DeMint Told Specter He'd Support Toomey, Shortly Before Specter Switched
You have to hand it to Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) -- he sure knows how to make people welcome in the GOP's big tent.
CQ reports that DeMint says he approached then-GOP Sen. Arlen Specter on April 23, and said something to him: "Arlen, it pains me to tell you this. I'm going to be supporting Pat Toomey in the primary."
DeMint recalled Specter's response: "I've heard enough." Specter did not comment much to CQ about it: "It happened in the cloakroom and not on the floor."
Five days after this conversation, with poll data showing that he would lose his Republican primary against Toomey, Arlen Specter switched to the Democratic Party.
A source close to Specter told us they were not aware of any other GOP Senators who said what DeMint did, and Specter hasn't mentioned any.
Josh
Matt
Eric
Wow!
May 4, 2009 2:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Dixie GOOPers now in charge of the emerging shape of the RepubliFringe Party.
May 4, 2009 2:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
"I wish I was in the land of cotton, old times there are not forgotten......."
May 4, 2009 2:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Actually, IMHO, as far as Dixie is concerned, old times there are best forgotten.
May 4, 2009 3:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
How long until DeMint, Rush and Hannity put on blackface and perform some oldtimey favorites?
May 4, 2009 3:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, that was a low blow, TM! ;)
May 4, 2009 5:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Seriously though, could you say it could never ever happen?
May 4, 2009 10:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hard to exclude anything after their cohort sent around the "magic negro" CD in "jest." Michael Steele defended that, as you may recall.
Limbaugh may be a special case. He spews coded racism all the time, and to give himself this freedom in bigotry, he's usually careful with where he thinks the line-he-oughtn't-cross lies.
May 5, 2009 4:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
I was thinking "Dueling Banjos" myself.
May 4, 2009 3:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Look awaaaaaaay, look awaaaaaaay, look awaaaaaaay Dixieland!
It's actually kind of a pretty song---even if a little creepy for us black folk.
May 4, 2009 5:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
As a Black man in SC, I'm pretty sure that's our state anthem. Well maybe it's unofficial.
May 4, 2009 10:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Jimmy Mints always calls em like he sees em.
May 4, 2009 2:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
What I love about this whole story is that while contemplating switching parties, Arlen Specter never thought about whether or not he would be willing to support and campaign for Democratic nominees for office. He only thought about his poll numbers. Does Arlen Specter honestly believe he can win a Democratic primary if he cannot unequivocally pledge to support the PA Senate race Democratic nominee next year, and the Democratic Presidential nominee every four years.
May 4, 2009 2:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
This makes me feel, even more than before, sympathy for Specter.
They were doing him in. To his face. Taking away the job he obviously loves. Mocking him while they were doing it.
So he made a move. It means Obama has 60th seat, and the seat will likely remain Democrat after 2010. So, great. I downloaded Meet the Press, and Specter isn't objecting to a contested primary, not with Sestak or anybody else. Just not one where they've stacked the deck, as he said. Okay, maybe "stacked the deck" is a little strong, but everything I've said above is true.
In short, in his shoes, I realize I would have done the same thing. (Come to think of it, I argued on this site that he needed to do it.)
May 4, 2009 2:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
You're a better woman than I. Arlen has been making deals with the devil for 30 years and he knew it! Kind of hard to have sympathy for the guy now!
May 4, 2009 2:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
save your sympathy for the people that these corrupt bums screw over.
May 4, 2009 3:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
We'll know that the GOP is sufficiently purged of "radical" and "subversive" elements such as Specter when they begin goose-stepping into the Capital under a swastika. And it looks like we're not too far from that.
May 4, 2009 2:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Republican party will go real far with people like DeMint, Inhofe, Cornyn, Vitter, Kyl, etc. not to mention quite a few loonies over in the House.
They're the gang that keeps on giving.
May 4, 2009 2:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
I was somewhat discouraged by Specter's statements and his budget vote this past week, but this really makes me feel better about the Democrats' burgeoning investment in Specter.
While still opportunistic, Specter's move can now be seen as a manifestation of resentment, of being pushed around by less senior members of his party and the Senate. I'm a 28-year Senator, and a Republican longer than these little Club for Growth bastards have been alive, and they're telling me, Arlen Specter, how I'm going to conduct myself?
To his credit as a lifelong Republican, Specter isn't playing up his sense of betrayal, and is admitting that self-preservation primarily motivated his decision. But that anger has to be underneath, and if we're clever, we can use that.
May 4, 2009 2:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Classic Rovian GOP tactics:
The stick and the ... stick.
---------------------------------
GOP: Vote against EFCA or else!!!!
Spector: Ok, I'll do it.
GOP: You're fired!!!
May 4, 2009 2:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
With enemies like these Republicans who needs friends?
May 4, 2009 3:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Spector is gonna be used and abused by the GOP and dems of PA will have their turn with him in the primary. When he continues to vote against democratic issues and progress they will eat him up. His switch and the endorsements he recieved were to just rub into the repukes faces for a short term gain. This couldn't happened to nocer asshole than Arlen!
May 4, 2009 3:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
I wonder if Ben Nelson would switch to the Democratic Party if Sen. Dimwitt told him he was supporting his primary opponent?
May 4, 2009 4:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
maybe if his radical left-wing primary opponent was polling 2:1 over him while the rest of the state was swinging to the right.
May 5, 2009 6:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
Commenter,
God, I dislike Ben Nelson thoroughly.
May 4, 2009 5:32 PM | Reply | Permalink