Specter Switch Gives Conservatives Second Thoughts About ‘RINO’ Hunting

[babylonsister]

Specter Switch Gives Conservatives Second Thoughts About ‘RINO’ Hunting
Pennsylvania Senator Had Been Targeted by Conservative Activists
By David Weigel 4/28/09 5:01 PM


This wasn’t what conservatives were expecting to talk about today. The news that Sen. Arlen Specter, the senior Republican in the Senate, would switch to the Democratic Party, came out of the blue after weeks of denials that the senator would ever do such a thing.

Inside the Club for Growth, the conservative PAC that until this month was led by former Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) — Specter’s 2004 primary opponent who was gearing up for a 2010 rematch — staffers who were preparing to beat Specter read the news from The Washington Post and scrambled to write a statement for the press. Two hours after the news broke, the Club released a statement from new president Chris Chocola that called Specter “unprincipled” and his decision “cynical,” revealing himself as a “liberal devoted to more government spending.” In an interview on MSNBC, Toomey challenged Pennsylvanians to ask “if we can trust this man.”

The Specter switch — on a day that began with the GOP attacking the White House over a botched Air Force One flight and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ nomination for secretary of health and human services — has given Republicans and conservatives a gut-check moment. Many of them have argued that the Republican defeats of 2006 and 2008 were reactions to the Bush administration’s feckless policies, biased coverage from the mainstream media, and a duplicitous campaign by Barack Obama. Specter, one of just three Republicans (all senators) who supported the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, was the only one up for reelection in 2010.

That made him a target of conservatives who believe the party’s comeback depends on a return to low-tax, low-spending fiscal conservatism. Republicans in Specter’s home state would not commit to supporting him over Toomey. Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, repeatedly turned down chances to promise national support for Specter in his upcoming primary.

Specter spent several months attempting to win over the base, experiencing slightly more success in Washington than in Pennsylvania by declaring his opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act and introducing (for the second time in two years) a flat tax reform bill. According to Chris Lilik, the editor of the conservative Pennsylvania Website GrassrootsPA.com and 2004 Toomey campaign staffer, Specter hadn’t been gaining ground with that strategy. Lilik pointed to Specter’s statements Tuesday about not wanting to “face the jury” of the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate as proof.

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http://washingtonindependent.com/40900/specter-switch-gives-conservatives-second-thoughts-about-rino-hunting

[hugo_from_TN]

1. RINO to DINO in the blink of an eye.

[Vogon_Glory]

3. Whatever.

Whatever. In any event, Arlen will make a better DINO than all those Dixiecrats who turned their coats and joined the Senile Elephant Party back in the 1970's and 1980's. With 60 Senators, the Senate can become Repud fillibuster-proof until after the 2010 elections, when the Democrats can shore up their majority with solid people.

[SoCalDem]

2. "...new president Chris Chocola ..."Hey. That guy's in my "Losers' Lounge"

Losers' Lounge"