John Cole gets it about right:
To recap, Specter, who voted with the Republicans 70% of the time, was essentially pushed out of the party for his stimulus vote. They will then run the reactionary lunatic Pat Toomey, who can never win the general election. Deciding that doesn’t make sense after seeing polling data suggesting Ridge […]

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Two 13-year-old girls near Scranton have their cell phone pic snapped in their skivvies. Pic somehow winds up on someone else’s cell phone. As does another pic of a 17-year-old girl without a shirt on.
District Attorney decides that girls are hardened criminals and must “participate in a five-week after-school program followed by probation” and undergo […]

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You might have seen yesterday that Sen. Arlen Specter came out against ECFA, saying he’ll vote against cloture - which means proponents of the “card check” bill won’t have a filibuster-proof majority, and the bill probably won’t pass.
There was much speculation as to what Specter would do - he’s supported unions in the past - […]

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Well, there you go:
President Barack Obama on Tuesday selected Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney to be U.S. ambassador to Ireland, turning to a lifelong Republican who provided the Democrat critical campaign support during the White House race.

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Hm:
U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa) talked with WILK’s Nancy and Kevin this morning about the economy, healthcare reform, his opinion on Rush Limbaugh, and the leader of the Republican Party.  Specter criticized RNC Chairman Michael Steele on his recent flip-flop concerning comments about Rush Limbaugh.  When asked who’s leading Republicans, Senator Specter laughed and said […]

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So this looks to be Specter’s strategy:
“I think we’re on the brink of a depression,” Sen. Specter said to reporters in Harrisburg, PA on Monday. “I think that if we had turned [the stimulus package] down it would have been repercussions world wide,” he added. …
<snip>
Sen. Specter is fully aware of the vulnerability on his right flank […]

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…may be switching parties. From TPMDC:
Former Rep. Pat Toomey, who challenged Specter from the right in the Republican primary back in 2004, then went on to head the Club For Growth, is reportedly running again in 2010.
In this case, bad news for Specter could also be good news for Democrats — if the ultra-conservative Toomey […]

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Arlen running uphill:
A new statewide poll shows 53 percent of Pennsylvanians — and 66 percent of Republicans — want someone to replace Sen. Arlen Specter.
Limbaugh, in other words, speaks for about two-thirds of Pennsylvania Republicans.
Among registered Republicans, 66 percent favored a new senator and 26 percent backed Specter. The margin of error on that question […]

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So my brother used to live down the street from this bar in Pittsburgh that had video poker machines. Two of them, actually; and virtually anytime you went into the place, there was someone in front of the machine, playing the game.
I didn’t go in often enough to know the names of the people at […]

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Via conservative blog PowerLine - of all places - comes a report from Rasmussen that Specter’s vote on the stimulus package could “cost him” in Pennsylvnia:
Just 31% of Keystone State voters say are more likely to vote for Specter because of his position on the stimulus package while 40% are less likely to do so.
A […]

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You read it here first last week. But check this out, from Elena Schor over at TPM DC:
President Obama talks about seeking bipartisan accord … and he reaches out to GOP senators … but how many Republicans are even open to the need for fixing the economy through government spending?
As The Washington Independent’s Dave Weigel […]

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Via Josh Marshall, if you listen to KYW or other Philly stations, you might be hearing this ad:
tpmtv-americansunitedforchangeradioadlimbaugh642.mp3
Josh:
“Every Republican voted with Limbaugh, and against creating 4 million new American jobs,” the announcer says, referring to the House Republicans’ unanimous vote against the stimulus package.
The announcer goes on to say: “Will our Senator, Arlen Specter, side […]

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I always read Bob Smizik in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, as a sports columnist he was always willing to be the bugger, the bad guy - I’m in touch with that emotion. Though I sometimes wondered how he got out of locker rooms alive.
In any event, he’s calling it a career, and it doesn’t get more […]

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Had half an eye on this for a few months, but sounds as if it’s becoming more serious:
The Northeast’s dwindling cast of Senate Republicans has Democrats circling Arlen Specter’s seat in Pennsylvania, convinced the party is well-positioned to make a competitive race out of the 2010 election.
Leading the pack of prospects — at least in […]

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Hm. While the feds mull a bailout for Detroit, Gov. Rendell has apparently already decided on a bailout for Boscov’s:
Gov. Ed Rendell says the state has secured $35 million in federal loans to help regional department store chain Boscov’s exit bankruptcy.
Rendell said today that the loans will be financed through a program that allows governments to […]

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Pennsylvania Jooos, be afraid of Obama!!!

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Too bad, so sad:
A Commonwealth Court judge yesterday effectively allowed counties to let voters wear partisan attire to the polls and refused to clamp down on the voter-registration group ACORN as the state Republican Party had sought. …
<snip>
Simpson refused the state Republican Party’s request to order ACORN to turn over a list of the 140,000 […]

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Hm. Best/most plausible explanation as to why McCain/Palin are staking the election, it would seem, on the outcome in Pennsylvania:
If McCain wins all the states that President George W. Bush won four years ago, he’ll have the 270-plus electoral votes necessary to take the White House. (Mr. Bush won 286 electoral votes.) But with polls […]

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Or not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL20TdHjX2s

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Dauphin Co. reader who saw the post here on that “non-partisan” Pa. Family Voters Guide sends me something he’d sent to the Patriot-News when he thought it was their doing… they said it wasn’t. So worth publishing her thoughts here:

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