GOP to support primary challenger against Toomey?
posted at 3:40 pm on April 29, 2009 by Allahpundit
Nothing’s definitive yet, especially given Toomey’s head start on fundraising, but when you’ve got top dogs in the NRSC wondering aloud in front of reporters whether he stands a chance against Specter, it’s safe to say things are in flux.
“I don’t think there is anybody in the world who believes he can get elected senator there,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch, the vice chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Asked if the NRSC would back Toomey, Hatch said, “I don’t think so” and that the party should look for “someone who can win there.”…
Hatch later equivocated and said, “I’m not saying he can’t win – nobody gave me a chance when I ran.”…
On Wednesday, Cornyn said he didn’t know if Toomey would be the “only candidate” or the “strongest candidate” in the GOP primary.
“It’s too early to endorse,” Cornyn said.
Funny, it wasn’t too early to endorse Specter over Toomey a few weeks ago. The logical choice if they go for a challenger is Tom Ridge, but Ridge hasn’t held office in Pennsylvania since 2001, long before the state party began to bleed moderates. Would a pro-choice Republican, even with his credentials, stand a chance against Toomey? Let’s take your temperature on this. Assume that Ridge would be a 2-1 underdog against Specter in the general and Toomey would be 10-1. Should Ridge jump in to give the party a better chance of winning the seat or should he stay out so we can take our chances on the pro-life longshot? Food for thought from JPod while you decide: “Politics is not about casting the easy vote for the person you admire. It’s really about choosing the least bad alternative.”
Blowback
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Stupid. I voted nah, but not because he’s a RINO. If Toomey was going to crush Specter in a primary why would anyone think he couldn’t beat Ridge as well?
Why bloody yourself in a primary when you’re obviously going to need all those resources in the general?
BadgerHawk on April 29, 2009 at 3:44 PM
Interesting test of my hypothesis yesterday :P
lorien1973 on April 29, 2009 at 3:44 PM
I’ll repeat what I said ealier about Specter, and which applies universally regardless of whether you like incumbents or not.
We have a federal system of government. It’s bad enough that people from Texas and Utah have such a profound say at all in who gets elected in Pennsylvania. It’s even worse when they start meddling in primaries.
Pennsylvania Republicans need to figure out who they will run against the Democrat. National Republican Party should operate as a lawyer. Your client may or may not be hopeless but your job is to support him.
radiofreevillage on April 29, 2009 at 3:45 PM
There’s nothing wrong with competition. Encourage that – it will only make the nominee stronger.
Shouldn’t the GOP wait and see who has game (is nominated) before getting involved?
beatcanvas on April 29, 2009 at 3:45 PM
I needed a choice other than “nah, he’s a RINO”. Ridge has Bush and duct tape stench on him which would not be helpful.
If Toomey isn’t palatable to the NRSC, there are other people who might suit their tastes.
myrenovations on April 29, 2009 at 3:45 PM
Great. I had already promised Cornyn he lost my vote when he voted yes on Turbo Tax Timmy. Now I send him a note that he has really, really, lost my vote over not supporting Toomey.
Sue on April 29, 2009 at 3:46 PM
I don’t know much about Ridge. If he is the kind of Republican that is going to hold the line on spending and taxes I say let him run.
Mark1971 on April 29, 2009 at 3:46 PM
Yes, on all counts.
coldwarrior on April 29, 2009 at 3:47 PM
Could we have summaries of their positions/accomplishments on things or do they really only differ on abortion?
Y-not on April 29, 2009 at 3:47 PM
The Republican part obviously needs to be cleaned out at the top.
TheBigOldDog on April 29, 2009 at 3:47 PM
Stand a chance? I think so. Republicans in PA dealt with a pro-choice, pro-affirmative action, pro-tax, pro-amnesty “Republican” for years. A pro-choicer who’s good on other issues looks like a God-send at that point.
amerpundit on April 29, 2009 at 3:47 PM
We have to get someone who will appeal to moderates.
/GOP stupidity
db on April 29, 2009 at 3:47 PM
P.S. The poll is stupid. Electability in the generals is important. If someone thinks they have an edge then they should run. Pennsylvanians need to figure out what’s more important to them.
