Subject: Fed up with Arlen Specter 5/5/2009, 6:33 pm
He voted against Obama's budget,came out against his health care plan,won't support employee free choice,and Sunday on Meet the Press declared "I'm not a loyal Democrat". Today was the final straw for me when he said this
Quote :
There’s still time for the Minnesota courts to do justice and declare Norm Coleman the winner.
I see no reason whatsoever not to run a strong primary against this guy and I will be supporting the challenger,whoever he is. This seat is way to easy to pick up,(Obama won Pa by double digits and Rick Santorum was beaten in 2006 by 18%) than to let an endangered GOPosaur like Specter distract from what we want to accomplish.
Scorpion
Posts : 2141
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 5/5/2009, 10:08 pm
Artie60438 wrote:
He voted against Obama's budget,came out against his health care plan,won't support employee free choice,and Sunday on Meet the Press declared "I'm not a loyal Democrat". Today was the final straw for me when he said this
Quote :
There’s still time for the Minnesota courts to do justice and declare Norm Coleman the winner.
Yeah. Well he has already backpedaled from the comment about Coleman...
But questioned outside the Senate chamber Tuesday, Specter said the comment was a mistake.
“In the swirl of moving from one caucus to another, I have to get used to my new teammates,” he said. “I’m ordinarily pretty correct in what I say. I’ve made a career of being precise. I conclusively misspoke.”
Asked who he’s backing now in elections, Specter said, “I’m looking for more Democratic members. Nothing personal.”
Artie60438 wrote:
I see no reason whatsoever not to run a strong primary against this guy and I will be supporting the challenger,whoever he is. This seat is way to easy to pick up,(Obama won Pa by double digits and Rick Santorum was beaten in 2006 by 18%) than to let an endangered GOPosaur like Specter distract from what we want to accomplish.
Specter, who announced April 28 he was changing his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat, leads likely Republican contender Toomey by a 53 percent to 33 percent margin, the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute found.
But if former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge throws his hat into the ring, he might give Specter a run for his money, the poll found. A Specter-Ridge showdown only has the sitting senator leading 46 percent to 43 percent.
I guess it all comes down to whether Ridge runs or not. Are you really willing to take a chance on a divisive primary fight if the Republican opponent is Tom Ridge?
Personally, I'm not worried about Specter. It's one thing to cast a vote in the Senate when it means very little, like the budget vote. His vote wasn't crucial to passage.
The fact of the matter is that if it becomes necessary, the final budget, and that includes a health care plan, can now pass without a single Republican vote, as part of the "reconciliation" process. In other words, a simple Senate majority is all that will be needed. Obviously, a bi-partisan approach would be better, but I expect the GOP to continue to oppose the President on just about everything.
Democrats in Congress capped President Barack Obama's 100th day in office by advancing a $3.4 trillion federal budget for next year — a third of it borrowed — that prevents Republicans from blocking his proposed trillion-dollar expansion of government-provided health care over the next decade.
If Specter steps too far out of line, then the Democrats in Pennsylvania will oppose him in the primary. But Specter does want to continue to be a Senator, so I expect that he will deliver if his vote is ever crucial to passing the President's agenda.
Guest Guest
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 5/5/2009, 11:33 pm
Wow, quite the change from before when you were laughing about him leaving the GOP...hey- he's yours now baby!
Artie60438
Posts : 9728
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 5/6/2009, 8:47 am
I guess it all comes down to whether Ridge runs or not. Are you really willing to take a chance on a divisive primary fight if the Republican opponent is Tom Ridge?
Absolutely! Why should we settle for someone like Specter who so far can't be counted on for anything? Considering Obama won Pa by 11% I think we could beat Ridge,who of course would be having a field day using Specter's switch against him. Ridge will define him,and rightly so,as a flip flopping opportunist. I shudder at thinking about how many flip flopping sound bytes he'll be able to use in campaign commercials.
Quote :
The fact of the matter is that if it becomes necessary, the final budget, and that includes a health care plan, can now pass without a single Republican vote, as part of the "reconciliation" process. In other words, a simple Senate majority is all that will be needed. Obviously, a bi-partisan approach would be better, but I expect the GOP to continue to oppose the President on just about everything.
