So Rahm Emanuel Recruited Joe Sestak to Run for His Initial Run for Congress in 2006

[PopSixSquish]

http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/s/joe_sestak/index.html

Raise your hand if you knew this?

[Schema Thing]

1. Somewhere in PA, an old man is shaking his fist at the sky :Raaaahmmm!:

[easilynervous]

35. lol n/t

[WeDidIt]

2. I knew it.

I wans't about to mention it here in the land of Anti-Rahm.

[PopSixSquish]

4. That's Just the Way I Roll

:bounce:

[WeDidIt]

8. It would have definitley made some heads explode

Do you support the "DLC/Rahm hand picked" candidate or do you support the Repulican turned Democrat because the Republicans were about to boot his ass?

Of course, the DLC had nothing to do with Sestak, but try telling that to an anti-Rahmbot.

[babylonsister]

3. A 3-star Vice Admiral and a Dem? I think Rahm did swell myself;

why wouldn't he go for the best and brightest?

[mzteris]

5. oh no- don't say that!!!

All those DU'ers who were happy over Sestak suddenly started hating him. :)

[wyldwolf]

6. yep

[freddie mertz]

7. I think I knew it. He was running the Congressional committee then.

[PopSixSquish]

9. From the book "The Thumpin'"

"In a conversation with Joe Sestak, a Pennsylvania candidate for whom he had high hopes, Emanuel delivered good news, “Joe Sestak – this is your rabbi, Rahm,” he said. “Two things. Clinton – I'm close to having him do an event for you in Philly. And … he will do an event for you in New York City.” Former president Bill Clinton was admired by many Democrats as the party's last big winner, and his ability to help a candidate was invaluable. “Clinton will put his arm around you and say, 'He's my man,'”Emanuel promised.

In a later call, Sestak asked if there was any way Emanuel could direct more money his way. Emanuel agreed to ask Senator John Kerry, who was sending an e-mail to his supporters, to ask them to contribute to Sestak. “I'll try,” Emanuel said. “I can't promise. You're doing well, and others don't have the same network. I'll try to get you on the Kerry e-mail.” He concluded, “Don't fuck it up or I'll fuck you. I'll kill you. All right, I love you. Bye.”

[tishaLA]

59. That is hilarious

“Don't fuck it up or I'll fuck you. I'll kill you. All right, I love you. Bye.”

Rahm doesn't just have tourette syndrome, he's also schizophrenic.

[Cha]

10. Didn't know it...but, I do know this..

Rahm has his good points.

[Jennicut]

11. And someone on DU told me that Rahm had egg on his face

because Specter lost. Of course, Rahm picked Sestak to begin with.

[Number23]

16. There's a whole big damn thread basically saying Rahm has egg on his face

This place gets crazier and stupider by the day.

[AllentownJake]

23. I find it scary

When I'm agreeing with you on something.

[Number23]

31. Please don't tell anyone. I have a reputation for common sense to maintain

:)

[AllentownJake]

41. As do I

Of course we will probably diverge quickly if it is expanded if that is any comfort for you. Liberals voted for a hawk yesterday screaming victory. You will probably see 31 years in the Navy as a good thing. Unless he has pulled a Smedley Butler, I see it as a warning.

I was under no illusion that my choices were both bad. Arlen is pretty up front and honest about what Arlen is.

[FrenchieCat]

12. You mean the Strawman Whipping Boy DLC evil El Diablo Rahm.....?

No shit? :rofl:

[WeDidIt]

15. I used to live in Rahm's district in Chicago

It was originally part of Jan Schakowsky's (whom I will adore forever) district, but redistricting put us in a different district for 2002.

I voted against Emmanuel in the primary even though he was favored to win. Didn't much like him and wanted to give a non-politico a shot. And as anybody from Chicago can tell you, the general election is just a formality. The real race is the primary.

Any way, I voted for him in the General and moved out of his district before 2004.

And the irony is, I'm considered Rahmbot #1 on DU by a lot of DUers.

