And some Democrats still wonder why Specter’s underwater in the polls. Via Hot Air, here we see Specter forgetting that he no longer gets the support of the College Republicans:
But that’s not the best part! The best part is, the College Democrats didn’t endorse him, either.
This is like a cry for help, isn’t it? Well, I’m sure that the Other Side can get right on that. He’s their problem now, after all.
Moe Lane
PS: Toomey.
Crossposted to RedState.
I doubt that he takes your bluff any more seriously than I do, but it’s always nice to see confusion being brought to the enemy.
(Via Dan Cirucci) As I noted as part of a toast at a private dinner last week, God knows that it isn’t hard.
Moe Lane
PS: So… everybody in that video is aware that Arlen Specter’s going to win that primary anyway, right? So what are you folks going to do then?
PPS: Pat Toomey for Senate, obviously.
Get yourself a glass of something nice before you start in on the article: it’ll heighten the enjoyment.
Even as he accepted the resounding backing of the Pennsylvania Democratic state committee here Saturday, party-switching Sen. Arlen Specter’s vulnerability was on vivid display as he botched the name of a key Democratic officeholder in his acceptance speech.
“I’ll be fighting hard for the entire Democratic ticket. Senator Andy. . . Andy . . .” Specter said, before pausing briefly, squinting his eyes.
“From Chester County,” he continued, losing his train of thought after clinching an emphatic 229-72 U.S. Senate endorsement vote from party regulars just minutes earlier.
“Dinniman,” the crowd responded almost in unison, referring to the state senator who represents West Chester. One committeeman seated in the audience dropped his head and shook it.
This should be an entertaining primary: Joe Sestak has 5.1 million dollars to play with, and is inclined to spend it – both because he wants the nomination, and because by now there must be at least a little desire for Blue-on-Blue revenge on Sestak’s part. Personally, I don’t see why either candidate is so eager to win the position of Being The Guy Who Loses To Pat Toomey, but they are, which is… nice of them, I suppose.
Moe Lane
Crossposted to RedState.
This has been noted as being almost like a game of rock-paper-scissors:
Some other numbers for Specter: 46/52 favorable/unfavorable (Rasmussen); 31/59 deserves-reelection (Susquehanna). The Susquehanna poll also has him leading Sestak in the primary 44/16 and tied with Toomey 42/41, but that may be the usual registered/likely voter difference. All in all, it’s starting to look like maybe Specter should have taken the hint and announced that he wasn’t going to run for re-election after he switched parties…
Moe Lane
Crossposted to RedState.
They say that nobody loves a traitor. The Pat Toomey campaign wants you to remember that usually one person does, at least: the traitor himself.
Two things:
Moe Lane
Continue reading New Toomey ad: Arlen Specter, working for… well, Arlen Specter.
With all of the delicacy, charm and raw political skill that they showed in trying to get Gov. David Paterson of NY to quit.
White House Is Taking a More Aggressive Role in State Races
WASHINGTON — The White House’s intervention in the race for New York governor is the latest evidence of how President Obama and his top advisers are taking an increasingly direct role in contests across the country, but their assertiveness has bruised some Democrats who suggest it could undercut Mr. Obama’s appeal with voters tired of partisan politics.
[snip]
More than anything, though, the interventions reflect a controlling style of this White House and of Mr. Emanuel, who employed similar hard-ball tactics to recruit candidates when he was running the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. In addition to Mr. Emanuel, the White House political director, Patrick Gaspard, and deputy chief of staff, Jim Messina, keep close watch on all political races.
Via @PatrickRuffini: bolding mine, and reflective of Erick Erickson’s recent first look at ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis’s Rolodex. One may be forgiven for wondering whether… input on this was sought.
