Specter Endorsement Continues to Haunt Santorum
One of the biggest red flags in Rick Santorum's senatorial record was his endorsement of turncoat Arlen Specter in 2004. Those here on this forum who might otherwise be sympathetic to Sen. Santorum's candidacy repeatedly point to how unsettling it is that Santorum backed a liberal Republican over rock-ribbed conservative Pat Toomey. In last night's debate, Mitt Romney exploited this vulnerability when he demanded an explanation of Santorum for this apparent lapse in judgment (minute 3:05 in the clip below).
Santorum's explanation (at minute 4:40 in the clip):
Why I supported Arlen Specter: number one) because Arlen Specter was a Senator who was going to be the chairman of the judiciary committee at a time when the most important issue that was coming up in the next session of Congress was two to three Supreme Court nominees that were going to be available and one, maybe two of them or maybe all three were going to be out of the conservative block.
And Arlen Specter as chairman of the judiciary committee, we had a conversation as he asked me to support him. I said, 'Will you support the president's nominees?' We had a 51-to-49 majority in the Senate. He said, 'I'll support the president's nominees as chairman.'
So make of that justification what you will. And then recalculate your conclusion adjusting for Arlen Specter's statement in a podcast interview this morning:
"He is not correct. I made no commitment to him about supporting judges," Specter said. "I made no deal."
That Specter should parade his disloyalty is no surprise, and I think it's folly to take him at his word —for all I know, he did indeed make that deal with Sen. Santorum. What concerns me is not Specters dishonorable behavior, but rather Santorum's honorable behavior. Rick Santorum here (and again with his 'I support bills I didn't support' moment) demonstrated that loyalty can be a character flaw when the the object of one's loyalty is an unworthy master.
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Aug '10
Re: Specter Endorsement Continues to Haunt Santorum
I believe what S.P.E.C.T.E.R. really said was, "I didn't move way from Rick Santorum, he moved away from me"
Nov '11
Re: Specter Endorsement Continues to Haunt Santorum
He said at one point that he considered it to have a mistake, that his wife advised him against it. Is he stepping back from that?
I'm not too concerned about what Arlen Specter says.
Sep '10
Re: Specter Endorsement Continues to Haunt Santorum
Proving once again that electing the likes of an Arlen Spector has repercussions that go on and on. Poor Rick had to endorse him because Specter is such a nasty enemy (as he continually proves). I seriously will rather have a Democrat than this type of Republican.
What was that argument again for Mike Castle?
Dec '10
Re: Specter Endorsement Continues to Haunt Santorum
Here is the countervailing information that casts Romney's line of attack in a different light: an Oct. 7, 2005, press release from the office of the Governor of Massachusetts.
So Arlen Specter isn't such a rotten guy in the Romney pantheon. Nor is lobbying the Federal government for subsidies.
To be clear: my issue here isn't with Romney lobbying on behalf of the residents of his state for Federal assistance, or lobbying Arlen Specter in particular. My issue is with him using Specter as a boogeyman after lobbying him.
Sep '10
Re: Specter Endorsement Continues to Haunt Santorum
Meanwhile, I'd bet my house that Mitt would have done exactly the same thing were he a US Senator from PA in 2004.
Disgusting.
Aug '10
Re: Specter Endorsement Continues to Haunt Santorum
Franco: Meanwhile, I'd bet my house that Mittwould have done exactly the same thing were he a US Senator from PA in 2004.
Disgusting. · 0 minutes ago
I'll take that bet. [Rude comment redacted]
Edited on February 23, 2012 at 10:33pmDec '10
Re: Specter Endorsement Continues to Haunt Santorum
Franco: Proving once again that electing the likes of an Arlen Spector has repercussions that go on and on. Poor Rick had to endorse him because Specter is such a nasty enemy (as he continually proves). I seriously will rather have a Democrat than this type of Republican.
What was that argument again for Mike Castle? · 4 minutes ago
I recall the argument at the time being that Specter could win while Toomey was too right-wing to win: exactly the Mike Castle-Christine O'Donnell debate. And in 2004, well before the TEA Party groundswell and in the environment that so challenged Bush's reelection campaign, that may have been precisely right. Kerry beat Bush in Pennsylvania, so it's likely that Toomey would have gone down to defeat... which would have made his election in 2010 more difficult for his having been a general election loser.
Counterfactuals and alternate histories are fun but not necessarily enlightening. No one knows for sure if Santorum's endorsement of Specter doomed Toomey's primary challenge, nor whether Toomey could have beaten Joe Hoeffel -- or whether Toomey as the candidate might have drawn a better Democrat into the race.
Jun '11
Re: Specter Endorsement Continues to Haunt Santorum
IMO, Rick should either admit it was a mistake or come up with a better explanation. To my ear it sounds like he's rationalizing a decision he knows was wrong.
Aug '10
Re: Specter Endorsement Continues to Haunt Santorum
Frozen Chosen
Franco: Meanwhile, I'd bet my house that Mittwould have done exactly the same thing were he a US Senator from PA in 2004.
Disgusting. · 0 minutes ago
I'll take that bet. [Rude comment redacted]· 29 minutes ago
Edited 24 minutes ago
C'mon, now! Can't a guy tease?
Mar '11
Re: Specter Endorsement Continues to Haunt Santorum
Meanwhile, Bob Dole's and Donald Trump's endorsements continue to haunt Mr Romney. Not to mention Rob's, which I won't mention.
Re: Specter Endorsement Continues to Haunt Santorum
Frozen Chosen
Frozen Chosen
Franco: Meanwhile, I'd bet my house that Mittwould have done exactly the same thing were he a US Senator from PA in 2004.
