And speaking of Arlen Specter …
The senior Senator from Pennsylvania has his first primary challenger, and it isn’t Pat Toomey.
It’s Peg Luksik.
Who?
Peg Luksik, the Johnstown resident who failed thrice during the 1990s to win the governor’s seat, including as an independent or Constitution Party candidate.
Who?
Peg Lusik, the noted 53-year-old anti-abortion advocate who spoke in favor last year during a Senate hearing of a state constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage.
Long-time readers of the Nest may remember something I wrote about Luksik in the past. Essentially, Lusik spoke during that Senate hearing about the health benefits of marriage - married people apparently live longer and healthier lives, have improved cardiovascular systems and have less stress. She said this in support of the constitutional amendment, proposed this time around by state Sen. Mike Brubaker.
And so I posed a question in previous blog entry: Is Luksik essentially saying gay people should be prevented as a public policy - in the state Constitution, nonetheless - from accessing such health benefits?
The Associated Press writer Peter Jackson correctly notes that Luksik’s entry presents some problems for Toomey and conservatives. Should Toomey enter the race, Luksik and he are likely to split conservative votes, giving Specter a better chance at succeeding in winning the Republican nomination.
Luksik would have her own problems with GOP voters, I would think. Republicans put a VERY high value on loyalty, and Luksik left the Republican Party in the 90s. She’s back now, but she’ll have to answer questions from state committee people about why she left.
And I’m not sure what the health benefits of a Senator are. Specter’s been there about 30 years and is 79 years old, so maybe longevity can be considered one of them.