NRSC needs to back off.
radiofreevillage on April 29, 2009 at 3:48 PM
Yes…there should be a challenge…We are never going to find out who is the best if we just support on person. this has to happen from the ground up.
tomas on April 29, 2009 at 3:49 PM
This is what happens when personality overcomes principle.
The national consortium of republicans, conservatives and centrist-leaning but not yet liberals have for too long called the shots for individual states and even individual congressional districts in order to get a quorum…and then, at that point, winning is the only issue…and we get what? Let’s have it from the ground up, not the other way around. Used to work well a while back.
coldwarrior on April 29, 2009 at 3:50 PM
Ridge is actually pretty good outside of the abortion issue. He opposes gay marriage, supports the death penalty, lowered taxes by $2 billion during his tenure, he created a fund to be used in case of emergency, pushed for an increase in competition, separated environmental agencies into different projects, supported school choice, and tried to streamline registrations and documentation by establishing online service. Not the worst choice PA voters have ever had.
amerpundit on April 29, 2009 at 3:52 PM
None of the above. Run Santorum–he’s already been elected twice.
Steve Z on April 29, 2009 at 3:52 PM
This idea of trying to find a candidate who can win: we usually end up with two candidates, both Republican and Democrat, who sound remarkably alike. We need people willing to take a stand for the republic and the constitution not make compromises on both. Specter? Change the letter order at the end of his name and that pretty much says it all.
Driefromseattle on April 29, 2009 at 3:52 PM
Tell em directly to get a program.The RINO’s and RNC need a 12 step meeting.
Finance@gop.com
Info@gop.com
RNCommunications@gop.com
Send the coments to the RNC quit talking to yourselves !
Col.John Wm. Reed on April 29, 2009 at 3:52 PM
If the alternative to Toomey is a RINO why trade one for another? The whole reason Toomey is winning is because the voters are tired of pulling knives out of their backs from the elected ignoring the principals that define the GOP party. Why weaken our candidates available money with a primary run against another rino?
lwssdd on April 29, 2009 at 3:52 PM
If being pro-choice is the only knock on Ridge, I say let give him a shot.
But why is it that everyone’s insisting Toomey can’t beat Specter in a general election? Isn’t Specter pretty much hated by a majority of Pennsylvanians at this point? So why would they vote for him? Especially if the economy continues to sputter along.
Doughboy on April 29, 2009 at 3:52 PM
In other words…. BOHICA
UltimateBob on April 29, 2009 at 3:53 PM
I don’t know Ridge at all. Is he a big-government republican? If he is, don’t want him to run.
deidre on April 29, 2009 at 3:53 PM
I wouldn’t define Ridge as a RINO, per say. Specter was a RINO because he was a more reliable Democratic voter than Republican. Ridge is pretty good outside of abortion.
amerpundit on April 29, 2009 at 3:54 PM
It’s just payback for the fact that our votes mean squat in the presidential primaries.
That’s not PA’s fault, of course. But still.
TexasDan on April 29, 2009 at 3:54 PM
More competition is a good thing. Let the Republicans fight it out in a tough primary. Always makes for a stronger general election candidate, IMO…..
therightwinger on April 29, 2009 at 3:55 PM
Presumably Eddie Rendell will turn out the Dem machine in PA for Arlen. Pittsburgh and Scranton machines will also get into gear, regardless of what they think of Arlen. Might not be enough. The suburbs would be the key – especially if the economy doesn’t improve. They look at their IRAs and 401(k)s and wonder what’s going on.
Wethal on April 29, 2009 at 3:55 PM
As a follower of sports and politics the one thing that will never leave my lips: “I don’t think ‘A’ has a chance to win.”
technopeasant on April 29, 2009 at 3:55 PM
Coryn is right it is way early for endorsements. I know nothing about Toomey. My guess is that there is likely going to be some anti-incumbant feeling by then. At least I hope there is… Ridge is part of the Bush administration, I admire him but I’m not from PA.
I say we get as much new blood as possible. And yell it from the roof tops that the government is breaking everything to pieces. WE NEED NEW BLOOD.
But I do think a bit more tolerance on individual issues is called for.
What is the name of that Havard Prof who turned down the honorary degree from Notre Dame? I think she should run for something! She has guts.
petunia on April 29, 2009 at 3:55 PM
I say let him run then. Sound like a good choice. If the only thing is going against him is pro-choice, then let him run,.
deidre on April 29, 2009 at 3:56 PM
A challenge is one thing… This smells of the same kind of crap the NRSC did in Rhode Island in an attempt to save Linc Chaffee’s bacon a few years back, heavily funding him in a primary against Lafferty.
