Former Blue Dog Has The Blues About Obamacare Vote

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Former Democratic congresswoman and Catholic Kathy Dahlkemper is having buyers remorse after casting a crucial vote for Obamacare and subsequently losing her House seat. This is why you should always read the bill before you vote for the bill. Paging former Rep. Joe Sestak...

Via Weekly Standard:

Former Democratic congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper, a Catholic from Erie, Pennsylvania, cast a crucial vote in favor of Obamacare in 2010. She lost her seat that November in part because of her controversial support of Obamacare. But Dahlkemper said recently that she would have never voted for the health care bill had she known that the Department of Health and Human Services would require all private insurers, including Catholic charities and hospitals, to provide free coverage of contraception, sterilization procedures, and the “week-after” pill “ella” that can induce early abortions.

“I would have never voted for the final version of the bill if I expected the Obama Administration to force Catholic hospitals and Catholic Colleges and Universities to pay for contraception,” Dahlkemper said in a press release sent out by Democrats for Life in November. “We worked hard to prevent abortion funding in health care and to include clear conscience protections for those with moral objections to abortion and contraceptive devices that cause abortion. I trust that the President will honor the commitment he made to those of us who supported final passage.”

Keep on reading…

Don't you just love this line:

"I trust that the President will honor the commitment he made to those of us who supported final passage.”

Fat chance...

How to lose a Senate campaign: Sestak edition

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Joe Sestak is polling behind Republican Pat Toomey for the open Pennsylvania Senate seat. Sestak has devised a new strategy. He is criticizing his own party.

The Democratic Party promised change, but "I think my establishment, as well as the Republican establishment, has not changed politics in Washington, D.C.," Sestak said.

A review of recent votes shows Sestak is a reliable vote for Democrats.

Sestak has provided a reliable vote for President Barack Obama, supporting the new federal health care law, an overhaul of banking and financial sector regulations...

Not only does Sestak talk out of both sides of his mouth, he doubles-down and calls for higher taxes.

...dealing with the national debt and looming Medicare and Social Security insolvencies will demand higher taxes on the wealthy and fewer corporate tax breaks...

Rep. Joe Sestak beat former RINO Senator Arlen Specter in the primary for the right to represent the Democratic Party in the November election. Sestak is famous for claiming he was offered a job to drop out of the Senate race against Specter.

Three Top Republicans to White House: Your Sestak Memo Appear to Document Lawbreaking

Reps. Lamar Smith of Texas, Darrell Issa of California and James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin have sent the Obama administration a letter thanking them pointing out to them their Sestak memorandum appears to document lawbreaking. Impeachment anyone?

(CNSNews.com) - Three top House Republicans sent a letter to the White House counsel Wednesday saying they believe that a memorandum the counsel released Friday purporting to explain the administration’s actions in offering to appoint Rep. Joe Sestak (D.-Pa.) to a federal position in exchange for Sestak declining to make a Democratic primary run against Sen. Arlen Specter (D.-Pa.) presents a set of facts that appear to violate the law....

On Wednesday, Reps. Lamar Smith of Texas, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee; Darrell Issa of California, the ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee; and James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, the former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Bauer requesting that he produce all the documentation created and collected by his office in investigating the Sestak matter.

The letter expressed the congressmen’s view that the facts presented by Bauer’s memo appear to represent a violation of federal law.

Video: Robert Gibbs Wants To Consult Counsel Before Answering Why White House Waited 3 Months to Give Answer on Sestak Job Offer

Gibbs is such a weasel. When asked why the Obama administration took three months to answer the Joe Sestak job offer allegation, Gibbs said,

“I'd have to ask counsel for a better answer on that!”

This mealy-mouthed answer hardly inspires confidence the Obama administration has nothing to hide.

The Obligatory Gov. Ed Rendell 'Sestak Illegal Job Offer is No Big Deal' Video: "I Did the Same Thing In 2006"

I'll bet you did Governor. Are there any other potential crimes you want to confess?

Governor Ed Rendell on Sestak Scandal: It's no Big Deal - I Did It Too

Unraveling the Sestak Cover Story

It is incredulous for the White House to suggest they tried to lure Rep. Joe Sestak into dropping what turned out to be a successful Senate primary bid by offering him an uncompensated position on some board most Americans never heard about. Now, we have learned he wasn't eligible for the alleged appointment anyway. Bring on the Special Prosecutor. Americans smell a cover-up.

