Toomey for Senate

In a desperate attempt to distance himself from the extreme liberal views shared by he and his boss in the House, Nancy Pelosi, Joe Sestak has called on television stations across Pennsylvania to cease and desist running television commercials (which were paid for by the Chamber of Commerce) that he finds "inaccurate."

Let's take a closer look at this charge.

The ad states that Congressman Sestak has voted with Nancy Pelosi 100% of the time. The fact is, in the whole of 2009, Congressman Sestak did mirror Speaker Pelosi's votes 100% of the time (Congressional Quarterly) and the same is true of the first half of 2010.

Sestak protests that the ad is inaccurate because he voted with Pelosi only 97% over the course of his congressional career. But is this really an argument worth making? If Joe played for the Sixers and only made 97% of his free-throws over the course of his career, he'd still be the all-time NBA leader.

The truth is, Congressman Sestak has voted with Nancy Pelosi very nearly 100% of the time over his entire congressional career and has sided with the liberal Speaker on every major issue, from bailouts, to government-run health care, to massive deficits, to huge tax increases on Pennsylvania businesses, to a cap-and-trade energy tax. The Chamber of Commerce ad is entirely accurate of the last year and a half and it largely reflects his voting career in the House.

But no matter how Congressman Sestak chooses to slice it, the Sestak/Pelosi agenda is extremely liberal and all wrong for the working families of Pennsylvania. Congressman Sestak's votes for never ending bailouts, government-run health care, ballooning deficits, a cap-and-trade energy tax, and trillions of dollars in tax increases places him far outside the mainstream and completely out of step with the majority of Pennsylvanians.

Joe Sestak is going to great lengths to distance himself from the most liberal wing of the Democratic Party in Washington. But this is a tale of the tape. When Joe's matched up against Nancy Pelosi, two members could not be more similar.