It didn’t help them retain the seat and Chaffee even came out and said he’d have changed parties if he’d won.
The NRSC should stay out of primaries altogether and concentrate on spending money in the general election.
How much money did they blow on Specter and Chaffee in the 2004 and 2006 primaries, respectively, that could have been used in the general elections for seats held by reliable Republicans? (Not necessarily *conservatives*, but *Republicans* who’d at least hold the party line on important votes unlike those two primadonna RINOs.)
teke184 on April 29, 2009 at 3:56 PM
That may be true today, but then today isn’t election day is it? If the GOP would get its act together, we could see a real backlash against Obama’s overreaching and incompetence. Toomey’s Club for Growth message might be perfect in that environment.
Caveat: I know little to nothing about what kind of candidate Toomey would be. Does he have character issues? Troublesome relationships? etc.
flyfisher on April 29, 2009 at 3:56 PM
AP -
You giving 10-1 odds on Toomey?
I’d like a piece of that action. What’s the vig?
connertown on April 29, 2009 at 3:56 PM
Hey Colonel, they don’t need an excuse to ignore us. They’ve been doing it quite well for the last 8 years. That’s why they are now the minority party.
TheBigOldDog on April 29, 2009 at 3:56 PM
If Toomey isn’t palatable to the NRSC, there are other people who might suit their tastes.
myrenovations on April 29, 2009 at 3:45 PM
—–
Arlen Specter is no longer an option.
If you ask me, the NRSC has clearly lost its’ way, and needs to swish and spit some lysterine.
Mew
(maybe the NRSC needs a firm kick in the nuts, but trying the lysterine first would be easier on all involved….)
acat on April 29, 2009 at 3:57 PM
Why not have Ridge & Toomey each put forth their vision for the future and let the Pa. Republican voters judge which one’s better. Either one is better than the current specter.
rbj on April 29, 2009 at 3:57 PM
This is the state that keeps re-electing Murtha regardless of how he insults them. I don’t know Tomey and I am Switzerland on Ridge. I like Lynn Swan though.
Cindy Munford on April 29, 2009 at 3:57 PM
Hmm, what about “Anyone but Specter”? If I lived in PA, thats where my vote would go.
EliTheBean on April 29, 2009 at 3:59 PM
That could come in the form of not donating any money to them.
People should donate to the candidates they prefer, not the DC groups who pick and choose based on whatever they like and not what actual voters like.
myrenovations on April 29, 2009 at 3:59 PM
On The Issues:
Abortion
Pro-choice, but no partial-birth abortion
Budget & Economy
Reform bankruptcy, uphold commitments to states before expanding spending.
Civil Rights
Opposes Affirmative Action
No special laws for gay Americans; opposes gay marriage
Crime
Supports death penalty
Stricter penalties; less paroles
Education
Supports school choice including religious; teacher-led prayer is okay; more charters
Environment
Supports cleaning up, but more flexible regulations. Kyoto Treaty unacceptable as all nations not required to lower emissions.
Families
Supports emphasizing need of father in the family.
Medical Care
Medical care is not a guaranteed right.
Taxes
Needs supermajority for any tax increase; cut taxes by billions; federalist on estate taxes.
amerpundit on April 29, 2009 at 4:01 PM
I was thinking Lou Barletta or Lynn Swann
Aggie95 on April 29, 2009 at 4:01 PM
Shaking my head in confusion.
How about Toomey? Doesn’t he already have a leg up? I don’t know how it will hold up in the general election. there more than the usual amount of variables in this election
oldernwiser on April 29, 2009 at 4:01 PM
Going to be a hard slog, afix helmets, tighten chin straps.
tarpon on April 29, 2009 at 4:02 PM
Bring it, bitches and watch every single conservative from across the country donate to Toomey. I’ve got my check writin’ pen all warmed up.
Youngs98 on April 29, 2009 at 4:02 PM
I find that amazing. How could anyone with any self-respect elect Murtha? Which basically means PA is liberal I suppose.
petunia on April 29, 2009 at 4:03 PM
I agree. He is also strong on national security. I say, this is why you have primary contest. The NRSC should not back anyone at this stage.
tdavisjr on April 29, 2009 at 4:03 PM
Maybe the NRSC should let Pennsylvanians decide who represents them best. They only supported Specter because he was the incument (hey, did’t they support Ted Stevens?).
