I recieved this comment from frequent contributor to the Moderate Republican about Arlen Specter's win yesterday in the Pennsylvania senate primary against hard-core conservative Pat Toomey:
Well the results are in and Specter is battered but still (for now) Senator Specter. It's going to be an interesting election even without Toomey. Specter has been a moderate in the past and is still a moderate in some ways, but he's been shifting further to the right lately. This primary highlighted that.
I wonder if the far-right's strategy of putting up Toomey is going to backfire on them. Normally Specter would have an easy cruise to his next term, no matter who the Democrats put up, because he is powerful, experienced, and centrist. Many Penn Democrats have voted for him in the past because of that. But this primary has exposed fractures in the Republican party and has forced Specter to publicly shift further to the right. And as a consequence, it could catapult Hoeffel into the spotlight - in previous election years, you can bet hardly anyone would have known who Specter's Democratic opponent was.
And that will give Pennsylvania Democrats a fresh look at their party and its candidate. They outnumber Pennsylvania Republicans, and many are not too eager to see Bush in office for another four years. With Specter now publicly endorsed by Bush (out of necessity to keep up the appearance of a united party), perhaps the Democrats will shift allegiance and vote for Hoeffel.
But then, this is exactly what I wrote about. The far-right seems willing to punish Republicans who don't toe the far-right line, even if that means some Republicans have to lose offices to Democrats.
More about the Specter victory, here.
is there a moderate republican group in houston??- straigt and in west houston? bp
Posted by: bill at November 6, 2004 11:10 AMdorsano -
I'm sure that Bush's endorsement probably saved Specter from an early dismissal.
Although I have to wonder if perhaps it was more to save Bush than to save Specter. Bush has to be able to promote a united Republican front, has to be seen as a "uniter." Toomey would have been a perfect ally for Bush in the Senate because he would back the president on every issue, unlike Specter, who has opposed the president on crucial votes. The fact that he has made such oppositions has led some to think that Rove helped put Toomey up for candidacy, as punishment to Specter and a warning to any other Republicans who won't back Rove's boy 100%. Of course, Bush couldn't allow that to publicly be known - and perhaps even Bush wasn't aware of Rove's maneuver, if in fact that did take place.
But in any case. My point is that although Bush's endorsement may have saved Specter for now, it may not help him at all come November, when Democrats get to join in the fray and decide whether or not to vote for Specter.
Posted by: Mark Kittel at May 3, 2004 08:40 AMIt looks like the fate of the Republican Revolution hangs on 2% points at least in PA.
The strength of Bush's candiacy and the GOP majorities in general lies (in my opinion) in the fact that GOP candidates are seen as "uniters".
The GOP primary voters are starting to look like they have no tolerance for independent voices in their own party let alone a willingness to reach across party lines.
As much as I feel that Bush is destroying the GOP, it seems that perhaps, given his support for Specter, that his political instincts are still intact. It doesn't seem unreasonable to believe that his support provided at least the margin of victory.
Posted by: dorsano at May 1, 2004 02:34 AMHere's another quote from AFA.NET, from an article by Jody Brown and Bill Fancher:
"The challenger (Pat Toomey) also had the backing of the conservative economic group Club for Growth which, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, poured $2 million dollars into the race. That report quoted Club for Growth head Stephen Moore as saying Specter's "scalp on the wall would be a cautionary lesson" to other Republican moderates who might be tempted to stray from conservative thinking."
Once again... the tactics of the far-right and fundamentalists is revealed exactly as I wrote it.
Posted by: Mark Kittel at April 29, 2004 03:32 PMHere in Texas we had a big Republican to-do about the new 10th District Congressional Race. The new district was full of R candidates, and few Dems, as it was designed to be by the state legislature. It cuts a swath through the affluent west side of Houston to the affluent suburbs of Austin.
The runnoff featured the most spending in a primary by two candidats battling out their "I'm more consevative/Christian/values oriented than you" campaign.
In the end, the one who touted more truly conservative ideals (tax and spend issues, states rights) won...thankfully.
Posted by: Michael at April 29, 2004 01:48 PM