Posted on 02/11/2009 5:23:23 AM PST by Born Conservative
Pat Toomey is miffed. The former Congressman and current president of the Club for Growth came within a whisker of knocking off Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania’s 2004 GOP Senate primary. Now Mr. Specter is one of the GOP moderates helping President Obama enact his “stimulus” plan in the Senate. Mr. Specter’s pivot is an “amazingly squandered opportunity,” complains Mr. Toomey. “If the Republicans remained united, they could have demanded some real tax cuts. Senator Specter snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.”
So is Mr. Toomey looking for a Senate rematch in 2010 as some GOP leaders are privately urging? For now, he’s “seriously considering” a gubernatorial bid next year instead, but adds that if he ran against Mr. Specter, “I’m very confident that I would win. Senator Specter is much more vulnerable now than he was in 2004.”
Regardless of what Mr. Toomey decides to do, Pennsylvania conservatives are actively plotting to topple Mr. Specter. Chris Lilik, a longtime Toomey associate and editor of Pennsylvania’s influential conservative Web site GrassrootsPA, tells me that the 2010 primary will look vastly different than 2004’s: “For many years, the suburbs around Philadelphia in southeastern Pennsylvania were a stronghold for GOP registration, with moderate voters who identified with Senator Specter. This has changed. So many people in the southeast have crossed, registering as Democrats last year to support Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, we’re going to have a situation where Senator Specter will not have those reliable votes in the southeast.”
Meanwhile, Democrats are starting to line up to take on Mr. Specter. On Monday, Philadelphia’s Joe Torsella, a former president of the National Constitution Center and current chairman of Pennsylvania’s Board of Education, filed papers to seek Mr. Specter’s seat. Though MSNBC host Chris Matthews has taken his name out of contention, former Pittsburgh Steelers great Franco Harris is also reportedly being wooed by party leaders to make a bid.
Mr. Specter appears to be taking all the maneuvering in stride. When radio host Laura Ingraham on Monday suggested he was being “wined and dined” by the Obama White House, Mr. Specter politely gave her the back of his hand: “Now let’s get off it, Laura. I’m not drinking any wine at the White House and I don’t dine at the White House. If the president wants to talk to me, I talk to him and I make my own independent judgment. Don’t give me the wine and dine baloney, young lady.”
Ping
I’ve already pledged $100 to any conservative that runs against these three. Any one out there joining me?
I might break my vow not to contribute to the (R) Party and give a little to the Senatorial fund — if John Cornyn would pledge support to Toomey to dump Specter.
I think I’ll drop him a line today and tell him just that.
Mr. Toomey should run against Specter again in 2012(?) and this time, conservatives should contribute directly to his campaign, rather than relying on the NRSC and the “leader of our Party” to do the right thing.
ditto
Spector plans to retire probably and going for the gold! Feathering his retiring next is his focus and whether he is re-elected is secondary. He knows from experience and witnessing the free for all in Washington, this is the time for him to make it big and get out!
Experience had taught me that innocence seldom utters outraged shrieks. Guilt does. Innocence is a mighty shield, and the man or woman covered by it, is much more likely to answer calmly: “My life is blameless. Look into it, if you like, for you will find nothing.” That is the tone of innocence. -- Whittaker Chambers, from his book WITNESS
As I struggled to control my feeling, slowly and deliberately, I heard myself saying, rather than said: “The story has spread that in testifying against Mr. Hiss I am working out some old grudge, or motives of revenge or hatred. I do not hate Mr. Hiss. We were close friends, but we are caught in a tragedy of history. Mr. Hiss represents the concealed enemy against which we are all fighting, and I am fighting. I have testified against him with remorse and pity, but in a moment of history in which this Nation now stands, so help me God, I could not do otherwise.” In the completely silent room, I fought to control my voice. (694-695) -- from WITNESS
Mr. Specter-Hiss, do the right thing by your Oath and Country!
This is the mail system at host mx2.smartechcorp.net.
I'm sorry to have to inform you that your message could not be delivered to one or more recipients. It's attached below.
For further assistance, please send mail to postmaster.
If you do so, please include this problem report. You can delete your own text from the attached returned message.
The mail system.
: permission denied. Command output: Mail quota exceeded..
Forwarded Message: Re: Over-reaching Re: Over-reaching.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009 6:29 AM.
From: "Mike Thompson" <>.
To: "John Cornyn" .
I'll consider donating money to your organization AFTER you have ejected the 3 Senators who have betrayed us. If you can't present a united front to the over-reaching that the Obama administration will no doubt continue to do, you aren't worth any amount of money.
Eject Collins, Snow and Spector from the party now.
Let them go over to the Democrats where they have already made their bed. At least you will know what you're up against.
Eject your traitors, then we'll talk about my support. Michael E. Thompson Austin, TX, USA
Specter may not even run. When looking for motivation on why he favors this bill, I suspect all one has to do is to see what powerful individuals have supported Specter and see which individuals will benefit directly from this pork. I’d bet they’re the same people....
Let's think bigger than any one race - I've pointed out several times here on FR that if 10 million conservatives (and look, we DO have way more than that number in America) each contributed $100 to the GOP, that would be 1 BILLION dollars - that would blow away Obama's "magical" (illegal) fundraising abilities.
Of course, the GOP has to be worthy of raking in that kind of dough from us, which is what we're trying to make happen right now.
>> Good luck. I just got this back:
Cornyn is the worst stonewaller of all the public officials in Texas. It pisses me off. I have told him so.
FAX him. That seems to get through. In fact, faxing is the ONLY way I have ever been able to contact his office.
By the way, I refuse to use those wanky little “email me” forms on his (or any other critter’s) website. I think emailing is damn near useless.
No doubt. His lame excuse was basically “we have to do something”. This is the same “straw man” that 0 is using. NO ONE is saying do nothing. We’re saying there is a HUGE gulf between $0 and $800+Billion and we know $800+Billion on mostly liberal non-stimulus pet projects is wrong. I thought the Senate was the world’s greatest deliberative body. They haven’t discussed this bill in any depth at all.
PA appears to be going “all socialist-all the time”. Not much of a chance for any conservative...
I’m in ! GO TOOMEY !
And while we’re at it, let’s not forget folks, that had it not been for former President George W. RINO campaigning for, and supporting Specter against Toomey’s challenge, we could have seen a REAL conservative Senator from Pennsylvania instead of the current RINO-scum, and that would mean one LESS vote for Dingy Harry in this week’s Porkulus bill.
It would also help greatly if Conservatives would get out and vote. This last election a lot of folks sat on their hands. Elections, all of them, have consequences. There should be no better example than what we are dealing with now to prove that point to all who sat at home on election day....
Exactlly. Spector is beholdin’ to Rove & Bush.
Bush was never a conservative. We were conned.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.