[tomder55]

Couple of races in Pennsylvania worth watching .

The race for the Arlen Specter seat is heating up;and things aren't looking up for Benedict Arlen . Polling this week shows his primary challenger ,the very compelling Admiral Joe Sestak,has taken the lead in the Democrat primary race. The Primary will be May 18.

The winner will face off against former President of the 'Club for Growth' and former Representative Pat Toomey .


There is a toss up race ,too close to call in the special election for the congressional seat formerly held by the king of pork Jack Murtha (Pa 12th CD )between Murtha aide Mark Critz,and Republican businessman Tim Burns .
This special election will also be held May 18 . One will win and serve out the remaining time for this Congressional term ;but they will also have a rematch in November . Both parties have taken a special interest in this race and have pumped a lot of campaign money into this district that used to be a firm Democrat district while Murtha gathered the pork. Without Murtha ;well... these are the people that the President once described as "bitter clingers".

[spitvenom]

I am voting for Sestak sure everyone says Toomey will beat Sestak but Toomey will have a harder time with Arlen. But I never liked Arlen to begin with. And I don't care that Ed "cheesesteak belly" Rendell ad Obama back him. He is a snake that is out for himself. And I am not in the 12th district so I have no say on what goes on in Pennsyltucky.

[tomder55]

I happen to think Specter is washed up and Toomey would wipe the floor with him.(he almost beat him last time in the Republican primaries ) But Sestak will pose a greater challenge to Toomey.

I think Sestak is going to beat ex-Specter easily if I am watching the polling trends accurately ,and even though I would vote for Toomey in the general election ; I think the state could do a lot worse than sending Sestak to Washington . But that's just me... always have had a soft spot for the Navy.

[spitvenom]

Sestak being in the Navy for 31 years (I think) really appeals to me. Plus I think Arlen is washed up also. Sestak is really starting to gain momentum in the primary. Philly will have a very very big say in what happens. And I swear if I get another Robo Call from SS Jimmy Rollins to vote for Arlen I am going to become a Yankees fan ;)

[tomder55]

That's right... Philly is Specter's base ! His last hurrah is just like his beginning . He always was, and always will be a weasel( since the magic bullet days).

[speechlesstx]

”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.”

Funny how the switch in momentum for Sestak occurred about that time.

[tomder55]

Here's an interesting thought. What happens if he loses the primary and does a Charlie Crist?

What would be the results in a 3 way race ?

[spitvenom]

Funny you bring that up Tom cause I was thinking the same thing. I would think it would be a win for Toomey. These Democrats are a strange bunch. And to be honest I am growing tired of them. I think it is about time I switch back to Independent.

On a slightly different note do you think any NFL team is going to pick up former number one pick JaMarcus Russell? HE is on waivers for 9.45 Million!!

[tomder55]

ROFL . I went to the "game " the Giants played against the Raiders last year . Russell was horrendous ! In a game where they were down early Russell had 100 yards passing ;mostly dump off passes ;and ,he fumbled 3 times.

[spitvenom]

He is or should I say was horrendous. I hate that they give these unproven rookies all this money. He has no desire to play in the NFL he got his 39 million and checked out.

But back to Arlen and Joe Polls say it is to close to call.
Polls: Specter-Sestak race too close to call | Philadelphia Inquirer | 05/12/2010

[tomder55]

Yes , but it's the trends that interested me. A month ago Specter held a huge advantage.

Yesterday the Dems in W Va ousted a long time Congressman for a conservative-Democrat upstart in the primaries .
In Utah they ousted a longtime Republican Senator . Not a good year to be an incumbent.

[spitvenom]

Yes, all incumbents have a bulls eye on their back. I was just reading that Arlen was at a rally and thanked the Allegheny County Republicans for their support. I guess old habits die hard.

[tomder55]

Results are in...

Benedict Arnold is making vacation plans. He couldn't dodge the magic bullet this time .
Sestak now faces Toomey in November .

Mark Critz eeked out a win by running against his former boss's record and by playing the trojan horse blue dog gambit (word of warning to Republicans ,the 2006 election ploy is still in the Dems playbook).

They will face off again in November .

Burns also blundered in the last days of the race by saying he supported VAT while failing to add the disclaimer that he wanted income taxes reduced. Critz hammered him as a tax increaser.

