The stars align for Sestak

Via Memeorandum


While the White House is bracing for a loss in Pennsylvania, Arlen Specter finds his last hours before the election tomorrow a little lonely:

CBS chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer is now saying that he has it on good authority that the White House is privately bracing for Arlen Specter to lose tomorrow.

Schieffer, to my knowledge, has not said this on national TV yet. But he made the claim in an interview with the local CBS affiliate in Philadelphia. "I have been told on background that the White House is preparing for a Specter loss here, and that the president doesn't want to be associated with that," Schieffer said.

I've also learned that Veep Joe Biden will not be doing any campaign events for Specter in the final stretch, though it's not immediately clear how significant this is. Last week, Biden said he'd be doing events for Specter "as needed."

What?  I thought Obama loved Arlen Specter.  While I clearly preferred saving Arlen now in order to defeat him in November, there is a certain amount of satisfaction in watching Arlen being abandoned by his "fair-weather" friends in the Democratic party.  Remember how they were your best friends Arlen, when you cast the votes they needed to pass their failing unpopular agenda?

A year later, on the eve of a Democratic primary, a visit from Barack Obama might serve to energize the base to the polls.  Specter's best hope for a win comes through high turnout while lower turnout favors Sestak according to a recent Franklin and Marshall poll:

The poll shows that Sestak holds a larger advantage as the pool of voters gets
smaller—meaning lower turnout favors his candidacy. Specter leads Sestak among all registered Democrats, 38% to 29%. Representative Sestak’s support among all registered Democrats has more than doubled since March when Specter led 32% to 12%.

Obama's decision to sit out the final stages of Specter's campaign is all but the final nail in the coffin of Arlen Specter's Senate career.   This says loads about Obama's character too, I might add.  Obama and Specter deserve each other.  The latest poll shows the election tomorrow a dead heat but the stars appear to have aligned for the candidate who excites the progressive base of the Democratic party.    As the progressive agenda of the Obama administration has left Pennsylvania flushing pink again, perhaps a Sestak win is what Obama and Specter both deserve.

Quinnipiac's latest PA polling

Via Memeorandum

The latest Quinnipiac poll has a not-so-subtle message for PA Democrats who go to the polls in 5 days: "Although the Quinnipiac poll of likely Democratic primary voters finds that many more think Sen. Arlen Specter is the better general election candidate, Congressman Joe Sestak actually runs a good deal better against Toomey in a trial heat."   While it is possible Sestak could offer Democrats a more competitive candidate than Specter in the general election, the internals of the poll suggest a contest between Sestak and Toomey would largely be a battle between two unknown candidates.

Sestak's favorability ratings have increased in recent polls but 52% of respondents didn't know enough about him to offer an opinion.  Toomey's favorability ratings show 60% of respondents didn't know enough about him as well.  Nevertheless, in a hypothetical race between Toomey and Sestak, Toomey has a 2 point lead.   The mood in PA is clearly anti-Democrat as much as it is anti-incumbent.  Approval ratings for Barack Obama and Ed Rendell suggest Pennsylvanians have had their fill of Democratic policies.  


While Sestak is largely unknown, his vote on health care may prove to be a liability as large as Specter's incumbency.  Shortly after the health care law was passed, 65% of Pennsylvanians polled opposed the law.  As Sestak is running among his base as the true liberal candidate, how will he distance himself from health care to appeal to moderate and conservative Pennsylvanians?  Sestak has been loyal to the Democratic agenda that is clearly turning a bluish Pennsylvania purple with a strong red hue.  He is a sure Democratic vote for a Senate that is likely to remain in Democratic control.  If these are qualities that make him a stronger candidate in the general election in the minds of Democrats, it appears Democrats have little if any comprehension of the battles ahead in November.  

Sestak Has 5 Point Lead over Specter

Uh oh, things are starting to look a little bleak for Arlen Specter in the upcoming Democratic primary on May 18th in Pennsylvania. Sestak has opened a 5 point lead over Specter. The latest survey reveals Sestak with 47% while Specter has 42%. The poll has a margin of error of exactly 5 points. Rasmussen shows the same numbers for both candidates. Toomey has held a lead over both candidates according to the most recent Rasmussen poll.
MUHLPOLL050910

Guess What Arlen Specter Regrets?

