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Sestak: Specter didn’t outflank me on Afghanistan

Three days after Senator Arlen Specter appeared to position himself to primary opponent Joe Sestak’s left on the issue of Afghanistan, Sestak’s campaign on Sunday shot back, claiming that Specter was merely “following the leadership of Joe Sestak.”

Sestak’s campaign has frequently sought to portray Specter as “following the leadership” of his Democratic challenger, particularly on health care reform. But in voicing opposition to a troop increase in Afghanistan last week, Specter went further than Sestak has in qualifying any appetite to send more soldiers to the country. And the nearly 72-hour delay in response time from a Sestak operation that has quickly pounced on Specter’s comments in the past seemed to suggest that, at a minimum, Specter’s stance had caught the Sestak campaign off guard.

“Once again, Arlen Specter is following the leadership of Joe Sestak on a critical issue—this time going along with Joe’s position on Afghanistan by saying that we should only increase troop levels if it is indispensable in our war against Al Qaeda,” Sestak’s campaign said in a statement. “Joe has said for months that the mission in Afghanistan-Pakistan must be the eradication of the safe haven of Al-Qaeda in Pakistan—which is a requirement for our national security—and that is a condition for a measured increase in troops.

“From the Public Option and the Employee’s Free Choice Act, to repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and now conditions for increasing troops in Afghanistan,” the campaign added, “Arlen Specter has followed Joe’s lead on the important issues.”

In some ways, the issue is one of careful political semantics. Both have couched their support for escalating the war on making sure it’s necessary to fight Al-Qaeda and both have harped on the importance of having an exit strategy. But it’s hard to argue that Sestak hasn’t staked out at least a marginally more hawkish position on Afghanistan than the one Specter took last week. Whereas Specter said “I even question staying there,” Sestak has conditionally supported a “measured increase” in troops.

Sestak himself seemed to acknowledge that ideological alignment last month during an appearance on MSNBC. When Hardball host Chris Matthews said “so you’re more hawkish than Arlen Specter,” Sestak replied, “and forthright.”

In the end it may mean little to voters focused on economic issues, but with numerous reports on liberal blogs and area newspapers framing Specter’s stance as more doveish, Specter appeared to have scored his first leftward jab of the primary against Sestak.

For its part, the Specter campaign was quick to respond to Sestak’s statement Sunday, saying “it’s obvious” that Sestak “is trying to muddy the waters on the clear differences between he and Sen. Specter on the critical issue of Afghanistan.”

November 23, 2009 at 7:30 am

--Dan Hirschhorn

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