Joe Sestak Beats Arlen Specter in PA

By Jeralyn, Section Elections
Posted on Wed May 19, 2010 at 08:23:00 AM EST
Tags: Arlen Specter (all tags)

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Sen. Arlen Specter's long career as a U.S. Senator is ending.

Mr. Specter won just three counties, including Philadelphia, but not by the huge amounts needed to offset the wins by Representative Joe Sestak everywhere else in the state.

Mr. Sestak’s campaign focused relentlessly on Mr. Specter’s party switch, saying that it symbolized his opportunism and that he was out for himself. Mr. Specter may have sown the seeds of his own destruction when he readily admitted that he changed sides to keep his seat.

Is this a sign of rage against incumbants others will feel in November? I doubt, as Governor Rendell is quoted in the Times article, that Specter lost because of the rain in Pennsylvania on Tuesday.

“The rain killed Arlen,” Mr. Rendell said dejectedly. “Whatever chance he had went down with the rain.”

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Joe Sestak Beats Arlen Specter in PA | 21 comments (21 topical)

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I can't speak for other Pennsylvanians (5.00 / 3) (#3)
by lucky leftie on Wed May 19, 2010 at 06:55:55 AM EST

but I'm still holding a grudge against Specter for being a rubber stamp for Bush for eight long years. Our democratic leadership may have been willing to overlook that but not me.

Plus, he shed his skin so readily, it gave me the creeps. He seems so unprincipled.

Due respect to my pal Ed, (5.00 / 1) (#6)
by andgarden on Wed May 19, 2010 at 07:06:01 AM EST

but Specter wouldn't have been saved by a sunny day.

Good riddance, (5.00 / 2) (#7)
by scribe on Wed May 19, 2010 at 07:07:27 AM EST

Senator Single-bullet Theory. Senator Grand Inquisitor of Anita Hill. (Can of Coca-cola, Senator?)

You won't be missed.

One more thing: in the glow of the flames of Sestak's ad showing Specter talking about how he switched parties becaue it would enable him to be re-elected, people have tended to forget that another part of his speaking about why he switched parties. He was upset about the unfairness of primaries being brought against incumbents like himself and Joe Lieberman, and explicitly compared himself to Lieberman. So, there's the next guy who needs to go.

No one there when I voted (5.00 / 1) (#8)
by BarnBabe on Wed May 19, 2010 at 07:48:45 AM EST

Yep, there was the rain. When I was walking into the prescient, there were only 3 people outside and usually there are 10. The guy says to me, are you a Republican? I said no. He said, ok, well, have a nice day. I went in and there was no one. Leaving, my umbrella was stuck. I said to the 3 laughing that I would probably be to my car before it opened. The lady said to the guy, God Bless her for showing up. A few more people were stopping as they got off of work. With the community having a lot of seniors who have lived here forever, they just do not do rain. So I suspect that is what Ed was talking about. I look at Arlen and Arlen does not look good. I think it was time he retired. In fact, should have happened a long time ago. BUT, the Republican, Toomey is another Santorum in waiting so our work is cut out for November. And Tom Corbett is one of the A/G's who filed suit on behalf of our state against the Health Reform bill. He wants to be Governor. I sent him an e-mail at the time to protest. I still have not recovered from 2008 election ads and now it is time to gear up once again. Good bye Arlen.

I just do not buy this (5.00 / 3) (#9)
by kenosharick on Wed May 19, 2010 at 07:57:19 AM EST

anti-incumbent hysteria in the national media. Sure, some will lose, maybe even a few more than usual. In reality well over 90% running for re-election will be re-elected. The media makes it sound like 90% of Congress is going to lose to the "tea-party"

Exactly - it is the story they want to tell (5.00 / 1) (#10)
by ruffian on Wed May 19, 2010 at 08:10:25 AM EST

So dramatic! But it's not going to happen. Republicans could not even take Murtha's seat in a McCain district. I think the numbers will line up more or less like any off-year election.


Of course (5.00 / 1) (#13)
by jbindc on Wed May 19, 2010 at 10:02:32 AM EST

Just like a Republican will never take Ted Kennedy's seat in true blue Massachusetts......oh, wait....,.

If the mood if the country is truly anti-incumbent, it's bad news fir Dems since they hold more seats.