True,and I look forward to seeing a big dose of GOP hypocrisy concerning reconciliation.
Quote :
If Specter steps too far out of line, then the Democrats in Pennsylvania will oppose him in the primary. But Specter does want to continue to be a Senator, so I expect that he will deliver if his vote is ever crucial to passing the President's agenda.
How much farther out of line can he go? I can't think of one thing that he's said or done in the last week that helps the Democratic party,can you? Obviously there will be some time and votes before any decision concerning 2010 is made,but if he continues down the path he's following right now,he needs to go. The Democratic party shouldn't be in the business of running a homeless shelter for endangered GOPosaurs.
Artie60438
Posts : 9728
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 5/6/2009, 9:00 am
Ohhmama wrote:
Wow, quite the change from before when you were laughing about him leaving the GOP...hey- he's yours now baby!
No change at all. Within a couple of hours of the announcement I posted this
Quote :
I'd still like to take Specter out in the primary. While I'm glad that he switched,I just hope we don't end up with another Joe Lieberman.
I certainly wasn't proclaiming that we'd have a lock on 60 votes with Specter or that it was going to change anything that significantly as far as the Dems were concerned.
Even though so far Specter has shown himself to be useless to the Dems,it still was a huge blow to the GOP,and I'm still chuckling over that.
Artie60438
Posts : 9728
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 5/6/2009, 9:45 am
Well here's something positive about Specter's defection....
Quote :
Under the two organizing resolutions — one for the majority (SR 130) and one for the minority (SR 131) — approved Tuesday evening, no additional GOP members will be added to the five panels, and Specter will simply be counted as a Democrat rather than a Republican.
That approach will give Democrats a six-member edge, rather than four, on Appropriations; their margin on Judiciary, Environment and Public Works, Veterans’ Affairs and Special Aging grows from three to five members on each committee.
Republicans could have pushed to reopen negotiations on committee ratios, but a GOP aide noted that doing so was unlikely because "it just opens a can of worms."
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 5/6/2009, 1:32 pm
Artie60438 wrote:
Scorpion wrote:
I guess it all comes down to whether Ridge runs or not. Are you really willing to take a chance on a divisive primary fight if the Republican opponent is Tom Ridge?
Absolutely! Why should we settle for someone like Specter who so far can't be counted on for anything? Considering Obama won Pa by 11% I think we could beat Ridge,who of course would be having a field day using Specter's switch against him. Ridge will define him,and rightly so,as a flip flopping opportunist. I shudder at thinking about how many flip flopping sound bytes he'll be able to use in campaign commercials.
I guess the real question is if it came down to Specter or Ridge, who would you prefer? I'm not at all sure that Ridge would be so easy to defeat. BTW - Obama has indicated that he will campaign for Specter. So Specter will need to step up and vote with the Democrats, when it counts.
Scorpion wrote:
If Specter steps too far out of line, then the Democrats in Pennsylvania will oppose him in the primary. But Specter does want to continue to be a Senator, so I expect that he will deliver if his vote is ever crucial to passing the President's agenda.
Artie60438 wrote:
How much farther out of line can he go?
He could participate in a filibuster with the Republicans. But that's not likely to happen, regardless of what he says. If he wants the President to support his re-election, he will need to deliver his vote when called upon to do so. Plus, he's been stripped of his seniority on committees, and the matter won't be revisited again until after the 2010 elections.
The Senate passed a resolution Tuesday night that made him the most junior Democrat on the committees on which he serves. The resolution was passed after an agreement was reached between leadership in both parties and Specter, said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Manley said the seniority issue will be revisited after the 2010 elections.
Being the most junior member on Senate committees will drive Specter nuts. Like most Senators, he has a massive ego, and will be anxious to return to his former positions of power on those committees. Like I said, I'm not really worried about Specter at all.
That said, given how partisan you are, I understand your scepticism and your distaste for an ex-Republican. But IMHO, there is plenty of room in the Democratic party for moderates, as long as they don't participate in filibusters that block the party's agenda. After all, the budget resolution passed easily, even though three other Democrats (besides Specter) opposed it.
