Joe Sestak: A Great Leader from the Philadelphia Area

WILKS-BARRE, PA. - I met Congressman Sestak during the Pennsylvania Primaries, and just like many people form Wilkes-Barre. I was very impressed. Sestak was running for the Democratic nomination to the United States Senate. Sestak overcame great odds and a seemingly insurmountable lead to defeat the incumbent, Senator Arlen Spector, who was endorsed by the Democratic Party Hierarchy. The upset victory is even more impressive when we consider that Senator Spector was a political giant for a generation.

Vindication in the Press
I covered Congressman Sestak when he campaigned in Wilkes-Barre and published several articles with Associated Content. I reported that Congressman Sestak was a incredibly impressive political leader who actually had a great chance to achieve this great upset.

Congressman Joe Sestak is the finest politician to come out of Philadelphia since Governor Ed Rendell. Now the national media is catching up with Associated Content. I am writing this article on Friday afternoon (August 20) and I just received an e-mail stating that the New York Times Magazine will run a feature article on Sestak this coming Sunday. The title of the article is going to be Joe Sestak, the 60th Democrat. It is very gratifying to know that the New York Times agrees that Congressman Sestak is a political heavyweight who deserves a great deal of attention!

Sestak Continues to Amaze
Sestak has an uncanny ability to understand people, give them what they want, and then lead them to their destination, Sestak is a great liberal who wants to protect the environment, and one would not expect him to support coal production. Yet he knows Northeastern Pennsylvania is coal country and the voters desperately want jobs and a new economic future. So he adjusts his views to meet the needs of the people.

With a stroke of political genius, Sestak published an editorial in the Times Leader Newspaper of Wilkes-Barre. The title of his editorial says it all, "Energy bill will create jobs, invigorate coal industry."

The essay starts out by showing he has a great deal in common with people in Northeastern Pennsylvania. He is from a family of immigrants. His grandfather came from Czechoslovakia to Coatesville, Pennsylvania in 1922. Like many of his contemporaries from all over the world, he pursued the American Dream and came here to build a better life for his family as a steelworker.

It was difficult work. Working alongside his fellow craftsmen and laborers, he helped build the foundation for prosperity in Pennsylvania for generations to come.

Today much of Pennsylvania's industry is in decline. That is why Congressman Sestak supports the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act. This legislation is focused on developing jobs, and Sestak helped it pass in the House of Representatives. This legislation will produce millions of jobs in America, reduce pollution, and increase investment in new energy technology.

The bill has great potential. Independent analysis demonstrated that the bill will develop as many as 78,000 new jobs in Pennsylvania alone and will increase the state's gross domestic product by $4.3 billion by 2020.

The bill will energize Pennsylvania's coal industry which will be a critical element in our strategy to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. The plan is to more than double the percentage of new power generated by coal plants; from 11 percent to 28 percent.

This will improve America's national security. Oil imports will be reduced by 12 percent, which will reduce global demand and take away $100 million in daily oil revenues to the Iranian government.

Private investments which have helped the steel industry should become commonplace under the new energy bill. Some steel mills have been retrofitted as wind turbine factories and have opened their doors once again. Many people have returned to work and others look forward to the day when they can return to work.

Source:
Joe Sestak, Energy bill will create jobs, invigorate coal industry, The Times Leader Newspaper, August 18, 2010.