What are the negative ads saying about Curt Weldon and Joe Sestak in the 7th district of Penn race?

Answer 1

A controversy arose in April when Weldon's campaign manager Michael Puppio Jr. announced that Sestak had taken campaign contributions from Mary McCarthy, a CIA operative who had just been fired for allegedly leaking secret information to the media, a charge that McCarthy has denied. Puppio said "I’m not sure she violated any laws [in making the contribution], but then when that analyst is alleged to have leaked information to a reporter who in turn is extremely critical of Curt Weldon, that raises some big questions." Sestak spokeswoman Allison Price said her candidate just wants to get back to issues important to the voters. "We have repeatedly urged Curt to address the issues of the campaign," she said. "We don’t get the conspiracy issues with him. We don’t understand what goes on in Curt’s mind."

Also in April, treatment of Sestak's daughter for cancer in a Washington area hospital became an issue. The Hill reported that "Weldon attacked Sestak's decision to continue owning a home in Virginia while only renting in Pennsylvania and questioned why Sestak did not move back to Pennsylvania when he was working at the Pentagon. Weldon commutes from Pennsylvania each day. Weldon also suggested Sestak should have sent his daughter to a hospital in Philadelphia or Delaware, rather than the Washington hospital. Sestak said that as soon as doctors give his daughter the all-clear, he'll buy in Pennsylvania." The next day, The Washington Post reported that "A campaign spokesman who talked with Weldon said the congressman denied having made 'the girl's sickness an issue,' but that Weldon 'confirmed that while talking to The Hill, he had made a reference to the quality of hospitals in the Philadelphia area.'"

In July, the Republicans attacked Sestak for wearing a three-star Navy uniform at the Memorial Day parade in Springfield, Pennsylvania. Sestak retired as a two-star admiral; the U.S. Code permits retired military officers to display only their retired grade and prohibits wearing any service uniform while politicking. The Sestak campaign, in response, cited Navy regulations that permit retired members to wear the uniform of their highest grade when attending memorial services. Sestak had been invited to the parade by the head of the Springfield American Legion, a Republican.