H/T: Hot Air Headlines

This is Political Wire's quote of the day taken from a lengthy article on the aftermath of Specter's party switch in the Allentown Morning Call:

”Well, I probably shouldn’t say this,” he said over lunch last month. ”But I have thought from time to time that I might have helped the country more if I’d stayed a Republican.”

Specter mused that perhaps if he’d remained in the caucus he could have persuaded one or two of his GOP colleagues to support health care reform. Not one Senate Republican voted in favor of it, but he swears he would have regardless of party affiliation.

”Coalition building has gone out of style in this wing of the building,” he said. Breaking from party ranks to vote with the other side is a ”very unpleasant experience.”

If breaking with party ranks to vote with the opposition is an unpleasant experience, Specter must have been a glutton for punishment as a Republican. That gluttony garnered him a good deal of attention and it is the attention Specter seems to miss:

Specter began showing his intense dissatisfaction with his place in the Republican Party long before leaving. At the 2008 national convention in Minnesota, he scolded a roomful of moderate Republicans for allowing the right wing of the party to take control. He said the number of remaining moderates left could fit together in a phone booth -- ''And we're pretty lonely.''

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate Republican from Maine, thinks Specter made a hasty decision.

''I think we're seeing a real resurgence of moderates,'' she said. ''I think it was an unfortunate move and I miss him and I wish he hadn't left.''

It seems difficult for Specter to accept that he's not standing alone in that phone booth any longer. When he was a Republican, his votes used to ''stick out like a sore thumb,'' he said. ''Now nobody pays any attention to me.''

Aww, poor Senator Specter, he isn't getting enough attention from voting with his party all the time. Not to worry, we're paying close attention Arlen. Some of us are even rooting for you in the Democratic primary. We need you to win so we can beat you in November. Those who voted for you in 2004 were taught a valuable lesson. Senator Specter isn't the only one with regrets.

Action Alert from the PA Chapter of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy - Save Arlen Specter

The Other McCain has called upon loyal members of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the VRWC to unite in order to insure the victory of "geriatric crapweasel" Arlen Specter in the forthcoming Democratic primary for the US Senate. As McCain notes, there is good reason to be concerned the Specter spectre may be fading prematurely. A recent Rasmussen poll shows Sestak within two points of Specter with a full 10% still undecided. Though Rasmussen's poll might appear to be an outlier Margin of Error blogger Harry Joe Enten took a look at PA polling from previous elections and suggests other pollsters may be playing catch up to Rasmussen:

I would not dismiss Rasmussen out of hand. A little dip into the polling archive reveals that a Quinnipiac poll taken around this time for the 2004 Republican Senate Primary had then Republican Specter leading Pat Toomey by 15%. A Quinnipiac poll taken only two weeks later had Specter up by only 5%. He would go on to win by only 2%. So maybe it will be the other pollsters playing catchup to Rasmussen... Only time will tell.

While time will surely tell, Pennsylvania is running short of that commodity with the primaries scheduled to take place May 18th.  It is critical Snarlin Arlen is snatched from the jaws of defeat for the sole purpose that he lives to fight and lose another day, November 2, 2010..  Ruby Slippers has been able to obtain the secret minutes from the most recent meeting of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the VRWC.  The minutes contain a series of talking points that offer members specific guidelines for convincing their Democratic friends and neighbors why they should embrace Specter in the Democratic primary:

