Posted on 02/08/2012 3:37:31 PM PST by red flanker
Rick Santorum backed Arlen Specter over Pat Toomey in 2004. It was a tough race with Toomey mounting a credible, well-financed challenge.
Toomeys candidacy, by his own estimation, was one of the precursors to the Tea Party movement:
The battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party between big spending moderates and committed conservatives that was evident in 2004 may have inspired subsequent Tea Party efforts, Toomey suggested. Despite losing out on key endorsements from leading Republican figures in 2004, Toomey believes his primary campaign created a strong foundation for conservative activism that translated into victory in 2010.
Santorum not only backed Specter, he cut a commercial for him.
(Excerpt) Read more at legalinsurrection.com ...
Totally agree. Santorum endorsed Specter, he didn't elect him. It's folly to waste conservative capital on this kind of nonsense.
Romney's trying to hang the national debt around Rick's neck because of earmarks or votes on debt. Rick was one Senator, a single vote. Was he supposed to pull a Mr. Smith Goes to Washington?
There's a lot more good about Santorum than bad and we'd better get behind him. This might be our last chance to stop Romney. So who's worse?
Totally agree. Santorum endorsed Specter, he didn't elect him. It's folly to waste conservative capital on this kind of nonsense.
Romney's trying to hang the national debt around Rick's neck because of earmarks or votes on debt. Rick was one Senator, a single vote. Was he supposed to pull a Mr. Smith Goes to Washington?
There's a lot more good about Santorum than bad and we'd better get behind him. This might be our last chance to stop Romney. So who's worse?
Thank you for putting up this link. I do remember being furious at the time that witnesses would not be called against Clinton during the impeachment. I did not realize Rick S. was a part of this with Trent Lott whom I deplore.
...makes Newt (who I already favored) look more attractive for the Georgia primary.
President Bush personally asked Santorum to back Specter. How many Republicans asked Newt Gingrich to endorse Dede Scozzafava?
bump!
I can explain it this way - and you are probably being disingenuous as you most likely know more about it than I do: He could vote for it, because without the women the women the women - the case was so weak - the entire senate could vote against it - like Tricky Ricky did - and not be faulted. Had those women testified live - the case may have been so compelling the senate wouldn’t have dared vote it down... or the republicans - at the least - mightn’t have dared to vote against it...
A lot of young women coming into the conservative party now are absolutely appalled as they find out about this clinton stuff... to some of us it is just unbelievable that he treated a young woman that way - in the White House - and got away with it...
Let's repeat that for the cheap seats...
and Toomey gave us gays in the military
Likewise for me.
It is not just an issue of Specter supporting Obamacare, because Santorum has held his ground on that issue from the beginning. But, Arlen Specter is onoe of the most blatant examples of everything wrong with our government and political system. He was a life long quisling parasite on our economy and in our congress who would do anything necessary to build his power, stuff his pocket or curry favor in exchange for votes. He has no moral base and for Santorum to align himself with the scumbag was a move I could never understand.
Yes, I’m still mad at him over Specter. Its one of the main reasons I held back from supporting him.
Of course, at this point, all of the candidates have baggage. My #1, Gingrich, has Scozzafava and a host of other things I’ve had to overlook.
So, in the overall scheme of things, I’m prepared to let it go. He’s not Romney. Thats a big one with me.
So, for me, its Gingrich (baggage and all) followed by Santorum (Specter and all) followed by... Paul. Followed by Romney. For me, my biggest problem with Romney is not his shape-shifting, but rather his willingness to trash his Repub opponents, and the “tea party”, and whoever else he saw as a threat. He always saw conservatives as more of a threat than he did Obama. Thats my biggest problem with him. Most of the others knew that Obama was the threat, but Romney knew that conservatives were the main threat.
I’ll smile when I pull the lever for either Gingrich or Santorum. I’ll cringe a bit if I have to vote for Paul. If I have to vote for Romney in the general it will be with fear and loathing. And if he wins the nomination and loses the general, I think the GOP breaks.
“Many people were uncomfortable with impeachment of a sitting president, it is a road many just did not want to go down.”
The Senate refused to impeach Clinton because they didn’t want Gore to be a sitting president at election time.
I don’t who Bill Collier is. Read the book, or at the least read up on the book, and whether it was adjudged reliable or a truly factual account of the times... who cares who posted the excerpts of the book... it is the veracity of the experts not the webmaster...
You are totally right. If Santorum would have backed Toomey, he would have lost support from the state GOP and the WH. People don't realize how expensive and hard PA is to run state wide. You have 2 major media markets to pay for and lots of small ones in between. Philly alone is murder to pay for.
What a despicable post, as if Santorum was responsible for what Specter did. With Bush against Toomey, it was unlikely his endorsement amounted to squat.
Yes! that “garbage” was the women - the dems once called them the nuts and sluts - and the senate didn’t want any part of it... that’s why holier-than-thou Sanctimonium and Lott doublecrossed them... they didn’t want women, i.e., garbage in the senate. It makes me upset just typing this post to you about it...
This assumes that Pat Toomey could have beaten the democrat who surely would have run against him. Could he have won? 2 years later, Pennsylvania voted out a conservative by 17 points, so it appears there was a limit to their support for solid conservatives.
Heck, in a WAVE year for Republicans, Toomey only beat Sestack by 2%.
But maybe the democrats would have been so shocked by the upset of Specter that they wouldn’t have had time to play their ballot games and put Casey up against him.
Interesting though. Suppose they had? Then Casey would have beat Toomey. Santorum would have won in 2006, having NOT to run against Casey, and not having angered conservatives. So Santorum would have been the 60th vote, and Obamacare wouldn’t have passed.
So it’s Santorum’s fault for losing his election. That’s the ticket.
[There is a smile on Kennedys face but his eyes arent smiling.]
I think the clinical term is “untreated alcoholism.”
Newtrians?
I will not bash either Newt or Santorum, I will save my fire for the real opponent. We shouldn't be damaging the anti-Romneys so much that they can't run against Obama if one does happen to bring down Mr. GOP-E Inevitable.
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