Arlen Specter | 04/30/2009 8:35 am
GOP Uses Bush, Robocall to Smear Specter (Audio)
© AP
The Republican party is pulling out President George W. Bush to smear Arlen Specter, who became a Democrat this week. In a robocall to Pennsylvania voters, the National Republican Senatorial Committee uses audio of Bush praising Specter during the 2004 Senate race, when the former President said,
I’m here to say it as plainly as I can, Arlen Specter is the right man for the United States Senate. I can count on this man — see that’s important. He’s a firm ally when it matters most. I’m proud to tell you I think he’s earned another term as the United States Senator.
The NRSC hopes that Democratic voters will be put off by Bush’s praise of Specter. They have also launched a site called Meet Democrat Arlen Specter, and hope that voters reject him in the upcoming election.
Here’s the audio, via TPM:
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33 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment
TOP DEMS REBEL ON SPECTER:
"Senior Senate Democrats are objecting to the deal Majority Leader Harry Reid made with Sen. Arlen Specter, saying they will vote against letting the former Republican shoot to the top of powerful committees after he switches parties. "
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/top-dems-rebel-on-specter-2009-04-29.html
Several Democrats are furious with Sen. Reid (D-Nev.) for agreeing to let Specter (Pa.) keep his seniority, accrued over more than 28 years as a GOP senator. That agreement would allow Specter to leap past senior Democrats on powerful panels — including the Appropriations and Judiciary committees.
“I won’t be happy if I don’t get to chair something because of Arlen Specter,” said Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), who sits on the Appropriations Committee with Specter and is fifth in seniority among Democrats, behind Chairman Daniel Inouye (Hawaii) and Sens. Robert Byrd (W.Va.), Patrick Leahy (Vt.) and Tom Harkin (Iowa). “I’m happy with the Democratic order, but I don’t want to be displaced because of Arlen Specter,” she said.Mark my words, now that Specter isn’t under pressure from the uber-Right Wing Republican Party, he will vote much more Liberal than anyone expects!
Also, don’t you think the nasty, negative response coming out of the Republican Party is not only tacky, it is making them look even more fringe and undisciplined?! If nothing else, the GOP always was disciplined, now they’ve lost even that much. Had they taken the high road, and just wished Arlen Specter well and acted unconcerned it would have been better for them. Their vitriolic reaction just reinforces the view that they have become the Rush Limbaugh Party.
DeB, I just feel like the Last Ones Standing in the GOP are dominated by the extremists such as Limbaugh and friends. This was their downfall, and I think the people like Snow and Spector know that. If you think about it, many moderates left the party in a way by not running for re-election. I’m thinking about Warren Rudman and that bunch of moderates that made quiet exits and went to other genres to practice what they believed in. And, I miss them. I miss them very much because they were so practical and taught me so much. And, even Barry Goldwater, whom I didn’t always agree with but adored, at the end of his life, was so fed up with what the Republican Party had let itself become, that, if he were alive today, I think he would have sypathised with Spector.
Is anyone else as frustrated by this pettiness as I am? Specter joins a list of individuals who have changed parties. Yes, it’s politics as usual, but so what? There’s a reality here—these are politicians, who are going to put do whatever’s necessary to get reelected. If one listens carefully, one can hear that Specter is not changing his basic philosophy. Rather than attacking him, the RNC should pay attention to his reason for leaving. The overemphasis on social issues seems misplaced when the GDP shrank by over 6% and so many are out of work. My rural community has over 35% unemployment. On a personal note, I am a Christian who registered as a Republican 40 years ago. I am also changing my registration to independent. Many Republicans who were considered "extreme" in my youth (Goldwater, my grandmother’s hero, comes to mind) would be appalled by some of the shenanigans of the current RNC.
This unique time requires some measure of reasoned dialogue and cooperation. The Republican obstreperousness has been disheartening and disappointing. A sagacious person once said, "Wise men discuss, fools argue." If my children were behaving this way, they both would have been on a time out until they decided to calmly discuss their disagreement. Sometimes I think Congress needs Supernanny to intervene.