The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room reported today that actors Martin Sheen, Richard Schiff, and Bradley Whitford from the 1999-2006 NBC show The West Wing will be up on Capitol Hill pushing the Employee Free Choice Act this Tuesday. Sheen, who played President Josiah Bartlet, Schiff, who played Communications Director Toby Ziegler, and Whitford, who played Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman, will meet with actual Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy to promote the legislation. It’s being organized by various labor groups. Read more…
As I speculated in an earlier post, the Employee Free Choice Act, perhaps the biggest part of organized labor’s agenda this year, should be seen as a critical indicator of Sen. Arlen Specter’s reelection plans. And indeed, it is exactly that. Yesterday, Specter, calling himself “the decisive vote,” came out against EFCA and stated that he will not be the 60th Senate vote in favor of its passage. Thus, he will allow Republicans to proceed with a filibuster on the divisive legislation if they see fit (and they will).
But the legislation is not nearly as important as the political smoke-signal it sends. Specter is facing a tough Republican primary challenge from conservative former U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey. Toomey, who’s trying to rehash a 2004 primary in which he lost to Specter by only 2 percent, sought to join the race after Specter voted for the Democratic stimulus package in January.
Toomey’s decision to attack Specter from the Right comes just as Quinnipiac University and Franklin and Marshall College release two separate polls on Wednesday on the 2010 primary battle. Quinnipiac, which I personally trust more, put Toomey ahead of Specter, 41-27. F&M had Specter ahead, 33-18, but identified 42 percent of Republicans as undecided voters. Read more…
Merriam-Webster defines a “specter” as “something that haunts or perturbs the mind.” And over the next two years, the reelection of Arlen Specter, the senior senator from Pennsylvania, will haunt the corridors of Capitol Hill. That’s because Specter, running for his sixth term in 2010, qualifies as a prime target for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the political organizing arm of the Democratic Party responsible for getting Democrats elected to the U.S. Senate.
During the Obama-Clinton April 2008 primary and the Obama-McCain general election, the Democratic share of the Pennsylvania electorate sky-rocketed. According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, Democrats increased their numerical advantage over Republicans in the state from 580,208 in 2004 to 1,237,300 in 2008. Likewise, the Democratic share of total registered voters in the state changed from 48 percent to 51 percent, respectively. For this reason alone, Specter is due for a tough campaign.
But before Democrats rejoice at the possibility of another moderate Republican biting the dust, it’s important to factor in the nuanced challenges Specter will face, and how he could avoid losing. On the blog FiveThirtyEight.com, Nate Silver has factored Pennsylvania as the number one pick-up opportunity in 2010. Silver’s argument is based on the likelihood of a number of factors, among them Specter switching parties, losing the Republican nomination to a conservative, refusing to run again (he’ll be 80 years old on election day), and just, plain losing to a Democrat. Read more…
Merriam-Webster defines a “specter” as “something that haunts or perturbs the mind.” And over the next two years, the reelection of
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