The tough old bird
A radio show on the likely Specter-Sestak race
The tough old bird
Dick Polman, Inquirer National Political Columnist
I can't speak for other scribes, but I've always found talking (and talking and talking) to be far easier than writing. So I suppose that today I've taken the easy way out, by focusing on my gig as a guest on Philadelphia NPR.
For an hour this morning on "Radio Times," we kicked around the impending Pennsylvania Senate Democratic race, which is shaping up as a big national story. Newly-minted Democrat Arlen Specter, the tough old bird who could probably survive a nuclear blast by opening his umbrella, is likely to be challenged for the 2010 nomination by upstart Democratic congressman Joe Sestak, the tough ex-Navy rear admiral who seems blithely unconcerned that the entire party establishment has already marked him as roadkill.
Sestak wants to challenge Specter from the left, by reminding liberal primary voters that Specter, before switching sides in order to maximize his survival options, actually voted with George W. Bush 80 percent of the time. Sestak, again this week, reiterated his intention to run (although he has invoked the "family" loophole, suggesting that if he backs down in the end, it's only because his family insists.) And Specter appears to be taking the threat seriously; he's not just holding fundraisers, he even asked for money the other day at a health policy conference of medical equipment suppliers.
Anyway, during the radio show, I asked my fellow guest - Chris Borick, director of the Institute of Public Opinion at Muhlenberg College - whether he agreed with my theory that a contested primary, while potentially divisive for the Democrats, would actually benefit the Obama legislative agenda, because Sestak would force Specter to lean leftward on crucial Senate votes and thus ratchet up his displays of newfound Democratic loyalty. (And tacking leftward in the primary wouldn't torpedo Specter's general election prospects - or Sestak's prospects, for that matter - because the Obama agenda is broadly popular in Pennsylvania, and because likely Republican candidate Pat Toomey is too conservative for the blue-trending electorate anyway.)
Borick did agree with my theory, but only up to a point. He believes that Sestak would help Obama and the Democrats "keep a leash" on Specter through the election season - but not beyond. He said that if Specter survives a primary, and beats a Republican challenger in November '10, he would return to the Senate as an 80-year-old independent player, freer than ever to confound his new Democratic allies, for years. True that. And besides, as I noted later, the guy is going to live forever.
The audio of the show is archived here.
I'm pulling for Sestak on this one. More than anything, Specter wants to survive. I would be so great for this switch to blow up in his face.— jmc
Arlen must be stopped!
jmc - I agree with every word you wrote. and this: See. This is what we end up with in the Senate when un-educated sheep are allowed in to a voting booth: “Sen. Jim Inhofe said today that President Barack Obama’s speech in Cairo was “un-American” because he referred to the war in Iraq as “a war of choice” and didn’t criticize Iran for developing a nuclear program.Inhofe, R-Tulsa, also criticized the president for suggesting that torture was conducted at the military prison in Guantanamo, saying, “There has never been a documented case of torture at Guantanamo.”“I just don’t know whose side he’s on,” Inhofe said of the president. “ Seriously?! How is this man still a sitting Senator? Thank you Oklahoma. This is what PA will end up with if Specter gets past the Primary.— GoldenPickel
Comment removed.- I like the clear evidence of Polman bias - the further left the better, in his view.— CD75
- I also like the omission by Polman that if Specter is pulled too far left, he makes himself even more unelectable in the general election.— CD75
- So for Dickie pulling to the left is a good thing; pulling to the right is a bad thing.— CD75
- 9.4% Unemployment. Good Job Obama. Four months ago, Obama said if the stimulus (sic, err porkulus) was not passed, the unemployment rate would be 8.8% IN JANUARY 2010!. Obviously, Obama's economic policies are not working.— CD75
- Comment removed.
- Hey Dick and all you neo-libs, I would not expect you to be fair, but did you see that Pelosi's approval rating (34%) is less than Cheney's (37%)? It is true according to Gallup. Perhaps America is not as "left" as you think!— CD75
- It's hilarious that everybody's dream politician, someone who votes for his principles instead of his party, is reviled by both sides.— SteveMG
Right on Golden. Inhofe is also the last senator who doesn't believe in global warming. Inhofe is the best example but there's a whole lot more of them; as a matter of fact, PA voted one out in '06.— wokmaster- Admittedly off topic, but did anybody notice the weather data at the top of the page: "Severe Weather - Light Rain 59 degrees— SteveMG
- SteveMg--you apparently don't understand that for the political blogging/talk radio fan, "principle" means sticking to the same ideas, however idiotic they are shown to be, forever. The intellect and reality on the ground play no part in this type of principle.— liberal
- Regardless of who wins, Specter, Sestak, Toomey, anybody. Who is going to stop this unitarian president and all the power he is amassing in the executive branch. With the appointment of a "pay czar", Obama will now have 21 czars who report to him without any Congressional approval or oversight. There are 280 National Security staff in the White House, compared to 40 under Reagan. Why is there no outcry from the media? Polman constantly called Bush a unitarian, where is thes scrutiny of Obama. As for Specter/Sestak, Arlen will probably run as an Indy if he loses a primary. Either way, this bodes well for Toomey and the Republicans, for Sestak will never win a statewide race....too liberal for the middle and western part of the state.— tom - wilmington, de
Cited by the Columbia Journalism Review as one of the nation's top political reporters, and lauded by the ABC News political website as "one of the finest political journalists of his generation," Dick Polman is a national political columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is on the full-time faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, as "writer in residence." Dick has been a frequent guest on C-Span, MSNBC, CNN, NPR and the BBC. He covered the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 presidential campaigns.
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