US Senate candidate and Congressman Joe Sestak (D-Pennsylvania) decided to skip a debate against Republican Pat Toomey Monday night. Rather than take the stage and defend his record of support for the Obama agenda, Representative Sestak claimed he had a scheduling conflict and chose to attend a Pittsburgh fundraiser with Senator John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) and his wife Teresa Heinz instead.

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The debate, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry at the Hershey Lodge, was to be moderated by former ABC News Nightline anchor Ted Koppel. But with Sestak's decision not to attend, it turned into a one man show for Mr. Toomey who fielded Mr. Koppel's questions which mostly centered on the economy.

"I think we're in a very bad spot now," Toomey said. "I think a lot of that is because of misguided policies. I think we need to clear away threats - threats by future over-regulation. If we avoid huge tax increases, which my opponent has advocated, including tax increases on income and anti-growth policies. If we do those things, if we get the federal government on a fiscally sustainable tract, then I think we have a very strong economic recovery, probably very, very quickly." (source)

What was Representative Sestak's response to this idea of removing the dual threats of over-regulation and higher taxes? Since he didn't bother to attend the debate we can only guess what it would have been based on his record of voting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) 97% of the time and his strong support for federal power grabs such as Obamacare, Cap & Trade and Card Check.

Even Mr. Sestak's fellow Pennsylvania Democrat Governor Ed Rendell said Sestak's decision not to participate in the Hershey event was a mistake, "I think it's important for all of our candidates to participate in all of the different debates," he said. (source) But considering Mr. Sestak's voting record and unpopular positions on issues yet to be decided, it's no wonder he's hiding at private fundraisers instead.

According to the latest poll, Mr. Toomey leads Representative Sestak by 7 points (46% - 39%) with less than five weeks until the election.