I understand they would have the primary winner as the GOP candidate, and would be expected to support him in the general. but this all came about because Pennsylvania Republicans were dissatisfied with Arlen as their senator.
Wethal on April 29, 2009 at 4:05 PM
I wouldn’t rule anything out just yet…
LastRick on April 29, 2009 at 4:05 PM
This is stupid, we would just be electing another Specter then.
lavell12 on April 29, 2009 at 4:05 PM
I don’t get it either. Specter’s not going to pull a really high turnout in a non-Presidential year. It’s not like the nutroots will be out ‘organizing’ for him.
If its Ridge vs. Specter a large chunk of the Republican base might not show up either, and you’re going to need them at the polls for all the congressional races.
BadgerHawk on April 29, 2009 at 4:06 PM
No, it means Murtha has poured so much federal money into the district that the whole economy is pretty much dependent on his pork. He leaves and so does the gravy train.
Wethal on April 29, 2009 at 4:06 PM
What about Peg Luksik?
Allah, did you vote for McCain in the primary? Because your thinking here sounds remarkably similar to the thinking of people who did.
Most people don’t vote based on the sum total of all issues on a right/left spectrum. Exhibit A: Current occupant of white house.
I get the feeling the reason a conservative can’t win is because the Republicans won’t let them run.
Still though, I heard Ridge speak at the Washington, PA rally the day after Palin was announced. He wouldn’t be half bad, I’d vote for him over Specter. He’s smart and knows his stuff. He’s a truly moderate Republican, not a liberal like Arlen.
I wish he was pro-life very badly. He should stake the conservative position on judges if he wants to win. And do it for real, not like Rudy. That way, he can stay “pro-choice”.
bcm4134 on April 29, 2009 at 4:07 PM
The NRSC needs to purge anyone who calls Arlen Specter a friend……….
Seven Percent Solution on April 29, 2009 at 4:07 PM
“moderate” coming from Allahpundit
maverick muse on April 29, 2009 at 4:08 PM
The GOP won’t win there anyway.
Screw it. Send the money and support to Bunning in Kentucky. That dipsh!t McConnell is trying his best to give the seat to the Dems there.
BacaDog on April 29, 2009 at 4:08 PM
Don’t forget pro-life advocate Peg Luksik is also running. She could turn this into a primary election about abortion, which the PA GOP doesn’t need.
Wethal on April 29, 2009 at 4:08 PM
All this heavy news lately.
Hey, guess who made People’s ‘most beautiful’ list?
carbon_footprint on April 29, 2009 at 4:09 PM
I think the fear is that Toomey will be too easily caricature by Democrats in a general election as a Wall Street tool because of his recent job as president of the Club for Growth. I am not even sure he has lived in Pennsylvania recently, and they absolutely killed Rick Santorum over that in 2006. But Tom Ridge also has “Bush Administration” on his resume. For some reason the Washington, DC Republican crowd still loves him though. I’ve never figured it out.
In my opinion, the best chance Republicans have against Specter is to run Lou Barletta. I know he lost his bid for a Congressional seat last year, but he had the weight of Bush around his neck and was running against a longtime incumbent in a Democratic district. He is a real “man of the people” but is an excellent speaker and campaigner. I don’t know how the Democrats could attack him except for his relative lack of experience.
rockmom on April 29, 2009 at 4:09 PM
Perhaps Utah needs to take a closer look at Hatch before the next primary and the same for Texas and Cornyn. I’m sick of these guys not stepping up to help real conservatives instead of poo-pooing them. Jerks.
suzyk on April 29, 2009 at 4:10 PM
Unless the primary is uncontested, I don’t think the NRSC should be giving money to anybody in a Republican primary for a position currently held by a Democrat.
Loxodonta on April 29, 2009 at 4:10 PM
It appears the Senators are mad they lost their buddy Specter.
They better get over it … and quick.
What a bunch of blowhards.
Someone remind me of what exactly Orin Hatch did to stave off the last defeat? Oh wait – that’s right – he didn’t do a damn thing.
Why can’t we just get all new guys here? I mean seriously – there’s one or two we can keep – but the rest need to go.