Artie60438
Posts : 9728
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 5/6/2009, 3:28 pm
[quote="Scorpion"]
Artie60438 wrote:
I guess the real question is if it came down to Specter or Ridge, who would you prefer? I'm not at all sure that Ridge would be so easy to defeat. BTW - Obama has indicated that he will campaign for Specter. So Specter will need to step up and vote with the Democrats, when it counts.
I prefer neither of them. I don't know why you're so afraid of Ridge. The wingnuts are already gearing up against Ridge. Remember that this is now a party that basically wants nothing to do with moderates or anyone that doesn't follow the hard right. Once they start painting Ridge as a liberal his numbers won't be so impressive.
Scorpion wrote:
If Specter steps too far out of line, then the Democrats in Pennsylvania will oppose him in the primary. But Specter does want to continue to be a Senator, so I expect that he will deliver if his vote is ever crucial to passing the President's agenda.
I agree that we;'ll have to wait and see.
Artie60438 wrote:
How much farther out of line can he go?
Quote :
He could participate in a filibuster with the Republicans. But that's not likely to happen, regardless of what he says. If he wants the President to support his re-election, he will need to deliver his vote when called upon to do so. Plus, he's been stripped of his seniority on committees, and the matter won't be revisited again until after the 2010 elections.
The Senate passed a resolution Tuesday night that made him the most junior Democrat on the committees on which he serves. The resolution was passed after an agreement was reached between leadership in both parties and Specter, said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Manley said the seniority issue will be revisited after the 2010 elections.
Being the most junior member on Senate committees will drive Specter nuts. Like most Senators, he has a massive ego, and will be anxious to return to his former positions of power on those committees. Like I said, I'm not really worried about Specter at all.
That's good news and should encourage him to cooperate if he wants to regain any standing.
Quote :
That said, given how partisan you are, I understand your scepticism and your distaste for an ex-Republican. But IMHO, there is plenty of room in the Democratic party for moderates, as long as they don't participate in filibusters that block the party's agenda. After all, the budget resolution passed easily, even though three other Democrats (besides Specter) opposed it.
My skepticism is based on his actions and words over the past 7 days,none of which has done anything to promote the Democratic agenda. After what Judd Gregg pulled on Obama,I find it extremely difficult not to look at Specter,or any Republican for that matter,with a jaundiced eye.
Scorpion
Posts : 2141
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 5/6/2009, 4:10 pm
Artie60438 wrote:
Scorpion wrote:
I guess the real question is if it came down to Specter or Ridge, who would you prefer? I'm not at all sure that Ridge would be so easy to defeat. BTW - Obama has indicated that he will campaign for Specter. So Specter will need to step up and vote with the Democrats, when it counts.
I prefer neither of them. I don't know why you're so afraid of Ridge. The wingnuts are already gearing up against Ridge. Remember that this is now a party that basically wants nothing to do with moderates or anyone that doesn't follow the hard right. Once they start painting Ridge as a liberal his numbers won't be so impressive.
I just don't believe that The Club for Growth would get away with that crap with Ridge, and if the Democratic candidate isn't Specter, then who would it be? Off the top of my head, I can't come up with anybody credible except Governor Rendell, and I seriously doubt that he's going to give up the governorship to run.
I think that it would be a mistake to underestimate Ridge. He was a popular governor before he resigned to head Homeland Security.
In 1994, despite being little-known outside of northwest Pennsylvania, Ridge ran for governor of Pennsylvania, winning the election as a pro-choice Republican. He was reelected in 1998 with 57 percent of the vote in a four-way race. Ridge's share of the vote was the highest for a Republican governor in Pennsylvania (where Democrats outnumber Republicans by almost 500,000) in more than half a century.[5] Ridge served as Governor until his resignation to become the Director of Homeland Security in 2001.
Artie60438 wrote:
My skepticism is based on his actions and words over the past 7 days,none of which has done anything to promote the Democratic agenda. After what Judd Gregg pulled on Obama,I find it extremely difficult not to look at Specter,or any Republican for that matter,with a jaundiced eye.
Yeah, well like I said, I understand where you are coming from.
BTW - If anyone cares, I won't be posting for the next few weeks, because tomorrow I'm taking off on a much needed, long overdue vacation.
