Anti-Sestak commercials yanked off air
By Salena Zito
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Last updated: 8:49 pm
Citing an “inaccuracy,” Sinclair Broadcasting on Thursday pulled from two Pittsburgh television stations a campaign ad sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce targeting Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak.
The company stopped airing the ad on WPGH and WPMY. Sestak is running against former Republican U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey for the seat held by Sen. Arlen Specter, who lost to Sestak in the Democratic primary in May.
The ad claims Sestak voted with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi 100 percent of the time. According to congressional records, Sestak voted along party lines 97.8 percent of time.
The chamber ad is not affiliated with Toomey’s campaign; it began airing Monday across the state.
In a letter of complaint to TV stations across the state, the Sestak campaign took issue with the chamber’s ad characterizing Sestak’s vote for the Obama administration’s health care legislation as “a government takeover of health care.”
“The chamber stands by our ad 100 percent,” said spokeswoman Blair Latoff. “It is clear that Sestak voted with Pelosi on all of the issues that we listed in the ad.”
Sestak spokesman Jonathan Dworkin said Sestak recently voted against the Democratic party line; according to congressional voting records, two of those votes were for an adjournment or recess.
Dworkin pointed to Sestak’s vote last month against a Pelosi-supported amendment to legislation that would exempt specific lobbying groups from a House proposal to regulate campaign financing. But Latoff said Sestak eventually sided with Pelosi by voting for the final bill that contained the amendment.
The Toomey campaign said in a statement that voting with Pelosi 97 percent of the time is akin to all of the time.
“A few token votes for political coverage now don’t change the fact that Congressman Sestak is still too liberal for Pennsylvania,” said Nachama Soloveichik, Toomey’s director of communications.
Rich Cook, executive sales manager for sister stations WPGH and WPMY, declined comment. Dworkin confirmed that Cook told the campaign the stations would pull the ads.
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