[Population: One] <A HREF="http://popone.innocence.com/ar

[bryant]

Arlen Specter won the Pennsylvania primary over Pat Toomey by a very narrow margin. This is a loss for the hard right wing of the Republican Party. It may or may not translate into a boost for the Democratic Senate candidate; 48% of those who voted against Specter said they wouldn’t vote for him in the general election, but a lot of those people are going to come back to the fold.

No telling if the hard right wing will feel betrayed by Bush, who endorsed Specter. Specter is not well-liked in some quarters, however.

Comments

[gentlyepigrams]

Some people don't like Specter because he was Ira Einhorn's defense lawyer, and his demand that Einhorn's bail be reduced was a key factor in his escape from the US. My husband ran sound for one of Holly Maddux's sisters' band. My friend community doesn't think much of Specter.

Conflicted

[dtm]

On the one hand, Specter is a vulnerable Republican Senator. On the other hand, he largely is a Republican moderate, and has done well for PA for as long as I can remember. (And, since to a large extent that's still "home" for me, I'm inclined to feel thankful for what he's done) Removing him from the Senate can only shift the average of the Republican caucus in the Senate even further to the right.