One of the reasons I supported Joe Sestak over Arlen Specter for the Democratic Party nomination for senator is that he appears to be a tireless worker, who will need all that energy to overcome a well funded Pat Toomey. But now it appears that Joe Sestak must also defeat other ads sponsored by both a Pro Israeli (I toyed with Pro Palestinian Genocide title but thought that might be a little rough, but probably not inaccurate...) group and the very conservative Pro Republican Chamber of Commerce
(For working links, video and pictures go here.)
Here's the ad put forth by the Emergency Committee for Israel:
I can't find the Chamber of Commerce anti Sestak ad online, but their was a decision to pull those ads by two Allegheny County stations as of early this morning and restored as of later today. So you will be seeing them on your television.
So, to sum up, Joe Sestak has to not only beat the ads of Pat Toomey, which are considerable already and that he's able to show on the teevee, but funding from two well heeled outside groups. Right now, Toomey and Sestak are tied in the polling but all the ads I see are pro Toomey and I'm not sure if Joe has the money to even counter those ads and is even predisposed tactically even if he has the money. Sounds like a job for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, unless you want to lose congressional majorities in order to run against a do nothing or do evil republican congress in 2012. I sometime wonder.
Related: Here's some information about the Emergency Committee for Israel from TPM, which is remarkable because Josh Marshall is not a fan of criticism about Israel or at least criticism that might leave a mark. Here's a portion of the article:
Joe Sestak, the Democratic candidate for the United States in Pennsylvania, is a former three-star Vice Admiral and the highest-ranking former military officer currently serving in Congress.
But that does not make him a good enough patriot for the chicken hawk neocons. Nope. A new organization called The Emergency Committee for Israel has been established by Bill Kristol, Michael Goldfarb (a guy who is famous for this), Rachel (Mrs. Elliot) Abrams and other famous war heroes who think that Sestak is insufficiently loyal to...Bibi Netanyahu. (The Emergency Committee no doubt lists Rachel and not Elliot Abrams because he was convicted of lying to Congress on a national security issue. Even the neocons don't like invoking that guy's name!
Bill Kristol says the new "organization" is the "pro-Israel wing of the pro-Israel community." In other words, we aren't just Israel-firsters. We are Israel firsters on steroids, not like those mealy mouths at AIPAC who actually cite US security needs (even if they get them wrong).
The Emergency Committee For Israel could be headquartered in Romania or the Phillipines. Although its heart is in a West Bank settlement.
Anyway, check out this anti-Sestak ad and spend a minute wondering how these neocons -- whose only experience with war is lobbying to get other Americans to fight them -- have the audacity to imply that a career spent in the US military is less American that careers successfully dedicated to getting US policy to conform to the concept of Great Israel. Unbelievable.