was a small gathering attended mostly by veterans with concerns about our military, the current administration, Curt Weldon, and swiftboat attacks on other veterans. After Sestak talked, there was a question and answer session during which attendees spoke frankly about their thoughts and concerns, and Sestak carefully and directly answered their questions.

Here is a sampling of some of the discussion that I transcribed:

Q (from veteran): I hear everywhere - Curt Weldon saved Boeing. No one member of Congress can save Boeing..."
A (Sestak): Give credit where credit is due. Employment has gone down 35% ... 8000 jobs, net, have left Delaware County in the last five years. 700 businesses left this county.

[Sestak was told] "We never went to Curt Weldon for money. We went to Jack Murtha. He had more control of the pursestrings."

"I bought the V-22. I was a prime proponent of the V-22."

"Curt Weldon took 100 trips overseas paid for at taxpayers' expense or by the special interests... I wish he had gone on 200, then he wouldn't have been there to vote with Bush."

Q (from veteran): They all avoided Vietnam, yet they are sending our guys over there. Weldon did his best to avoid going to Vietnam. Am I right or am I wrong? I'm right... They do not know, like you know, a military man. They don't have a clue. Yet they are controlling our military. This really upsets me. This is ridiculous, Joe. It's ridiculous. Any vet has to feel bitter about this. This is tough to take.
A (Sestak): "In 1969, I had to ask for a waiver to get in. And I went in... I am most concerned, and Curt Weldon actually said it well:"

"...so outrageous, it makes me sick at my stomach...they are destroying the reputation of a decorated career member of the United States military...if we let that happen then no one who wears the uniform will feel protected because we have let them down."
-- Curt Weldon (R-Hypocrite/IOKIYAAR)
www.military.com...

(Sestak, continued):"To denigrate someone's service, in my mind, is as this... it hurts the integrity of the military, hurts our military..."

Comment (veteran): If this administration was in power back then, we'd still be in Vietnam.

Weldon's Swiftboat Campaign Mailings

Here is one received early last week:

Here is another received this weekend:

A PA-07 Citizen's Reaction to Weldon's Swiftboat Ads

Below is a letter to the editor written by a friend of mine immediately after he found one of Weldon's swiftboat ads in his mailbox. It was promptly sent to some local newspapers and the Philadelphia Inquirer. He titled it: "Pernicious Slime."

To the Editor,
Today my mailbox contained a piece of pernicious slime from the National Republican Congressional Committee. It used the now hackneyed Rovian "swift boat" technique of taking a man's strong points and turning them into a negative though lies and innuendo. In this case they tried to do the dirty on Vice Admiral Sestak, who had the courage to serve his country in uniform for over 30 years. In an attempt to give a veneer of truth to otherwise baseless allegations they reference an article in the Delaware County Times but, if you take the trouble to read it, the only people identified by name in the article praise Joe Sestak and it is ,surprise, surprise, nameless (more like figmentary) sources who do not.

In contrast to Joe Sestak's courage and service his 7th district Congressional opponent Curt Weldon doesn't even have the courage to list that he is a Republican in his advertisements. Not surprising really considering he has been a rubber stamp for the misguided and bungled policies of the Bush administration. It certainly is time for a change for the better.

I think that rather sums it all up, don't you?

Help Turn a Red Seat Blue

That's all for now, folks. There will be more in later diaries.

Please consider contributing to Joe Sestak or volunteering to help with his campaign.

Help turn a red seat blue!

•  Tips

  Go Sestak!

  by joanneleon on Mon Oct 09, 2006 at 07:15:49 PM PDT

  •  I donated to Sestak this weekend.

    Tonight, the DNC got me and roped me in for another $110.  I asked in which close states they planned to do heavy ads - they said PA, MO, IL and RI (can't remember the others.

    So, that's good - McCaskill can use the help in MO, and Sestak, too.

    I enjoyed your diary - (and it's pretty, too!)

    by 2lucky on Mon Oct 09, 2006 at 07:53:02 PM PDT

    •  Thank you 2lucky!

      Those were excellent choices for your donations, IMO.  Thanks so much for the support.  I'm afraid I'm going to sound like a broken record by the time this election comes around, so I'm trying to keep it interesting and informative.  Your comments are always appreciated.

      by joanneleon on Mon Oct 09, 2006 at 09:19:14 PM PDT

      •  As always joannel, your on-the-ground efforts and

        getting the word out - very much appreciated.

        I'm looking into driving people to polls, and helping Winter here in CO, but I truly admire your dedication and efforts.

        So, don't thank me!  And your job is to be a broken record.  Rs having been using that against Americans who work for a living for a long time. It's about time Dems ran with that ball.

        by 2lucky on Mon Oct 09, 2006 at 10:50:43 PM PDT

•  Thank you for posting this!!

  What a slimy creature Weldon and his power-hungry cronies are!!!  They have absolutely no shame whatsoever!!

  We must be part of the extremist liberal base that Weldon is talking about - because we have sent a good deal of money to Sestak and we are darn proud to be able to support him....and darn proud to be called "extremist liberals" too.  Too funny!

  Gosh, those mailings are pathetic in their desperation.  They look so amaturish, it is almost painful....I sure hope the people of the district see that too.  Weldon sure can't think of any really good reasons to oppose Joe, can he?

  Good luck in the final few weeks! PA is so lucky to have a candidate like Joe Sestak. Wish I could vote for him too!

  by blue armadillo on Mon Oct 09, 2006 at 07:39:46 PM PDT

•  Your friend's letter said it correctly. 'Slime'

  They are slime ~ it really is time to stop these attacks on Democratic veterans. And they don't stop with Democrats either, they go after any veteran who disagrees with them.

  Great diary, the pictures tell the story of what they are capable of better than words.

