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Nope .. I like Bush .. and I can't stand Arlen Spector
See .. we conservatives are smart enough to seperate the two
I guess I missed the part where GWB has "reigned in" spending
Like Specter being our senator helped Bush in 2000? PA went to Gore...
That argument makes no sense at all. In 2000, Bush lost PA to Gore by a few percent while Rick Santorum, who is more conservative than Pat Toomey, beat the living snot out of the Liberal Dem challenger. People in PA did not connect with Bush in 2000. They will in 2004.
These "endorsements" are annoying.
How so?
“The dirtier Toomey gets … the greater a chance Democrats have in Pennsylvania,”
The dirtier Specter gets, the better chance the dems have as well.
Specter spokesman Bill Reynolds said. He added that the primary could hurt Republicans in this year’s local elections,
Bill, that doesn't make sense to me, and local elections are the types I know best. Coattails sometimes work if you got a Reagan type, but they certainly don't work on the Senate level. Carl Lenin didn't do anything for the dims here in the last race.
give a Democrat a better chance to win the Senate seat next year, and also have negative results in the 2004 presidential election.
I concede on the Senate seat, but the president's seat will be a battle no matter what. The ONLY other election that has any major effects on presidential races are ballot proposals. The presidency can affect the senate race, but usually it does not work the other way.
Both agreed initially, but Specter’s campaign is running ads again, saying a group connected to Toomey continued running ads. Toomey’s camp disputed that the lawmaker was involved in the ads, stating that there was little he could do to stop them.
Issue advocacy likely. Candidates usually don't go openly negative until the very end. Issue groups do that instead, and the candidates go 'nothing I can do'. Oldest trick in the book.
Toomey frequently calls Specter liberal and points to his own conservative record. However, Specter, who has crossed party lines especially with regard to pro-union votes, can point to endorsements from conservative and powerful Republicans.
It's because incumbents are almost always endorsed. Endorsements from a politician are a copout 90% of the time. The only endorsements that REALLY matter are interest groups like the unions, Right to Life, Planned Parenthood, NRA, Farm Bureau, the police, and the Chamber of Commerce.
However, his push to win support among state lawmakers resulted in controversy when several Pennsylvania Republicans asked Toomey to remove their names from a list of GOP legislators supporting the challenger.
Internal politics.
In response, the Toomey campaign sent a letter to state lawmakers, apologizing to the GOP delegation and state Rep. Thomas Killion (R) for mistakenly adding him to the list of the challenger’s supporters. The campaign source said that despite the mix-up Toomey is “not losing steam” and keeps picking up the endorsements of “like-minded Republicans.”
Can Toomey get the grass roots? That's the big question. If Right to Life and NRA join on his campaign, I think he has a shot. If either or both stay out, Specter will likely win again.
The Toomey campaign source said that including Killion was “a mix-up on the part of a staffer” and an “honest mistake.”
Riiiight.
In addition, the source said that three state lawmakers who asked to be removed from the list of Toomey endorsers had signed a document that explicitly said that their names could be used by the campaign.
Pressure from the top, probably. Especially with the golden rule on incumbents.
English said one-third of the money Toomey has raised was left over from the previous election, adding that many Republicans “do not think it is fair or reasonable” to spend money intended for a House race against a Democrat on a campaign to unseat an incumbent.
While I disagree with who English is backing, I can understand this stance.
Toomey’s campaign said it is odd that nobody talks about the $2.6 million Specter had left over from defeating a Democratic challenger in 1998.
Again, the golden rule on incumbancy.
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While I'd vote for Toomey, my money is on Specter since he is the incumbent, but Toomey has a shot, especially if Right to Life jumps in this race.
OTOH, if Dubya loses Pa. -- as he did in '00 -- nobody is going to split his ticket for Specter as they did for Santorum.
People will do that for Toomey.
Toomey is the better choice for those concerned with getting a GOP senator elected this Nov.
Dan