State of the Senate right now

[MarkDel]

I disagree on PA's Senate race.  No conservative will vote Specter.  If he is the nominee, half his potential voters will be alienated from the GOP Senate candidate and the Dems will win.

John,

1. This analysis is not only wrong, but has been proven wrong in Specter's previous victories.

2. I will never, ever understand why my fellow right wingers hate Specter so much...I used to work on Capitol Hill and I can tell you that you will never meet a better human being than this guy.

[MarkDel]

Back stabbing?  Arlen Specter led the move to reject the Bork nomination!  He has voted against key Bush judicial nominees!  That is backstabbing.  When I see Republicans vote for hight axes, abortion on demand, and cuts to defense spending, we might as well have Democrats.  The outcome would be the same and at least it would be an honest outcome.

And the #1 job is not to elect Republicans, it is to make the country more conservative in the long run.  If another Barry Goldwater leads to another Ronald Reagan, it is more than worth it to lose one Senate seat in Pennsylvania.

I would take a Zell Miller Demcorat over a Chris Shays republican any day of the week.

Specter was wrong about Bork, but that was 17 years ago, and he more than redeemed himself during the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill hearings.

[MarkDel]

MarkDel,

When he destroyed Bork it was not an election year (1987), he had just been re-elected.  When he helped Thomas, it was an election year for him (1992).  He always gives us just enough to keep him around in the primaries, then gives us 5 years of garbage until he's up for re-election again.

As for my analysis of who the stronger candidate is, I don't think I've been proven wrong at all.  Specter has been able to win when he has had conservatives with him.  You cannot guarantee that they will be there in November this time because Specter has never faced a meaningful primary challenge before.  We know that Toomey can win though since Santorum wins, and I think Toomey is more moderate than Santorum.

As for the guy's personality, I have never before heard anyone say anything nice about Specter the man.  His nickname among staffers is "Snarlin Arlen", and he known for being a jerk.  Maybe this meanness is a new phenomenon now that he is senior Senator, and he was different back when you were a staffer.

John,

Nope, I know Specter's Chief of Staff very well. Known him for 20 years. The reason Specter comes off as "pissed off" all the time is because he's personally a very paranoid guy who is not at all comfortable with the Washington, DC style of smling to your face and then ripping you behind your back. The guy is incredibly nice behind closed doors.

As for Toomey, I like him as well, but he will be at best a 50/50 shot in the general election while Specter is a guaranteed winner. I can't believe that Conservatives in PA would be dumb enough to abandon Specter and let a Democrat be elected...