Artie60438
Posts : 9728
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 5/6/2009, 5:10 pm
Scorpion wrote:
I just don't believe that The Club for Growth would get away with that crap with Ridge, and if the Democratic candidate isn't Specter, then who would it be? Off the top of my head, I can't come up with anybody credible except Governor Rendell, and I seriously doubt that he's going to give up the governorship to run.
Congressman Joe Sestak has been mentioned. Besides,who knows what Spector will do now that he has the same seniority as Roland Burris. Irregardless of who the Dems run,Ridge is going to be attacked by the right wing and they'll have a list of issues....
Quote :
The issues on which Ridge "isn't conservative enough" far exceed abortion. Take those "national security credentials": While in Congress, Ridge voted against the Strategic Defense Initiative, against the MX missile, against aid to the Contras, and for the nuclear freeze. Ridge coauthored with a Democrat a successful amendment to cut SDI funding from $4.9 billion to $3.1 billion. He was, in fact, a leading anti-SDI Republican.
On economic issues, Ridge was once one of 19 House Republicans who voted to increase the minimum wage, was a vocal opponent of the first President Bush's efforts to cut the capital gains tax, and raised the gasoline tax as governor. Between 1984 and 1988, Congressional Quarterly rated him as being more likely to oppose President Reagan's position on a given issue than support it. Finally, he voted to expand welfare eligiblity and in favor of the Fairness Doctrine.
I think that it would be a mistake to underestimate Ridge. He was a popular governor before he resigned to head Homeland Security.
I'm not underestimating him,but that was a long time ago,way before Bush and the Repubs really screwed up the country,and Democrats have won every Presidential election in Pa going back to 1992. He'll also be tied to Bush and the Iraq war forever.
Quote :
BTW - If anyone cares, I won't be posting for the next few weeks, because tomorrow I'm taking off on a much needed, long overdue vacation.
Have a nice vacation and enjoy yourself. I look forward to your posts upon your return.
Artie60438
Posts : 9728
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 8/4/2009, 3:37 pm
I for one am glad to see this...
PA-Sen: Sestak is in by kos Tue Aug 04, 2009 at 10:46:03 AM PDT
Sen. Arlen Specter switched parties to avoid one tough primary, but all of Obama's and Ed Rendell's promises were for naught, as he now faces a tough primary in the Democratic side against a real Democrat -- Rep. Joe Sestak. Why is he challenging the Specter?
Quote :
U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak drew a comparison Saturday between his decision to challenge Sen. Arlen Specter in next year's Democratic Senate primary and Specter's calculated choice to leave the Republican Party.
"Pennsylvanians should have someone that's in it for them, not their own legacy," Sestak, 57, told The Sunday Voice during an hourlong interview on the city's Public Square.
Sestak said he had already been deliberating running against Specter in the 2010 general election for months before the five-term senator announced his party switch three months ago, days after a poll showed Specter, 79, trailing the more conservative Republican challenger Pat Toomey in a hypothetical primary showdown.
Specter's switch, after he voted to support the policies of Republican President George W. Bush more than 80 percent of the time, solidified Sestak's decision to enter the race.
"It's about Pennsylvanians, it's not about your job," Sestak said of Specter. "We Pennsylvanians have lost too many jobs in this recession to worry about his job security, particularly since he voted with President Bush on the economic tax policies that sent us over the precipice into this recession."
Sestak, who retired as a three-star admiral after 31 years in the Navy, is in his second-term representing the state's Seventh Congressional District, which includes parts of Delaware, Chester and Montgomery counties.
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 8/6/2009, 12:29 pm
Yeah. Well perhaps Specter will decide not to run. After all, he'll be 80 next year.
I don't know if it's relevant that a Republican Senator voted for the Republican ticket.
In the end, what it will come down to is how faithfully he supports the Democratic Party agenda going forward. If he votes and acts like a Democrat, and he runs again, he will probably have the support of the DNC, and Obama. There are some extremely important votes coming up, so I guess we'll see what happens.
Artie60438
Posts : 9728
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 8/6/2009, 1:04 pm
Scorpion wrote:
Yeah. Well perhaps Specter will decide not to run. After all, he'll be 80 next year.
I really doubt that,otherwise why would he have switched parties in the first place?