: I guess we'll just have to have more (5.00 / 1) (#18)
by Militarytracy on Wed May 19, 2010 at 12:21:04 PM EST

Democrats primaryed to overcome the consequences of that anti-incumbent mood. Muwhahahahahaha

He deserves to lose (5.00 / 1) (#12)
by Saul on Wed May 19, 2010 at 09:03:53 AM EST

I have no respect for Specter. Talk about an opportunist. Originally a Dem then switched to Rep then later back to Dem.

This party hoping finally got the best of him.

I do not trust anyone that switched just because he knows he will lose in the party he is in.

Thank God he will not be around. Wouldn't doubt if he runs as an independent. This guy needs to know when to quit I hope.

: Agree, but apparently (none / 0) (#15)
by brodie on Wed May 19, 2010 at 10:07:11 AM EST

Specter made explicit comments last night that he would be supporting Sestak in the general. This would seem to take him out of Lieberman territory.
If Specter had been 12-15 yrs younger, however, and not 80 y.o., it's likely he would have carried on to keep his seat.

: He won't run as an independent. (none / 0) (#16)
by Chuck0 on Wed May 19, 2010 at 10:16:17 AM EST

He's done and he knows it. Besides that would hand the election over to Toomey for sure. And I think Specter realizes that.

: I read that PA has a sore loser law (none / 0) (#17)
by Joan in VA on Wed May 19, 2010 at 11:06:23 AM EST

that prevents him from getting on the November ballot as an indy.

No (none / 0) (#1)
by Ga6thDem on Wed May 19, 2010 at 05:35:59 AM EST

it is the rage against incumbents IMO.

It was an act of nature all right (none / 0) (#2)
by ruffian on Wed May 19, 2010 at 06:34:33 AM EST

PA Dems naturally unable to pull the lever for longtime Republican Arlen Specter. Maybe the rain was the excuse for those unwilling to make that leap.

Whew.. now can we have another (none / 0) (#4)
by observed on Wed May 19, 2010 at 06:57:04 AM EST

commission on the JFK assassination?

Should have known that (none / 0) (#5)
by ruffian on Wed May 19, 2010 at 07:04:55 AM EST

anyone that could come up with the Magic Bullet theory could tie himself in logical knots switching political positions.


Probably no more comm'ns (none / 0) (#14)
by brodie on Wed May 19, 2010 at 10:03:43 AM EST

on the assassination, and Arlen probably will never own up to the dishonesty of his MBT in the big lie that was the Warren Comm'n Report, though he would score major points with history if he could finish out finally with the whole truth and nothing but.

Interesting that Specter replaced in the senate in 1980 a liberal Repub, Richard Schweiker, who'd chaired a subcommittee looking into the events of Dallas. Schweiker concluded in the mid-70s that the Warren Report was "pabulum" fed to the American people. Sen Gary Hart, who worked with him on that committee, said that Schweiker was even more frank and brutal in his private comments about the Warren Comm'n.


Hate to tell you this guys (none / 0) (#19)
by TomStewart on Wed May 19, 2010 at 05:52:22 PM EST

bu the 'magic' bullet theory was correct, and has been proven so several times. As much as I don't care for Arlen, he was right on this, but wasn't able to really prove it at the time. Check out Bugliosi's books on the Kennedy assassination for the diagrams and evidence.


: I think Bugliosi (none / 0) (#20)
by jondee on Wed May 19, 2010 at 09:18:04 PM EST

could prove it's easy to weave horsesh*t into Egyptian cotton, but that dosnt mean it happens often in the real world.

I voted for Sestak (none / 0) (#11)
by Chuck0 on Wed May 19, 2010 at 08:47:55 AM EST

not out of any rage against incumbents but rather mostly for the disgusting TV ad campaign ran by Specter. I was kind of undecided until Specter's negative ads started running on TV. I've always found negative campaigns to be a turn off. They usually drive me to another candidate. Whatever happened to touting your own qualifications instead of running the other guy into the ground?

Specter couldn't beat Toomey in the (none / 0) (#21)
by ding7777 on Thu May 20, 2010 at 09:28:12 AM EST

primaries - and I doubt Specter could beat him in the general no matter how many registered Dems are in PA. - just imagine the ads in the general if Specter won