From realclear politics:

Sestak has run through 61 staffers since he was sworn in. By comparison, three other Pennsylvania Democrats elected to the House in the same year – Reps. Chris Carney, Patrick Murphy and Jason Altmire – got by with just 25, 26 and 28 staffers, respectively, over that same period.

In a widely read 2007 article in The Hill, a newspaper that covers Congress, several former staffers said that aides to Sestak “are expected to work seven days a week, including holidays, often 14 hours each day, going for months without a day off. These are very long hours even by Capitol Hill standards.”

“There is a revolving door in his office, not just because of the long hours, but also because he is not particularly nice or supportive of his staff,” said Capitol Hill veteran. “I am sure he would say he is demanding, just as he was in the military on both the giving and receiving end. To staffers on the Hill, though, he is a guy to avoid unless you are desperate for a job.”

Reminds me of the Eddie Murphy movie where he plays Thomas Jefferson Johnson, a con man with the same name as the long-time Congressman. Back in 1992 the idea of a black man going to Congress was still a novelty. In 2009 we are living the nightmare of what happens when affirmative action trumps electing serious people.

highhopes on July 10, 2009 at 7:48 PM

Too bad that we don’t have more men like Robert Smalls. He was a slave who was the pilot of a confederate gunboat. He ‘stole’ the gunboat to escape to the union. As pilot of the ironclad KEotuck or however you spell that, he saved that ship. He was on his old gunboat the Planter when it got in a crossfire (wooden ship, 15″ shells, what could go wrong). The union captain wanted to surrender but Small fought the ship to safety. He was later given command of it.

After the war he became a republican congressman. His quote about the democrats was “The democratic party should be thrown into the deepest hole and covered over so no trace of it’s existance ever bubbles to the surface”

TO get back to your point, Smalls got to where he was by brains, b*lls and effort, not affirmative action.

Oh, one more thing. He bought his former master’s home. The mother or the wife of the master was going senile. Smalls let her move back into the house to spend the remainder of her days. Add class to the previous.

I’ve been in and around the Navy since 1979. It may be helpful to learn what it takes to become a Vice Admiral, and then rise to the JCS.

Getting stars is a matter of luck and timing as much as it is competence. The second star is virtually assured but to get the third you have to be on the short list. There are a couple paths to get there. You can do it in the field in a select few commands or you can do it primarily from your DC experience as Colin Powell did and (I suspect) Stasek did.

Naval officers with ‘poor performance” don’t get to put on a star. “Poor command climate” can mean anything, but mostly means “I don’t like you anymore”. More often than not, it is a result of irreconcilable differences of opinion or policy. First, you get the warning. If that doesn’t work, you’re encouraged to retire. If that doesn’t work, you get “Poor command climate” or “loss of confidence in ability to command”. Then you get fired. W

One of my pet peeves is firing people for “poor command climate” or “loss of confidence”: as opposed to making specific charges. Nevertheless that is the current standard. I disagree with your scenario that this was the last step in a process where the admiral refused to retire. Flag assignments are on a very clear schedule that everybody knows and tracks. Were there not an immediate reason to fire Stasek, he would have simply been removed by not giving him an assignment in the next round. There was some compelling reason why he was relieved of duty when he was.

When you wear 3 or 4 stars, diffences of opinion are defacto policy differences; policy is set by politicians. So, Sestak was more than likely breaking with Bush’s policys.

So What? He was fired because of poor command climate. That has nothing to do with policy differences with the administration.

And. . . . . does anyone else know what I’m talking about?

Narniaman on July 10, 2009 at 8:55 PM

She wore bluuuu uuuuueeee velvettt….

well he can whine about Bush til the cows come home that will not be impressing the electorate in 2010. maybe he should beef up his Dem credentials with bragging about the # of flags he’s burned or abortions he’s helped facilitate or homosexual affairs.

highhopes on July 10, 2009 at 8:14 PM

I’ve been in and around the Navy since 1979. It may be helpful to learn what it takes to become a Vice Admiral, and then rise to the JCS.

