Free Republic

After pumping more than $1 million into an upstate New York House race to elect the Conservative Party’s Doug Hoffman, the Club for Growth is on the hunt again. Chris Chocola, president of the conservative political action committee, made it clear the PAC is looking for more GOP targets who don’t embrace the Club’s limited-government approach. Priority No. 1 is likely to be the Senate contest in Florida, where Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, who embraced President Barack Obama’s stimulus package, is being challenged by former State House Speaker Marco Rubio. . . . . . Beyond Florida, other establishment Republicans...

HARRISBURG — Only 31 percent of Pennsylvania voters believe Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter should be re-elected, and 59 percent believe it's time to give someone else a chance, a state poll released today shows. Specter's numbers are "staggering," said pollster Jim Lee, president of Susquehanna Polling and Research. An incumbent typically is vulnerable if fewer than 40 percent approve of his or her re-election, Lee said. The poll of 700 registered voters, conducted Oct. 7-12, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. "When I see a re-elect in the low 30s, that's ... near fatal,"...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney on Tuesday endorsed Sen. Arlen Specter's GOP opponent in the 2010 Pennsylvania Senate race, giving Pat Toomey the backing of one of the Republican Party's most influential members. Romney, who ran unsuccessfully for his party's presidential nomination last year and is considered a top contender in 2012, announced his support for Toomey in Philadelphia.

A new Quinnipiac University poll found Republican challenger Pat Toomey with a narrow lead over Sen. Arlen Specter. Statistically, the survey's trial race -- 43 percent for Mr. Toomey and 42 percent for the incumbent -- was essentially identical to the school's last survey in July, when Mr. Specter was ahead by the similarly tiny margin of 45 percent to 44 percent. Both results were well within the survey's 3 percentage point margin of error. But the reversal of their positions threw a symbolic spotlight on the veteran's vulnerability in the closely watched race. When he made his surprising departure...

Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., is closing the door on Republican donors who want their campaign contributions back after his party switch. His website announces a new October 15 expiration date for his promise to return the money of those who want their money back.

Pat Toomey, the former GOP congressman running for Arlen Specter’s Senate seat in Pennsylvania, continues to gain support. In a new Quinnipiac University poll released today, Toomey, who once headed the Club for Growth, now leads Specter by 43 percent to 42 percent. The poll also says that 48 percent of Pennsylvanians disapprove of Specter’s job as senator. “I don’t put too much stock in polls, especially a year before the election,” Toomey tells NRO. “But having said that, I do think that Pennsylvania voters have become increasingly fed up with Arlen Specter’s cynical, political opportunism and the excesses coming...

Republican former Congressman Pat Toomey leads in a poll against both of the Democrats vying to run against him in the 2010 U.S. Senate election, according to a Rasmussen poll. Rasmussen Reports said today that 48 percent of Pennsylvania voters surveyed support the former Lehigh Valley representative while only 36 percent back Democratic Senator Arlen Specter. U.S. Representative Joe Sestak, D-7th, of Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties only got 35 percent of poll respondents’ support in a match-up against Toomey, with the Republican getting 43 percent. At this early stage, Mr. Sestak is the underdog in the Democratic primary, trailing...

Toomey: Just Another Political Opportunist August 13 2009 Filed under US Senate by Chris Freind Well, that didn’t take long. Republican U.S. Senate candidate Pat Toomey has officially become part of the go-along, get-along Establishment that he so vocally opposed over the years. In the process, he has demonstrated that he is just another politician masquerading as a principled conservative. It is precisely this type of hypocrisy — from Toomey and some of his followers — that can signal the beginning of the end for a political movement. At issue is Toomey’s statement that, had he been a senator, he...

Sen. Arlen Specter might have greater worries than receiving rancorous receptions at town hall meetings. A Rasmussen Reports poll released Thursday shows the Democrat trailing Republican Pat Toomey by 12 points in next year's Senate race. The survey indicates that a majority of Pennsylvania voters view Specter unfavorably. "I was staggered by the low base of support that Sen. Specter received," said Scott Rasmussen, president of the New Jersey-based independent polling firm. "It did not surprise me that his numbers were down, but I was blown away by the extent of the drop." The poll, an automated telephone survey of...

got an opportunity to speak with Pat Toomey, former Congressman and president of the Club for Growth, who will run for the US Senate against either incumbent Arlen Specter or Rep. Joe Sestak. Toomey talks about the broad appeal of economic freedom, and how he routinely attracted Democrats to his banner in a working-class Congressional district. Find out the shocking thing Toomey did as a politician, and don’t forget to visit his campaign website and read his new book, The Road to Prosperity: How to Grow Our Economy and Revive the American Dream.

