Sestak, CAIR and beyond

In the shadow of all the dust flying around the U.S. Attorney scrap there's a minor story playing out regarding Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestak and his agreement to keynote a banquet hosted by CAIR. So minor that's it not even the point of this post.

Researching this story revealed Vice-Admiral Sestak's distinguished and formidable Navy career. He was a ship's captain then moved up through channels to the point of serving on Clinton's National Security Council staff in 1997, around the same time Joe Wilson was there.

Then it dawned on me--Mr. Sestak was the same guy who defeated ten-term Pennsylvania Congressman Kurt Weldon last November. Recall that Weldon was the recipient of an 11th hour Justice Department investigation on alleged influence peddling. Earlier he had been quite outspoken on things like Able Danger and WMDs in Iraq. One of the last things he was apparently looking at was TWA 800, according to investigative journalist Jack Cashill. Some thought he might be slipping off the deep end with all that stuff.

Perhaps those little peccadilloes took the luster off Sestak's incredible accomplishment:

He is only the second Democrat to represent the Delaware County-based district and its various permutations since the Civil War.

Such an unlikely victory could very well be explained by the mood of the electorate last year, the purported lobbying scandal, and Sestak's Navy background. However, when other variables are factored in, his victory might raise a red flag or two in some quarters. For example, Sandy Berger (Clinton's National Security Advisor from March 1997) had just recovered from his taxing sentence of community service for stealing National Archives documents when he seemingly took a liking to Joe:

Berger began his spring offensive in March 2006 with a fund-raiser for Weldon's opponent, Joe Sestak. Almost universally despised by his Naval colleagues, the former vice admiral was forced into retirement for what the U.S. Navy charitably called "poor command climate." Before being recruited to run for Congress, Sestak had not lived in Weldon's district for 30 years.

Although hosted by Berger, the fund-raiser was held at the law offices of Harold Ickes, a veteran Clinton fixer, and Janice Enright, the treasurer of Hillary Clinton's 2006 Senate campaign.

Before the campaign was through, Clinton insiders would enlist Stonebridge's director of communications to serve as Sestak's campaign spokesperson, summon former President Clinton to rally the troops, and finally call in the federales. Their motives were transparent even to the local media.

"A Sestak victory," observed suburban Philadelphia's Delco Times early in the campaign, "would muzzle a Republican congressman who blames Clinton for doing irreparable harm to America's national security during the 1990s."

The late Commander Donaldson, founder of the TWA 800 site, was an outspoken defender of the Navy and insisted they had nothing to do with the 800's fiery demise. But, if shoulder fired missiles or an on-board bomb didn't cause the crash, and we eliminate the nonsensical explanation from the NTSB, that seems to only leave one possibility.

If the Clintonistas were really trying to stop Weldon from exposing some of that "irreparable harm" should we make anything out of the fact they backed a career Navy man who had served on the Clinton NSC against him? Looking back, there was a lot to lose for team Clinton in 1996, including a looming election against a decorated veteran.