The First 100 Days

I was going to come up with a short list of some highlights of Joe's accomplishments in the first 100 days, but his congressional staff already posted an extensive list on his official House.gov website.

The posting is subtitled: Whirlwind of outreach, accomplishments, and constituent service

Yes, I agree in advance it is a corny, unncessary and self-serving subtitle. If I felt a subtitle was needed, I would have gone with simply: Joe's been busy

The pre-election critics that implied and cried that Joe would disappear to Washington, not to be seen again until 2008 election, need to acknowledge that Joe has been here and active. Even though Nancy Pelosi has this Congress working Monday-Friday (instead of Tuesday-Thurday), Joe has still managed to meet with dozens of community groups and held summits on a range of issues (economic, education, health). His office seems to be doing a good job with Constituent Services as well.

Joe's voting record matches what the voters expected of him. Readers are encouraged check out the list on Joe's House.gov website, using the above link.

The biggest fly in the ointment is the FAA issue. The site contains a statement from Joe and a summary of his efforts so far. I don't know if the FAA can be beaten on this by Joe (or even Weldon), but he is making a serious effort, trying multiple approaches and is far from giving up. I hope his critics are not rooting for failure on this. Even potential rival, Councilman Andrew Reilly, is working with Joe on the issue.

Being a Congressman is a lot of hard work and Joe, if nothing else, seems to have an inexhaustible supply of energy. (I got tired just reading the list of what he's done.)

Anyway, my point is that now that Joe is in office, he should be evaluated on what he is doing as a Congressman. Readers are invited to comment on the past 100 days (please stick to the topic of this thread).

Only Explosion at CAIR Event was Applause

In today's Delco Times, Stephanie K. Whalen writes: Sestak cheered during CAIR speech

In what will surely be a great disappointment to Gil Spencer, Sestak did NOT call for Death to America. Instead, he gave a rousing speech about CAIR doing the important task of fighting discrimination. From the Delco article:

"CAIR does such important and necessary work in a difficult environment to change such perceptions and wrongs -- from racial profiling and civil rights to promoting justice and mutual understanding -- at a time when it is challenging to be an American-Muslim and pass, for example, through an airport checkpoint," Sestak said during his speech.

To my personal diappointment (but not suprise), Sestak took the easy road to pacify his critics by calling on CAIR to specifically denounce Hamas and Hezbollah. (I guess Joe didn't get to read my earlier blog entry.) If he's going to start singling out groups, he should also have tossed the crowd a bone by including the JDL (Jewish Defense League) which plotted to blow up a Los Angeles mosque in 2001. It hardly seems fair to ask CAIR to denounce only Islamic terrorist groups.
Why does everybody have to denounce things as a litmus test? Sean Hannity is alway using "failure to denounce" as a tactic in place of the real debate.
But, Sestak wants to get re-elected so he made sure to cover his left and right cheeks by mentioning both Hamas and Hezbollah on the record. (If he were a horse, he would have received a sugar cube and a pat on the head.) This gives him political cover in the Jewish community where he has been heavily (and unfairly) criticized.

Outside the Hilton Hotel, things were lively as well. A small group of protesters against Sestak were led by Joe Kauffman of the misnamed group: Americans Against Hate. It seems like the word Against slipped their minds.
On their website Joe Kauffman condemned Congressman Ellison in a piece entitled: "Keith Ellison's Friends, Our Enemies. Also on their site, Kauffman basically accused the Hilton Hotel management of supporting Hamas because CAIR was allowed in the building and his protesters were not allowed on Hilton property. What did he expect a "Protesters Welcome!" sign? I think the Daily Show may another contender for Bob Novak's douche-bag of the week award.

Also, a small group of counter-protesters supporting Sestak showed up outside the event and had some unkind words for Kauffman and his group. (Though kinder than what I might used.)

My conclusions about the whole CAIR affair:

Sestak comes out a winner by handling himself with grace and steadfastness under pressure (with the minimum obligitory politically pandering).

Gil "The Shill" Spencer served up several helpings of intolerance and ignorance, while showcasing a parade of neocon frontmen like Daniel Pipes and Dr. Zuhdi Jasser. We were treated to the open bigotry of Anonymous posters opposing civil rights and the presumption of innocence for Muslims, while embracing xenophobia and paranoia.

CAIR came out ahead too. They took a lot of heat as the anti-CAIR crowd got active. However, the anti-CAIR groups overplayed their hands and exposed their underlying racism. I heard the CAIR event was sold out. I suspect by people showing CAIR support against the propaganda and hate speech. So, the artificial anti-CAIR controversy wound up being free advertising for the event.

The Jewish community disappointed me by allowing itself to be so easily manipulated into turning on Joe like a group of fair-weather friends. They can apologize to Joe in the polling booths in November 2008.

As for me, I felt like a contestant on the show 1 vs 100 (though the Anonymous posters seems more like contestants on Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?)

