I LOVE Hearing That
Check out Sean Trende’s short post about the unexpected pickle Benedict Arlen finds himself in. Here’s my favorite line from Sean’s post:
So far, Specter’s best day as a Democrat was his first day.
I can’t tell you how much I enjoy reading that. I enjoy reading this, too:
Well, to start with, it increasingly looks as though Specter will have a serious primary opponent. While polling shows Specter is likely to win that matchup, it means he will (i) face the risk of losing, (ii) have to raise and spend money for the primary, and (iii) probably have to tack to the left to maintain his primary lead.
Prior to Sen Specter’s switch, conventional wisdom was that Toomey would defeat Specter in the primary, then lose to Josh Shapiro in the general election. That’s been turned on its head, especially after Joe Sestak worried out loud that Specter might not be a loyal Democrat following Specter’s announcement that he’d vote against EFCA and after voting against President Obama’s budget.
In announcing his intent to vote against EFCA, Sen. Specter alienated the unions, which play a major role in Democratic GOTV operations. In voting against President Obama’s first budget, he’s alienated the Nutroots’ activists. That’s not a great start to winning a general election. It’s an even worse way to win a hotly contested primary.
It couldn’t happen to a shiftier, less principled politician.
Technorati Tags: Polling, Arlen Specter, Joe Sestak, Josh Shapiro, Primary Elections, Democrats, Pat Toomey, Tom Ridge, Republicans, Election 2010
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog