Specter is already voting more with the Dems, than conservative Dem senators like Nelson.

My point it that Specter WILL establish a sufficient Dem record. Going against EFCA is a blunder he won’t make.

Sestak has a lot of varnish and little actual substance. Watch the weasel-like way he answers the tough questions by jumping off to some irrelevant but patriotic sounding story. With over $3 million in the bank, he’s a big fish in a small pond like the 7th district. Statewide, there’s not enough air for his sails.

From a campaigning standpoint, there is no deep strategic thinking. It’s all brute force. One of the reasons he needs to gather so many loyal workers and push them with long hours is that his operations tend to be inefficient. It’s quantity over quality. He’s got a tight inner circle (like Bush or Cheney) of monolithic thinkers who are blind to Joe’s flaws are unable to understand why anyone wouldn’t like Joe.

As for Lentz, he would have kicked Sestak’s ass in the primary, assuming Sestak even got enough signatures to get on the ballot. When Sestak arrived, he had ZERO local infrastructure. Once Lentz pulled out, the committee people and Delco Dem leadership that handle the petition process were free to focus on Sestak and get him signatures.
Whether Lentz could have beaten Weldon is a separate question, but back in Spring 2006, Lentz would have crushed Sestak in Primary.

Back to Sestak… he ran and got elected on his anti-war platform, that he abandoned when it came time to vote. He’s shown he can’t be trusted with a six-year seat.

Maybe your price, or Labor’s, (to support Specter) is a single vote cast as you want it to be. Mine is a little higher than that. I don’t believe that I am alone in my view. Specter needs to establish a record, not be merely a one hit wonder, to establish himself as a real Democrat.

Also your disdain for Sestak is obviously coloring your view of his potential challenge to Specter. The issue now is who best can represent PA beginning in 2011; not who was successful in 2006 against your candidate (Lentz).

Ideal outcome is that Sestak runs for Senate, gets his a$$ handed to him in the primary, moves back to Virginia, and we get Lentz as our congressman.

Foolish, reckless and egotistical as Sestak is, I don’t think he’s going to challenge Specter. This is all a lot of bluster to raise money and hoping Specter commits political suicide at some point.

Once Specter votes for EFCA, he’s got the unions, and Sestak has no place to turn for support.

shizzy, I’m sure that your question was rhetorical (and that you meant Torsella, not Sestak). Of course, Rendell abandoned his buddy as soon as Specter switched parties. Happens all the time (back room or store front); doesn’t make it right. Then again, circumstances change and people have to make choices.

Why have a primary? Because we get to make choices, too. The party pros, including Rendell, didn’t get their nominee for president last year, did they?

Like all things in life, there needs to be some balance between leadership by the party heirarchy and free competition for party nominations. Like you, the Specter switch (aside from whether it will prove beneficial to the Democratic Party) seems rather heavy handed and isn’t going down well with me. I have the feeling that Torsella was too much a creation of Rendell to stay in the race after the governor pulled the plug on his support for Torsella’s campaign.

Sestak may be sufficiently independent to enable him to challenge Specter. The ball remains in Specter’s court to demonstarte that he’s going to vote with the Dems. If he doesn’t, I believe he’s vulnerable to a strong primary challenger.