Uncomfortable town hall meetings are just the tip of the iceberg for Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter, Scott Rasmussen writes. In a Rasmussen survey released this morning, Republican Pat Toomey is clobbering Specter, 48-36. As recently as June, Specter had a substantial lead over Toomey in a Rasmussen poll.

Pennsylvania Senate: Toomey 48%, Specter 36%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.

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...

When John Roberts and Samuel Alito were nominated to the Supreme Court, Republicans argued that they should be confirmed based on their impeccable qualifications and mainstream jurisprudence. Now, Democrats are in power, and the same standard should apply. After listening to much of Sonia Sotomayor's testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee and carefully examining her 17-year record as a federal appellate judge, I have come to two conclusions. First, her record is somewhat left of center, and I would likely disagree with many of her rulings if she were a Supreme Court Justice. Second, she is an extremely capable and...

The latest Quinnipiac Poll on the 2010 Pennsylvania Senate race brings encouraging—and surprising—news for Pat Toomey. The former Republican lawmaker and fiscal conservative has closed a 20-point gap against incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter, who switched parties earlier this year in part due to fears that he could not beat Toomey in a GOP primary. The latest survey, conducted July 14-19, shows Specter leading by just one point, 45%-44%, against Toomey in a general election match up. An earlier poll conducted in May showed Specter leading Toomey 53%-33%. . . . . . Among Pennsylvanians, President Barack Obama’s approval rating is...

If U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., thought he’d dodge a bullet by switching parties, he was sorely mistaken. A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found the once popular lawmaker is in a statistical dead heat with the Republican challenger he had hoped to by-pass when he forfeited his GOP credentials to avoid a contentious primary fight. If an election were held today between Mr. Specter and Republican Pat Toomey, 45 percent of voters would favor the incumbent senator with 44 percent voting for the conservative challenger. This is a dramatic turnaround from a May poll, in which Mr. Specter enjoyed...

Republicans received some good news this morning. In Pennsylvania, a new Quinnipiac poll finds that Arlen Specter's lead over Pat Toomey has all but disappeared, with Specter now ahead by a statstically insignificant 45 percent to 44 percent. Back in May, Specter had a 20-point lead. In further bad news for Specter, the poll also found that voters by a 49 percent to 40 percent margin say he does not deserve reelection. If this polling continues, it could hurt him in the primary, because the main argument for Democrats to nominate him instead of the more liberal Joe Sestak is...

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. President Barack Obama gets a 56 - 37 percent job approval, compared to 62 - 31 percent in a May 28 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. By a bare 50 - 43 percent majority, voters approve of the President's handling of the economy. Specter, first elected to the Senate...

Several months after he became the leading Republican candidate in Pennsylvania’s 2010 U.S. Senate race, former Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) has won the endorsement of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in a statement: Congressman Pat Toomey’s life experience and public service make him uniquely qualified to serve Pennsylvanians in the U.S. Senate. Through hard work and self-reliance, Pat Toomey has successfully represented a Democrat-leaning district and accomplished much in his private sector endeavors. Congressman Toomey is a vigorous and determined advocate for the people of Pennsylvania, and he is clearly guided by principles instead of political...

As Democrats Arlen Specter and Joe Sestak dig in for a Senate primary that will likely pit power brokers against liberal activists, Republican Pat Toomey has 16 months to sharpen his message of fiscal conservatism for the November 2010 general election. Toomey, the ex-president of the anti-tax Club for Growth, who nearly unseated Specter in the 2004 Republican primary — and whose renewed challenge this year forced the longtime senator to join the Democrats — is collecting endorsements from GOP leaders and elected officials around the state

The Club for Growth, a conservative anti-tax group, is considering running ads in the Republican Party's Senate primary race against Florida Gov. Charlie Crist for supporting higher state taxes and President Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus spending package. Mr. Crist's opponent for the Republican Party's nomination next year is former state Speaker of the House Marco Rubio, a young conservative running on cutting government spending and taxes who recently met here with the Club for Growth, which has a strong reputation for defeating liberal and moderate Republicans in party primaries with its aggressive ad campaigns. "We recently interviewed Marco Rubio...

Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestak stands on the precipice of not only taking on U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter in a Democratic primary, but beating him. Numerous polls back up that scenario; the only thing that stands in the way is his "official" announcement. Without the announcment, Markos Moulitsas, editor of the left-leaning DailyKos.com political blog, said he can't raise money for Sestak. The Daily Kos was instrumental in the insurgent candidacy of Connecticut businessman Ned Lamont in the 2006 Democratic primary election against incumbent Sen. Joe Lieberman. The blog began a netroots phenomenon that gave Lamont a legitimate resume, daily message...

When Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter switched parties two months ago, he said he would issue contribution refunds "upon request." Now the Club for Growth, the conservative political group that is a longtime Specter foe, wants to help any disgruntled Republican donors take now-Democrat Specter up on his offer. The Club is asking the Federal Election Commission (FEC) if it can send a letter or make a telephone call to Specter's donors informing them that they can ask his campaign for a contribution refund. The Club would use the donor lists that Specter's campaign has filed with the FEC. Those documents...

Sen. Arlen Specter continues to pick up support from Democratic party leaders across Pennsylvania. However, a new poll indicates that the five-term incumbent has not convinced a majority of Pennsylvania voters that he should be re-elected. According to a new Franklin & Marshall poll released Thursday, only 28 percent of registered voters in Pennsylvania think Specter should be re-elected. That number is down from 40 percent in March, a month before Specter's "conversion" to the Democratic Party. Back then, roughly half the voters in each party said that Specter was doing an excellent or good job in the Senate. The...

The chairman of Senate Republicans' campaign committee has donated $5,000 to Pat Toomey's campaign against Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter. The move suggests the Republican establishment might be embracing Toomey. A spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee said Monday that Sen. John Cornyn, of Texas, donated the money last week.

WASHINGTON — Although Chris Chocola isn't in Congress anymore, he's here in the fight for a Republican Congress — his brand of Republican. Chocola, the Elkhart County Republican who represented Indiana's 2nd Congressional District for two terms before losing to Democrat Joe Donnelly in 2006, now is president of the Club for Growth, a conservative group that targets Republicans it regards as too wishy-washy moderate on taxation and government expansion. He is in the fight for the soul of the GOP. "I never thought I'd be doing the weekly commute again, raising funds again," Chocola says during an interview in...

It is natural for political parties to seek power. As a Republican, I root for Republicans to win as many elections as possible. But I hope I am objective enough to recognize that our country is often ill-served by the concentration of political power in one party’s hands, regardless of which party holds it. Our nation’s founders clearly saw this danger. In Federalist 51, James Madison defended the virtue of divided government: “If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over...

Mt. Washington's Grandview Avenue "campaign" office of "Sanders for Senate" was so lifelike to those passing by that many stopped in to find out about the new candidate for the U.S. Senate. "Every single one of them asked if 'Sanders' would be running against (Pennsylvania Democrat U.S. Sen.) Arlen Specter, and, if so, where could they sign-up to volunteer," said media expert John Brabender on the set of "Moving Numbers," a Webcast about to go national for a new political entertainment group.

Victories give Conservatives reason to hope! June 1, 2009 in Uncategorized | Tags: mark williams, election, campaign, conservative, our country deserves better, 2010, harry reid, arlen specter, pat toomey, sharron angle | by ourcountryjoe The following was written by Our Country Deserves Better Vice Chairman, Mark Williams.  You can read more of Mark’s thoughts and words at his blog: http://www.marktalk.com/blog/ Conservatives have good reason to remain optimistic and hopeful with a number of positive developments in recent days showing a renaissance underway on the Right.Following the drubbing we received in the 2008 elections (losing not just the White House to Barack...

