http://www.joevodvarka.com/ There is a 3ird and Powerful Candidate in the US Senate Race and shame on PA2010.com for saying there are only 2 People is this Race Joe is from Allegheny County and the Only Candidate from the Western Part of The State and The West always goes with one of their own . Plus Joe Vod Varka wants to Save Christmas from extinction and he is the Only Candidate that has stood up for Christmas He is for Fair trade Not Free Trade He is the Only candidate that gets this very important issue we are losing this Country and only Fair Trade can help US from becoming a Banana Republic Joe Vod Varka gets it on every issue Just take a Look at His web site and read his issues he is everything that the common man is He is the strongest on every issue that is important to the People of Pennsylvania Hunters apply for 1 Million Hunting Licenses every year in PA and Joe Vod Varka is a Life Time NRA member Not a Gun Grabber like Arlin The Octogenarian of Joe Admiral Suspect I Mean Sustaked Joe Vod Varka is everywhere Pennsylvanians want to be . Again SHAME ON YOU PA2010.COM for not mentioning Joe Vod Varka

Not to belabor the issue I posted earlier but the vote wasn’t to not endorse in the senate race, I believe at least. I think it was taking state committees endorsement. We never took a phyiscal vote on senate just a vote to accept the rules. It was certainly interesting. Sestak had what he needed and the momentum and left with nothing.

Doing anything other than what we did last night would have been foolish (and I say that as someone who voted not to accept the rules). Here is capsule version of what happened:

– MCDC bylaws say that if a State Committee endorsement is made, the county must accept it and cannot vote for a different endorsement. The State Committee has endorsed Specter.

– The rules that govern the endorsement convention are voted on at the beginning of the meeting. Usually, this is a formality. Last night, the vote was important – if the rules were accepted, it meant we would not vote on a Senate endorsement. We needed to change the rule about accepting a State Committee endorsement in order to get a chance to vote.

– The rules were accepted after we took a written-ballot vote. This was neither a vote for Specter or against Sestak, just a vote to keep the rules in place.

– As stated above, both candidates names will appear on county sample ballot, with no preference indicated.

And here’s why I grudgingly admit that this was a good outcome: if we had voted to change the rules and held a vote to endorse, another MCDC bylaw would kick in. Any committee member who supported and worked for a non-endorsed candidate would not be allowed to hold their position during the primary. So either way, the county committee would have lost a huge percentage of its manpower and almost certainly a bitter and damaging rift would have been created in the county party.

I believe that’s why the rules were upheld last night. I would like to have seen a straw poll conducted anyway to get a sense of which candidate is supported by a majority of the county committee, but it didn’t happen. In the end, it’s no big deal.

With this outcome, each committee member is free to support the candidate they like.

On to May!

[...] MontCo Dems forgo Senate endorsement | pa2010.com Read the comments too. Jesse [...]

An utter political debacle. An unprecedented fiasco. That is what Sestak’s Senate bid has become. Dismal poll numbers (trailing by upwards of 20%). Critical staffers abandonding him (again, including his Political Director, Communications Director and Media Director). Remaining staffers paid below minimum wage. Unfounded accusations against the incumbent President of the United States. Endorsements from sexual predators (Massa) who grope unsuspecting males. Now, Sestak cannot command support in Montgomery County – his own turf!!

How the mighty have fallen. Sestak’s re-election victory in November 2008 seems like a distant memory – and it is. Again, how can any rational adult contend that this man, who has embarrassed himself at every turn, is a viable candidate?!

Bruce-
Okay. Let me see if I have this right…

So that means that the vote was to keep the rules and accept the State Committee endorsement (for Specter).

But, despite “accepting” the State Comm. endorsement, both Specter and Sestak are going to appear on the sample ballot with no preference indicated.

Seems to me that Specter’s name should have an *-asterisk noting “Endorsed by State Committee”.

Incidentally, those who have no read The Atlantic piece concerning Representative Massa should do so immediately. Massa is a sexual deviant who appears have fondled and molested every male he ever encountered in the U.S. Armed Forces. And yet Sestak considers Massa a friend, compatriot and well-wisher! Does Representative Sestak make a habit of befriending degenerates with fetishes?
And still no comment from Sestak with respect to Massa’s immoral behavior either.

At this juncture, the intervention of the Federal BBureau of Investigation (FBI) and the House Ethics Committee is wholly unnecessary. The self-important, vainglorious Sestak has become a victim of his of ineptitude!

