Pa.'s Pivotal GOP Senate Primary | CBS

[Ediacara]

Pa.'s Pivotal GOP Senate Primary

April 17, 2004


Sen. Specter during Associated Press interview this week (Photo: AP)


Specter's opponent in the primary, Rep. Pat Toomey (Photo: AP)

(CBS) Douglas Kiker of the CBS News Political Unit on a race with numerous implications, far beyond Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, ideological battle lines have been drawn between Republicans as the state's April 27 Senate primary approaches. And, with little more than a week to go, it's far from clear which side will win -- the pragmatists or the ideologues.

The outcome of the primary, analysts say, could determine whether Republicans continue to control the U.S. Senate after November.

On one side is 74-year-old Sen. Arlen Specter, a true moderate's moderate who votes with Democrats almost exactly 50 percent of the time. First elected in 1980, the former prosecutor is as well known for his ability to deliver federal dollars to the state as any specific legislation. For his entire tenure as a senator, he's angered conservatives for votes against their causes from taxes to judicial appointments, most recently voting against sending the nomination of William Pryor from the Judiciary Committee to the full Senate. Still, he's always managed to win re-election by comfortable margins, with the exception of 1992, when there was a backlash among women voters over his aggressive questioning of Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings.

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[VeniceBeat]

1. And the Winner will be:

www.hoeffelforsenate.com

Go Joe!

You're next, Li'l' Ricky!

[PA Democrat]

2. Yeah, Ricky (man-on-dog) Sanctimonious is the one

that is MOST offensive.

[FARAFIELD]

3. DOnt worry about Ricky

Hes running for Prez, you can just tell

[MASSAFRA]

4. If Toomey wins

then we lose. At least if Specter wins the primary and the general election it won't be as bad as having another extreme right wing senator as Santorum. (I want the Democrat to win the Senate race.)

[krkaufman]

5. Question...

... if Toomey wins the Republican primary, couldn't that IMPROVE the Democrat's (Hoeffel's) chances in November?

[Zynx]

6. Indeed it would.

However, the question is about whether or not it is worth the risk of losing Specter and replacing him with a Santorum clone.

[krkaufman]

7. Obvious

It's obvious that we'd prefer Specter over Toomey, but I'd still prefer the Dem, Hoeffel over either. (I'm guessing Hoeffel would be more liberal than Specter, perhaps erroneously, without researching.)

And I remain of the opinion that Our Leader may continue to drive moderates away from the Repugnant Party, and especially its conservative wing; so Toomey defeating Specter in the Repug primary wouldn't equate to a Toomey win in the Fall.

[No Mandate Here.]

8. A couple points

It would be wonderful for this primary to be as divisive as possible and the Dems get enough crumbs that Hoeffel would win. Being one step closer to control of the Senate again is a very good goal. The Specter/Hoeffel ideology question wouldn't matter.

One of the points I don't recall seeing is that, since * and Sanatorium have both endorsed Specter (indeed, * is hosting a fundraiser), does the reasonably well funded Toomey indicate that there is a rift growing within the Rethugs? Wouldn't it be great if it could be leveraged and enhanced somehow?

(I wish that Tweety would fry more of the Rethugs like he did Toomey the other night. That was fantastic!!