A Twinge Of Regret, And Of Relief (Specter defeats Toomey)

[phillybri]

From a local Philly blog:

http://downstown.blogspot.com/2004_04_25_downstown_archive.html#108312837130950247

Arlen (Magic Bullet) Specter eked past Pat Toomey in the Republican U.S. Senate primary tonight. While it's early to assess, the pro-choice incumbent ran predictably well around Philly. He also ran above expectations in central Pennsylvania. Because the Club for Growth poured money into the campaign for the far-right Toomey, and because Specter's favorables are so low (people seem to be tired of his act, across the political spectrum) a lot of people thought Toomey might win. His race prompted some big-name magazines to cover the race, including the New Yorker's long piece on the potential for Republican purges of moderates.

Now, a lot of Democrats are going to be disappointed this morning, because most of them thought that Toomey would be easy to beat in a general. For me, much as I'd enjoy the idea of seeing a race for an open seat in a state that Gore won in 2000 and that has a Democratic governor, I'm glad that Specter won.

My reasoning is:

1) Toomey would be bad for America. And he could have won a general election. After all, Santorum is our other senator. I have to feel better knowing that Toomey is finished. He was a Grover Norquist-style radical right-winger.

2) Specter is himself beatable. If Joe Hoeffel is much of a candidate--and it's honestly too early to tell--then he'll have a shot to beat Specter. Arlen polls horribly and he's been beaten up by conservatives consistently over the past few months. The Constitution Party is talking about sabotaging him by running a pro-life candidate in the general election, in part to keep pro-lifers from sitting the race out altogether and spoiling Bush's chances here. Specter will cut hard into Hoeffel's fundraising--he's popular among the same types of Philly bigwigs--but the race will still be there to win, if Hoeffel can run it.

3) I believe that we're better off with broad-based parties. My problem with Zell Miller wasn't that he was too conservative to be a Democrat; it was that he stopped in 2002 being a Democrat at all. Democrats benefit by dealing with moderates in their party, and Republicans benefit by dealing with moderates (or oddballs like McCain) in their party. These moderates can be a brake on stupid partisan bills, and can, in good times, help to frame a sense of what is acceptably partisan and what's unacceptable. Ideological purity is interesting in grad school seminars but it doesn't really make for good politics or good policy. The first rule of politics is plunder. If either party were to gain an unassailable hold on Congress, the first order of business would be insider contracts that would dwarf the Halliburton deals. The best brake we have on this corruption is not virtue--a commodity that is selected against in the Darwinian world of politics--but traitors, people like Specter who will threaten to cross over against the party line. He's no angel, but he's a lot more useful to the country than Toomey.

[JI7]

1. this is how i feel

[phillybri]

2. Kick

:kick:

[GalleryGod]

3. Spector is an Asswipe. Always Was. Always Will Be.

As late as last year he was unapologetic for his prosecution of Anita Hill while pimping his book on WIP-AM radio in Philly.
Die! And soon!