HondaV65 on April 29, 2009 at 4:11 PM
I say let Ridge and Toomey fight it out and whomever is the better conservative win.
deidre on April 29, 2009 at 4:12 PM
I’m not sure I agree with that. She won’t win a primary and whoever does will automatically be perceived as more moderate. I don’t think the GOP electorate statewide is that stridently pro-life.
rockmom on April 29, 2009 at 4:12 PM
Here’s a thought. How about letting the party voters decide and then support the nominee. That’s why we have primaries.
And, what about Lynn Swann?
CP on April 29, 2009 at 4:12 PM
Yes, and as I post this, it’s two-to-one opposed. But the reason some no voters give does not support your hypothesis.
Loxodonta on April 29, 2009 at 4:13 PM
As I said yesterday, it always comes down to abortion.
lorien1973 on April 29, 2009 at 4:13 PM
Toomey was apparently strong enough to push Specter over the line. That says a lot to me.
Should Ridge run? If he wants to, why not.
Should the NRSC try to push Toomey out of the way by pulling somebody else in? No.
Cornyn’s right that it’s too early to endorse Toomey, but it’s also too early to throw money at anyone who will run against him. The NRSC should let Toomey do his thing, if Ridge or someone else runs against him let them do their thing, and support the choice of Pennsylvania Republicans.
Or is that too democratic too work?
cs89 on April 29, 2009 at 4:13 PM
I almost misread the fourth word there.
Snowed In on April 29, 2009 at 4:14 PM
If someone doesn’t close the borders and we don’t beat amnesty, it’s not going to matter, and not because of the ($#&$()$($ pig flu.
HornetSting on April 29, 2009 at 4:14 PM
The GOP seems to be in self-destruct mode. Man…what a waste of time. America is lost, and the GOP is in the woods without any batteries for their flashlights.
BoomJunkie on April 29, 2009 at 4:15 PM
I like Ridge and voted for him when I lived in PA. But the Dem ads would be all color coded warnings, duct tape and Bush puppets.
Of course, any Republican who dares to run for an election is going to be ripped to shreds by the Dems and the media. So, I suppose it’s just a matter of running people we are willing to defend.
myrenovations on April 29, 2009 at 4:15 PM
Perfect idea! I mean, it’s worked out for us SO well so far, hasn’t it?
Sound familiar? The entire leadership in the GOP needs to be purged. They simply don’t get it.
Gregor on April 29, 2009 at 4:16 PM
Peg Luksik is the most conservative by far imho…but look at Murtha & Specter’s success…PA really is pretty liberal…
DCJeff on April 29, 2009 at 4:16 PM
Bringing in Ridge to cover Specter is like bringing in Frank Lautenberg to cover for Bob The Torch Torricelli.
Ridge is a fossil who has already been governor of the state and held a cabinet post. Color-coded security alerts, anyone? Why the hell would want to be a senator?
Toomey is a pro-economic growth, pro-life Republican. Is Ridge going to run against economic growth? If not, he’s going to have to run primarily on pro-choice positioning. Is that really where he wants to be at this point??
BigD on April 29, 2009 at 4:17 PM
What you’re likely thinking certainly expresses my attitude towards them.
They want to rally around the “old boys club” like Specter, Ted Stevens, John Chaffee’s boy Linc, etc, while telling guys like Jim Bunning to FOAD.
Not that Bunning is *great*, but he’s a reliable vote in a Republican state and they’re letting him die on the vine.
teke184 on April 29, 2009 at 4:17 PM
Not enough options in poll.
Let the chips fall where they may.
Count to 10 on April 29, 2009 at 4:18 PM
I don’t like the way people are so dismissive of the issue of abortion. Does nominating a pro-life candidate instantly lose so many moderates that it means it isn’t worth the lingering evangelical votes? Does someone have hard numbers to prove the Republicans should run pro-choice candidates? Or even examples?
bcm4134 on April 29, 2009 at 4:18 PM
I once heard Hatch was term limited out… but I’m not from Utah. So that was just a rumour I heard.
petunia on April 29, 2009 at 4:18 PM
I think it’s time for Republicans to realize there’s more at stake than abortion, and put that single issue to rest on the backburner for a while–until, say, the nation itself has been saved from fiscal–if not physical–disaster. No matter how many people in polls say they’re personally against abortion, they seem to be even more against conservative Christian politicians who make abortion a platform issue. There is little in this country, apparently, less populist than Christian political evangelicism.