Quote :
In the end, what it will come down to is how faithfully he supports the Democratic Party agenda going forward. If he votes and acts like a Democrat, and he runs again, he will probably have the support of the DNC, and Obama. There are some extremely important votes coming up, so I guess we'll see what happens.
He'll have to vote 100% in lockstep with the Dems until the primary for me to even consider supporting him. I'd also like to see him come out and really attack the Repubs. I don't trust him at all. He reminds me too much of Joe Lieberman.
Scorpion
Posts : 2141
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 8/6/2009, 1:42 pm
Artie60438 wrote:
Scorpion wrote:
Yeah. Well perhaps Specter will decide not to run. After all, he'll be 80 next year.
I really doubt that,otherwise why would he have switched parties in the first place?
Because he thought that he could beat the Republican Toomey if he ran against him a a Democrat. It's still early, of course, but a poll from a couple of weeks ago seems to indicate that he has lost his advantage...
He'll have to vote 100% in lockstep with the Dems until the primary for me to even consider supporting him. I'd also like to see him come out and really attack the Repubs. I don't trust him at all. He reminds me too much of Joe Lieberman.
Simply put, if he doesn't vote with the Democrats on bills when his vote is critical to passage, then he will not have the support of the Democrats in the primary.
Scorpion
Posts : 2141
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 8/15/2009, 5:49 pm
I saw Specter's and Sestak's appearances at the Netroots Nation Convention yesterday. It was about 30 minutes per candidate. It was pretty interesting.
If anyone is interested in the Senate race in Pennsylvania, I highly recommend watching this...
Specter answered a lot of the questions that I had about his actions over the past few years... and it was the first time that I'd seen Sestak. I have to admit that he's an interesting candidate, but IMHO, he may be a bit too progressive for a state wide race in Pennsylvania.
Artie60438
Posts : 9728
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 8/16/2009, 11:38 am
Scorpion wrote:
I saw Specter's and Sestak's appearances at the Netroots Nation Convention yesterday. It was about 30 minutes per candidate. It was pretty interesting.
If anyone is interested in the Senate race in Pennsylvania, I highly recommend watching this...
Specter answered a lot of the questions that I had about his actions over the past few years... and it was the first time that I'd seen Sestak. I have to admit that he's an interesting candidate, but IMHO, he may be a bit too progressive for a state wide race in Pennsylvania.
Scorpion,I don't see it that way at all. Big surprise,huh? That list of liberal issues that Spector recited he voted for is all well and good,but any reliable Democrat,which I believe Spector will never be,would have voted the same way. Spector is going to get hammered non-stop for his flip-flops,which he has a ton of,not the least of which is switching parties to save his own skin. IMO,That switch is certainly going to energize Republicans who feel betrayed,to turn out in much higher numbers than they ordinarily would,and vote against him.
As to Sestak being too progressive? Pat Toomey is a tried and true wingnut. The last wingnut Senator there,Rick Santorum,got beat by 18% in 2006. Obama beat McCain by over 10%. Last but not least,Democrats have a 1.2 million voter registration advantage over Repubs as of June 2009.
Bottom line is that Spector is going to have a huge "trust" problem which Sestak won't have and that is an issue that I don't see him recovering from.
Thanks for the link.
Scorpion
Posts : 2141
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 8/17/2009, 12:04 am
Artie60438 wrote:
Scorpion wrote:
I saw Specter's and Sestak's appearances at the Netroots Nation Convention yesterday. It was about 30 minutes per candidate. It was pretty interesting.
If anyone is interested in the Senate race in Pennsylvania, I highly recommend watching this...
Specter answered a lot of the questions that I had about his actions over the past few years... and it was the first time that I'd seen Sestak. I have to admit that he's an interesting candidate, but IMHO, he may be a bit too progressive for a state wide race in Pennsylvania.
Scorpion,I don't see it that way at all. Big surprise,huh? That list of liberal issues that Spector recited he voted for is all well and good,but any reliable Democrat,which I believe Spector will never be,would have voted the same way.
No doubt. But Specter voted against his own party in many cases. That shows character, at least in my opinion. To me, Specter seems more like a Lincoln Chafee (remember him?) than a Joe Lieberman.
