Tag: arlen specter

Good news, and good news on PA-SEN race.

‘A bad harvest, and a bloody primary!’

The good news: Pat Toomey’s (R Cand, PA) campaign (donate here) is reporting that he raised 1.6 million dollars in the second quarter of 2009.

Mr. Toomey’s strong first campaign quarter fundraising compares favorably with those of successful U.S. Senate challengers in the last election. In fact, he has raised more than every successful 2008 challenger. In his first quarter as a Senate candidate, Mr. Toomey has raised more than candidates Al Franken (D-MN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Kay Hagen (D-NC), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Mark Begich (D-AK), all of whom went on to defeat incumbent U.S. senators

The other good news: Joe Sestak’s (D Cand, PA) primary campaign against Arlen Specter (Arlen Specter, PA) is being reasonably well funded. Continue reading Good news, and good news on PA-SEN race.

Specter only beating Sestak only among Democrats who don’t know both.

Nobody loves a traitor.

A little while back Greenberg* Quinlan Rosner put out a poll that showed Specter leading 55-34 over Sestak in the primary. Interestingly, (via DoubleplusUndead, via @JustKarl), one hope for Sestak is apparently that he actually leads Specter among Democrats who know both candidates, 52-44.  The difference is due to the fact that Sestak is only known to about 30% of the PA Dem electorate.

Full disclosure: I don’t care who wins this primary, just as long as it’s won ugly, expensively, and with a lot of promising political careers permanently blighted by petty spite and bitter grudges.  That being said, both candidates have complications:

  • Sestak – more accurately, Sestak’s supporters – are probably assuming that getting his recognition numbers up will not erode his lead among voters aware of both.  That may be justified; on the other hand, most of the voters aware of both are probably also more committed or ideological Democrats.  Assuming Sestak runs, how more moderate and conservative voters will react once they take a good look at him will be interesting to see.
  • Specter’s major problem?  If  you believe this poll, he faces the problem that if he wants to win the primary he has to start voting the Democratic party line on everything.  No more contrary votes for him, which is going to make it problematical when/if he gets out of the primary to face Pat Toomey**.

This is not the primary campaign that the VRWC contemplated happening a year ago, but it’s got its points.  Believe the internals of that poll, and either way Toomey will be facing a candidate that’s going to be squarely identifying himself with a Democrat who’s more palatable to his base than, perhaps, the Pennsylvanian electorate.  And it’ll be interesting to see just how the parties are perceived next year, because even right this second they’re not really all that far apart…

Moe Lane

*Yeah, the same guy that gave Rahm Emanuel free rent while Emanuel was doing DCCC business with his company. And whose wife put up that legislation designed to gut the organic food industry. What’s your point?

**Who, by the way, comes across as pretty sharp when you talk to him.

Crossposted to RedState.

Joe Sestak to challenge Arlen Specter in primary.

It’s not ‘official’, but unless Sestak is sufficiently a practical joker as to send his supporters handwritten phony fund-raising notes, it’s happening. Guess that means that Arlen Specter is going to have to face a tough primary battle after all.

Meanwhile…

Moderate Pa. Republicans warming to Toomey

Moderate Republican leaders have stopped publicly pushing to recruit a less-conservative alternative to front-runner Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race, a sign that he has begun to calm concerns about his electability.

Toomey has redoubled efforts to court skeptics in the party establishment in the two weeks since former Gov. Tom Ridge declined to enter the race for the GOP nomination despite the pleadings of prominent moderates.

Karma. It’s what’s for dinner.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Democrats blocking Dawn Johnson appointment?

Via Glenn Reynolds (who thinks that Johnson should be confirmed), TPM notes that the Dawn Johnson nomination is being stalled by Democrats Arlen Specter (D-PA) and Ben Nelson (D-NE). Apparently, the latter is in a snit-fit over “subsidies to student lending institutions” and the former is being… Arlen Specter.

Reid, of course, is doing his usual game of blaming his inadequacies on the GOP, but really, what else can he do? Personally, I don’t really know enough about the situation to pontificate about Johnson one way or the other*, but I’d appreciate it if Reid learns to take responsibility for things for a change. Not to mention learning to not be so greedy. We let him have Lugar for this one, didn’t we?

Moe Lane

*Although her lack of a book is actually kind of refreshing.

Crossposted to RedState.

Quote of the day: Arlen Specter edition.

If he keeps it up at this rate, by the 2010 campaign season, Specter will be so helpful that he’ll have tied up Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and left him buried in the desert surrounded by fire ants.

– Gail Collins, and that’s really the best part. The rest is fairly standard blathering about how wonderful the Democrats are, whining about how awful Joe Lieberman, and a not-quite-concealed weary anger at having to show a very minimal courtesy towards Specter now.  That last bit is all too familiar to anybody on my side of the partisan divide that’s had to grit his or her teeth over Specter’s antics for the last few years, and I can’t say that any of us are missing not having to do it any more.

So have fun with that!

(Via Jennifer Rubin, who is frankly more interesting to read anyway.)

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Arlen Specter desecrates Jack Kemp’s corpse.

I guess that Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) really is happier in his new party:

Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Democrat, said part of the reason he left the Republican Party last week was disillusionment with its healthcare priorities, and suggested that had the Republicans taken a more moderate track, Jack Kemp may have won his battle with cancer.

…because he’s certainly picked up from them the trick of using safely dead people to push a partisan talking point. Jack Kemp isn’t even buried yet; and he had nothing to do with the current political situation, you disgusting piece of partisan slime. I don’t expect truly civilized behavior from you anymore, but I did foolishly think that you could be trusted to show more delicacy than a hyena at the passing of a former friend.

Yes, ‘former’ friend. I have liberal friends; if one of them should die before me, I won’t be using his or her death to push the GOP’s agenda. That’s because I’m a decent human being, and you’re not.

In short: thanks for leaving my party. Don’t ever come back.

Moe Lane Continue reading Arlen Specter desecrates Jack Kemp’s corpse.

Probably my last (video) comment on Specter…

…until the election.
Or the primary.
Or, heck, until something interesting happens, really. Anyway, more or less happy with this, but Xtranormal needs a polka track. Yeah, yeah, it’s not like I’m paying for the service, I know.

…although I can see where buying the product might be a good call for some groups.

On the Specter switch.

I have nothing really to add to either this or this, except to note that:

a) I’m not particularly surprised;
b) The Republican primary in PA next year just got a lot more straightforward, while the Democratic one is now going to be significantly less so;
c) The Democrats are rapidly running out of reasons why they can’t pass their hearts’ desires.

And, oh yes:

d) Elections have consequences, and we’re about to have a year and a half of some. Please keep that in mind in November 2010.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.