Did he just call him a towel?

Jesus Christ, these guys need to get some message discipline. Figure it out, guys, you just look like you're are flailing about aimlessly.

Cubansaltyballs: Did he just call him a towel?

Holy simulpost, Batman.

ragekage: Cubansaltyballs: Did he just call him a towel?

Holy simulpost, Batman.

Well, I got top billing...

The GOP is trying to start a smear campaign to destroy Specter. By painting him as a "true Republican" and closely associating him George Bush, they hope to undermine his electability. IOW, they know that their party is in the weeds and they know their #1 exemplar (Bush) is political kryptonite, so by holding him tight they hope to crush him to death.

It's an interesting gambit. "This candidate is a model Republican and a champion of our beloved twice-elected Republican president, so you'd have to be an idiot to vote for him".

/We live in weird times...

Cubansaltyballs: ragekage: Cubansaltyballs: Did he just call him a towel?

Holy simulpost, Batman.

Well, I got top billing...

Sigh. It was only like, three minutes- y'know what, fine. Just aim for the towel, okay?

ragekage: Jesus Christ, these guys need to get some message discipline. Figure it out, guys, you just look like you're are flailing about aimlessly.

No, this is brilliant. This is the first good move I've seen out of the GOP in a while. By constantly associating Specter with W and Santorum, they sully him in the eyes of the Dem voters he depends upon. Toomey, on the other hand, could be caught on camera beating a nun while he high-fives Congolese war criminals, and he'd still not suffer a whit in the eyes of his base.

They're embracing their inner tar baby.

Fun game to try at home: put all GOP criticisms of target X into the same context and watch it explode!

Learn about:
-Fallacious arguments
-Cognitive dissonance
-Manufactured outrage
-How to substitute repetition for facts
-and so much more...

Occam's Chainsaw: ragekage: Jesus Christ, these guys need to get some message discipline. Figure it out, guys, you just look like you're are flailing about aimlessly.

No, this is brilliant. This is the first good move I've seen out of the GOP in a while. By constantly associating Specter with W and Santorum, they sully him in the eyes of the Dem voters he depends upon. Toomey, on the other hand, could be caught on camera beating a nun while he high-fives Congolese war criminals, and he'd still not suffer a whit in the eyes of his base.

They're embracing their inner tar baby.

Not really. Saying this now doesn't erase the last 48 hours of quotes and hate-fest crap that will be in the commercials come election time.

Good thing all the 'good riddance' internet pundits set the message before the thinking people could chime in.

Ah, its that crafty reverse psychology at work. He's so..republican, isn't he. You don't want that model republican do you, dems? Suck it, GOP. We, the voting public, will take any guy we can get that's not you. Your jedi mind tricks have no power here.

a model republican voted against bush and is a democrat?? wtf??

It won't work though.

Democrats will take one look at Toomey and say "aw HELL naw" and vote for Specter anyway. Remember the dems said they won't run anyone against him in the primaries.

It's the Republicans' best shot, but voters aren't THAT stupid.

I am a registered voter in Pennsylvania, and the GOP will not succeed in tricking me with these wily shenanigans.

CitizenTed: The GOP is trying to start a smear campaign to destroy Specter.

Yep. The GOP wants Specter to be the walking dead. "Aaarrgh! Zombie Specter! Run! Protect yourselves from Zombie Specter!"

Occam's Chainsaw: ragekage: Jesus Christ, these guys need to get some message discipline. Figure it out, guys, you just look like you're are flailing about aimlessly.

No, this is brilliant. This is the first good move I've seen out of the GOP in a while. By constantly associating Specter with W and Santorum, they sully him in the eyes of the Dem voters he depends upon. Toomey, on the other hand, could be caught on camera beating a nun while he high-fives Congolese war criminals, and he'd still not suffer a whit in the eyes of his base.

They're embracing their inner tar baby.



/hotlink'd

Put me up as another person seeing this as a good move for the GOP. (Assuming that move is towards them getting elected in the 2010 elections)

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

You win elections by bringing in the moderates and undecideds. What in God's name makes these idiots think that suddenly the people who voted for him in the last election won't vote for him again?

Voters aren't nearly as dogmatic as the party leadership, and that applies to both sides. Look at Joe Lieberman. The Dems ran someone against him in the primary, he switched to an independent, and he won.

I'm a conservative, but I hope Spector wins--just because hopefully some heads will roll. Preferably many heads.

ragekage: Jesus Christ, these guys need to get some message discipline. Figure it out, guys, you just look like you're are flailing about aimlessly.

Nahh, they're pretty consistent with their message for the past 8 years.

"Toe the line absolutely or we will do everything in our power to destroy you"

Kinda like Stalin, Hitler, Mao etc. Kinda makes you think about the difference between the type of government and who running it, huh?
(Thank God those wackos aren't)

Hey, Specter's got quite some time to establish a more liberal voting record before the general elections. I don't think this "he's the embodiment of the GOP" tactic will stick.

oh yeah! you wanna vote for HIM! HAHAHA! Well he's just like ME! Is THAT what you want?? someone just like ME??? Of course you don't! so don't vote for him since he's just like me, vote for me instead! Cause I'm nothing like him since he's just like me!

