The 2010 Pennsylvania U.S. Senate Primary Race

The 2010 Pennsylvania U.S. Senate Primary Race is a classic election in American History. The race features four prominent Pennsylvanians.

My article is about the Democratic primary which is the only race in town. We will briefly discuss the Republican Primary to explain how it effects the entire nation.

The Republican Primary features two classical conservatives, Pat Toomey and Peg Luksik. Pat Toomey is stressing limited government, limited taxes, and economic development, while Peg Luksik is pursuing the traditional Republican message and touting her credentials as a social
conservative at the same time. Peg Luksik is a fascinating candidate. Unfortunately, the polls show that this race is over and former Congressman Pat Toomey has won. As a matter of fact, Mr. Toomey is saving most of his money for the General election in November.

The important issue to remember is that the General election in November will tell us a lot about the political mood of the country, the strength of the Tea Party Movement and conservatism as a whole, and the ability of liberal Democrats to remain in firm control of the country. The Tea Party and just about every conservative in the state will support Pat Toomey in November. They will face a big name liberal Democrat in November, and this Senate race will be a great barometer for measuring if liberal Democrats can remain in firm control of the country or if conservative Republicans and their Tea Party allies are about to overtake them. After the primary, we will begin analyzing the issue from this point of view.

Let us take a look at the primary in the Democratic Party, the only race in town. Senator Arlen Specter is the incumbent and he has spent a lifetime in Washington. He is supported by the White House and much of the establishment in the Democratic Party. Specter has several major problems and is in a tight race with Congressman Joe Sestak. Senator Specter is a former Republican Senator who switched parties to increase his
chance of being re-elected. Of course, he explained his flip flop in different terms,arguing the Republican Party was too right wing and conservative for a moderate Republican. As a long time Republican and loyal supporter of President Bush he is having serious problems gaining the support of rank and file Democrats. Senator Specter's
problems may be insurmountable. He has a well earned reputation as a flip-flopper who changed parties. He supported President Bush's massive tax cuts, as a good way to fight a recession. Now he supports President Obama's policy of using unprecedented government spending to get the country out of this recession. It looks like he supports whatever President is in office just to stay in power and get re-elected. As a matter of fact,
Congressman Sestak uses a television commercial in which Senator Specter is quoted as saying that he switched parties to get re-elected. Another example of Senator Specter's duplicity is on the abortion issue. Senator Specter is staunchly pro-choice. He supported President Bush on this issue anyway. President Bush appointed two conservative pro-life judges to the Supreme Court, and asked Specter to help get the nominees approved in the Senate. Senator Specter agreed to help and played a vital role in getting the nominees approved in the Senate and on the Supreme Court.

This brings us to Congressman Joe Sestak, who looks like the comeback kid. Congressman Sestak started this campaign way behind in the polls and up against impossible odds. He staged an incredible comeback and now leads in most polls. This comeback deserves an explanation.

A variety of factors led to his dramatic comeback.

Sestak is a retired three star Admiral. People have enormous respect for the Navy and its' contribution to American security, and now respect Congressman Sestak.

Sestak demonstrated political maturity. The development of natural gas is probably the most difficult and complicated issue in the state. Mining natural gas can provide thousands of desperately needed jobs, increase badly needed tax revenues, and make a major contribution to national energy independence. At the same time, it is loaded with risks, dangers, and potential environmental disasters. The Congressman wants to develop a comprehensive approach by drilling and protecting the environment at the same time. To accomplish this objective, he wants to bring together the best minds in government, business, and the environmental movement and develop the best possible program.

Sestak wants to serve the people. As a retired Admiral he knows what leadership is all about. Leadership is taking care of people. He had thousands and thousands of sailors under his command for many years. These sailors work for a living just like the vast majority of Americans, and they probably have more obstacles to overcome in life than the average American. He worked with these sailors everyday to accomplish the mission and solve their problems. He demonstrated that he knows what it is like to earn a living in the Great Recession. He lamented that Pennsylvania is way behind other states in job development. He supports job development by supporting tax breaks for small business, and worked with businessmen and the local community college to develop jobs in his Congressional district.

He has demonstrated the spirit of public service which people are all looking for. He wants to give something back to the country. He had a great career in the Navy and when his daughter was stricken with a brain tumor, his government stood behind his family and paid for some of the finest medical care in the world. Now he wants all Americans to have the same medical insurance.

My prediction is that it will be a great election in November. Pat Toomey, a classical conservative, will run against the great liberal, Congressman Joe Sestak. Stay tuned it is going to be a great race.