  Maybe people should collect their filth and remail it to constituents, slamming him and his cohorts for sending out smears instead of talking about the issues.  'He has no ideas'

  What is the story about Sestak being fired?  I see he had a 30 year career in the military.  I'm asking so that I have the facts should any of my Repub friends mention this ....

  Good for you for helping to fight back .... Westak seems like another great Democatic candidate. We have some really good ones this year ...

  by Catrina on Mon Oct 09, 2006 at 07:41:01 PM PDT

  •  Sestak had a high level job

    at the Pentagon working for the Chief of Naval Operations.  When the new CNO came in last fall, his first move was to "reassign" Sestak - at that level, it is a career ender. Also at that level, things are very political.  The excuse given by the CNO was that in Sestak's department there was "poor command climate" - which is Navy-speak for "I need to write down a reason to fire you" - in other words,it's a kind of all-purpose excuse.  Basically, the CNO wanted to put his own guy in Sestak's job.

    Once he was reassigned, and knew his Naval career was effectively ended, Sestak chose to retire.

    At any rate, the Navy's loss has been PA-07's great gain, as he was able to run for Congress this cycle.

    by blue armadillo on Mon Oct 09, 2006 at 08:05:24 PM PDT

    •  Just like the cabinet and other top level

      executive branch positions.

      Do people really not get this?

      Sorry - I know the answer.

      SHEEPLE.

      by DrWolfy on Wed Oct 11, 2006 at 04:05:24 AM PDT

  •  The bottom line

    The Chief of Naval Operations Joe worked for gave him 67 billion dollar warfare budget and told him to "change the navy."  Joe made the tough choices and implemented the changes that had to be made in order to transform a Cold War era Navy.  He said "I moved billions of dollars from historical areas into new areas..." that "change is hard" and that there were many people who were uncomfortable with this.

    When a new Chief of Naval Operations came into power, Joe was forced out because this man wanted his own guys in the top positions.  Joe explains all of this calmly and without any bitterness that I detected.

    One other thing to note is that he was not technically fired, he was reassigned, and did get the promotion to a three star admiral.

    After the September 11, 2001 attacks, he became the first director of the Navy Operations Group (Deep Blue), which sought to redefine strategic, operational and budgetary policies in the Global War on Terrorism. He reported directly to chief of naval operations Vern Clark as policy adviser and administrator. Sestak told The Hill that as the designated policy adviser and administrator to Clark, it was his job to revamp the Navy, a process that necessarily ruffled feathers. “Change is very challenging,” Sestak said. “It did not sit well with a lot of people...I work hard, and I did not ask anyone to work harder than me."

    In the summer of 2005, Sestak was administratively reassigned from his position as DCNO because of "poor command climate," first reported by the Navy Times in July 2005. Anonymous Navy sources told The Hill in April 2006 that the Deep Blue working environment was "harsh" and that he "might not have always set the priorities of his assignments as well as he could have." According to an anonymous former U.S. Navy officer interviewed by the Times Herald in April 2006, poor command climate is "a euphemism for poor leadership that results in low morale amongst the sailors and officers. If everyone is upset, angry, and there is a general lack of camaraderie, we would call that 'poor command climate.' For a captain or admiral to be reassigned is big. A career end."

    However, it also is common practice for an incoming Chief of Naval Operations to replace key deputies appointed by a predecessor for no cause at all. The removal of Sestak was one of the first changes made by Admiral Mike Mullen when he took over as Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) in July 2005, according to the Navy Times.

    emphasis added
    http://en.wikipedia.org/...

    by joanneleon on Mon Oct 09, 2006 at 08:15:49 PM PDT

    •  Thanks, so he was not fired, he resigned

      The same thing happened to General Clark as I recall. And he too resigned I think.

      As you say, the Navy's loss is your gain ~ he sounds like a great candidate and you did a terrific job on this diary. He is a candidate worth fighting for.

      We really need a coordinated strategy to protect our Military Veteran candidates from these thugs, imo. We know they're going to do what they do and should be ready to defuse their vile tactics.

      Looking forward to your next diary and to news of how he's doing.

      by Catrina on Mon Oct 09, 2006 at 08:36:48 PM PDT

  •  Oops, 'Sestak' ~ I've got 'W' on my mind! lol

    by Catrina on Mon Oct 09, 2006 at 08:39:16 PM PDT

    •  LOL

      we've all got a "W" on our mind.  "Impeach" is the first thing that comes to mind when I do a word association with old "W."

      by joanneleon on Mon Oct 09, 2006 at 08:55:33 PM PDT

      •  Me too ~ :-)

        by Catrina on Mon Oct 09, 2006 at 10:29:14 PM PDT

•  Slightly off-topic, but...

  I especially liked this quote:

  Comment (veteran): If this administration was in power back then, we'd still be in Vietnam.

  Great diary, thanks!

  by slksfca on Mon Oct 09, 2006 at 08:26:59 PM PDT

  •  Yes, that quote was powerful

    That particular veteran was really upset about the things going on with our military, the current "powers that be", and with the whole swiftboating campaign.  He strongly wanted someone like Joe in Congress so that the military would be handled properly and so that there are more people making decisions and doing oversight who understand what it means to send people to war.

    by joanneleon on Mon Oct 09, 2006 at 08:59:13 PM PDT

•  Terrific!

  Thanks for this diary!!!

  I'm planning to keep track of the slime here:

  http://www.runwesrun.org/...

  If you'd like your candidate's slime kept track of, you can email me:  maria at runwesrun dot org.  If you'd like to be alerted via email whenever there's new slime (so you can keep your pledge), you can sign up at the Fine for Slime page.

  by mariawells on Tue Oct 10, 2006 at 06:06:51 AM PDT