This is the same machine that tried to destroy our President. The party rank and file will have their say and I hope that we defeat the Republican 80 year old who the machine is supporting because he is friends with Ed Rendell. Arlen does not represent the future. He slavishly followed the GOP economic line and that is why we are in the mess we are in.

Specter has never been elected as a Democrat, I wouldn’t consider him the traditional incumbent.

Specter’s got a “D” next to his name now, and he’s much more of a Dem than Ben Nelson and some of the Blue Dogs holding us back.
The GOP’s treated Specter like a Dem for years and rejected him as the party veered Right of the cliff. Specter is a much better fit in the Democratic party than the Republican.

This posting from from Abe Amoros (who is the Communications and Political Director of the PA Democratic Party) is so hillarious!!

“The Party has always supported its incumbents—without exception. We don’t second guess them in the primary or do anything to hurt them.”

OMG ..”we don’t do anything to hurt them” — LOL!!!

Specter has got to be the biggest pussy/coward in the history of PA Politics. After years of trying to act like some “school-yard” bully, he’s running scared shitless, and trying to hide behind my Democratic Party.

Where I come from in Philly, and as a member of the PA Democratic Party and a union member, we don’t elect such pussies to represent us as Democrats.

Thank you Joe Sestak for running. You have my vote.

Wow, Mike – just wow. If you hadn’t mentioned that you were a union member, I might have guessed you were still in high school based on how you framed your argument. Any chance we could get some actual arguments instead of your own “school-yard” festival of name-calling?

Mr. Amoros is a brilliant Democrat and an asset to the Democratic Party. Sen. Specter has done more for the Democratic Party than some Democrats. I’m not saying he definitely has my vote, but I’m currently leaning his way. If you want to convince me to swing towards Congressman Sestak, then you should lay down some facts and reasons. As of right now, the ad hominem attacks suggest to me that you have no substance, which leaves me significantly less inclined to vote for your preferred candidate.

Gregory Kauffman:
What has Specter done for the Democratic party? He’s such a good Democrat that he voted for McCain/Palin. Or do you forget his voting with Bush all the time? Speaking as a Chester County resident, I can say that the writer hasn’t done a thing to help build the party in this county.

Calvin-
Speaking as a Delco County resident, I can say that Sestak has drained more resources than he’s put in. Sestak’s effectively formed his own “Sestak party” rather than build the local Democratic party.

We spend millions of dollars to put this guy in office, and after one term he’s ready to jump ship and take the unspent millions of 2008 re-election money with him to blow on a crap-shoot run for Senate?

I’m a big fan of the story of “Stone Soup” where a guy comes to a village and gets everyone to chip in meats and vegetables for a hardy soup for the community. However, Admiral AWOL has been the kind of politician that not only drinks all the soup himself, but leaves town with the community’s giant soup bowl.

Mike-
The union will work for Specter, after he votes for EFCA. BTW, Specter’s already on record for supporting anti-Discrimination legislation.

Greg-
Your assessment of Mike pretty much exposes that his “D” is for (D)umb.

@ Mr. Jones
Not even counting the fact that he was originally a Democrat, Sen. Specter has crossed the aisle numerous times to help pass important Democratic legislation. There are plenty of examples of this throughout his career, but most recently the EFCA comes to mind. He was also often a voice of reason during the Bush Administration. He helped us pass the minimum wage increases and protect a woman’s right to choose. He supports civil unions and has voted to end discrimination against the GLBT community, which is more than we can say about many lifelong Democrats.

Frankly, saying that he voted with Bush all the time is patently false. He even talked about holding hearings on the wiretapping program, which led Fox News to label him as a (D) during the story in around 2004.

Furthermore, in defense of Mr. Amoros, there are 67 counties in Pennsylvania and the State Party is not some magical, endlessly wealthy institution – just like the Chester County Democratic Committee, they have to work with what resources they have. Perhaps you could show up to the picnic this August and personally lobby for assistance on whatever projects you are currently working on. I’m sure Mr. Amoros would be happy to help you publicize the event(s).

I have tremendous respect for Abe Amoros and most times agree with his opinions. However, he and others from the state level Democratic party establishment are 100% wrong in buying into Arlen Specter’s political ploy. He is only a Democrat now because his polling made it clear that Toomey would defeat him in a Republican Primary. His move isn’t about the Democratic Party, it isn’t about Pres. Obama’s policies, it is strictly about saving the political career of one Sen. Arlen Specter. He’s had 30 years in the seat, he is going to be 80 years old, he’s had health issues – it’s time to go. Also, the image is burned in my mind of Specter using Santorium and Bush to sneak by Toomey in 04, now he’ll use Rendell, Casey, Biden and even Pres. Obama. It’s all about ARLEN – not about us.