• Specter didn't defect to the Democratic party, he merely returned to his natural home.  VRWC members consider their relationship with Specter a painful tale of unrequited love.  Members so loved Arlen and his many, many, many years of government experience we set him free. Alas he didn't come back to us, now he is YOURS.  We're jealous but forgiving.  Seriously we are.
• Arlen really does respect women.  That whole thing with Michelle Bachmann was, well - you know -because it was Michelle Bachmann.  (Note:  for added effect it is suggested members roll their eyes when saying the name Michelle Bachmann.  Liberals can't resist the opportunity to whine about Bachmann.  This will give a moment of solidarity with your mark liberal Democratic friend or neighbor. ) 
• Arlen has been truly devoted to his long-lost loves, the Democrats.  He went along without question for the whole shinola sandwich, health care, stimulus, porkulus and he would surely support cap and trade and card check.  Shouldn't Arlen be rewarded for his loyalty?   Come on you owe this guy, he paved the way for a filibuster proof Senate remember?
• Why should West Virginians have all the fun watching their aging crapweasel get wheeled in at the last minute to cast the necessary vote for some long-awaited legacy of the Democrats to be fulfilled?  Come on, you know you envied those West Virginians who sat back smugly knowing their crapweasel would arrive in time to save the day.  There is certain truth to that old Billy Joel song after all.  

The last point is Arlen's big selling point, he'll show up to cast that final vote come hell or high water.  Sestak - not so much. Join RS McCain and the Pennsylvania chapter of the VRWC in fighting to give the Democrats in Pennsylvania the candidate they truly deserve.  Feel free to repost this video and use the secret talking points freely.  Beating Joe Sestak wouldn't be nearly as much fun as delivering the knock out punch to Snarlin' Arlen in November.  At least we know Arlen would show up:

Sestak Offered High Level Job to Sit Out Specter Primary Challenge

In other words, a bribe.  Philly.com reports:

Rep. Joe Sestak (D., Pa.) said yesterday that the White House offered him a federal job in an effort to dissuade him from challenging Sen. Arlen Specter in the state's Democratic primary.

The disclosure came during an afternoon taping of Larry Kane: Voice of Reason, a Sunday news-analysis show on the Comcast Network. Sestak would not elaborate on the circumstances and seemed chagrined after blurting out "yes" to veteran news anchor Kane's direct question.

"Was it secretary of the Navy?" Kane asked.

"No comment," Sestak said.

"Was it [the job] high-ranking?" Kane asked. Sestak said yes, but added that he would "never leave" the Senate race for a deal.

The White House denies  and is angered by Sestak's account.  What a surprise.  Perhaps it wouldn't be difficult to believe such a denial if there weren't a history of this sort of thing.

H/T: Free Republic

Dog Gone It, Al Franken Is Mad Enough

Now we know who the one Democratic Senator who really expressed his frustration on Wednesday. Politico has it from five separate sources who were "in the room" that Senator Al Franken lit into David Axelrod over the lack of leadership from the White House on health care.   Dog gone it:

A Democratic source said that Franken directed his criticism solely at Axelrod.

“It was all about leadership and health care and what the plan was going to be,” the source said.

Franken — a comedian turned liberal talk show host — vowed to keep a relatively low profile when he arrived in the Senate over the summer after a protracted legal battle with former GOP Sen. Norm Coleman. But he has developed a reputation among his colleagues as one of the more aggressive personalities on the Hill.

Jeepers, who could have seen that coming?  Franken wasn't alone in his anger and frustration but he evidently was the most vocal about his concerns.  It seems a little pep talk from the President triggered the incident though he wasn't the direct recipient of the tongue lashing:

Democratic senators are frustrated that the White House hasn’t done more to win over the public on health care reform and other aspects of its ambitious agenda — and angry that, in the wake of Scott Brown’s win in the Massachusetts Senate race, the White House hasn’t done more to chart a course for getting a health care bill to the president’s desk.

In his public session with the senators Wednesday, Obama urged them to “finish the job” on health care but did not lay out a path for doing so. That uncertainty appeared to trigger Franken’s anger, and the sources in the room said he laid out his concerns much more directly than any senator did in the earlier public session.

 I don't know why they would be waiting for the former Senator from Illinois to direct them on the path forward to health care.  Did he have any legislative accomplishments when he was there or was that just an inconvenient little pit stop on the path to the White House?  Perhaps Chris "tingly legs" Matthews remembers a few of Obama's legislative accomplishments:  Oh that's right, there weren't any.   Pretty fitting outcome that he should have no significant legislative accomplishments as President, in my humble opinion.

