For Immediate Release—May 23, 2010

Contact: Nachama Soloveichik • Communications Director • 484.809.7994 • 646.528.1029
Contact: Kristin Anderson • Deputy Communications Director • 484.809.7994 • 612.280.5196
Contact: Tim Kelly • Press Secretary • 484.809.7994

NBC’s David Gregory Shines Light on Sestak’s Sham Independence

Allentown – This morning on Meet the Press, host David Gregory shined a bright light on Joe Sestak’s sham independence, demonstrating that Joe is and has been a reliable rubber stamp for Nancy Pelosi’s extreme agenda.

For months, Sestak has been trying to play the role of the outsider, claiming independence from the Washington Democratic establishment, but when pressed by Gregory to name examples of his independence, Sestak offered nothing but his standard talking points.

Gregory: Congressman, you sound like the ultimate outsider. The only problem is, you are a congressman . . . you voted for TARP, for the bailout, you voted for the President’s stimulus plan, you voted for the President’s health care plan, exactly which establishment are you not part of that you’re running against?
Sestak: You know, I have 31 years in the navy; when I came to Washington, I was kind of taken aback. That kind of accountability that I learned from my actions in the U.S. Navy, seemed to be absent down here in Washington D.C. . . .
Gregory: But Congressman, the question I asked you, you have supported all the major elements of the Obama agenda, and yet, in that sound bite, you were running as an outsider. Are you not part of the establishment that you are railing against?
Sestak: Oh, I did vote for those because they were needed. But as John F. Kennedy once said: “Sometimes the Party asks too much . . .”
Gregory: Which element of the Obama agenda that was his priority did you stand up to?
Sestak: Oh, I honestly think that this President has done great, good things, but I don’t think we’ve gone far enough in terms of helping small business.

“It is clear that Joe Sestak is not an independent voice for Pennsylvania, but an echo of Nancy Pelosi’s far-left agenda,” said Toomey Communications Director Nachama Soloveichik. “That’s why Sestak has voted with Speaker Pelosi 100% of the time this year. The only time Sestak has disagreed with the Democratic establishment is when he argued that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid did not go far enough in their liberal agenda.”

Over the past year and a half, Sestak has:
Voted for the $787 billion stimulus (RC #70, 02/13/09) and argued that it should have been $1 trillion. (NBC WCAU, 02/27/09)
Voted for Speaker Pelosi’s job-killing cap-and-trade bill (RC #477, 06/26/09) and even said: “I was disappointed in this bill because I thought it was eviscerated during the process too much.” (Netroots, 08/14/09)
Voted for the $2.3 trillion health care bill (RC #887, 11/07/09), and even said he was disappointed in the bill because it didn’t go far enough. (MSNBC, Andrea Mitchell Reports, 12/17/09) Maybe that’s why he voted for a version of the legislation in committee that would have allowed states to outlaw private health insurance altogether! (Education & Labor Committee, 07/17/09)
Voted for the Wall Street bailout (Roll Call #681, 10/03/08) (RC #27, 01/22/09), and even opposed a bipartisan effort to end the bailout after one year. (Press release, 09/26/09)

“In contrast, Pat Toomey has a record of standing up to Republican leaders and President Bush when he was in Congress, especially when he thought they were spending too much money,” Soloveichik continued. “Time and again, Pat opposed his own party leaders when they wanted to eliminate spending caps and pass bloated spending bills filled with wasteful earmarks, and even led an unheard of ‘filibuster’ in the House in order to force Republicans to cut government spending. For his independence and fiscal discipline, Pat earned high marks and high praise from editorial boards and nonpartisan watchdog groups like Citizens Against Government Waste and National Taxpayers Union.”