A new Quinnipiac University poll finds that newly-minted Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter has a nine-point lead over Republican challenger Pat Toomey. Specter, who changed his party afflilation to Democrat in April, leads Toomey by 46 percent to 37 percent among registered voters, the poll found. That's a narrower lead than a May 4 poll, which found Specter's lead at 53 percent to Toomey's 33 percent. "Sen. Arlen Specter's numbers have slipped since the controversy that followed his switch to the Democratic Party, but he's still better off than he would have been if he stayed a Republican and faced a...

An interncecine war between the professional political consultants who run the Washington GOP establishment and insurgent conservatives beyond the Washington Beltway, who are fed up with seeing their money go to anti-life, big-spending, tax-hiking people like Arlen Specter and Lincoln Chafee. The attempts in recent weeks by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) to recruit a liberal GOPer to oppose former congressman Pat Toomey - a solid and articulate conservative with support from such party moderates as former Lt. Gov Bill Scranton - in the race to succeed Specter. Specter switched to the Democrats last month when it became clear...

We are told that one of the reasons Pat Toomey can't win in Pennsylvania is that there's been this huge surge in registered Democrats and a drop in registered Republicans. Except that elections aren't decided by those who register, they're decided by those who vote. And it turns out that a lot of those new Democrats in the Keystone State aren't interested in showing up for every election. At least in Centre County, where Penn State is located:

Word out of Washington is that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the political wise-guys from the Obama administration plan on "visiting with" Pennsylvania Democrat Rep. Joe Sestak. Their objective? A clear message: Get off of the stage and out of a possible primary race against "incumbent" Democrat Sen. Arlen Specter. "I have received a call from DSCC chair Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey," admitted Sestak in an interview. "But we keep missing each other." Probably a good thing for both men at this moment: Sestak has no inclination to be pushed out of a race and Menendez's marching...

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. Five-term Sen. Arlen Specter defected to the Democrats April 28, in large part because he concluded that he could not defeat Toomey again in a GOP primary, a move that scrambled the...

Pennsylvania Democrats are likely to mistrust Sen. Arlen Specter because he changed parties and "broke his word," Republican Pat Toomey said today. "Sen. Specter has introduced a huge question about whether he can be trusted," said Toomey, the leading Republican candidate for Specter's Senate seat. Specter jumped to the Democratic Party last month. "He crisscrossed the commonwealth repeatedly insisting he would not leave the (Republican) Party and that he would stay in the party to the end, and it was vitally important to retain 41 (GOP) votes to provide a check on otherwise unlimited Democratic control," Toomey told reporters after...

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter's switch to the Democratic Party underscores the clout of Club For Growth, a conservative group that targets Republicans it brands insufficiently committed to low taxes and small government. The move also has inflamed a debate within the party: Are the group's tactics good or bad for Republicans? [welcome to the club] Mr. Specter fingered Club For Growth as the key factor behind his decision, saying he would have lost the Republican primary to a Club-backed rival. His decision has prompted some Republicans to turn on the organization, saying it backs those who are so conservative that...

Florida, Other Senate Races Pit Conservative Base Against Moderate Recruits By David Weigel 5/14/09 1:41 PM Gov. Charlie Crist (R-Fla.) and Former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) (usembassy.gov, myfloridahouse.gov) On March 11, when Gov. Charlie Crist (R-Fla.) entered the 2010 U.S. Senate race, Marco Rubio was in Washington. The former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives was ready for this moment, rumored for weeks, the entry of a Republican party dream candidate who threatened to push him out of the race. When Crist put out a press release announcing the run, RubioÂ’s campaign pushed out a Web ad...

How appropriate that U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter finds himself at the back of the Democratic Party bus. Did he really expect a hero's welcome and continuance in chairman positions after renouncing his own party at a time of crisis? History shows that nobody trusts or respects a turncoat and a traitor. Arlen should have learned that from the treatment Benedict Arnold received from the British after changing sides in the midst of a fight. Arnold joined with the British but was never accepted or respected by his peers, many officers despised him and his military career was relegated to the...

Sen. John McCain said Sunday that his party needs to be “inclusive” without betraying its “fundamental principles.” . . . . . Asked if being inclusive meant welcoming candidates and voters who support abortion rights or gay marriage, McCain said: “It means that we can have people in our party who do not have the same views on specific issues, as long as we share common principles.”

