A few days ago, Crashing the States had the opportunity to go right to the middle of the Joe Sestak and Patrick Murphy campaigns. See
hekebolos' diary for a recap. We caught up with Joe at a local church where he addressed an African American crowd in an economically depressed area. The church was a newer structure more akin to a community center than the transcept and nave churches we see filling towns in suburban Connecticut. The crowd was far from filling the church's several hundred seat capacity, however the audience was eager to ask Joe questions, and he responded with equal enthusiasm. They were concerned with Iraq, security issues and the exportation of jobs.
More below.
Joe expressed his dismay at what he deemed the tragic misadventure and strategic blunder of Iraq, called for bringing the troops home, insisted on ending rewards to companies that ship jobs overseas, and suggested the US implement a single-payer health care policy.
A following event found Joe at a gathering of local Democratic officials and activists intended to help revitalize the Democratic Party in Clifton Heights, a suburb of Philadelphia ignored for far too long. It was an Italian buffet with catered tables and red, white and blue trim that was whisked away as we closed the venue. Sestak addressed the gathering along with several other local politicians. We caught up with him as he finished pressing the flesh and making the rounds of the hundred or so people in attendance.
Here's a quick peek of our conversation with Joe:
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(If video doesn't embed, here's the link.)
The latest polls have Sestak and Weldon in a dead heat, (Sestak 44 : Weldon 43) and Weldon polling an untennable position for an entrenched incumbent. For a recap with tid bits, check out DebtorsPrison's diary. Joe's been matching Weldon's fundraising for the past quarter and Saturday marked the last day of fundraising for Q3 reporting.
For anyone who doesn't know, Joe Sestak Jr. is a 31 year veteran of the US Navy, who rose to the rank of Vice Admiral and commanded a 30 ship fleet that conducted combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. He grew up in PA's 7th district and has pent more than 10 years at sea on 6 tours with both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets. He also served as the Director for Defense Policy on the National Security Council staff while Clinton was President. His opponent, Curt Weldon, is a 20 year incumbent.
We were at the Lamont campaign on Thu, Fri and Sat, met the man himself, and spoke with Tom Swan and Tim Tagaris, to be discussed by hekebolos in an upcoming diary. Yesterday we met with Paul Hodes NH-02 and today, we're dropping by DFA HQ in Burlington, VT To meet Jim Dean before heading off to NY-29 and Eric Massa.
President Clinton will also be coming to town on Thursday for a special event with Joe Sestak! It's clear that this is a highly contested race, and one of the Dems' best pickup opportunities this cycle.
Look for upcoming videos of our interviews, including Patrick Murphy in PA-08.