[MH1]

13. of course I knew it

but it didn't seem relevant to mention :)

[phleshdef]

14. Per usual, knee jerk critics talk shit about Rahm while knowing absolutely nothing about him.

[amborin]

17. Rahm: $18 mill in 3 yrs in leveraged buyouts that stripped assests from US industry & looted pension

"Obama’s Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, collected $18 million working less than three years at Wall Street outfit Wasserstein-Perella. I don’t think, after googling the firm, that anyone has adequately explained just what Wasserstein-Perella is. (I was writing about this stuff back in the late 1980s, so I know.) Bruce Wasserstein was one of the top leveraged buyout bandits of the 1980s, when America’s industrial companies were literally asset stripped and ripped apart. The amount of human misery Bruce Wasserstein caused with his "financial engineering" in former industrial towns from Akron to Zanesville is simply beyond imagination, but not exaggeration. After making a few billion ripping apart our country’s industrial base and looting pension funds, Wasserstein became head of Lazard Freres, the secretive but extremely powerful international private banking firm....."

snip



http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/12/11/813139/-Ta... ;-I-add-some-history-

[AllentownJake]

22. Don't forget his stint as a board member on Fannie nt.

[amborin]

24. yep, $320K for accounting skullduggery and....

[AllentownJake]

25. Well that and the decisions at the time

Are part of the reason the entity for all intensive purposes is bankrupt. I don't begrudge someone from making a lot of money doing something that makes society a better place to live in.

[Number23]

18. From this article, this man would seem to represent EVERY SINGLE THING that DUers hate

"He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy second in his class, and rose through the ranks to become a three-star admiral; he holds a master's and doctoral degree from Harvard University. During his career, Sestak held various operational commands and high-level policy positions. He was a defense adviser for the National Security Council during the Clinton administration."

An Ivy league, military officer, former NSC member, and defense adviser for the Clinton administration.

But he's the liberal progressive that's going to show Obama the way, right?? :crazy: :silly: :crazy:

Or do you get the feeling that the only reason so many anti-Obama posters are orgasmic right now is that as usual, they're only seeing half or a third of the story and thinking that just because the guy that Obama half-assed campaigned for lost that this will "teach him a lesson?"

[PopSixSquish]

19. Tell the Poster What He's Won Bob!

Actually I think Joe Sestak will make a fine Senator and I hope he wins. He's pro-choice and got good creds on the environment and education and supports the Employee Free Choice Act.

But he also supported FISA and voted for the so-called "blank check" war supplemental bill in 2007.

So like most people, his views vary depending on the issue. He's definitely to the left of Arlen and what could be called "a rank and file" Democrat but he's definitely not the PA version of Dennis Kucinich

[Number23]

30. "I think Joe Sestak will make a fine Senator and I hope he wins."

I agree with your entire post. From what I've read of his background, education and experience, he sounds like a great candidate and I too, hope that he wins.

He's actually been "out there" in the world and done things. Unlike FAR too many on message boards and in the blogosphere who equate eternal whining and complaining with advocacy and "getting isht done."

[treestar]

34. From some of these threads today you'd think he was the next great

Progressive hope.

[AllentownJake]

43. Yes

and they are going to be woefully disturbed when they find out that is not the case.

[AllentownJake]

21. I voted for Specter

:shrug:

No one wants to get the President to go more left than me, somehow I didn't buy this guy as the next Al Grayson or Kucinuch as the rest of DU.

I'll vote for Joe Sestak in November, but I'm perfectly aware of who and what Joe Sestak is, and am not going to have a felt betrayed moment in the future.

[Jennicut]

26. I did not ever see that either. I did have an OP today in praise

of Sestak after his appearance on CNN. He said this was not a referendum on Obama. He argued for govt. being for the good of people and sometimes it must get involved in people's lives.
The race was about Sestak being a Dem and Specter just switching parties, who can you trust...Sestak was very convincing in his argument but he is no DC progressive outsider come to save the day. He is not against the War in Afghanistan.

I do hope he beats Toomey. You don't need that nutball for your Senator.

[AllentownJake]

27. Fully agree

Some people are acting like Dennis Kucinuch just won the nomination for Senate in PA on an anti-Obama platform on this board.

In the real world, the people that were on the Joe side in the primary were slightly less delusional, but still put characteristics on Joe Sestak that were entirely false and cast aspersions on Arlen even though he is from an entirely different GOP era and has maintained being from that era pretty well for 30 years.