Naval officers with ‘poor performance” don’t get to put on a star. “Poor command climate” can mean anything, but mostly means “I don’t like you anymore”. More often than not, it is a result of irreconcilable differences of opinion or policy. First, you get the warning. If that doesn’t work, you’re encouraged to retire. If that doesn’t work, you get “Poor command climate” or “loss of confidence in ability to command”. Then you get fired. W

When you wear 3 or 4 stars, diffences of opinion are defacto policy differences; policy is set by politicians. So, Sestak was more than likely breaking with Bush’s policys.

Ed, shouldn’t you be giving Bobby Vinton a Shout-Out?

And. . . . . does anyone else know what I’m talking about?

Is the Navy as weak and full of pansies as they appear to be, e.g. Lindsay Graham?

Jaibones on July 10, 2009 at 8:21 PM

Graham is an Air Force lawyer in the Reserves. Stasek was a Surface Warfare Vice Admiral ultimately fired for poor performance by the Bush leadership team which is when he had his “revelation” that he had always been a Democrat.

highhopes on July 10, 2009 at 8:14 PM

Dude, seriously? I did not know that. It all makes sense now – he’s a worthless pansy, no wonder he’s a Demorat.

I lived in Pa and I know Specter is a doofus but I’m a little lost how someone can spend 35 years in the military and be a Dem.

gsherin on July 10, 2009 at 8:05

I only spent 23 years in the Navy, having come in during the Reagan years. Those a few years older were very bitter about the way Carter treated the military (it was years between any pay raises and no real commitment to the hardware) Then I experienced the way Clinton used the military as his own private lab for social experimentation as if an organization whose mission is national defense should be used to play around with issues like legitimizing gay lifestyles. Obama is doing much of the same thing.

I don’t buy Stasek was really a committed Democrat all that time. I suspect he is a political opportunist who got fired from his job as a Deputy CNO by the Bush leadership team and that might have been the deciding factor. He got elected to Congress as a Bush-hater and that’s about all he has.

Sestak, OTOH, has a fabulous argument:

“When Arlen was voting in support of Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II, I was defending the country, as a non-partisan patriot”. The face value alone is humiliating to Spectre.

BobMbx on July 10, 2009 at 7:58 PM

Dude, what in the hell are you smoking? Sestak was fired by the current CJCS (then CNO) Mike Mullen due to poor command climate. Do you know what it takes to fire a Deputy CNO for poor command climate? We aren’t talking about having the talk that he should retire, he was canned from his job because of his performance. Conversely, Specter may have been a liberal bastard but he was consistent and never fired for his performance much as he probably should have been.

Does he not notice the military is about the only part of the govt the Dems ever try to actually cut? Does notice how no ships are ever going to named after most of the people he voted for and the only reason Carter would is cuz he was in the navy but a god awful president?

This is the only argument Arlen can make. What else is there for him in his Senate tenure?

“I was almost a liberal most of the time” just doesn’t seem convincing.

Sestak, OTOH, has a fabulous argument:

“When Arlen was voting in support of Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II, I was defending the country, as a non-partisan patriot”. The face value alone is humiliating to Spectre.

Sestak is probably weaker. So many oldsters here vote by name recognition.

ROCnPhilly on July 10, 2009 at 7:24 PM

Reminds me of the Eddie Murphy movie where he plays Thomas Jefferson Johnson, a con man with the same name as the long-time Congressman. Back in 1992 the idea of a black man going to Congress was still a novelty. In 2009 we are living the nightmare of what happens when affirmative action trumps electing serious people.

Sestak wins this round, but I’m happy to say it’s not a knockout. I’m hoping this one will go the distance, just like in Rocky, with both fighters so bloodied that Pat Toomey has a walkover in 2010. Pass the popcorn and enjoy.

To say that Sestak isn’t a “people person” is an understatement. He bullies his staff and goes through them at a huge rate. He’s also an opportunistic partisan whore. George C. Marshall, also a Pennsylvanian was a careful apolitical military officer. Sestak not so much if he was hanging out at the White House.

The real question I’m concerned about is Toomey’s chances against either of them. The turncoat RINO or the thuggish Admiral.

Pass the popcorn and a beer. This is going to be a fun ride.

txag92 on July 10, 2009 at 6:29 PM

make mine a Bud Light please :-)

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got lots of family in the Pittsburgh area, big time union folks, will have to see who they are leaning towards