Artie60438 wrote:
Spector is going to get hammered non-stop for his flip-flops,which he has a ton of,not the least of which is switching parties to save his own skin. IMO,That switch is certainly going to energize Republicans who feel betrayed,to turn out in much higher numbers than they ordinarily would,and vote against him.
As to Sestak being too progressive? Pat Toomey is a tried and true wingnut. The last wingnut Senator there,Rick Santorum,got beat by 18% in 2006. Obama beat McCain by over 10%. Last but not least,Democrats have a 1.2 million voter registration advantage over Repubs as of June 2009.
If the Democrats have such huge advantages in the state, then I don't see what you're concerned about.
Artie60438 wrote:
Bottom line is that Spector is going to have a huge "trust" problem which Sestak won't have and that is an issue that I don't see him recovering from.
Thanks for the link.
The bottom line is that it is completely bogus to convince somebody to switch parties (even if it is advantageous to Specter politically) and then desert him for another candidate. Specter will have the full support of the DNC and the Obama administration in the primary. If Sestak can overcome all of that and beat Specter in the primary, then good for him. Personally, I think that either candidate has a good chance against Toomey. I'm just not convinced at this point that Toomey will be the Republican candidate.
Artie60438
Posts : 9728
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 8/17/2009, 10:53 am
Scorpion wrote:
No doubt. But Specter voted against his own party in many cases. That shows character, at least in my opinion. To me, Specter seems more like a Lincoln Chafee (remember him?) than a Joe Lieberman.
What also scares me is that this might be his last campaign. Once elected,who knows what he would do if he's not worried about re-election.
Quote :
If the Democrats have such huge advantages in the state, then I don't see what you're concerned about.
If a strong Democrat like myself is concerned and doesn't trust him,how do you think conservative Dems,or voters that recently switched their allegiance to Democrats are going to feel?
Quote :
I'm just not convinced at this point that Toomey will be the Republican candidate.
Who else do you think will run. Tom Ridge has already said he's not interested.
Scorpion
Posts : 2141
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 8/17/2009, 1:33 pm
Artie60438 wrote:
Scorpion wrote:
No doubt. But Specter voted against his own party in many cases. That shows character, at least in my opinion. To me, Specter seems more like a Lincoln Chafee (remember him?) than a Joe Lieberman.
What also scares me is that this might be his last campaign. Once elected,who knows what he would do if he's not worried about re-election.
What votes can you point to in his past that might lead you to believe that Specter would double cross his new party?
Artie60438 wrote:
Scorpion wrote:
If the Democrats have such huge advantages in the state, then I don't see what you're concerned about.
If a strong Democrat like myself is concerned and doesn't trust him,how do you think conservative Dems,or voters that recently switched their allegiance to Democrats are going to feel?
Certainly not strongly enough to allow a right winger like Toomey to win.
Artie60438 wrote:
Scorpion wrote:
I'm just not convinced at this point that Toomey will be the Republican candidate.
Who else do you think will run. Tom Ridge has already said he's not interested.
That's a relief. I noticed he pulled out in May, while I was on vacation, so I missed it. Thanks for the update! Have you heard anything about the other 2 possibilities?
Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.) also said he will consider running for Senate in 2010, although he has already formed an exploratory committee to run for governor next year. Party leaders have also mentioned another moderate Republican running for governor, former U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan, as a potential candidate to face off with Toomey in the primary.
When I get a chance, I'll see if I can find out anything more about the plans of these 2 candidates. I do know that Governor Rendell is leaving in 2010.
Artie60438
Posts : 9728
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 8/17/2009, 4:39 pm
Scorpion wrote:
Artie60438 wrote:
Scorpion wrote:
No doubt. But Specter voted against his own party in many cases. That shows character, at least in my opinion. To me, Specter seems more like a Lincoln Chafee (remember him?) than a Joe Lieberman.
What also scares me is that this might be his last campaign. Once elected,who knows what he would do if he's not worried about re-election.
What votes can you point to in his past that might lead you to believe that Specter would double cross his new party?
There's a list of issues votes where he broke with his own party Here
Quote :
Certainly not strongly enough to allow a right winger like Toomey to win.
