Pennsylvania Senate: Toomey 48%, Specter 36%

Rasmussen Reports ^ | 8/13/2009 | Rasmussen Reports

[Little Ray]

It a long time until Nov. 2010 and Specter gets a lot of free air time. We’ll see then.

[Oldpuppymax]

Soooooo what party does the ever honorable Arlen join now? Don’t know a whole lot about these thugs, but I would think news like this has to unnerve a few other leftists in the house and senate. Specter down double digits and it is mostly because of health care and Arlens’ pro-Hussein position??!!

[Roklok]

If it is Toomey versus Spector, Spector is toast

[CottShop]

[[This is Pennsylvania! The dead and brain dead vote together and it is a tough thing to overcome. ]]

I hadn;’t thought abotu hte coerced votes- I guess that explains some ofr it- The union is only voting for hteir union mobster/boss the big ‘o’- ah- democracy in action

[silverleaf]

Want to bet the democrats pull a “Toricelli” on ol’ Arlen?

[Impy]

“revenge is a dish best served cold.”

It is. But it’s not bad hot either.

[Tolsti2]

This guy’s one of the top examples of why we need senate term limits. Wow!! Get him out of there PA!

All these crusty old liberals that never lose make me sick!

[CottShop]

[[Soooooo what party does the ever honorable Arlen join now?]]

The GOP should refuse to take him back- tell him in no uncertain terms that he wanted to run with snakes, then he can sink with those same snakes

[Impy]

Karl Rove is a dumbass. I’d like to hear what he, Bush, Santorum and the ACU’s David Keene have to say about their friend Arlen Defector now.

[Deo volente]

There is a whole crop of new voters (recent college graduates) who can’t find work. Republicans need to tap into that pool by hammering on the fact that obama failed to deliver to them and this administration has hurt the private sector so bad that no one is hiring. Although my son didn’t vote for obama, he said there are a lot of bitter young people out there who did... and they are turning on him fast.

Wait until the Bush tax cuts expire next year, and the second phase of the recession begins. There will be even fewer jobs for those recent graduates as businesses and individuals pull back even further under the increasing tax burdens.

[BillyBoy]

Wow! Best news I've heard about the 2010 senate elections so far. If only Pennsylvania voted this week. Even more than watching Specter lose, I would especially enjoy seeing the "only RINOs can win in blue states and you conservatives need to be realistic and accept that Specter is the best we can get" crowd have egg on their faces.

I think it's time for Rick Santorum (he's been awfully quite lately) to pip up and just make a statement like "I was wrong about Specter in 2004 and I regret my endorsement" if he wants to get on conservatives good side and ever plan a political comeback. He's a private citizen so he'd have nothing to lose by doing that.

Now the only thing is get Toomey to shy away from his willingness to confirm marxist Obama nominees. Conservatives need to hold his feet to the fire. A threat to support Peg Luksik in the primary (not like we have to worry about a RINO getting nominated) should keep Toomey from further straying from conservative principles.

[AuH2ORepublican]

“I think it’s time for Rick Santorum (he’s been awfully quite lately) to pip up and just make a statement like “I was wrong about Specter in 2004 and I regret my endorsement” if he wants to get on conservatives good side and ever plan a political comeback. He’s a private citizen so he’d have nothing to lose by doing that.”

---

Actually, Santorum hasn’t been *that* quiet: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2314988/posts

[Clintonfatigued]

This is the most amazing reversal of fortune of the still-new election cycle. In fact, I thought Toomey was a second-tier candidate unsuited for the blue-collar, pro-labor electorate.

I was wrong about this race, and I’m pleased to have been proven wrong about it.

[AuH2ORepublican]

I know that your thesis on the GOP’s underperformance in socially conservative states (such as PA) is that the party’s commitment to free trade has cost it dearly among blue-collar voters, and there may be some truth to that, but you should keep in mind that Pat Toomey was elected to Congress three times in 50/50 district in the Lehigh Valley that is centered in the labor bullwarks of Allentown and Bethlehem, with the last two wins coming against a union leader. Pat Toomey knows how to attract blue-collar votes better than most PA Republicans.