I leave you with one of my favorite lines from Spencer Tracy (not to be confused with Gil Spencer) in Inherit the Wind:

Because fanaticism and ignorance is forever busy, and needs feeding. And soon, your Honor, with banners flying and with drums beating we'll be marching backward, BACKWARD, through the glorious ages of that Sixteenth Century when bigots burned the man who dared bring enlightenment and intelligence to the human mind!

Holy Sacrificial Lambs, Batman!

No folks, the Riddler is not running against Joe in 2008. However, folks are wondering what criminal mastermind the GOP will sacrifice in next year's failed attempt to unseat Sestak.

Before we take a sneak-peak at the potential upcoming Bat-Villians, picture the cartoon opening of the old Batman show with the stream of villians walking right into Batman and Robin's fists.....

Andrew Reilly (aka The Insider): Reilly's term is up on County Council. Congress would be a logical move for Andrew as the County and 7th District are mostly the same voters and precincts. Reilly has plenty of local GOP support.
Why he'd lose: The recent indictment of Haverford's Fred Moran is the tip of the iceberg in a pervasive pattern of Delco government corruption. The 5-member all GOP Council will come under heavy scrutiny this election cycle for all their backroom deals, patronage jobs and general avoidance of Sunshine Laws.
Andrew Reilly's participation on the Council will not survive the scrutiny of a congressional election against Joe Sestak. Also, Reilly's ties to any votes or deals that benefitted pals Curt Weldon and Charlie Sexton will get highlighted as the FBI case against them moves forward.

Pat Meehan (aka The Attorney): Pat's name comes up a lot in the speculation game. He is well known in a lot of high-ranking circles and enjoys a lot of name recognition among the public.
Why he won't even bother running: Pat's got bigger ambitions, like Rendell's Governor seat or possibly Spector's Senate seat. Both state-wide races. Meehan can't afford to waste time raising money and spending it for a local congressional district when it could be used for a more expensive state-wide race. Even if Meehan wins, then he's stuck in a crappy congressional job that will prevent him from working on his 2010 state-wide campaign.
Add to that, the risk-factor. If Joe cleans Pat's clock in 2008, Meehan is dead in the water for 2010. Who is going to back a state-wide guy that couldn't win his own congressional district?

Tom Killion (aka The Lackey): I don't know a lot about Tom Killion, but neither do a lot of other people in the 7th district. Tom is from Middletown. While he might do okay in his own 168th district, he'll get slaughtered in Springfield, Haverford, Radnor and probably Upper Darby. The state GOP was already dealt a blow last election. They won't be too keen to risk losing Killion's seat, only to have Joe take him down as well.


Tim Pulte (aka The Realtor or The TrustFund): Tim Pulte hit the rumor mill in another blog. Tim's not really a Bat-Villian. He'd be more like the innocent Egyptian professor guy that henchmen-wannabees would hit on the head to turn him into King Tut, who would employ them as henchmen.
The Pulte real estate money makes him an attractive sacrificial lamb. He can claim the mantle of a political outsider (but that card trick only works when you are against a long-time incumbant and Joe already used it).
Why he shouldn't bother running: The local GOP can put him on the ticket and then screw him on fund raising as they raise money to preserve their own seats. A Pulte campaign in Delco would be like the Swann campaign. The local GOP will sing his praises and do no real work for him. The local GOP would also milk his campaign coffers by throwing cronies and consultants his way. For Tim's sake, I hope the blog rumor was just a rumor.



disclaimer: This posting is all pure rumor and speculation with a sprinkling of analysis, spin and some humor. I didn't get the updated graphic in time for April 1st.

That said, feel free chime in with any other potential candidates. If you know a real hot-head opponent for Sestak, I'd really love to have a Joe vs The Volcano pun.

The Speech Joe SHOULD Give

(note: I'll skip writing Joe's rehash of his military career that he inserts into every speech)

Thank you for inviting me to the CAIR banquet.

First all, let me assure you that Gil Spencer did NOT write my speech. [pause for laughter and big round of applause] His views and intolerance represent a dying minority of the ignorant and paranoid. Your efforts to strengthen civil liberties and tolerance help America's security. We need more Muslim-Americans stepping forward to help the in the fight against radical extremists, rather than be afraid of the government or public. For example, the intolerant policies of George Bush have left us in short supply of translators. We will need the good will of the American Islamic community to fill the void.

Your FATWA condemning all forms of terrorism should be enough. Unfortunately, some people claim you should issue separate condemnations for each specific terrorist group or act. This is an attempt to create a "gotcha" situation if you miss one out of a list of hundreds or fail to condemn one group as strongly as another. It is designed to tie up your time naming-names rather than promoting ideas.

