Keystone State Showdown

With a week to go before the Democratic primary, Congressman Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) has cemented a small but resilient lead in polls over incumbent Senator Arlen Specter (D-Specter). According to Greg Sargent, the latest poll, due out tomorrow from Franklin & Marshall College, will give Sestak a lead of five points. As Sargent reports, Terry Madonna, who conducted the poll, provides a simple reason for Sestak to be sanguine about his prospects among undecided Democrats: "If they hadn't agreed to vote for Specter after 29 years, why are they going to change [now]?"

Sestak is my preferred candidate, and I will vote for him next week. I admire Specter; he has served Pennsylvania with honor and with pragmatism. But his switch last year from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party crosses the line between pragmatism and base self-interest - as pointed out to devastating effect in a recent Sestak ad. Coupled with that is the fact that he is eighty years old and has had several recent bouts with cancer. It's time to pass the torch.

Not that my support for Sestak is based only on negative reasoning about Specter. Sestak, a three-star admiral, is the highest-ranking military official ever to serve in Congress. His expertise would be invaluable in the Senate. On top of that, Sestak is a fearless advocate for ending Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act, and would doubtless take the lead on these issues should he join the Upper House next year. One hopes that DADT, at least, will be a dead letter by then anyway, but there are plenty of other issues (such as DOMA) that are important to Pennsylvania gays and that will require strong, principled leadership in the Senate. Sestak can provide that leadership.

Update: Salon has an interesting piece on how things have started to fall apart for Specter - the quintessential establishment candidate in what is shaping up to be a deeply anti-establishment election cycle.

Update: Sestak won. I really hope you're not learning this from me.