[Clintonfatigued]

Good point. Of course, I badly underestimated the negative reaction to the Specter’s party switch. Voters themselves switch parties and don’t mind them among politicians if the motive is principled disagreement on issues. Richard Shelby, Ben Campbell, and Jim Jeffords thrived after party switches because of that. But the Specter’s switch is seen as a combination of flakiness, egotism, and outrageous opportunism. I never expected that reaction, but now that it’s happened, it makes sense to me.

On the trade issue, it’s worth noting that Rick Santorum made concessions to organized labor on some votes, notably trade, wage, and workplace safety issues.

[BillyBoy]

Ordinary I would attribute Toomey's rise in the polls as being more anti-Specter sentiment from the electorate than suddenly fondness for Toomey, but surprisingly Toomey is also polling very well against Sestak. I hope these numbers hold. Toomey grew up in a working-class Roman Catholic family so his life story fits the PA electorate well, though he is indeed doing better than I expected with blue-collar voters. I think it's very likely he'd be running for his second term as Senator now if not for the actions of Bush & Co. in 2004. Joe Hoeffel would have been a credible but weak RAT opponent against Toomey (he only got 42% against Specter).

I don't know how much the GOP's ardent free trade policies are hurting them in states like Pennsylvania and Ohio (though you could make a good case guys like Steve LaTourette survive because they are socially conservative but labor union-friendly) Freepers spout delusions about how the Dems "used to" be the conservative party and the GOP "used to" be the leftist party and then they supposed "switched sides" (untrue, the GOP's platform is pretty close what it was when it was founded and the RATs have been controlled by socialists for at least a century, though they did "switch sides" after being on the losing side of every major human rights debate in America history like slavery and civil rights, and equality for women). But the ONE area where the two parties HAVE completely "switched sides" is trade policies -- the GOP used to be the protectionist party and the Dems used to be the "expand free trade with everyone" party.

Personally, I've always been middle of the road on the free trade/fair trade debate anyway, strongly supporting expanding trade with nations that have similar standards as ours like Canada, but adamantly opposed to free trade with third world hellholes and commie regimes like China and Cuba and Vietnam.

I can say the mainstream media's love of "fiscally conservative and socially moderate" candidates is exactly the OPPOSITE of the kind of people who are "electable" in the region I'm from, since I live in a very socially conservative working class area where the locals find abortion and gay marriage repugnant, but have been brainwashed into loving government handouts and freebies for all. As a result, Mark Kirk's limousine liberal values should be received pretty poorly in my area, as voters aren't going to care about the 20-30% he supported the "Republican position" on the card check bill or ominous spending bill. Obama did win 60% in my township (as in Hispanic communities, economic issues trump social issues with the electorate and of course Obama is a "local guy" the old ladies like.. and you have useful idiot Catholics claiming Obama will reduce abortion), but it's still very different culture than other regions in obama's district like Marxist activist nuts in Obama's Hyde Park neighborhood (Bill Ayers and the University of Chicago crowd), and of course the creepy "kill whitey" black liberation crowd at Obama's race obsessed Chicago church that is east of my suburban community (and 95% Democrat)

Speaking of which, I wonder how the heck we ended up with Specter in the first place. What was the GOP thinking when they picked this guy as their Senate nominee the first time around? Specter was first elected in Nov. 1980, the same election that ushered in the Reagan era. Why the GOP went with a former Democrat turned RINO to be their stand-bearer for Senate that year is beyond me. Maybe fieldmarshaldj has an interesting story about the circumstances of that one.

[SeekAndFind]

Let’s not assume that it will be Specter against Toomey.

It may well be that Specter WILL NOT BE the Democratic party candidate. He has challengers.

[kalee]

I doubt Specter will be the dem candidate.

[Arizona Carolyn]

It is in there and Toomey leads him as well.

[Windcatcher]

Sestak is running to the Left, pushing for a “public option” (which every Leftie worth his salt knows is SOCIALIZED MEDICINE). I can’t see Specter beating that.