Posts Tagged → Arlen Specter
Stesak may fire Specter before GOP opponent can
In Pennsylvania, Democratic candidate Joe Stesak is mounting an impressive anti-Arlen Specter campaign in the impending Democratic primary this coming Tuesday. Specter, a long-time liberal Republican, switched to the Democrats a couple years ago to help solidify Democrat control of the Senate. The move received a lot of appreciation from Senate Leader Harry Reid, who looks likely to be fired by Nevada voters in November. Reid couldn’t have been more grateful, in fact, if he’d been a fireman at a fire sale.
But that doesn’t mean Pennsylvania Democrats want the former GOP bogeyman hanging around either their cheese and drinking their wine; Stesak, a reliable ultra-lib, appears to have Democrat voters ready to send Specter packing before November. He charges that Specter’s party change was more about saving his seat than real conviction, and it’s a charge that sticks.
It’s a mixed bag choice for the Dems, however; Specter isn’t any more trustworthy for the Dems than he was for the GOP, but he has strong name value on a ballot. Stesak is likely to be far more dependable, but doesn’t have Specter’s name value.
One advantage to giving the nod to Stesak is the anti-incumbent fever sweeping the electorate this year; if the Dems fire Specter by nominating Stesak on Tuesday, they avoid Pennsylvania voters doing the job in November, which would turn the seat back to GOP hands. However, the question remains whether Stesak has any better change to defeat his GOP opponent in November, given Stesak’s weak name value.
Time will tell.
The Senate Seven, plus one
With two top Dems already announcing their retirement from the U.S. Senate despite their party holding a filibuster-proof 60-40 majority, things are looking sweet for a conservative revolution next November, so long as the GOP remembers its Reagan conservative roots. While over-confident Dems are already selecting office furniture for their re-election, there are at least seven vulnerable Dem seats that could change hands in a year – but only if the GOP remains humble, cagey and conservative.
Here’s the Top Seven Vulnerable Dem seats:
1. Connecticut – Christopher Dodd – OUT!
Facing strong challenges in a solidly blue state from Republican hopefuls Rob Simmons and former WWE CEO Linda McMahon, Dodd stepped down today, clearing a path for popular Connecticut state attorney general Sidney Blumenthal to step in and try to hold the seat for his party; no polls as yet indicate how Blumenthal would fare against McMahon or Simmons.
2. South Dakota – Brian Dorgan – OUT!
Dorgan, one of the somewhat moderate libs in the party, was getting destroyed by 19 points by SD Governor John Hoeven, and stepped down from pursuing a second term last week. No word on who might step forward to face off with Hoeven, but whispers center around former Senate minority leader Tom Daschle, though some are hoping for a fresher face that state voters haven’t rejected as recently as Daschle. Time will tell.
3. Colorado – Michael Bennet – Trailing by 10 points
Bennet has only 37 percent support and is facing off with popular former GOP Lt. Gov. Jane Norton, who has 46 percent support and growing. So far, Bennet sounds like he’ll be fighting to keep his seat.
4. Ohio – Lee Fisher – Trailing by 7 points.
This seat is actually held currently by retiring Republican Senator George Voinovich, but this is a state where Democrat Sherrod Brown won easily in 2008, riding the Obama coattails. So with Republican Rob Portman holding a lead larger than the poll’s margin of error, that spells trouble for Dems hoping to pick up a seat.
5. New York – Kirsten Gillibrand – Leading by only 0.2 percent… In NEW YORK!
Gillibrand’s case is a special one; appointed by controversial New York Governor David Paterson, Gillibrand is a by-the-book liberal who goes off-book on gun control. Facing a stiff challenge from popular former GOP Governor George Pataki, who has a history of winning in New York, if Pataki wins, it could be a watermark of where things will trend throughout the rest of the nation next November.
6. Pennsylvania – Arlen Specter – Trailing by 4 points
Specter, a former RINO who finally got honest and switch to the Dems, is facing a serious threat from GOP challenger Pat Toomey. Many voters still feel burned by Specter’s party-switch, and this is the first time he will be facing voters since the balance-shifting about-face in the Senate.
7. Arkansas – Blanche Lincoln – Support at 40 percent or lower
While the GOP is busy picking from among four candidates to oust her, all four potential challengers are polling well ahead of Ms. Lincoln. She may be paying the deepest price for her handling of health care, as well as other issues.
8. Nevada – Harry Reid – Polling in the mid-40s
The GOP is choosing from two strong contenders, but so far both poll well ahead of the sitting Senate Majority Leader, who has come under fire for his handling of health care and the Senate, as well as some local scandals that his people have tried to sweep under the rug.
While the GOP has several seats at stake as well, if conservatives can rally the party and take, say, five out of eight of these vulnerable seats at minimum, it could be enough to swing the Senate back to a balance of power that would force Dems to at least deal with a GOP minority, rather than shut them out entirely.
It might take two strong election cycles at minimum for Republicans to ever hope to win back the Senate, but they could gain a lot of ground next November; instead of a 60-40 Dem majority, there’s a chance the gap could narrow to as close as 53-47 next fall; that would put control of the Senate back up for grabs in 2012.
Unless, of course, the GOP finds a way to blow it. Nominating a bunch of Democrat-Lite candidates in the mold of John McCain would be a sign of a blown opportunity to come.
Specter switch isn’t much of one
After amassing a measly 40-percent conservative voting record and voting with the Republicans just over half the time, it came as a surprise to no one – except perhaps partner-in-RINO John McCain – when Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter flipped from GOP to the Democratic Party this week.
In an incoherent speech that rambled on about the GOP moving “too far to the right” (actually, it’s been suffering a severe leftward drift toward Specter’s side), about the only thing Specter didn’t blame the GOP for was plotting the spread of mesothelioma – and apparently only because his speech writer needed more time.
Considering his voting record, Specter’s switch matters only on paper; as long as Franken prevails in his election fraud victory, the Dems will have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate for the next couple years. Which is great, when you think about it; no longer can anything Barack does be blamed on Republicans going forward.
This is the Dem majority’s mess, like it or not.
The good news is, Specter was facing a primary challenge from a real conservative in the Pennsylvania GOP, who now should sail to the nomination. And there’s no guarantee the Dems will nominate Specter. Even if they do, let them have him. He’s 79 and shouldn’t be running for a sixth term anyway.
While we’re at it, let’s show the rest of the RINOs in the Senate the door, too; it may bury the GOP in the short term, but it could very well save the party’s conservative soul.
Matthews’ political hopes not hardball
MSNBC commentator and talk show host Chris Matthews, who has made a name for himself hosting Hardball on the mini news net, is rumored to be considering a run in 2010 against GOP Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. Though he has not formally announced intentions to run, he’s certainly adding fuel to the speculation he may run, if for no other reason than to ensure high ratings.
Matthews, whose own memory is not quite as reliable as Dell memory, is a former White House staffer during the Carter Administration and also worked on the staff of then-Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill. Short-spoken, acerbic and often humorless, Matthews left-leaning agenda has always been obvious on his MSNBC show, even though his brother ran for lieutenant governor a couple years ago as a Republican.
Ironically, Specter is an aging liberal Republican who the GOP wouldn’t mind eventually replacing with a more reliable conservative, so it’s not as if Matthews would be running against Newt Gingrich or Bobby Jindell here. The differences between Spector and Matthews is paper-thin, and if the GOP changes horses from Spector to an unknown, it could mean a switch from a reliable GOP seat to a Democratic one; the only thing that could overcome a Matthews candidacy is Spector has superior name recognition and political experience in Pennsylvania.