The anti-CAIR crowd has purposely and cynically spread selective propaganda to the Jewish community in hopes of provoking fears and mistrust, of pitting Muslim against Jew and of weakening me politically. While specific mention of Hamas or Hezbollah would appease some of the protesters outside, I am satisfied that your FATWA includes those groups and many others. [pause again for applause]

We must all continue the hard work to strengthen civil liberties in this country and not let ourselved be distracted by the intolerant few that seek to erode those liberties or gain political power from prejudice. A small, but deterimined, group sought to distract the public from your goals of defending the Islamic community from defamation. They sought to deter me from my promise to attend this dinner. I made a promise. I keep my promises. I AM HERE FULFILLING MY PROMISE. [pause for standing ovation]

Our country must not only obey it's own laws but also follow the Geneva Conventions and other international laws. This will restore our moral authority to conduct operations truly in our legitimate self-defense and prevent us from engaging in "tragic misadventures" like Iraq. [Note: Joe, feel free to drop your signature "tragic misadventure" tag and use something stronger like "total failure", "utter disaster" or "incompetent blunder"] We must engage in diplomacy with other countries in the region, even if we disagree on some fundamental issues. Progress does not occur in isolation or a vacuum. Do not allow yourselve to become isolated or marginalized by the vacuum of knowledge that is ignorance.

At this point, Joe's speech will have lasted about two minutes. Due to the conditioning he's received in Congress, he will reflexively do one of two things. Either will begin to say "I yield to ..." or "Will the Chair grant me an additional 30 seconds"

Joe, though I'm sure you've already written, practiced and memorized your speech, feel free to borrow from mine if you feel the need for some last-minute polishing or some extra pop.

The Speech only a Right-Wing Nut Job Would Give (Spencer or Weldon)

If Sestak had a friend like Gil Spencer, Sestak's enemies could all retire. In his April 5th column (though all his columns should be dated April 1st), Gil Spencer offers a speech for Sestak to give at this Saturday's CAIR banquet. Spencer: A free speech for Sestak, if he CAIRs

It is hardly any suprise that Gil's speech is filled with half-truths, misinformation, false analogies and falsehoods. It's the speech Weldon would give if we hadn't kicked him out of office.

Gil would have Sestak say:

And since [9/11] we have been spared any serious follow-up attacks, thanks primarily to changes in our laws, stepped up security and greater vigilance.

Joe knows that Bush and the GOP left our ports vulnerable. That 3,000+ US servicemen are dead and tens of thousands more wounded. There was a subway attack in Britain and overall increase in terrorism and terrorist recruitment worldwde. Illegal wiretaps by the FBI haven't made us safer. Breaking our military preparedness hasn't made us safer. Bombarding the FBI with thousands of false leads has taken time and resources away from pursuing real leads.

There were 8 years between the first WTC attack in 1993 and the second one in 2001. It's only been 5 1/2 years since the last attack here. In that time, Bin Laden (with the Bush bring-it-on challenge) has recruited and trained a lot more terrorists spread out all over the world, while we've squandered 500 billion dollars and our moral authority as a world leader.

Gil would have Sestak condemn CAIR (at their own banquet) because in a 1998 speech, CAIR Chairman Omar M. Ahmad called for the Islam being the dominant religion in not only America but the world. Gil, you should tune into the 700 Club to see some of the stuff Pat Robertson says, even calling for the assignation of the leader of a sovereign country). If Joe spoke at a 700 Club meeting, I'd be a lot more worried.

Gil would have Joe reach back fourteen years to quote a 1993 interview with CAIR spokesperson, Ibrahim Hooper, talking about wishing the US was Islamic and wanting to achieve that goal through education and not violence. For that statement, Gil also would have Sestak equate Hooper with Bin Laden claiming they have the same goals, merely different methods. Gil, do you want Joe to sound like an idiot?

Gil, Joe would NEVER say: "But George Bush didn’t go to war in Iraq to kill Muslims. He went to war to depose a dictator, Saddam Hussein.". Well, Bush originally claimed to go to stop a weapons program (that didn't exist). Bush turned down a pre-war deal from Saddam to step down (if US would let him live and move to another country)... so much for deposing being a reason. Bush went for the oil, for Dick Cheney's warped vision, and for the chip Bush had on his shoulder about Bush Sr. knowing better than to invade/occupy Iraq. As for killing Muslims, that was just a bonus to the neocons. Ask Ann Coulter, who doesn't feel we've killed enough.

The line: "So when CAIR accuses non-Muslim Americans of acting out of bigotry and bad faith, it is actually CAIR that is acting in bad faith" seems to be pure denial by Gil of his own bad-faith. Gil's already on record that Imams praying loudly and daring to speak in Arabic and saying "God is great" are all good-faith reasons to be suspicious. I don't think Gil is smart enough to understand the irony of him asking Sestak to claim CAIR is acting in bad-faith. Even Archie Bunker has more self-awareness than that.

Finally Gil wants Sestak to tell CAIR: "You should set these America-hating radicals straight." Gee, isn't that what CAIR did issuing a FATWA against terrorism and putting out full-page ads condemning terrorism after 9/11?

The only way Gil's version of Sestak speech could be more insulting to the group is if he stripped naked and jumped into a tub filled with roast pork.