The left wing punditry and blogging heads have been busy with post mortems on health care.  While there is blame to go around, much of it is directed at the Senate and this line in particular caught my attention:

There's no getting around it. As SEIU President Andy Stern said recently, Senate Democrats "had a chance, a gift, from the American people--60 votes, so they could, for the first time in their life, debate any single issue they chose to debate. And they squandered it."

Here is what they all seem to miss, the American people didn't give them 60 votes.  I happen to know lots of conservatives who voted for Arlen Specter when he ran as a Republican.  We'll probably never know the actual vote count in Minnesota but the Democrats outmaneuvered Republicans legally so they seated Senator Franken as a result.  If they squandered their super majority it was because they got it on the cheap and didn't care whether the American people thought it was deserved.   Now they are left to point fingers and cringe when their Senator Franken gets a  little aggressive with them behind closed doors.  Dog gone it, seems like every dog does have it's day after all.
More at Memeorandum
Another Black Conservative  writes:

I hate to be the one to say, I told you so, but when Franken was sworn in, I knew he would be trouble for the Dems. Reap what you sow guys, reap what you sow.

Exactly.

Benedict Arlen's Bachmann Buffoonery

Arlen Specter's defection to the Democratic caucus is the gift that keeps on giving to Republicans.  Never have I been so grateful this guy is no longer our problem.  Witness his attempt to make a fool of Michelle Bachmann in a radio debate when he tells her to "act like a lady."


As a PA voter, I can't wait to go to vote against this clown. He is the poster child for term limits. Right now, things are not looking very a positive for Arlen's re-election. Pat Toomey is leading in the latest Rasmussen poll 49 to 40. Toomey leads by 8 points over Arlen's challenger Joe Sestak. Specter is beating Sestak by a mind boggling 21 points. oh, and there is more:

Political analyst Larry Sabato now rates the Pennsylvania Senate race as a toss-up, but, given the current political climate, he says Toomey would be the winner if the election were held today. Sabato also projects that if the election were held today, the Democrats' 59-seat majority in the Senate would be down to 52.

Specter is viewed very favorably by 16% of Pennsylvania voters but very unfavorably by more than twice as many (33%).

Twelve percent (12%) have a very favorable view of Toomey, while 10% regard him very unfavorably. For Sestak, very favorables total eight percent (8%), and very unfavorables stand at 11%.

 While Democrats have tried to cut their looming losses in November by urging certain losers to spend time with their families in the joy of retirement, try telling that to Arlen.  Better still, Obama promised to campaign for Arlen as part of the package of goodies used to assure Arlen jumping ship would get him what he desperately wanted another term in office.  Hello Arlen - Obama has quite the track record campaigning doesn't he?  Good luck with that.

PA2010.com points to another problem for Democrats in PA:

  Pennsylvania Democratic Party chairman T.J. Rooney made case for Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) to drop out of the Democratic primary against Specter

I guess they're afraid they might have a little trouble getting another Democrat elected to fill Sestak's seat and the party could preserve resources:

 Rooney said a Sestak withdrawal would allow Specter to focus more on the general-election campaign, while Sestak, a retired Navy vice admiral, could lock in his seat representing the 7th District in suburban Philadelphia for two more years _ saving the party money in an important election year.

"To use a Navy metaphor, we need hands on deck this year," the party chairman said.

Sestak's campaign responded that it's staying the course.

How's that party switch working out for ya Arlen?

Pat's Brilliant Retirement Card Campaign

Pat Austin has an excellent idea:

 I'm starting a campaign to send retirement cards to every single one of the cheatin', connivin', corrupt scumbags that voted to inflict Obamacare on Americans and not on themselves.

I have the honor of sending a card to Arlen Specter.  I am so looking forward to his retirement.  Pat has a link to the addresses for all who voted for this rotten legislation.