Pennsylvania 2010 - The Official Thread

[Keystone Phil]

Haha, typical Arlen. Nothing new to those of us that know about him.

[Lunar]

Haha, typical Arlen. Nothing new to those of us that know about him.

you'd  like the quote at the end.

No wonder Republican media consultant Karen Hanretty, appearing on MSNBC last night with a couple of Democratic talking heads, couldn’t stifle a laugh as she declared: “He’s all yours. Have a great time.”

[Keystone Phil]

And they sure are having a great time!

Maybe that side will be wise enough to oust him in a primary.

[Lief 🗽]

DailyKos/R2k Primary Numbers:

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Here is where Connecticut was about a year later into the cycle than we are now, for reference:

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[TeePee4Prez]

Specter - 55%
Toomey - 31%

Sestak - 37%
Toomey - 32%

Torsella - 35%
Toomey - 33%

Specter easily defeating Sestak and Torsella in primary head to head match ups.

Good point.  I do remember Peg Luksik back in the 90s taking a chunk from Ridge.  However, could Ridge pull the mods from Montco and Bucks onto his side?  Then again I also remember some pretty weak Dems running against Ridge as well.  I would like my odds in a Sestak-Ridge-CP candidate race now that you said that.

Ridge wouldn't pull enough moderates to offset the number of conservatives he'd lose. Just not happening. Plus, even if that was realistic, he can't do it. He hasn't had to really campaign since 1994 (1998 was a total joke). It doesn't matter now anyway.

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If it's an even numbered year, you know where he'll be. 

Of course.  Question is the odd numbered years.  I don't think he could get elected dog catcher if there ever was a position.

[Lunar]

Sestak is talking about his opposition to Don't Ask Don't Tell on Maddow's show tonight.  He's urging action by this summer.  Obviously meaningful because he's the highest ranking former military officer in Congress.

[Keystone Phil]

Kortz (the western PA State Representative) is still running. He filed the paperwork - http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/regional/s_624203.html

He better get out if Sestak runs. Western PA Dems have never been fans of Specter so any votes that are "taken away" from Sestak are obviously going to piss me off.

[Keystone Phil]

Three months ago (this Sunday), I started this thread with Torsella's announcement that he'd be running for the Senate. Such a shame it took him that long to put up a website - http://www.joetorsella.com/

[Lunar]

Poor website design and a goofy pic of him too

[Keystone Phil]

Poor website design and a goofy pic of him too

Yeah, tell me about it. It's clearly in the opening stages but this is something he should have had up by March.

[Lunar]

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/05/sestaks-voting-record-how-does-he-stack-up-to-arlen.php

Takes too long to make the final point right before the update, that Sestak is not going to vote with the Republicans whatsoever while he considers this bid and ignores the fact that PA is more liberal as a whole than his district... he won't have to pull a Gillibrand, but Sestak will be a reliable vote before and after he is elected, unlike Specter.

Also, Sestak projects himself as more moderate than he is, which is an important factor in the Democrat's ability to muscle in the most Democratic, most electable candidate possible for the seat.

Good read though from a Democratic perspective.

[Lunar]

also, as Nate Silver and this article suggest, Specter may have value to Democrats because if he dies he could be replaced with someone more liberal than Sestak..

C'mon, if PA does get a Democratic governor in 2011, he's probably not going to select the most liberal candidate possible [see York, New;Colorado;Illinois], and such a candidate would be more vulnerable than Sestak to lose the election in 2012 and thus would not necessarily vote liberally on the issues.

And that's a disgusting line of thought.

[justfollowingtheelections]

Sestak is awesome.  He comes off as a moderate, but he's a true liberal.  I was watching him earlier on Rachel Maddow's show talking about Don't ask don't tell and he was really impressive.

[Lunar]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22276.html

One of the nation’s largest liberal advocacy organizations, MoveOn.org , is resisting efforts to clear the Democratic primary field for Republican-turned-Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter.

The political arm of MoveOn flexed its muscle Friday by releasing the results of an online poll that showed the vast majority of the group’s roughly 170,000 members in Pennsylvania– 85 percent –would consider supporting a Democratic challenger against Specter.

The group expressed concern over Specter’s vote against President Obama’s $3.4 billion budget just one day after defecting to the Democratic Party. MoveOn also cited comments Specter made in an appearance on “Meet the Press” last weekend suggesting he would oppose a public health insurance option that some Democrats would like to see included in any health care reform proposal.

But there might be a silver lining for the long-time Pennsylvania lawmaker: The MoveOn poll found that 90 percent of its members said they would support Specter if he chooses to align more closely with the president’s agenda.

[© tweed]

Joe Torsella splashpage 2.0

[Speed of Sound]

Thank you Moveon.org, at least we have somebody thinking logically.

[Ronnie]

His picture looks almost as bad as Chris Christie's old pic. lol

Speed of Sound:
Out of all of the people and organizations in the world, you say that Moveon.org thinks logically.  stunning

[Speed of Sound]

His picture looks almost as bad as Chris Christie's old pic. lol

Speed of Sound:
Out of all of the people and organizations in the world, you say that Moveon.org thinks logically.  stunning

In this scenario? Yes, yes they are. Specter, the Democratic Party, and the Republican Party all sound like idiots. I agree there is a tinge of irony but I hope that I have proven myself smarter and more unpartisan in my 3 years than to apply that kind of a broad statement with any truth.

[Lunar]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/5/9/24716/48081?new=true FOR THE CURE

Well, he's changing his site a little bit and denying it

[Keystone Phil]

Remember when people gave me a hard time about Specter and his Kemp comments?

[Lunar]

I still think that was an overblown story resulting from perhaps a poor choice of words, but in retrospect it was worthy of a thread because the media started to headline it (it was the top story on HuffPost's politics page, for example).


Some anti-EFCA people are running ads against/for Specter and perhaps unethically changing the acronym
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1LPyiJDoEc

[Landslide Lyndon]

Remember when people gave me a hard time about Specter and his Kemp comments?

I know it's kind of morbid, but isn't there a possibility that all his recent flailing is a result of his own health strugles?
Even a young man would have difficulty operating 100% after so many bouts with cancer and chemo. 

[Lief 🗽]

I also support his no vote on the Employee Forced Choice Act. I think Congresspeople should take a very strong stand against bills that don't exist.

[Keystone Phil]

Remember when people gave me a hard time about Specter and his Kemp comments?

I know it's kind of morbid, but isn't there a possibility that all his recent flailing is a result of his own health strugles?
Even a young man would have difficulty operating 100% after so many bouts with cancer and chemo. 

If so, time to hang it up but he's Arlen Specter and that's not happening.

[Ronnie]

I also support his no vote on the Employee Forced Choice Act. I think Congresspeople should take a very strong stand against bills that don't exist.

Wow, you take a conservative position on something?  Incredible