Since an endorsement vote was taken for the PA-6th Congressional District> (A big win for Trivedi in MontCo | pa2010.com), does that now mean that those Montco Democratic Committee persons who are now supporting, and/or who may be supporting Doug Pike by Primary Election Day, must take a Leave of Absence on Primary Election Day??? With this vote the Montco Dems are now split, not only at the County level, but especially at the Area level. And, as was alluded to by Bruce Bailey in his comments, the County Committee may have lost a percentage of its manpower and a rift may be created in the County Party.

HateSestak — Interesting to see you on stage last night.

Dave — We didn’t vote to accept the endorsement. Our bylaws say we can’t OVERRIDE the endorsement.
Big difference.

The sample ballot will show no preference and committee members are free to work for either candidate.

Don’t twist it. And say hi to Rick for me.

Hater-
I’m sure Sestak was “tickled” to receive Massa’s endorsement.

Icare4wMontCo-
I’m not clear that Pike supporters can’t help him at the polls and have to take a Leave of Absence. But, they are stuck with the official sample ballots that will have Trivedi. I guess they’ll hand out the sample ballot and a Pike produced piece of lit.

Bruce-
I get that both will appear on the ballot, with no preference and committee can work for either candidate. So, I guess the non-Override vote was basically “ignore state committee and pretend it never happened and endorse no one”. Whoo hoo!

Unfortunately for Sestak, a tie is a loss for him and a win for Specter. Sestak’s trailing and needs endorsements outside of NY-29th.

bruce,

i was there and i am really glad you clarified the parlimentary point i feel much better now good decision by the party. you are right it is for the best. we should not be overruling the commitee

As one of the 2 speakers last night at the MCDC convention in SUPPORT of section 5 of the rules, let me reiterate to those on my left who would “rule or ruin”…..

When our Chairman leads our delegation to State Committee, his role is to advocate for Montco Dems and any creditable candidate we may be pushing. To do that effectively, he must be able to deal with 66 other County Chairs + all sorts of other party activists & officials. To have changed the rules so that MCDC could officially contravene State Committee would have embarassed Marcel and swept away much of the good work he has done over the past 10 years. He had presented a scenario whereby all committeepeople would be free to work for whoever they wished without any problem, but that apparently was not good enough for some of the “rule or ruin” crowd. Fortunately, these folks were roundly defeated by about a 2 to 1 ratio, and Sestak did not get his media event.

For those who are so negative about Specter and think Sestak is the 2nd coming of Adlai Stevenson, some questions & observations:

When you struggle with your GOTV efforts as a committeeperson, remember that in many elections in the past 15 years, Sestak did not even bother to show up and vote.

Sestak pays his permanent staff sub-minimum wages. calculated by dividing annual salary by approx. hours worked.

Sestak ditched the constitution on FISA

Sestak tried to embarass our president with his bogus claim, unsupported by any specifics, of a job offer in return for not running.

Chack out Sestak’s 2007/2008 involvement with the National Defense Industries Association (NDIA). Check out the membership roster of this group at the time (Blackwater USA).

to the specter scum. while joe sestak was busy defending this country where was snarlin arlen oh yea creating the conservative majority on the supreme court, voting for doma and don’t ask don’t tell. oh and oh yea aiding and abeding murderers remember your budy ira arlen. specter = scum

for those of you don’t know arlen specter was ira einhorn’s attorney

suburban liberal-
For those of you that don’t know, Joe Sestak was endorsed by Eric Massa who was also “busy defending this country” (when he wasn’t massaging his subordinates).

Sestak was doing such a “good job” that Admiral Mullen relieved him from duty, for what appears to be the same kind of abusive behavior that has caused Sestak to lose campaign/congressional staffers at a record rate.

Rich-
Sestak’s an empty Naval jacket.

Suburban Liberal: “Scum,” you say? And how would you characterize a politician who serves the interests of corrupt labor racketeers like Wendell Young IV, is befriended and endorsed by morally depraved sexual predators like Eric Massa, and secures $800,000.00 earmarks for defense contractors like Dragonfly Pictures (in exchange for political contributions)?

Labor racketeers/gangsters. Sexual deviants who fondle unsuspecting males. Avaricious, greedy defense contractors. These are the kind of people Representative Sestak consorts and fraternizes with. And you want this man to be a U.S. Senator?! It is fortunate that the overwhelming majority of PA primary voters disagree with you.

I am surprised at the vitriol aimed at Congressman Sestak here , but I do know two retired Naval officers( one a 30+ years Reservist ) who were not fans of his when they were in the service.

Here’s A Sestak Bedtime Story:

Once upon a time, there was a greedy union boss, who didn’t have enough cash for Christmas gifts. The greedy union boss came up with a little scheme: he lied to a federally chatered financial institution, and told them that he needed a huge loan for operating expenses. Once the union boss got the huge loan, he gave the money to himself and other greedy union execs in the form of Christmas bonuses. And they lived happily ever after – until someone told federal agents about it. Now the union boss is in very deep #$@. Deeper than he can possibly imagine, in fact.

