Steele Threatens to Withold RNC Funs from Collins, Specter, Snowe?

[Keystone Phil]

Christmas comes early for us!  Does he want to hand 3 seats to the Democrats?

Please try your hardest to stop thinking of a swing state like PA as an automatic pickup in a midterm election. Please.

By the way, Steele is an even bigger FF for this when it comes to denying Specter funds.

[Keystone Phil]

Christmas comes early for us!  Does he want to hand 3 seats to the Democrats?

Please try your hardest to stop thinking of a swing state like PA as an automatic pickup in a midterm election. Please.

By the way, Steele is an even bigger FF for this when it comes to denying Specter funds.

Yeah. And if the ladies from Maine or Specter pull a Jeffords then I fully expect him to become a folk hero for the base.
Hooray for the one who got rid of those pesky moderate Northeasterners!

Of course it will give the Democrats complete control of Congress, but hey!
Who said that ideological purity comes cheap?
 

I don't care about Collins and Snowe.

This isn't about ideological purity; I believe that Specter is a liberal, not a moderate. When it comes to screwing the party, Arlen is a master and yet he still finds a way to guilt people into backing him. I've always said that one of the big disagreements that I've had with Santorum (and Bush) was the endorsement of this guy in 2004.

We want him gone. I just got back from a local political meeting and it's almost hilarious how many people are calling for his head. This guy wouldn't stand a chance if we had a top tier candidate in the running already. He probably won't even survive against a second tier candidate. You'd be amazed at how many of us would prefer a Democrat (provided the Dem wasn't some extremist) to Specter. There are still some that refuse to vote for Specter even if he does run against a Democrat that we can't stand.

[Keystone Phil]

Can't wait for Htmldon to find this thread.

Don has already stated that he's not as enthusiastic about Specter anymore (or at least that's how I read it) and is extremely disappointed in the three voting for the Stimulus Package.

[Keystone Phil]

With all due respect, Pennsylvania has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate 5 times in a row now, twice in very close elections.  Its a lean Democratic state, not a swing state.

Yes, on the Presidential level.

[Keystone Phil]

With all due respect, Pennsylvania has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate 5 times in a row now, twice in very close elections.  Its a lean Democratic state, not a swing state.

Yes, on the Presidential level.

"Swing state" in senate races doesn't really make sense to me because each Senate race is so different and they skip every third election.

It's not just a swing state on that level either. Our row offices and control of the State Legislature swings, too (with the exception of Attorney General which has always been held by a Republican since they began electing the office).

[Keystone Phil]

Steele's threat is toothless and hollow.  Specter had $5,810,882 on hand at the end of 2008 and is a high-ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.  He doesn't need the RNC to raise money.

Uh...without the NRSC, Specter would have been badly beaten in 2004. And on the fact that State Committee might not even back the guy (and they're openly talking about it) and he's basically finished. He doesn't have Bush and Santorum to save his ass this time.

[Keystone Phil]

He also doesn't have a top-tier opponent this time either.

We'll see.

Uh...he doesn't have one yet.

And he doesn't need one to lose either. A second tier candidate can knock him off. A third tier candidate can even give him a run. The money will be pouring in, Specter has fewer RINOs to save him then ever before, his two biggest cheerleaders are gone, he has pissed off the base more than ever before, etc.

[Keystone Phil]

Steele's threat is toothless and hollow.  Specter had $5,810,882 on hand at the end of 2008 and is a high-ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.  He doesn't need the RNC to raise money.

Uh...without the NRSC, Specter would have been badly beaten in 2004. And on the fact that State Committee might not even back the guy (and they're openly talking about it) and he's basically finished. He doesn't have Bush and Santorum to save his ass this time.

The NRSC is not the RNC and there is no evidence that Cornyn & Co. care about Steele's blatherings.  It is extremely unlikely that Republican Senators will dump Specter, who is one of their best cash cows and has donated generously to other GOP senators in the past.  He raised almost $15 million in 2004 -- an extraordinary sum.  We all know how their mutual backscratching society works.

If he loses, it won't be because of a lack of money.

The NRSC might feel the pressure to not give Specter as much as last time though.

Every bit of money that Specter can get his hands on matters. He can't do it on his own. If he's just working on his own personal warchest, he's done on Day One.

Even with Bush and Santorum, Specter wouldn't have been able to win in 2004 without the amount of money that the national party organizations pumped in.

[Keystone Phil]

Specter raised $14.9 million in 2004.

Individual Contributions:  $11.8 million
PACs:  $2.6 million

That's $14.4 million.  So we could guess that about $500,000 was party money.  That's not a huge percentage.  And the NRSC will back Specter up.  They don't want to lose a valuable caucus member.

http://cspan.politicalmoneyline.com/cgi-win/x_candpg.exe?DoFn=S6PA00100*2004

How much you want to bet a lot of those individual contributions and even PAC money came from Bush and Santorum urging some conservative donors to back their guy?

[Keystone Phil]

Specter raised $14.9 million in 2004.

Individual Contributions:  $11.8 million
PACs:  $2.6 million

That's $14.4 million.  So we could guess that about $500,000 was party money.  That's not a huge percentage.  And the NRSC will back Specter up.  They don't want to lose a valuable caucus member.

http://cspan.politicalmoneyline.com/cgi-win/x_candpg.exe?DoFn=S6PA00100*2004

How much you want to bet a lot of those individual contributions and even PAC money came from Bush and Santorum urging some conservative donors to back their guy?

I suspect it wasn't a huge factor.  Specter needed Bush/Santorum to prove his conservative bona fides.  That remains his problem, not money.

I know why he needed them but he probably also got a good deal of money from their people, too.

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Those are all people that always donate to Specter. That only goes so far. Conservative groups here and across the country will pump in plenty to match Specter or come close when they don't even need to come close in the money game.