GOP Cannibalism
PA Republicans are following the script written by national Republicans: they are eating each other up.
GOP Cannibalism
John Baer, Daily News Political Columnist
Pennsylvania Republicans in the U.S. Senate primary are doing what national Republicans did in the presidential race: they're eating each other alive.
The five-way race for the GOP nomination to challenge Sen. Bob Casey in November has effectively become a three-way race among rich young Chester County biz guy Steve Welch, rich older Armstrong County coal guy Tom Smith and former Berks County state legislator Sam Rohrer.
(David Christian of Bucks County and Marc Scaringi of Cumberland County also are on the ballot.)
Welch is party-endorsed and backed by Gov. Corbett. Smith is spending a ton of dough on TV. And Rohrer, who ran in the 2010 primary against Corbett, getting 31 percent of the vote, has lots of grassroots tea party-type support.
So it's the party guy, the money guy and the grassroots guy.
In a very un-GOP-like fight, Welch and Smith are calling each other Democrats (Welch was one and voted for Obama; Smith was one for decades and served in local office as a Democrat) and both tag Rohrer for having voted for the infamous 2005 legislative pay raise.
What's a Republican voter to do?
The mess is due to the fact state party leaders could not find a name candidate to run against Casey and couldn't get a seasoned pol, such as Philly `burbs U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach, into the race.
Philly voters probably haven't heard much about this battle since, well, there are no GOP Philly voters, and since most politicos believe that unless Casey legally changes his name to, oh, I don't know, Adolf Hilter-Stalin, before the November ballots are set, he's a lock for re-election.
But GOP results on Tuesday will tell something about the direction of the state party and the political clout of Corbett.
With Republican voter-interest all dried up in the wake of Rick Santorum exiting the presidental contest (if he were running, Rohrer would benefit greatly), the question now becomes what does the state GOP want to be?
The choices? An organized party that can pick its candidates and wants younger faces (Welch is 35); a rural but rich party that wants a monied candidate and self-described "old farm boy" and grandfather of eight (Smith still lives on the farm he was raised on); or a grassroot party that wants a candidate who's run statewide before?
Expected low turnout puts this one up for grabs. But if Welch loses it's a loss for Corbett and party leaders -- and a win for political cannibalism.
Casey is going to win. He has the name, he has the pedigree, he hasn't been a lapdog for President Obama (entirely) and he has basically neutralized whatever GOP support exists in the non-Philly part of the state by being a conservative Democrat. Plus, even with some flip flops, he is basically a good fellow.— Christine
Comment removed.- how is bob casey (or his father) a conservative? besides the abortion stuff, which i dont agree with that chararcterization, i think the conservative position is that the decision should be between a dr & woman/patient-not govt. btw barry goldwater was prochoice, and hubert humphrey-who many compared gov casey to-was prolife.
anyhow...he & his dad are both new deal, liberal dems. im a big fan of his dad-hes okay-and i consider myself to be a liberal. and theyve never joined the christianists, or neocons, or any of the other in war mongering or anti-gay rhetoric. casey was gov during a time when murder/violent crime was very high & he didnt execute people just to appease the electorate. unlike gov bill clinton-as socalled liberal.— chrisaz314 - Seems like a normal primary to me, but I dont write for the DN so I don't get to use words like "cannibalism". LOL. Next article will tell us how the economy is "roaring" just like Diane Sawyer used during a newscast.
I'm voting for the Republican so the Senate goes GOP, it's gonna be tough for Casey, who in a normal time, I wouldn't have a problem voting for, but times are not normal. Oh yea, and it's not Bush's fault!— Crazybrave1 - crazybrave1-u are free to use any words u choose to. diane sawyer is okay, i remember her from primetime live-but fyi, shes a conservative. she worked for richard nixon in the 70s & her father was a gop pol in kentucky where she grew up.
and no i dont think the economy is "roaring."— chrisaz314 - I use Diane Sawyer as a euphemism for the network newscasts.
I didn't know she was a conservative, thanks for the info, she certianly doesn't act like one. I think I'll change my euphemism to Ann Curry lol. - Interesting that Ted Nugent tucked his ball sack between his legs and begged for forgiveness. lolz....— The Fundamentals of the Economy are Fine
- It's all Bush's fault:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/solyndra-building-sale_640469.html— Phishface - Smith will win. Welsh will run poorly and Corbett will be confirmed as an empty suit put in office by the crook Bob Asher to act as a tool.— H2O
Politicians have easy jobs. All they have to do is promise everything and deliver nothing.
- Linda Poindexter— Top Cat- The people who cast the votes don't decide an election, the people who count the votes do.
- Stalin— Top Cat - Bob Casey is a US Senator? Who knew? What's he done in six years?— yahzooman
- So who is Hilter?— Palestra Jon
John is the author of the book "On The Front Lines of Pennsylvania Politics: Twenty-Five Years of Keystone Reporting" (The History Press, 2012). Reach John at baerj@phillynews.com.