Pat Toomey’s Record of Standing up to Republicans:

Pat criticized Republicans in 1999 when they wanted to eradicate spending caps they had passed in 1997. (Morning Call, 03/25/99)
Pat took on his own leadership and won a guarantee to use a portion of the surplus to pay off the federal debt. (Morning Call, 03/26/00)
Pat was instrumental in convincing Republican leaders to maintain rules mandating term limits for committee chairs, originally passed in 1995. (Morning Call, 11/17/00)
Pat voted against the Republicans’ $869 billion 2002 Farm Bill. (RC #123, 05/02/02)
Pat voted for a more fiscally responsible budget every year one was offered as an alternative to the official Republican Party budget because he thought it spend too much money. (RC #73, 03/23/00) (RC #68, 03/28/01) (RC #79, 03/20/03) (RC #90, 03/25/04)
Pat and other congressmen led a “filibuster” against his own Republican leadership in order to force House leaders to restrain spending. They offered a series of amendments on the $19.8 billion Interior Department bill, nearly $900 million more than the President’s request. (AP, 07/17/02)
Pat was very critical of President Bush’s Policies:
Earmarks: “We encourage President Bush to issue an Executive Order to cut down on the number of earmarks and insure taxpayer dollars are being spent in the most efficient manner possible. To be sure, many congressmen will kick and scream over the loss of their pork, but taxpayers deserve better.” (Press release, 12/21/07, “Club for Growth Urges President Bush to Turn off Earmark Spigot”)
Fannie & Freddie Bailout: “The circumstances we face today are a direct result of a fundamentally flawed business model operating with an indirect taxpayer subsidy, but the administration’s refusal to begin an immediate process of fundamentally reforming the model by turning it into its rightful form as a fully private venture only exacerbates a dire situation. Secretary Paulson’s intervention today misses a unique opportunity to fix this mess. American taxpayers could end up paying a very dear price for this mistake.” (Press release, 09/08/08, “Fannie and Freddie Bailout is a Missed Opportunity of Colossal Proportions”)
TARP: “The bailout plan is fundamentally unfair to American taxpayers and responsible borrowers and lenders. The bailout misallocates capital, risks massive inflation, invites political manipulation, and sets a bad precedent for future bailouts down the road. Already we are witnessing other industries lining up for their share of the government’s handouts.” (Press release, 09/24/08, Club for Growth Statement on President Bush Speech”)
Auto Bailout: “President Bush’s decision to extend loans to the big three auto companies is just the latest in a series of unfair burdens imposed on taxpayers. The $13.4 billion loan will only postpone the inevitable-either bankruptcy or additional bailouts. Instead, those companies that cannot survive on their own should proceed with bankruptcy now. The point of bankruptcy is to allow companies with valuable assets either to restructure their liabilities and reemerge stronger or sell those assets to someone who can deploy them successfully.” (Press release, 12/19/08, “Club for Growth Declares Auto Bailout a Mistake”)
Nonpartisan newspapers have issued praise for Pat’s independence:
"After having talked in his 1998 campaign about going to Congress to work toward fiscal discipline, he put his principles ahead of party-line obedience. The best illustration of this came in March of this year when he pulled enough conservative allies together to force Speaker Dennis Hastert to negotiate with him to set aside $4 billion in projected surplus funds for debt reduction . . . At a time when both parties were taking about reducing debt, tax cuts, and new spending, Mr. Toomey’s efforts kept everyone honest.” (Morning Call endorsement, 10/15/00)
“Just getting debt reduction into the $1.82 trillion budget resolution was a coup. But to do it knowing it could threaten a $9 billion supplemental appropriations bill supported by House Speaker Dennis Hastert, took moxie. The move surprised Speaker Hastert and House Appropriations Chairman Bill Young, and Rep. Young threatened to kill the budget resolution unless Rep. Toomey’s provision was killed. Finally he agreed to that in exchange for the debt-reduction promise.” (Morning Call, 03/26/00)
“Constituents of the 15th and 8th Congressional Districts can feel a measure of pride in their Republican representatives for the leadership and wisdom they demonstrated in Washington this week. U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey was instrumental in convincing his Republican colleagues Wednesday to keep a three-term limit on committee and subcommittee chairmen . . . Each is a principled gentleman, worthy of emulation by freshmen lawmakers; this was evident Wednesday when GOP House lawmakers met.” (Morning Call, 11/17/00)
“Toomey is not a new Santorum, not a straight-party stalwart. His campaign has shown once again that he is a principled candidate with clear ideas rooted in practical experience. He will be a formidable opponent for whichever Democrat wins the primary election.” (Patriot-News Editorial Board, “Endorsement: Toomey has grasp of issues,” 05/10/10)