A friend of mine from the Pittsburgh area called me a few weeks ago and said that one of the things that is tucked in the backs of many people’s minds out there is that ghostly field in Shanksville where citizen soldiers on Flight 93 performed their heroism before the field was littered with charred bodies and debris on 9/11/01. Even normally liberal voters in that area are somehow consciously aware of the fact that it is conservative leadership, not liberal lip service, that will stand up to the madmen who turned that field into a mass graveyard. And it sits there today as a constant reminder of the perils of weak leadership.
In the door-to-door canvassing I have been doing in my neighborhood on and off over the past few weeks, and the talking I have been doing with people I come into contact with on a daily basis, it is heartening to discover how many people are now familiar with Toomey, as opposed to several months ago when he was a relative nonentity everywhere but in his own 15th congressional district. His radio and television advertisements are making inroads into Specter’s once-considered-insurmountable lead. I will not be able to do so again until after Easter, but for those two weeks between Easter and the 27th, I intend to be hitting the pavement with a vengeance.
I used to foolishly think that our focus needed to be in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas, because that is where the election will be won or lost. But I am beginning to realize that that is not the case. Outside of those two areas, Pennsylvania is an overwhelmingly conservative state. Here in Lancaster County, which is overwhelmingly Republican, it will not necessarily be a matter of changing minds, but rather a matter of getting out the vote in the normally low-voter-turnout primary.
To my mind, the debate on Sunday night was a non-event. It simply amounted to an unending series of accusations hurled from one candidate to the other (and then denied by the opposition). Of course the truth was on Toomey’s side, but, for those who were watching the debate with little knowledge of that fact, who was being truthful and who was lying was not discernable (unless one took into account the fact that Specter read a significant portion of his ‘talking points’ from prepared notes, while Toomey spoke plainly and honestly from the heart).
The SurveyUSA line graph included in the article from which this is excerpted is a sight to behold. Having begun wide apart, it appears that the Specter and Toomey support lines will inevitably intersect . The question is, do we have the time to see to it that they do?
What I am surprised to see in this poll in that Toomey is already leading in the 18-34 age group, and it is a virtual dead heat in the 35-49 age group. It is when you consider those above the age of 50 that Specter still has a commanding lead. Also, Toomey has already caught up to Specter among all males who are likely to vote, but is still lagging dramatically among likely female voters. I am experiencing one of those rare instances in which I am thoroughly ashamed to be a 50+ female. :) (*sigh* )
I, for one, will have a very difficult time getting over the fact that President Bush and Rick Santorum not only endorsed Specter (no doubt out of what they consider to be political protocol), but are also appearing in huge numbers of radio and television adds proclaiming his integrity-laden leadership. Had they both endorsed Toomey, or at least remained neutral, this election would be in the bag. In this respect, they are both outright traitors to the conservative movement.
Our esteemed (*cough*) Bucknell University once again proved just yesterday that it believes in free speech, so long as the speaker leans left of center. Toomey had been scheduled to give a speech there on Thursday on the topic of ‘civic engagement,’ and he had agreed to leave the current campaign out of his message. But that wasn’t good enough. He has now been barred from giving the speech. And yet Ralph Nader (seems to me he’s a candidate for something too?) is still being allowed to give the commencement address next month (and is being paid $13,000 to do so, too). Ain’t (truth and justice in) American higher education grand? As the Bucknell University Conservative Club president observed, Apparently Bucknell’s official version of ‘diversity’ doesn’t include conservative congressmen.
It’ll be interesting to see whether soon-to-be Senator Toomey goes to bat for the university in any future legislation which directly or indirectly involves them. :)
April 27th will prove to be a watershed event in Pennsylvania politics, and will send a clear message to conservatives-in-name-only in Washington DC. The people are indeed becoming wise to your shenanigans. Just ask Arlen Specter (if you can find him).
~ joanie