Meanwhile, look at the real secular problems that face us: Crushing national debt, the near-certainty of massive inflation looming in the near future, once-creeping Statism turned into a raging juggernaut of neo-socialism, constant attack on basic constitutional rights from free speech to the electoral college to the 2nd amendment, and a growing popular concensus that capitalism (of all things to blame!) has been refuted as a financial system by the mortgage crash (which was made possible only by government interference in mortgage markets). And I don’t think anybody can fathom what the Islamists will cook up in the next eight years, or what the Iranians will do when (no longer “if”) they have nukes, or what will become of Europe when its welfare states being to collapse into bankruptcy in the midst of their own national Islamicizations.
The world is unraveling all around us, yet some insist on remaining fixated doggedly on a single social issue, despite its status as political poison. That, in my mind, is a textbook example of insanity.
Blacklake on April 29, 2009 at 4:20 PM
But if the NRSC doesn’t get to pick the candidates, then the people who end up sitting next to them in the Senate Cloak Room might be, ew, yuck, people that the voters actually want to have representing them.
myrenovations on April 29, 2009 at 4:20 PM
Moderation is live and let live with the expectation that everyone shares a mutual respect for everyone else.
Consider what progressives birth; it ain’t moderation.
Tom Ridge pushed the Homeland Security fascist scenario for Bush’s progressive “compassionate” agenda; and Obama is running rampant now on what they established because of the way they set another bureaucracy above all others. Ridge is absolutely a progressive. And regardless of how well he performed, the work that Ridge established enabled Obama to overwhelm our current situation with authoritarian Socialism vs. Constitutional Government.
Toomey is for smaller federal and more responsive local governing.
It’s day 1 since Specter’s spite, the 100th day of Obamanation. So give the immediacy or rush to pledge allegiance to either candidate a break for a few days. By the end of the week, the dust will begin to settle. Obama takes that long to make up his mind based upon polling. Republicans want that much time to research for ourselves. Polls will be polls, as reliable as you want them to be.
No one should be dissing Toomey. Take some time to research your pick to support for the GOP.
maverick muse on April 29, 2009 at 4:21 PM
Spector (who will be 81 by next election) is making big plans for himself. I know people at that age that won’t buy green bananas in case they don’t ripen before their demise.
qestout on April 29, 2009 at 4:21 PM
That’s not the issue, really.
Here was the point yesterday.
R’s have a choice of 2 guys:
Big government. Pro life. Anti gay-marriage.
Small Government. Pro-Choice. Pro gay-marriage.
I was willing to bet that it’d be 2-1 split for the first guy for most conservatives. Those 2 are the make or break issues for far too many people in this party. Gays and abortion. Everything else. Meh.
lorien1973 on April 29, 2009 at 4:22 PM
We need people willing to take a stand for the republic and the constitution not make compromises on both. Specter? Change the letter order at the end of his name and that pretty much says it all.
Driefromseattle on April 29, 2009 at 3:52 PM
I agree with you on this. To give in, and say we need to make compromises….plays right into what Liberals want, and say.
We need someone to stand by conservative principles. Period!
capejasmine on April 29, 2009 at 4:22 PM
We could only be so lucky.
More likely, what you heard was Hatch was term-limited out of being *chairman of the judiciary committee*, which is why Benedict Arlen was in charge of getting judges appointed between January 2005 and January 2007.
teke184 on April 29, 2009 at 4:23 PM
Code for, we want a liberal Republican in this seat, we don’t need no stinking Conservatives.
Speakup on April 29, 2009 at 4:23 PM
Changing PA to pro-abortion would be great but that is a deal killer for most voters in PA. Statewide PA is pro-abortion.