In a little-noticed passage Friday, the New York Times reported that Rep. Joe Sestak was not eligible for a place on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, the job he was reportedly offered by former President Bill Clinton. And indeed a look at the Board’s website reveals this restriction:

The Board consists of not more than 16 members appointed by the President from among individuals who are not employed by the Federal Government. Members are distinguished citizens selected from the national security, political, academic, and private sectors.

As a sitting member of Congress, Sestak was not eligible for the job. And since the White House intended for Sestak to remain in his House seat, he would not have been eligible for the board after this November’s elections, provided he was re-elected to the House.

Obama Decides on Sestak Story: "Bubba" did it

The White House has decided to blame the illegal Joe Sestak job offer on former President Bill Clinton. This gives them some distance and plausible deny-ability about the actual language used. In many ways, Bill Clinton is the perfect fall guy. Obama has leverage over him because of Hillary's position as Secretary of State. Additionally, the White House claims it was an unpaid job as an adviser. This makes the illegality a gray area. Bill Clinton certainly has credibility about offering unpaid positions. He is well known for the 'unpaid' position he put Monica Lewinsky in. Bill Clinton had lunch with President Obama yesterday. Was this to finalize their story? Bill Clinton wouldn't take a hit like this for free. I wonder what Obama offered him? So far, Bill Clinton is refusing to comment. Joe Sestak is desperate to put this behind him because it has become a campaign issue. Sestak wasted no time corroborating the White House story. Obama and his advisers must think Americans are idiots if they expect us to believe Sestak could be be dissuaded from running for the Senate by an unpaid advisory position most people never knew existed. Here is the text of the White house memo (pdf).

The Plum Line reported:

Senior White House advisers asked former President Bill Clinton to talk to Joe Sestak about whether he was serious about running for Senate, and to feel out whether he’d be open to other alternatives, according to sources familiar with the situation.

But the White House maintains that the Clinton-Sestak discussions were informal...

According to the sources, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel asked Clinton and his longtime adviser, lawyer Doug Band, to talk to Sestak about the race. It’s unclear right now whether the White House will say that Clinton was asked to suggest specific administration positions for Sestak, whether Clinton floated positions on his own, whether Clinton discussed other options not related to the adminstration [sic], or whether employment even came up at all in the talks...

Dem Gov. Rendell: White House and Joe Sestak should explain what happened with the alleged job offer

Democrats are joining the call for more information about the job offer Sestak said he was offered. Pennsylvania Gov. Rendell is calling on the White House and Joe Sestak to come clean about the alleged administration job offer to drop the primary challenge against Arlen Specter. Sestak defeated Specter and Republicans are calling for an independent prosecutor. Some are even using the "impeachment" word. This has become a huge distraction in Sestak's bid to defeat Republican Pat Toomey in November. The Obama administration is expected to address this issue on some level tomorrow.

The Morning Call reported:

The White House and Joe Sestak should explain what happened with the alleged job offer, Gov. Ed Rendell said Wednesday before a press conference on Capitol Hill.

"I actually think the White House and Joe Sestak should be a little more detailed and put this behind them," Rendell said...

Pennsylvania Voters Throw Arlen Specter On Ash Heap Of History

Image from Pennsylvania Dept. of State.

Former RINO Arlen Specter changed party affiliation to Democrat in a bid to avoid loosing the Republican primary. Now, he has lost the Democratic Primary. Arlen Specter has been handily defeated by Joe Sestak (54-46) in the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic primary. This is another rejection of a candidate President Obama campaigned for. Allegedly, the White House offered Joe Sestak an administration job to drop his primary bid against Specter.

Sestak Takes First Lead Over Specter

Real Clear Politics is reporting a Morning Call Tracking poll (pdf) of Pennsylvania likely voters has found the first lead for Joe Sestak in his bid to oust former Republican Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania Senate democratic primary. Sestak is now up by two points. Arlen Specter's support has declined 5% in one week.

Big news in the latest Muhlenberg College tracking poll
(5/4-7, 410 LVs, MoE +/- 5%) of the Pennsylvania Senate race. Rep. Joe Sestak (D) has for the first time in any public polling taken a lead over incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter.

Senate Primary Election Matchup
Sestak 44 (+1)
Specter 42 (-1)
Und 14 (+1)

Sestak Stands by Claim WH Offered Job to not Run Against Specter

The White House is denying this allegation, but Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) is sticking by his statement. Sestak is a retired Admiral. Hm... Secretary of the Navy Sestak?

Sestak:

I answered a direct question honestly.