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.”
Right there with you.
You are so right. I can understand how people just couldn’t pull the lever for McCain; heck, most of us had to hold our noses! But conservatives staying home is how we got that dim bulb Kay Hagan instead of Liddy Dole. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face...
the guy is approaching 80 and his cancer is back...I don’t think he is in any shape to get a nomination and may not even be able to run in 2010.
I to have been thinking of Whittaker Chambers and his book WITNESS..
ping
"Dear Senator Specter:
In your estimation, exactly how much debt will be sufficient for Congress to pile onto each American before they'll feel more confident and increase consumer spending to rejuvenate the economy?
The favor of your reply is requested.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
A. GondringWho are the Dems going to put up for Guv?
The Pennsylvania GOP just needs to remove him from the party and refuse to let him run as a Republican. There is no right to run for office under your party of choice.
Sphincter is up for re-election in 2010.
You will receive form letter number FU69. It briefly states:
.
“Thank you for wasting your time putting your opinions on paper. If one of our over-paid ciphers even opens it, I am sure it will provide a few moments of humor in this office. And I am equally sure that you can offer nothing that will alter my positions. After all, I’m spending your money, not mine. And quite frankly, there is not a damn thing you can do about it.
.
Sincerely,
Arlen ‘Scottish Law’ Specter”
Rick Santorum supported Specter as well.
Do tell? The sooner the better!
Yup
I’ll donate to anyone who challenges McCain, Specter, Collins, or Snowe.
I’d love to vote for Toomey! I did before, and even took a punch for him. Okay, maybe just a shove from my local GOP buddies who thought I was too cozy with a Toomey supporter last time.
You are right about his age and health, but I *think* I’ve heard him talk about running again in 2010. I guess we’ll see, and maybe the truth about his vote and the votes of Collins and Snow will come out one day.
This is one hell of a payoff to his "Friends of Specter". The rape of the entire nation.
bttt
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