Moving along, disapproving quotes from affected Democrats like Joe Sestak (running against the untrustworthy opportunist Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania), Andrew Romanoff (running against the rather uninteresting appointee Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, and Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania (who may or may not have to run away from eventually being named as ‘Governor X’) show up in the article, for all the good that it’ll do them. The President simply must micromanage, you understand; and, given that he’s been told time and again by his own party that his is a political genius not seen since FDR, Otto von Bismarck, and Martin van Buren there’s little incentive for him to stop. Besides, this all comes back to what’s best for the White House, not the individual state Democratic parties. Having Paterson on the ballot guarantees a politically embarrassing loss in New York in 2010; and the White House’s primary interest in Pennsylvania and Colorado is keeping their Senate seats in Democratic hands. If that means signing off on a turncoat and a nonentity, so be it.
I would be sympathetic, but then this is what the Democratic party signed up for. Well, sort of: it was probably expected that the President would be better at it.
Moe Lane
Crossposted to RedState.
:sound effect of mouthful of coffee being sprayed across the monitor:
Uncomfortable town hall meetings are just the tip of the iceberg for Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter. He now trails Republican Pat Toomey by double digits in his bid for reelection next year and is viewed unfavorably by a majority of the state’s voters.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Pennsylvania voters shows 48% would vote for Toomey if the election were held today. Just 36% would vote for Specter while four percent (4%) prefer a third option, and 12% are not sure.
These figures reflect a dramatic reversal since June. At that time, before the public health care debate began, Specter led Toomey by eleven.
:pause:
Wow. Continue reading ‘Hmm, let me see what Rasmussen’s put up today…’ Toomey 48%, Specter 36%
This one is of his speech that Toomey did for the Gathering, not the interview afterward: I’m not sure if there is going to be a better video copy of it, so enjoy. Pat Toomey is, of course, the guy who scared Arlen Specter into getting primary challenged by the Democrats instead of the Republicans, which is probably not what Specter had in mind. Such a pity, really.
As the video notes, Toomey also has a book (The Road to Prosperity
Moe Lane Continue reading RedState Gathering – Pat Toomey (R, SEN-PA).
I quibble at Megan McArdle’s adjective: ‘funny’ works ever so much better. After all, the GOP is the one laughing at the way that Specter’s race is shaping up: we have gone from a situation where Specter, Toomey, and a liberal Democrat would conspire together to create a vicious primary fight and a weakened Specter to a situation where… Specter, Toomey, and a liberal Democrat would conspire together to create a vicious primary fight and a weakened Specter. Only now the vicious primary fight is happening all the way over there, from our point of view; and I suspect that Megan may not be entirely checked out on Pennsylvania politics. Pat Toomey may not have been a shoo-in; but a Republican who can hold a D+2 district that went for Kerry & Gore should be taken seriously in a general election, especially since Toomey’s going to have a more or less easy primary of it.
And the best part? The Democrats were so looking forward to having somebody who was one of them in this race. Alas, the comfort of the Democratic party’s leadership overrides the needs of their base. Again.
You can donate to Pat Toomey here, by the way.
Moe Lane
Crossposted to RedState.
[UPDATE]: And if you think those numbers are bad, wait until Specter caves on card check to appease his new owners. His constituents are purely going to hate that.
Via Hot Air Headlines, Nobody loves a traitor.
Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter’s 2010 reelection lead over Republican challenger Pat Toomey has shrunk to a tie with 45 percent for Specter and 44 percent for Toomey, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. And voters say 49 – 40 percent that Sen. Specter does not deserve reelection.
[snip]
Specter, first elected to the Senate as a Republican in 1980 but who switched to the Democratic Party earlier this year, holds a commanding 55 – 23 percent lead over U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak in the race for the Democratic nomination. On the Republican side Toomey buries Peg Luksik 47 – 6 percent.
[snip]
In other trial matchups Specter would defeat Luksik 47 – 40 percent, while Toomey would edge Sestak 39 – 35 percent.
That last bit may be what dooms Sestak’s candidacy… except, of course, that the Democrats are already trying their best to sabotage his (and Maloney’s, over in NY) primary challenge anyway. Meanwhile, the NRSC is backing Toomey, thus avoiding the bloody primary that we were all expecting and dreading before Specter changed sides.
So: thanks for not retiring, Arlen! Make sure that you vote for health care rationing!
Moe Lane
Crossposted to RedState.