So a pro-choice Republican who is committed to pro-conservative judges is much much better than a pro-abortion Democrat who will jump at the chance to stick another Lib in the Supreme Court.
petunia on April 29, 2009 at 4:23 PM
I say let him run and when Toomy knocks him in the head in the primary, maybe the NRSC will get the idea that it’s not their place to determine nominees.
michaelo on April 29, 2009 at 4:23 PM
suzyk on April 29, 2009 at 4:10 PM
Speaking for Cornyn from Texas, he knows how to tap dance as every successful politician learns, but he respects the rule of law. Don’t apply your frustration on him unless you have the stats to prove how right you are, ALL THINGS IN THE BALANCE.
maverick muse on April 29, 2009 at 4:25 PM
I like Toomey a lot, but I also like Ridge. If Ridge ran, I’m not sure who i would support. I’d listen to what they both had to say before i made a decision on who to vote for.
brandozilla on April 29, 2009 at 4:25 PM
Nobody has hard numbers of that sort when it comes to politics, and if they offer them, assume they aren’t reliable. Because most Americans–even if they are anti-abortion themselves–believe passionately in the separation of church and state, candidates who espouse their Christianity as part of their campaigns, usually in reference to abortion, do themselves enormous damage. Their evangelicism itself is the negative, not their abortion stance.
You need to let it go. It doesn’t matter if America allows or doesn’t allow abortions in the short term if, in the long term, there is no America. It’s a loser issue, and we’re in a struggle for national survival that’s far greater than any single cause.
Blacklake on April 29, 2009 at 4:26 PM
Thats the problem when the NRSC is more concerned with winning than principles…when will they learn that the McCain strategy doesn’t win. Give voters a clear compare and contrast decision, and stick with your basic principles. I am so sick of parties.
Conservative Voice on April 29, 2009 at 4:27 PM
Toomey appeared at Tea Party II in Philly. He may have an enthusiastic group of supporters that neither Ridge nor Specter will have. The Dems will turn out the machine as best they can in a non-presidential election.
There is another issue on the back burner: coal (couldn’t resist). Given the EPA reversal of the Navaho coal plant, one wonders what else is waiting.
Arlen would have to support the One’s “kill coal” program in a state that’s already lost the steel industry. Western PA and NE PA are coal country. Try being anti-coal up in Scranton. Or Pittsburgh. And explain to the rest of the country how Obama and Arlen want to raise your energy and electricity bills to save the planet.
Wethal on April 29, 2009 at 4:28 PM
Ridge, though a progressive, is NOT a RINO.
Ridge supports the Republican Party and the agenda of his Republican President. Referencing Ridge as a RINO gives RINOs a good name.
Pop goes Allap’s weasel.
maverick muse on April 29, 2009 at 4:28 PM
Wow whoever has been spearheading this nonsense must be dead set on killing the GOP. If you want real conservatives you start in the easy Republican states and work your way out, this is ass backwards, the edges of the map is where the moderates should be and as the country becomes more receptive for conservatism then you push the agenda on the edges. Some of you are stuck on stupid.
LevStrauss on April 29, 2009 at 4:30 PM
Funny, I think that is what Lindsey Graham was complaining about yesterday. I think if Graham or Hatch could choose the exact Republican that came from PA that they would both choose a strong conservative. But the voters of PA get to choose and they are not conservative voters. So to win you have to make compromises. That is really what a democracy is.
I think most of us were pretty unhappy with our nominee this past year and we feel like he lost because he was too liberal… but that is probably not really true. It was a Democratic year… We still need to build a coalition party between people who disagree on some issues.
It doesn’t matter how right you are if you never get the chance to make the rules.
petunia on April 29, 2009 at 4:30 PM
Toomey placed his hat in the ring, and deserves credit and respect for scaring Specter out of the KKK-RINO cloak of cover.
Ridge must have spoken to his old buddies who feel they owe Ridge alliance.
That of itself is NO REASON to support Ridge who wants back in the game.
maverick muse on April 29, 2009 at 4:30 PM
Ridge is just another Spector.
Send Toomey $$$$$$$$
MALICIOUS DISORDER on April 29, 2009 at 4:32 PM
For now at least, abortion is settled law. Using it as a campaign issue doesn’t make practical sense. Why bring up something that the country is about evenly divide on and create a counter productive wedge issue?
FD/ I’m pro-life
oldernwiser on April 29, 2009 at 4:33 PM
GOP Leadership still does not get what going on.
Toomey jumped out and showed Spectre for what he was, and pretty much forced him out of the party…
He took ACTION, and a stand…
GOP leadership now wants to take adavantage of that to get one of their good ole boys into the Seat? After not doing anything but SUPPROTING Spectre?
Stuck on stupid.
Romeo13 on April 29, 2009 at 4:33 PM
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