[Jennicut]

29. Specter was a moderate Republican, last of the few. There

are what, two left? In New England and the north there used to be more in general but the Repubs kicked them out. Where exactly was Specter going to go? I guess he could have retired. He tried to be a Dem. He really wasn't one but he was not the worst I have ever seen.

[AllentownJake]

39. I'd take Arlen

over Bayh, Nelson, Baucus, Lieberman or a few others.

[Pirate Smile]

37. I can almost hear the howls of outrage and shrieks of betrayal already.

They will surely come.

[AllentownJake]

38. What?

I'm not happy with many of these President's actions but trying to sell me on Joe Sestak being a liberal when I know he is a Hawk is about the silliest idea in the entire world.

The howls of betrayal will be when this man is elected. He played to the liberals in PA and went after Arlen using that base of support. It is politics and I'm sure there is going to be a contingent of lefty Sestak supporters that will defend every bad vote.

This will be their own damn fault.

I have a place to say I feel betrayed with this President on a few issues. I can't say that on Afghanistan, he was upfront there. Doesn't mean I can't say Mr. President I think you are wrong on that issue.

Arlen Specter is a politician that takes stances on issues and fights for some causes. He is also a very craven street fighter. We will see what Joe turns out to be, but whatever that is, it is better than what I know Pat Toomey is.

[Pirate Smile]

45. I was talking about the eventual howls of outrage that Sestak somehow has betrayed his

voters by acting like and voting like exactly how it appears he will vote. I was agreeing with you. He'll be what people paying attention think he is but some folks will then act like that is a huge betrayal - which will be ridiculous. I've seen this show many times already. :)

[AllentownJake]

28. Toomey is nuts nd politically scary

because unless you know what he's talking about, he sounds reasonable.

[wisteria]

32. I did too, but I am going in a different direction than you.

I did want to thank you for the good conversations, before I left though. I was reelected as a committee person last night, but today I resigned. I have been going back and forth on this for a while now. I no longer feel comfortable with some of the things going on in the Democrat Party roots and gosh knows the machine in my area is awful. I have to much resentment towards Sestak to support him and just today he said he understands and doesn't hold any animosity towards the party for backing Specter because they needed a 60 vote. I don't see this as the party owing Sestak anything or having to ask for his forgiveness when it was Sestak that decided to screw over the party. Anyway, I am going the middle route from now on and will be watching from the sidelines. Hey take care.

[AllentownJake]

40. I resigned as an officer a few months ago

I have as many fans in the real world as I do here...in both hatred and admiration for willing to stand up for things.

I don't play their games well. Mostly because I care of not the who is in charge but the what is done.

Do what you feel is the right thing to do. Some people may hate you for it, some people will love you for it, but at the end of the day no matter what happens you are going to wake up with the same person for the rest of your life, yourself. Do what makes it so you feel you can look in the mirror and not feel ashamed.

[catgirl]

56. Thank goodness he's not a Kucinuch

Otherwise nothing would get done!

[Radical Activist]

36. The story should be a very good narrative for progressives.

It's a shame too many are so bent on taking shots at Obama that it's not being celebrated as a victory for the left in the same way that Scott Brown was declared a victory for the right. Such a total waste.

[AllentownJake]

42. If your goal is perception above reality

Than yes, that is a great way to see things.

[Radical Activist]

50. There's a saying about politics. "perception is reality"

If the perception in DC is that Sestak's victory moves the Senate left and makes it easier for Obama to pass his agenda...then it does. But it looks like progressives will be too short-sighted to create that reality.

[AllentownJake]

52. Yes

and there is a saying in Allentown. Reality is Reality.

Fuck D.C. culture and the red carpet for ugly people crowd and their belief system.

[leftynyc]

46. Really? EVERY SINGLE THING?

I don't see anything in that short snip of a bio that I'm supposed to hate. Care to elaborate?

[AllentownJake]

20. Which was part of the reason I had no problem voting for Arlen

:rofl:

[Sebastian Doyle]

33. I never mistook Sestak for a Liberal

But I know what he's NOT, and that's a cover up stooge for a Bush Crime Family murder of a President of the United States, who switches parties out of political convenience.