A former GOP presidential nominee claims conservatives "want to drive all the moderates and liberals out," which would mean that "the Democrats would win every election." An ex-Republican National Committee chairman agrees, saying the party's "image has been badly disfigured." A rising-star moderate GOP congressman says his party is on its way to being "extinguished" and "reduced to ashes" by conservatives, adding that he sees it as his job "to help the GOP rebuild and to help give it proper direction."

STROUDSBURG — "A funny thing happened on the way to the Republican primary," cracked Pat Toomey at the Monroe County Republican Committee's spring dinner Friday. The crowd, which filled Ridgecrest at Stroudsmoor County Inn in Stroudsburg, broke into laughter. They knew he was referring to Sen. Arlen Specter's sudden party switch. Toomey said Specter is having a tough week. First he lost committee seniority that took years to build, and Democrat Joe Sestak may get into the primary race and nip at Specter's newly Democratic heels. "I had every intention of whopping him," the former Lehigh Valley congressmen told the...

If there were ever a senator a party would want to show the door, it's Arlen Specter. Personally disagreeable, philosophically unmoored and fundamentally self-interested, he represents the worst of the U.S. Senate. So the collective cry of good riddance on the right that greeted his departure from the GOP is understandable. Specter joined the Republican Party in the 1960s for opportunistic reasons, and he left it last week for opportunistic reasons – a primary challenge from the talented conservative Pat Toomey that he probably wouldn't have been able to overcome. A better politician wouldn't have so lost the affection and...

"It's a wonderful country, this America. It's called a secret ballot," former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge said Thursday -- as he refused to pledge his support to former Congressman Pat Toomey over recent Republican-turned-Democratic incumbent Arlen Specter for his homestate's 2010 Senate race. Ridge's comment came in response to this question posed by MSNBC's Chris Matthews: "If you had to vote between Toomey, the conservative Republican, or Specter, the ex-Republican, who would you vote for?" With his refusal, Tom Ridge made clear that he really is through with electoral politics -- because he'll never, ever earn the support of conservative...

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge will not run for the U.S. Senate in 2010, he announced today. "After careful consideration and many conversations with friends and family and the leadership of my party, I have decided not to seek the Republican nomination for Senate," Ridge said in a statement.

The Republican Party suffered a major blow on Thursday when Tom Ridge, the former Pennsylvania governor and Secretary of Homeland Security, announced that he will not run for the U.S. Senate in 2010. “After careful consideration and many conversations with friends and family and the leadership of my party, I have decided not to seek the Republican nomination for Senate," said Ridge in a written statement. Ridge's decision not to run is a boon to Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa. The longtime moderate Republican senator switched parties on April 28 to avoid a tough GOP primary challenge from former Rep. Pat...

Former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge ended speculation today that he might run for the U.S. Senate in 2010. The blog PA2010.com reports that Ridge issued a statement saying he will not run. “After careful consideration and many conversations with friends and family and the leadership of my party, I have decided not to seek the Republican nomination for Senate............"

Tom Ridge announced today that he will not seek the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in next year's primary.

Tom Ridge running for the U.S. Senate is the best case scenario for Pennsylvania Republicans. Consider the facts: the man has never lost an election in the Keystone State. He developed a record as a proven fiscal conservative as Governor, holding government spending to at or below the rate of inflation and cutting taxes by over $2 billion, while squirreling away boom-time revenues for a $1 billion rainy-day fund. A much decorated Vietnam veteran and local prosecutor, he’s strong on national security and law and order - a profile he only added to as the first Director of Homeland Security...

RIDGE SPECTER A STATISTICAL DEAD HEAT; TOOMEY TRAILS (Harrisburg) Former Governor Tom Ridge and US Senator Arlen Specter are neck-and-neck across Pennsylvania in an election poll conducted for a state business group. Conservative former Congressman Pat Toomey, while potentially viable, trails Specter in most regions of the state. PEG PAC, Pennsylvania’s oldest pro-business political action committee and the affiliated PAC of the Pennsylvania Business Council (PBC), today announced the results of a statewide poll that tested whether a well known conservative Republican or a well known right-of-center Republican can best challenge incumbent US Senator Arlen Specter who recently joined the...