And the moral of the story is: don’t commit bank fraud. And oh yes – watch who you accept endorsements from.

Sleep tight, baby Sestak.

And the rest of us lived happily ever after.

Latest Poll numbers (this from DailyKos):

Arlen Specter leads Pat Toomey 47-41%

Specter leads Joe Sestak 51-32%

Toomey leads Sestak 42-39%

So much for the (absurd) contention that Specter cannot prevail in the general election. Meanwhile, it is apparent from poll data that Specter will trounce Sestak in the primary. All the more reason why Representative Sestak should salvage what he can from this debacle/shellacking/washout, and abandon his Senate bid.

Of course, Representative Sestak could continue his Senate bid – and await more revelations about his sexual predator friend Massa. And incur more animosity from the White House and prominent Democrats. And exhaust his $5 million war chest -resources he will likely need in the very near future. And squander what little political capital he has remaining. And end his career with a humiliating and costly defeat. And hear more of my fascinating bedtime stories.

Rick —
Who ever contended “that Specter cannot prevail in the general election”? Certainly not me – all I said was that Sestak will wrap things up by Labor Day. With Specter, this thing goes down to the wire and probably beyond. But I think both candidates can (and should) beat Teabag Toomey.

To me, it’s just a question of who I want my Senator to be. And since I am a lifelong Democrat, I’d prefer my Senator to be a Democrat, too. Not a Republican who jumped over to save his skin.

Others of us — say, those who got kicked out of Sestak’s office for trying to throw their (incredibly little) political weight around — put their grudges before the good of the party and post threats and fantasy on public comment boards.

I guess that’s the way they do it in Philadelphia.

Bruce…

While my feelings toward Sestak have a personal overtone regarding how my wife & I were humiliated by him, if you re-read my comments you’ll note that I take care to keep them out of the discussion.

Unlike some of the other commentary shown above, my remarks are not scatalogical and they are fact-based.

As a Montgomery County Democrat you should not disparage Philadelphia…the 300,000 to 400,000 vote plurality that they can generate there goes a long way to electing democrats statewide. I am sure that Sestak will happily take all the votes he can get in Phila.

PS: I was not trying to throw any political weight around (since I don’t have any), I was simply trying to get decent constituent service. In 2006 on a percentage basis, the 5 best divsions for Sestak in area 4 were from W. Norriton and given my efforts on his behalf, I thought I was entitled to far better service than I received in spring 2008. It was not like I was asking for a job, a contract or anything improper.
Interestingly enough, after a trip to Senator Casey’s office, I got answers inside of 3 weeks.

PPS: $20 says that Sestak gets less than 45% of the vote in the primary. Are you a taker?

[...] MontCo Dems forgo Senate endorsement | pa2010.com [...]

Saunders: 45%? It is improbable that Representative Sestak would command 35% at this juncture. Between abrupt staff departures (such as that of his Political Director), minimum wage payments to remaining staffers (something that the Chairman of the PA Democratic Party has condemned), endorsements from sexual deviants who fondle innocent males (Massa), and unfounded accusations against the incumbent President of the United States, Sestak would be fortunate to reach 35% in a possible primary contest.

Bailey: Care to address the issues above? Why have so many pivotal campaign staffers abandoned Representative Sestak? Any comment on the PA Democratic Party Chairman’s denunciation of Sestak’s minimum wage payments to staffers? Why did Sestak accept an endorsement from a morally depraved sexual predator who gropes young males? And why does Sestak continue to make unsubstantiated allegations against the incumbent President of the United States? Can’t formulate a response, eh?

I was at the Montco Democratic Convention last night. I’m not in the ‘inner circle’ of folks who make the decisions but it was clear to me that the Rules vote was a victory for Specter. The Sestak people wanted to change the rules to have an endorsement, even though Dem. State Committee has already endorsed Specter. The Sestak people were noisy, but the result of the secret ballot was 200+
to accept the Rules and 100+ for changing the Rules.
Pretty conclusive to me!

The Ballot Bos was stuffed at the Convention Marcel admitted that they were many more votes than there were people who were allowed to Vote Yet he went ahead anyway and accepted the Vote The whole Covention was one big Joke . Its time the Party left it to the People to decide .

Ballot Box

2cents-
The Sestak people were pushy. They staked out the main entrance, shoving Sestak literature in your face.
Specter had two regular/regional staffers and a new/younger staffer who had recently joined. They had Specter lapel pins and were passively chatting with people. Basically, they weren’t running a three-ring circus.

