Tag: arlen specter

#rsrh I will not blame Orrin Hatch for getting Arlen Specter’s endorsement.

(Via Hot Air Headlines) There is no indication that Senator Hatch sought this endorsement, or will do anything with it except fire it back at former Pennsylvania Senator Specter’s head at high speed.  Hatch’s smarter than that.  Which is why he’s still in the race, and, say, Dick Lugar is not.

That’s it, except that this is entertaining:

“The cannibals function to cost the Republicans the senate seat in Colorado and Delaware and Nevada, almost in Alaska, and now Orrin Hatch is in jeopardy in Utah,” [Specter] continued.

Actually, we lost the potential pickup in Colorado because the governor’s race imploded up there, and the Senate seat was part of the fallout. Delaware I’ll grant – Nevada was a longer shot than is generally admitted – but it’s entertaining to note that Specter declines to admit that the aforementioned ‘cannibals’ also made sure that we upgraded Utah, kept Florida & Kentucky, and picked up Massachusetts, Wisconsin… and, hey, Pennsylvania!  Specter tends to be kind of vague about how that last one happened, I’m gathering…

#rsrh Arlen Specter upset at abandonment by Democrats.

Ain’t that a God-damned shame:

Former Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) writes in a new book that President Obama ditched him in the 2010 election after he helped Obama win the biggest legislative victory of his term by passing healthcare reform.

The fact that the people of Pennsylvania ever had as their Senator somebody this dumb, I mean.  What the hell did Specter expect, after all?  The man was a turncoat; he broke with the GOP purely for personal advancement, and everybody knew it.  When people like that ‘join’ your side, you use them – and use them up.  It’s not like doing so will come back to haunt you, after all.

As you can tell, I have precisely zero sympathy for people like Mister Specter.  Turncoats give sincere converts a bad name, you understand…

Moe Lane

#rsrh Tim Carney rips Rick Santorum over Arlen Specter.

(Via Hot Air Headlines) And I don’t really need to explain the details, do I? You already know them.  The GOP establishment – which included Rick Santorum – circled the wagons to defend Arlen Specter from Pat Toomey in 2004.  Specter then repaid the favor by stabbing the Republican party in the back by voting for the stimulus and being the 60th vote in Obamacare; and although Specter amply paid the price for his cowardice in 2010 there’s still a bit of unresolved bitterness there.  In some way it’s just Santorum’s bad luck that Specter got destroyed in the 2010 primary instead of the general election; having Toomey deliver the death blow instead of Joe Sestak might have provided some closure, there.

But Toomey did not, and so Santorum is kind of stuck now.  It does not necessarily mean that Santorum will not get the nomination, of course.  But it’s not going to help him, either – particularly since Rick Santorum is not exactly apologizing for this lapse in judgement in the most graceful and endearing way.  In fact, at times Santorum seems almost visibly angry that people are holding his support for Specter against him.  That’s… not wise.

#rsrh Snarlin’ Arlen not Matt’s Darlin’.

One gets the feeling that Matt Patterson does not like Arlen Specter:

One of the most ignominious political careers of the modern era will at last sputter to a pitiful end when the 111th Congress finally relinquishes its strangle-hold on the American Republic.

Then again, who does?  I’d like to say that it was a disappointment that Specter lost the primary – it would have been fun to beat him in the general – but, truth be told, it was just as much fun to beat Joe Sestak, and this way we got to drink the Other Side’s pain, too.  The wild hope added a certain piquancy to the mix.

Moe Lane

#rsrh Arlen Specter (D, PA) catches a break…

…the President will not be campaigning for him.

And while the White House has backed Mr. Specter in the primary, making good on a pledge made when he switched parties just over a year ago, Mr. Obama seems unlikely to make a campaign visit for Mr. Specter before the primary, Democrats said. They said the White House is not eager to be embarrassed by having the president make a last-minute visit on behalf of a candidate who goes on to lose, as happened in the Massachusetts Senate and New Jersey governor’s races.

Aww, they left out Virginia.  They’re also acting as if those losses were despite the President’s presence, rather than because of them; which is a contentious thing to say, but then, the man has a really, really bad track record with these tough races…

Via Jim Geraghty.

Moe Lane

PS: TOOMEY.  By the way?  Joe Sestak’s pro-TARP, pro-‘stimulus,’ pro-Obamacare, pro-cap-and-trade, 100% NARAL, and a gun-grabber.  Yeah, that’s going to fly well in 2010’s Pennsylvania.

Rasmussen: Sestak/Specter 47/42.

Nobody loves a turncoat.

Congressman Joe Sestak has moved ahead of incumbent Arlen Specter in their Senate primary match-up with just over a week left before Pennsylvania Democrats go to the polls to pick their nominee.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely Democratic Primary voters in the state shows Sestak earning 47% of the vote while Specter picks up 42%. This marks the first time Sestak has held the advantage in the race.

Do you know what this situation needs? A lot more money spent in the last week on negative primary race advertising by the Democratic candidates, that’s what it needs. Time to pull out the big guns there, Arlen; after all, if you’re gone after next week you won’t be spending it anyway. So feel free to use the really damaging stuff.

Thanks in advance!

Moe Lane

PS: TOOMEY.

Crossposted to RedState.

DSCC spends netroots money… against netroots.

We already knew that the DSCC had dropped $1 million on keeping the netroot’s candidate down in Ohio: now comes word that they’re doing something similar in Pennsylvania.

The DSCC is spending a significant amount of money to ensure a former GOP Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) wins his May 18 primary, sources with knowledge of the move tell Hotline OnCall.

One source said the DSCC is using coordinated funds to help Specter keep a robust TV presence. Ads that tout Specter’s candidacy now say they are paid for by the DSCC; last week, the disclaimers on the same ads indicated Specter’s campaign had paid for them.

Continue reading DSCC spends netroots money… against netroots.

‘Happy Switch Day to you…’

“Happy Switch Day to you;”
“Happy Switch Day, Snarlin’ Arlen…”

”Well, I probably shouldn’t say this,” he said over lunch last month. ”But I have thought from time to time that I might have helped the country more if I’d stayed a Republican.”

“…’cuz we Do. Not. Miss. You.”

Thanks, I’m here all week! Try the veal!

Moe Lane

PS: And Pat Toomey’s moneybomb is today, so be sure to tip your Republican candidate for PA-SEN! Continue reading ‘Happy Switch Day to you…’

#rsrh Specter Swift-boating Sestak?

:Shrug: Sure…

…assuming, of course, that you’re using the term ‘Swift-boating’ correctly – i.e., to mean ‘accurately describing an opponent’s shortcomings‘:

In the latest salvo, [Rep. Joe] Sestak accused [Sen. Arlen] Specter of swift-boating his military record.

The senator released a 30-second spot earlier this week that said the former Navy admiral was relieved of duty at one point for creating a “poor command climate.”

As Ed Morrissey notes, this is perfectly accurate; it in fact ended Sestak’s Navy career. And while leaving the Navy under a bit of a cloud may be a matter of indifference to Official Washington (and a net positive to the progressive Democratic base), it will probably not resonate all that well with statewide PA voters, which is why Specter’s bringing it up.  And why Sestak – who has staked out a position as being the best Democrat to be beaten by Pat Toomey this year – loudly flinched in response.  They must have assumed that if it wasn’t an issue in 2006, it wouldn’t be one in 2010.

Many things that weren’t issues in 2006 or 2008 will be issues in 2010, though.  It’s merely Sestak’s bad luck that he has to address them in a Senate primary and not a House race.

Moe Lane

PS: Toomey.