Sestak Takes the Lead in the Polls

As I said in my last article this is Sestak's last chance. True to form, Sestak is staging an amazing comeback.

Joe Sestak is an emerging political superstar and he has done it again. In several polls, he has taken the lead over Republican opponent Pat Toomey in the race for the U.S. Senate. As reported in the Citizens' Voice, Sestak leads in the Muhlenberg College Poll and the poll completed by the Public Policy Polling firm in Raleigh N.C. In the primary last May, he came out of nowhere to beat political icon Arlen Specter even though the White House supported Specter.

Sestak is winning because he has mastered the political culture in Pennsylvania. First and foremost, he is emphasizing that he wants to expand the economy and develop jobs and then give millions and millions of Pennsylvanians a new economic future. Second, he has demonstrated that he has the leadership skills to make a difference, and finally he wants to take care of our senior citizens by keeping social security healthy.

Jobs

As Michael Sisak of the Citizens' Voice reported, Sestak supports companies that develop jobs in the United States and not in foreign countries. Sestak has worked for tax breaks and guaranteed bank loans to small business which hire the most workers in the United States. Sestak believes small business and manufacturing are the backbone of our economy.

As Marc Levy of the Associated Press reported, in early October, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that will allow the federal government to seek sanctions against China and other nations for manipulating their currency to obtain trade advantages. Sestak voted for it and his opponent Pat Toomey said he would have voted against it.

Sestak believes the stimulus program should have developed more jobs. Sestak wanted a $25 billion tax cut for small business that would have been funded by closing tax loopholes for oil companies and Wall Street.

Leadership

Two weeks ago, Sestak gave a major speech on foreign policy which emphasized his experience in national security. This reminded voters that he is a retired Admiral who has the leadership skills to make a difference.

Sestak served for three decades in the Navy and retired as an Admiral. Then he went into politics and was elected to Congress in 2006.

According to Marc Levy of the Associated Press, Sestak asserted that the Obama Administration should establish milestones to measure success in the war against al-Qaeda. We need metrics to determine if our current strategy is working. Sestak believes the metrics for measuring success should include sealing the Afghanistan-Pakistan borders so the Taliban cannot flee into Pakistan and receive safe haven. He wants to work with tribal leaders to prevent the expansion of Taliban influence, and eliminate the leaders and fighters of al-Qaeda that flee into Pakistan.

Social Security

As Borys Krawczeniuk of the Citizen's Voice reported, Sestak criticized his Republican opponent Pat Toomey for supporting Social Security privatization. Sestak believes privatization will jeopardize the program that keeps half the nation's senior citizens out of poverty.

Putting social security funds into the stock market during the Great Recession would have devastating effects, as 20 million senior citizens would have slid into poverty. According to Sestak, investing social security funds in the stock market takes the security out of social security.

Toomey is against the wholesale investment of social security funds into the stock market. He supports giving younger workers the opportunity of using a portion of their Social Security payroll tax and developing private or personal accounts. They could then invest the funds anyway they want.

The program has major problems which even Toomey acknowledges. The government would have to borrow trillions of dollars to replace the money which the young workers remove from the program.

Source. 1. Borys Krawczeniuk, Poll Vaulting, The Citizens' Voice, October 21, 2010.
2. Marc Levy of the Associated Press, Sestak seeks upper hand in jobs debate, The Citizens' Voice, October 16, 2010.
3. Borys Krawczeniuk, Sestak bashes Toomey on Social Security, The Citizens' Voice, October 6, 2010.
4. Michael Sisak, Sestak: Dems botched economic opportunities, The citizens' Voice, October 6, 2010.
5. Marc Levy, Sestak wants White House to gauge progress in Afghanistan, The Citizens' Voice, October 5, 2010.