In other races Rand Paul (who is NOT a mirror image of his old man ) rode the tea party express to victory.

In Arkansas uber-liberal Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (D) forced liberal Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D) into a June 8 runoff after both failed to win a majority of the vote in Tuesday's Senate primary. A case of the dems consuming the dems.

[spitvenom]

Tom was there a third Dem in the Arkansas race that resulted in no one winning a majority?

[tomder55]

Yes but the run off is between Halter and Lincoln . This should've been a safe seat for Lincoln ,but she was primaried because she did not toe the progressive line.

But even more important ;the President stuck his neck out for both Lincoln and Specter and neither fared well. In fact ,in Pa ;the White House did all but break the law when they allegedly offered a job to Sestak if he wouldn't run .

Best moment of the campaign was Fast Eddie holding a rally for Specter in Philly ,and no one showing up.

[tomder55]

The tea party is beginning to leave disposed carcasses on the political landscape . Specter openly campaigned against them. Good riddence to bad rubbish .He became the fourth Democrat in seven months to lose a high profile race despite the president's active involvement. They have also been the determining factor in 2 Republican primaries. (Long time Utah Republican moderate Senator Robert Bennett was defeated in his primary bid to be renominated as the Republican candidate for Senate by more conservative candidates backed by the Utah Tea Party)

The most interesting question is how old Washington will react to these events . If we extrapolate from the President's responses to date we can expect them to attempt to double down and up the ante . If that is so ,it could be a busy time as official Washington passes more economically damaging legislation.

Meanwhile if only they would just listen to the concerns of the tea partiers they would find that their message isn't really all that complicated . They want to work their job and keep just a little more of their paycheck ,give their children a decent chance for a secure future ,and to reign in the excess growth of the national government .

If you want to understand their message all you have to do is examine the results in the Critz Democrat win . He ran as a trojan horse blue dog conservative democrat . He ran against everything his boss Jack Murtha was for .He strongly opposed ObamaCare and the Crap & Tax energy bill..

God help him if he votes in unison with the Obots . The people in his district are fully capable of tar and feather and ride him out on a rail .

What is clear is the that the goals of the tea partiers are winning the debate in the public forum. They may not hold power yet;but they have come to realize that winning the debate is not enough in an era of leaders who will act against the will of we the people .

[spitvenom]

I like some of the tea party message but all the Obama as Hitler stuff turns me off. And to be fair it turned me off when the crazy lefties would make signs with Bush as Hitler also. As much as I didn't agree with Bush he was my president and I would never compare him to Hitler or whatever they compared him to.

The writing is definitley on the wall and if Critz votes the wrong way he will definitely not win in November. But will he even have time to vote? He is probably campaigning already.

[Catsmine]

I like some of the tea party message but all the Obama as Hitler stuff turns me off. And to be fair it turned me off when the crazy lefties would make signs with Bush as Hitler also. As much as I didn't agree with Bush he was my president and I would never compare him to Hitler or whatever they compared him to.

You might try attending one of the rallies just to see how much of the lunatic fringe is present. Most rallies, left or right, draw them out in hopes of getting on camera. Most of the TEA party events I've attended had one or two nuts per hundred attendees.

[spitvenom]

Yeah but 1 or 2 nuts is 1 or 2 nuts to many for me. Here is the Ad that really lost the race for Arlen. It is not even the Bush part of the video it is the way he says reelected. He sounds like a villain from the 1930's

'The Switch' ad that did Specter in | Philly | 05/20/2010

[excon]

What is clear is the that the goals of the tea partiers are winning the debate in the public forum.

Hello tom:

I disagree for a couple of reasons.

The tea party is nothing more than the right wing of the right wing. We've seen them before when they called themselves evangelical's.

IF their agenda is Rand Paul's agenda, I can tell you right now that the dismantlement of the New Deal, and the repeal of Civil Rights ain't going to happen. Period! So, the question is, does Rand Paul really and truly represent the tea party? That's something they'll have to figure out- but I don't see a nice happy family over there.

For some reason, though, you don't see the same thing happening on the progressive side, even though you mention Blanche Lincoln being primaried. The same thing would have happened to Ben Nelson had he been up for re-election. Just as the right is discarding their middle, the left is doing the same thing.

Given the results of our last national election, the goals of left wing already WON the debate, and can win it again.

excon