Disgusting. · 0 minutes ago
I'll take that bet. [Rude comment redacted]· 29 minutes ago
Edited 24 minutes ago
C'mon, now! Can't a guy tease? · 17 minutes ago
Maybe if you include a winking emoticon. People seem to take things in the worst possible way on the interwebs.
;-)
Nov '11
Re: Specter Endorsement Continues to Haunt Santorum
Stuart Creque:
To be clear: my issue here isn't with Romney lobbying on behalf of the residents of his state for Federal assistance, or lobbying Arlen Specter in particular. My issue is with him using Specter as a boogeyman after lobbying him. · 1 hour ago
I don't see how this really compares. It's like a Republican governor applying for an NLCB waiver, or other things they do with whoever is in office. Trying to get someone in power to do what you want them to is not the same thing as trying to keep them in power.
Jun '10
Re: Specter Endorsement Continues to Haunt Santorum
I'd rather have the RINO than the Democrat. What's the point of electing a few rock-ribbed conservatives if they're always in the minority and are powerless to prevent Obama from passing things like Obamacare on a strict party line vote?
I follow the Buckley Rule: support the most conservative candidate who is electable. I don't know much about Pennsylvania politics, but if I thought Toomey was unelectable I'd have supported Specter.
Edited on February 23, 2012 at 11:31pmAug '11
Re: Specter Endorsement Continues to Haunt Santorum
Why would Romneyfans go after Santorum on this? Aren't they essentially choosing an "Arlen Specter from Massachusetts" for the Republican nomination?
Feb '12
Re: Specter Endorsement Continues to Haunt Santorum
Yes, but their goal is to persuade voters that Santorum cannot justly claim to be significantly more conservative than Romney, and for this proposition they offer the evidence at hand, as well as Santorum's votes in favor of GWB's big government agenda. I'd say they have a point.
I would argue that if all the evidence is taken into account - Santorum's entire record of deeds and words, including what he wrote in his book and what he has said while running for president - Santorum is very significantly to the right of Romney.
Nov '11
Re: Specter Endorsement Continues to Haunt Santorum
I was going to write something about this weeks ago.
However, according to some sources, Santorum also supported Arlen Specter for president in 1996!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlen_Specter
"(Arlen Specter's) candidacy was not expected to succeed in winning the Republican nomination due to the overwhelmingly large number of social conservatives in the Republican Party. He was, however, able to gain support. Although fellow Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum was never overly enthusiastic, he was supportive. Other supportive Republicans were hopeful Specter could trim the party's 'far-right fringe.' Although his campaign was ultimately unsuccessful at wooing conservatives, it was widely believed he could have had a strong showing among independents."
Trimming the fringe? So that's what Santorum was trying to do.
Actually, I'm rather certain that Santorum just sold his vote and principles out so that Specter would help him in his tough Pennsylvania re-election. I guess it worked in 2000 as Santorum won re-election by 52.4%. However, you can't just keep repeating that same insider trick when you support Pat Toomey over Specter. Maybe Bush would have carried Pennsylvania in 2004, if he had shown some Toomey-like conservative principles.
Aug '11
Re: Specter Endorsement Continues to Haunt Santorum
Leporello
Yes, but their goal is to persuade voters that Santorum cannot justly claim to be significantly more conservative than Romney, and for this proposition they offer the evidence at hand, as well as Santorum's votes in favor of GWB's big government agenda. I'd say they have a point.
Perhaps, though it does seem to me that Romney's whole strategy is to tear down all the other candidates until they all look as RINO as he is. No wonder so many of us are longing for the Sweet Meteor of Death.
Feb '12
Re: Specter Endorsement Continues to Haunt Santorum
Romney's willingness to have his surrogates make hard-hitting attacks, even if hypocritical, could be seen as a strength. In the general, our candidate must be willing to use every possible strong attack against Obama. He can't be unwilling to make a particular criticism just because it isn't perfectly fair and equitable.
Nov '11
Re: Specter Endorsement Continues to Haunt Santorum
DrewInWisconsin
Leporello
Yes, but their goal is to persuade voters that Santorum cannot justly claim to be significantly more conservative than Romney, and for this proposition they offer the evidence at hand, as well as Santorum's votes in favor of GWB's big government agenda. I'd say they have a point.
Perhaps, though it does seem to me that Romney's whole strategy is to tear down all the other candidates until they all look as RINO as he is. No wonder so many of us are longing for the Sweet Meteor of Death. · 5 minutes ago
I think the idea is for them to conclude that he is not enough more conservative to make the greater risk worth it. I'd say the strategy, itself, is legitimate (not to endorse most of the lines of attacks they've used). It only works, of course, if voters still think Romney is more electable.
Sep '10
Re: Specter Endorsement Continues to Haunt Santorum
Joseph Stanko
I'd rather have the RINO than the Democrat. What's the point of electing a few rock-ribbed conservatives if they're always in the minority and are powerless to prevent Obama from passing things like Obamacare on a strict party line vote?
Okay, here we go again. This is short-term and myopic thinking, that has long term consequenses. We have to look at the total picture and understand what transpires.
First, we really don't know who is and isn't electable. There are a lot of polls and pundits and they use the past to predict the future, even though each election is different.
Second, Republicans such as Arlen Spector can't even be counted on to remain in the party, much less be counted on to vote a certain way.
Third, these types are especially prone to undermine the Republican narrative on the MSM and allow themselves to assist the Democrat strategy of portraying conservatives as extremist.
Fourth, this cretin bullies other politician, as Specter did with Santorum by threats, thus undermining Santorum's credibility even now.
Fifth, Specter is suspected of passing information to opposition and the press (I repeat myself)