Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) isn’t taking being called a hypocrite lightly. In response to Sen. Arlen Specter’s attack on his voting record, Sestak–who plans to challenge Specter in the 2010 Pennsylvania Senate primary–is setting the record straight. And he’s not pulling any punches: “We’ve learned today that Arlen Specter can abandon his party, but he just can’t quit making Republican swift-boat attacks on the integrity of Democrats who served in our military.
“Let’s be clear,” Sestak said, “I voted for Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, and Barack Obama while Arlen Specter was voting for George Bush and Bob Dole and John McCain. My question to Arlen Specter is this: do you regret voting for George Bush and John McCain? Why should Democrats support someone like you who actively campaigned – as recently as last year – for politicians with values like George W. Bush?”
Specter accused Sestak of not taking an active interest in politics, citing the fact that Sestak didn’t become a Democrat until 2006. But Sestak says that’s all about being a military officer.
“Like Colin Powell (who was also registered as an Independent while he served), I believe that military officers should be nonpartisan,” Sestak said. “The military depends on cohesion and unity, and the defense of this nation must never be political. I’m proud that I was an Independent during my 35 years in the Navy, and I was proud to register as a Democrat as soon as I retired from active duty. ”
You can read the full statement below the fold. But one things clear–Specter better be cautious about attacking Sestak on any grounds that leave him an opening to pivot back to his military service record.
We’ve learned today that Arlen Specter can abandon his party, but he just can’t quit making Republican swift-boat attacks on the integrity of Democrats who served in our military.
Like Colin Powell (who was also registered as an Independent while he served), I believe that military officers should be nonpartisan. The military depends on cohesion and unity, and the defense of this nation must never be political. I’m proud that I was an Independent during my 35 years in the Navy, and I was proud to register as a Democrat as soon as I retired from active duty.
Let’s be clear: I voted for Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, and Barack Obama while Arlen Specter was voting for George Bush and Bob Dole and John McCain. My question to Arlen Specter is this: do you regret voting for George Bush and John McCain? Why should Democrats support someone like you who actively campaigned – as recently as last year – for politicians with values like George W. Bush?
As for my voting record, Arlen Specter should get his facts straight. Obviously, I didn’t vote in any primary elections because Independents are prohibited from voting in party primaries in Pennsylvania. Arlen Specter claims I didn’t vote, for example, in the 1992 general election, even though voting records show that I did. In other years – for example, in 1994 — the records show that I requested an absentee ballot because I was serving out of Pennsylvania. And I also clearly remember voting at other times by absentee ballot, such as in 2002, while I was leading an aircraft carrier battle group in the war in Afghanistan. Unfortunately – as multiple reports have documented – it is all too common for service members serving in our military to not have their ballots counted because they arrive too late.
It’s sad that after 30 years in Washington, all Arlen Specter has to run on is a negative campaign.