Matt Silver on FiveThirtyEight.com has an interesting analysis. He puts the chance of Toomey being Senator at 51%. But, he has Specter beating Toomey by several points, and Sestak losing big. He uses 75% chance of Specter winning the Primary vs 25% for Sestak to weight the averages.
What this means is that Sestak’s SO bad that with only 25% weight factor, he turns Specter’s lead into a statistic win for Toomey.
If Joe were to drop out, Specter’s odds of holding the seat would improve.

Give it up people. Specter is running a real professional campaign down here. Look at the results. Sestak’s method of pushing literature and buttons was ridiculous. This will only become more evident later on and goes to show that Specter is ready to do battle. Sestak on the other hand is ready to spend a million dollars on buttons to actively pass out to committee people 12 times over. That was what I felt last night. This was a key wedge issue in the reason why I support Specter, I would rather have Specter vote 75% my way than let Sestak run his campaign into the ground and in the end we will have Senator Toomey.

Montco-
Good points. Sestak’s only real “message” has been “look at me, I was in the Navy, BTW I have a sick kid and Arlen used to be on the other side”.

Sestak’s all about image, not substance. Arlen’s got the best shot at beating Toomey.

So VodVarka’s platform is that we will still have Christmas?? LMAOROFL

We can all sleep well now.

The fact that Joe Sestak actually showed up and that he is campaigning as a Democrat to unseat a 30 year Republican who can’t be counted on to even continue voting with Democrats once the primary is past…these things upset you, Montco 4 Change? The fact that Joe Sestak passed out campaign buttons upset you? The fact that Specter had no presence or visible support other than Marcel Groen, Peggy Gerber or Rick Saunders – this comforts you? The nonsense I see spouted here is just breathtaking – I do believe that Pennsylvania Democrats have lost their collective minds.

Bailey: Sestak “showed up,” and therefore the common man should actively support him? Not a very compelling argument, Mr. Bailey. Sestak “showed up” because he is a despairing, downcast, forlorn man desperate for any kind of backing/moral support. Unfortunately for the inconsolable Sestak, his campaign is in the toilet, and Montco Dems recognized this. Sestak’s gloom and dejection are understandable. Aside from a degenerate freak Congressman who gropes the genitals of young males, no one is voicing support for him. Perhaps Sestak can found a new political party, the Caress the Male Privates Party, and run as an independent.

Bruce..

I would never have denied Sestak & his folks the right to have their presence at the MCDC convention. Hi-jacking the convention, shredding the rules & embarrassing our chairman was another thing altogether. Please do not lump my specific points (unaddressed by you) with some of the poor-taste rants shown elsewhere in this ongoing inter-change.

The fact that the vote was 2 to 1 in favor of maintaining the rules (which will provide you perfect freedom to continue to be the good committeeperson you are and push Sestak at the polls) was an affirmation by many, including Sestak people, of the wisdom of Marcel’s approach.

Sestak is no longer in a position where people will jump simply because he has scrambled eggs on his cap, and, judging by how he overplayed things the other night, he still doesn’t get it.

PS: I could do a lot worse than having Marcel Groen and Penny (not Peggy)Gerber for company. I could have had the NDIA, Bechtel & Blackwater USA.

Vodvarka’s main platform is for standing up for working people-taking on the loss of jobs-in what made America great-manufacturing. This is a serious problem-especially in PA. I agree, shame on pa2010 for not mentioning him! He’s got a great message…who are we as a country if we don’t do anything but “outsource” everything? Wake up America, we need to vote for guys that have common sense like Joe!

Bruce-
Sestak wasn’t a Dem for over 30 years of voter registration. He almost certainly voted for Nixon, Reagan and Bush Sr. And, I’ll bet you dinner that if you hook Sestak up to a lie detector, that he voted for Specter most of the time (if Joe bothered to vote in those particular years).

So, considering Joe voting with Bush on Iraq, wiretaps, telecom immunity, and funding Cheney’s office… I would say Joe falls under the category of those “who can’t be counted on to even continue voting with Democrats”.

Sestak wasn’t a Dem until he ran for Congress. Sestak’s been a Democrat in Congress only 3 years, and votes in the bottom 1/3 of Dems, and would need to vote/run toward the center for a general election.

The thing is Bruce, you have NO IDEA of Sestak’s political philosophy, leanings or votes prior to his return to Delaware county after a 30 year absence, while he was NOT a member of the Democratic party. His story of why he left the Navy doesn’t match the reporting that it was under a cloud (and his current treatment of subordinates does match the reporting of why he was relieved of duty in 2005).

Specter has burned his bridges with the GOP and p*ssed on the ashes. He’s with us for the duration.