Fuck Arlen Specter. If I ever hear his name again, it better be his deathbed confession about how he lied to the Warren Commission.

And fuck Rahm Emanuel. Because he's a douchebag who's destroying my party.

Sestak? I'd never vote for him in my state, but in a state where Ed Rendell and Bob Casey are the "norm", he's relatively not bad, I guess. Let's hope he remembers to be a Democrat when he gets to the Senate.

[boston bean]

44. Didn't the Obama admin offer Sestak a job at Defense to keep him out of the race??

seems to me that I remember Sestak saying that it was true.

He could be more left for me, but trying to spin this as some masterful game of chess by obama is weak.

Sestak isn't some Republican reject like Specter. The party was backing Specter per Obama's request and they lost.

Deal with it.

[NCarolinawoman]

48. Secretary of the Navy is most likely what Sestak was offered.

At least that is the common wisdom.

They were discussing this again yesterday on Morning Joe.

[PopSixSquish]

51. I'm Dealing With "It" Just Fine - Thanks for Asking

If I were a resident of PA, then I would have voted for Joe Sestak myself. You are correct though. This isn't chess, checkers or tic-tac-toe. It is what it has always been - politics, specifically "situational" politics.

A deal was made at the time Arlen Spector switched parties and the White House tried to clear the primary field. Joe Stestak told them to get stuffed and told the press about the job offer. I'm sure he did so with no ulterior motive such as tapping into the anger some would feel about having to vote for "Single Bullet Spector" whatsoever.

The White House and Sestak will now kiss and make-up since the primary is over. Hillary Clinton, whom he initially supported in 2008, is now Secretary of State. Joe Stesak, if the good people of the Commonweath see fit to vote for him in November, will more likely than not be a reliable vote for Obama in the Senate, particularly if the chips are down. Hell even Dennis Kucinich ultimately voted for HRC.

Of course, when Joe does vote for or against something that the collective deems inappropriate, they will work themselves up into a righteous swivet.

But the sun will still rise in the east and politics will be based on deal-making and deal-breaking until such time as it isn't...

:hi:

[WI_DEM]

47. My initial reaction is "so?"

[kjackson227]

49. How ironic since some were fiercely suggesting yesterday...

that Emanuel and the WH were very upset because Specter lost... hmmmmm. This brings about an interesting change of events.

[quiller4]

53. Hand raised.

[zipplewrath]

54. Yeah, this made the whole Sestak/Specter thing kinda strange

The support for Sestak really wasn't "support". Truth is, many of us would have prefered a wildly different candidate. About the only person we wanted less, was Specter. What really bothered many of us was how Biden/Obama chose to step in, so early, and support their old friend. That really shut down the primary. It could have been a relatively "open" primary, with lots of choices. But Obama's actions really thinned the field. At that point it was a choice between the republican, and a democrat. Which is what we get to do in November. It sure woulda been nice to have been "allowed" a real primary.

[PopSixSquish]

57. I Actually Agree With You With Regard to Having More Choices in the Primary

and I hope that Joe Sestak is elected and turns out to be a good Senator for PA. I think he would be based on everything I seen/read so far. I can't decide if having Toomey or Paul the lessor as your Senator would be worse. It's like choosing between the evil of two evils.

I just found the whole situation rather ironic that there was this desperation to paint this as a loss for Obama et al both in the media and by some on this board given how Sestak got into politics in the first place...

[zipplewrath]

60. It was a "loss"

They backed the wrong horse. And they threw alot of weight behind him they didn't have to. It was foolish, and probably driven as much by friendship as the fact that they actually liked Specter. As several have suggested, it's not like they saw Sestak as the spawn of the devil or something. The most foolish part of it though was that they pissed off some of their base that they've already pissed off for other reasons. They could have handled it much better. They caused alot of people to spend alot of money so that two guys that aren't all that different in many ways could duke it out. And as your thread points out, Sestak in many ways was ALSO their guy, well Rahm's anyway, Biden probably didn't know 'em from Adam's off Ox.

[catgirl]

55. So? Your point is?

??

[PopSixSquish]

58. Amusing Irony

:toast:

[Uzybone]

61. Rahm....ya bastid!!!!