Posted on 04/29/2004 6:27:24 AM PDT by Russ
Apr 28, 4:50 PM EDT
After Win, Specter Looks to Fall Election
By LARA JAKES JORDAN Associated Press Writer
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- After surviving a close scrape in the Republican primary, Sen. Arlen Specter turned his attention to the fall contest and began a campaign Wednesday that could put him at odds with the White House that helped him pull through.
The four-term moderate narrowly defeated conservative Rep. Pat Toomey, 51 percent to 49 percent, in Tuesday's primary after Toomey branded Specter as too liberal. The race was perhaps the most serious challenge yet to any Senate incumbent this season.
Specter will face Democratic Rep. Joe Hoeffel in November.
Less than a day after his primary victory, Specter touted his efforts to trim tax cuts, retain overtime pay for workers, resist school vouchers and continue embryonic stem-cell research - all in opposition to President Bush. The four-term Republican also called the situation in Iraq a "tinderbox" that could be a problem for the president in the fall elections.
"I intend to retain my independent voice, a voice I have always had," Specter said. "The 12 million people of Pennsylvania have not elected me to be a rubber stamp, and I will speak out where I think the necessity calls for it."
Despite his policy differences with the president, Specter said Bush's public support was key to his victory over Toomey. The race was so tight, he said, that the usually stoic Specter could not "stop my nervous system from gyrating a little" while watching vote tallies roll in.
Hoeffel, meanwhile, embarked on a 19-stop tour to raise his low statewide profile. The three-term suburban Philadelphia lawmaker predicted that Specter moved too far to the right in the Republican race to be successful in November.
"This primary has demonstrated that Arlen Specter is not the senator that he used to be," Hoeffel said. "He used to be a moderate maverick, but he is neither of those things. He's voting for a Republican program in Washington that's not working in Pennsylvania. He's their senator now - not ours."
The Democrats blasted Specter as a "political opportunist."
"He has taken every side of every issue for no other reason than to protect his political hide," said Brad Woodhouse, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. "He owes his political survival to George Bush, and he's now stuck with him and his right-wing policies."
Registered Democratic voters outnumber Republicans in Pennsylvania by nearly 389,000.
Specter has long enjoyed support within liberal-leaning unions and abortion-rights groups, and predicted he would attract Democrats and independents. He said he could help Bush in the fall by pulling moderates to the GOP ticket.
"My agreements with the president are more extensive than my disagreements," Specter said.
Specter spent $10 million to win the primary. As of April 7, he had $4.5 million in his campaign bank account to Hoeffel's $800,000.
That makes Specter tough to beat in November, said Wilkes University political scientist Thomas J. Baldino.
Specter's near-loss "will give Hoeffel some hope," Baldino said. "But as bad a beating as Specter took in term of his reputation, he will continue to raise and spend enough money to demonstrate he can win."
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you don't get it, specters "maybe vote" is not needed! we are going to pick up at LEAST 2 more seats in the senate so tossing specter is a WIN!!
You don’t get it. You can’t vote “maybe” in the Senate anymore than you can vote “not proven.”
You can vote “Yes.” You can vote “No.” Or you can choose not to vote.
The stupid Scotsman will vote with the GOP 30-40% of the time. There will be some times where his vote is needed. He won’t always give us that vote. The Dem never will.
And BTW, how do you KNOW we are going to pick up two other seats. Are you The Amazing Kreskin?
Specter wins his election. Hatch, being term limited, steps down as Chair of Judiciary with Specter next in line for that important seat.
Bush loses PA and the election.
Specter, legacy driven, gets a wild hair about "bipartisanship" and shaping the courts to his particular liberal brand of politics works with Kerry and the dems to stack the Supremes with pro abortion, anti gun penumbra loving judges.
Bush made a mistake, a big mistake. The notion that Specter will be beholding to anything conservative is pathetic.
Who's "we"? Are you having delusions of being a trusted White House adviser?
So it's the certainty of a pro-abort chairing the committee if Specter wins versus the possibility of a pro-abort chairing the committee if Specter loses.
If a Specter loss causes the GOP to lose the Senate, and all the committee chairs, you’ll have a lot more to worry about than abortion.
Tons more.
So we know he can cave in to liberals. Where's the evidence that he will ever cave in to conservatives?
If a Specter loss causes the GOP to lose the Senate, and all the committee chairs, you’ll have a lot more to worry about than abortion.
Yes, if.
"A flavor of what pro-life nominees can expect from Specter was provided at a recent hearing on William Pryor of Alabama. Democrats attacked Pryor as too conservative, Republicans rebutted the charges. Then, towards the end of the hearing, Arlen Specter showed up...and attacked Pryor. His questioning especially tried to paint Pryor as extreme on abortion. He grilled Pryor about strong pro-life statements he had made outside of the courtroom, clearly expecting Pryor to back away from his pro-life views. (He didn't.) By the end, Specter had done more damage to Pryor than any Democrat had." - http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1124702/posts
Sometimes you have to take a step back in order to walk around the pile of dog feces you were about to step in. I cast my last vote for Jim Greenwood in 1994, and I cast my last vote for Arlen Specter 6 years ago. I'm through with him. If the Democrat wins, so be it. The GOP needs a little cleansing right now, and the Specter stain is a good place to start.
So we know he can cave in to liberals. Where's the evidence that he will ever cave in to conservatives?
Yeah, God forbid a Republican condemn racist remarks.
Condemn, fine. But dump him? And how many liberals did he win over by doing so?
Who's "we"? Are you having delusions of being a trusted White House adviser?
In general. I'm a Republican
Which by itself gives you bupkus for influence over the chairmanship.
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