Current National Chairman of the Republican Party, Michael Steele, threated Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter after he voted for the stimulus funding a few months ago.
Steele tried to warn Specter that the party would withdraw support from Specter if he did not tow the party line. Insurgent conservative candidate Pat Toomey threatened to unseat Specter in the Republican primary in 2010.
Now Arlen Specter is a Democrat!
Steele's cajoling has backfired. Terribly.
I am reviving this blog (for now) to state for the record just how amazed I am at the sheer incompetency of Michael Steele and his organization.
Thanks for the filibuster-busting 60th vote in the Senate, man! We Democrats really appreciate the help!
2 comments:
Do you really think Dean or Kaine would have acted any differently than Steele in this situation...???
Yes, I do.
Would Tim Kaine threaten Evan Bayh by letting a more progressive liberal run to defeat him in Indiana, a relatively conservative state? No, that's political suicide.
So why would you threaten Arlen Specter with a more conservative candidate in a more liberal state? That's what Michael Steele has done.
If you can argue that Steele did all that he can do to hold onto Specter, and that Toomey was always going to defeat Specter, then maybe you have a point. But Steele didn't do that, as far as I can tell.
The whole episode just seems irrational to me. Why would you trade Specter for Toomey? It's a pretty blue state these days. Specter had good odds. Toomey will probably be crushed.
Tim Kaine will let the Blue Dogs lie as long as he can get Democrats re-elected from redder states. That's the smart move.
Post a Comment