No,but maybe enough to not vote or vote for a 3rd party in protest
Artie60438 wrote:
Scorpion wrote:
I'm just not convinced at this point that Toomey will be the Republican candidate.
Who else do you think will run. Tom Ridge has already said he's not interested.
That's a relief. I noticed he pulled out in May, while I was on vacation, so I missed it. Thanks for the update! Have you heard anything about the other 2 possibilities?
Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.) also said he will consider running for Senate in 2010, although he has already formed an exploratory committee to run for governor next year. Party leaders have also mentioned another moderate Republican running for governor, former U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan, as a potential candidate to face off with Toomey in the primary.
When I get a chance, I'll see if I can find out anything more about the plans of these 2 candidates. I do know that Governor Rendell is leaving in 2010.[/quote]
Thanks. I haven't heard any other possible candidates mentioned. With the current Republican thinking that their problems are that they weren't conservative enough,I don't see them welcoming anyone more moderate.
Scorpion
Posts : 2141
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 8/17/2009, 5:09 pm
Artie60438 wrote:
Scorpion wrote:
Artie60438 wrote:
Scorpion wrote:
No doubt. But Specter voted against his own party in many cases. That shows character, at least in my opinion. To me, Specter seems more like a Lincoln Chafee (remember him?) than a Joe Lieberman.
What also scares me is that this might be his last campaign. Once elected,who knows what he would do if he's not worried about re-election.
What votes can you point to in his past that might lead you to believe that Specter would double cross his new party?
There's a list of issues votes where he broke with his own party Here .
WTF - All but a handful of these votes are when he voted with the Democrats as a Republican. How the hell is that relevant?
Artie60438
Posts : 9728
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 8/17/2009, 5:18 pm
Scorpion wrote:
Artie60438 wrote:
Scorpion wrote:
Artie60438 wrote:
Scorpion wrote:
No doubt. But Specter voted against his own party in many cases. That shows character, at least in my opinion. To me, Specter seems more like a Lincoln Chafee (remember him?) than a Joe Lieberman.
What also scares me is that this might be his last campaign. Once elected,who knows what he would do if he's not worried about re-election.
What votes can you point to in his past that might lead you to believe that Specter would double cross his new party?
There's a list of issues votes where he broke with his own party Here .
WTF - All but a handful of these votes are when he voted with the Democrats as a Republican. How the hell is that relevant?
Yeah,well he's only been a Democrat for 4 months. My point is that if someone crosses party lines on a regular basis like Spector,he can't be counted on. Why should I expect him to be loyal to Democrats when he wasn't to Republicans?
Scorpion
Posts : 2141
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 8/18/2009, 9:49 pm
Artie60438 wrote:
Scorpion wrote:
Artie60438 wrote:
Scorpion wrote:
Artie60438 wrote:
Scorpion wrote:
No doubt. But Specter voted against his own party in many cases. That shows character, at least in my opinion. To me, Specter seems more like a Lincoln Chafee (remember him?) than a Joe Lieberman.
What also scares me is that this might be his last campaign. Once elected,who knows what he would do if he's not worried about re-election.
What votes can you point to in his past that might lead you to believe that Specter would double cross his new party?
There's a list of issues votes where he broke with his own party Here .
WTF - All but a handful of these votes are when he voted with the Democrats as a Republican. How the hell is that relevant?
Yeah,well he's only been a Democrat for 4 months. My point is that if someone crosses party lines on a regular basis like Spector,he can't be counted on. Why should I expect him to be loyal to Democrats when he wasn't to Republicans?
Yeah. Well, IMHO, that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Following that logic, it would be better if Specter had a long record of vehemently opposing Democratic Party policies... which is simply absurd on its face.
The best candidate for a change in parties is one who often disagrees with and votes against the majority of his original party as a matter of principle. (Specter "fits the profile" in this respect) It's incredible to me that I should even need to point out something so blatantly obvious.
Artie60438
Posts : 9728
Subject: Re: Fed up with Arlen Specter 5/9/2010, 6:33 pm
This commercial just might sink Spector once and for all......
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That list of liberal issues that Spector recited he voted for is all well and good,but any reliable Democrat,which I believe Spector will never be,would have voted the same way.