Vote me in 2010.

log_jammin: oh yeah! you wanna vote for HIM! HAHAHA! Well he's just like ME! Is THAT what you want?? someone just like ME??? Of course you don't! so don't vote for him since he's just like me, vote for me instead!

That's what I was thinking

This is a good idea, because if there's one group that Democratic primary voters are going to listen to, its the RNC.

Here's a little song for the GOP...


Let's go to Luckenbach Texas with Waylon and Willie and the boys
This successful life we're livin' got us feuding
like the Hatfield and McCoy's
Between Hank Williams pain songs, Newberry's train songs
and blue eyes cryin' in the rain, out in Luckenbach Texas
ain't nobody feelin' no pain

So baby let's sell your diamond ring
Buy some boots and faded jeans and go away
This coat and tie is choking me
In your high society you cry all day
We've been so busy keepin' up with the Jones
Four car garage and we're still building on
Maybe it's time we got back to the basics of love...


Seriously guys, step back, breathe deep and find your feet again. I don't mean back to when you had everyone convinced liberal was a dirty word... back farther... much, much farther... back, back, back... back past Nixon's southern strategy...

Stop trying to be "crafty" and just find something to believe in, preferably something with more depth than "we hate what liberals are for, and we're for what liberals are against!!!" Your determination to "DESTROY!!!!!" the left is only leading to your own self-destruction.

Quit trying to rule, and remember how to govern.

impaler: That's what I was thinking

I swear the GOP gets more and more bizarre everyday. watching them run from outrage to outrage and back and forth on each issue is like watching second graders play soccer.

So the GOP assumes everyone is just as stupid as they are?

log_jammin: impaler: That's what I was thinking

I swear the GOP gets more and more bizarre everyday. watching them run from outrage to outrage and back and forth on each issue is like watching second graders play soccer.


When was the last time a Republican was in the news for anything but being a complete retard?

The GOP is trying to prevent him from getting elected by linking him to W?

I think there might be a flaw in their cunning plan..

It's a gamble.

One hand: Calling him a "model republican" and "Friend of Bush" hurts him with democrats and moderates (because moderates all moved away from the republicans due to bush).

Other hand: "Model republican" and "friend of Bush" are being tied together as meaning the same thing. Meaning the republicans have a harder time saying things like, "there is a clear parallel between George Bush and Barack HUSSEIN Obama's economic plans." (Newtie at the CPAC)

Better choice would have been the soft hand, acting like "well, he done a bad thing but we can't stop him. By the way, do ya think he's gonna be principled now that he's switched sides for, in his own words, "a better chance at re-election?"

Ah well, the GOP won't be able to pick up the pieces until they've actually lost their ravening maw of madness (aka the double-headed god of /b/eck and /b/achmann and their avatars, oh the huge Hanatee and Bill O'RLY) .

Yes, I compared Fox News to 4chan.

Now I have Luckenbach Texas being sung by Jerry Lewis repeating in my head

I think this is going to puzzle the people of PA, and just help them to understand why Specter left the party. The only people who are really going to applaud this reverse-psychology-as-practiced-by-a-college-freshman-who-just-took-Psych 101 are the interns who thought it up.

The election is over a year away. All people will remember is the Republicans saying something that didn't make much sense. Again.

kxs401: I am a registered voter in Pennsylvania, and the GOP will not succeed in tricking me with these wily shenanigans.

Maybe it's double reverse psychology. Maybe Spector came up with this idea?

I don't understand this either - what's their goal? To make people go "well, Specter is now a Democrat, but he's really secretly a dirty GOP-er... so instead I'm going to vote for the even more conservative GOP-er"?

I guess they could trash him enough to lose the Dem primary (even if the national party dissaudes people from running there'll be someone for sure), but even then as long as it's a reasonably sane Democrat they'll crush Toomey mercilessly in the general; and then all they get is an even more liberal senator from PA. At least it looks like Specter is going to still be a pain in the ass for Obama regardless of party

I don't understand what the GOP is doing here but based on their recent actions I'm going to assume that it is quite clever and will all work out in the end.

can't say it's the worst idea i've heard, but if it's the republicans pushing it, I can take a fair bet it's going to fail big time.

I'm a pinko communist baby-killer liberal, nonetheless, this campaign seems oddly creative for the Republicans. Good move on their part. I don't really see this as 'Specter votes with republicans = bad' but 'Specter is a hypocrite.' Most people dislike inconsistency. Smart move.

Makes sense for them, the only remote chance for Toomey to win is if there is a third candidate in the race. They figure they can piss off the libs enough to run their own because Specter isn't ideologically pure enough.

They think this will work because they think Democrats currently care as much about ideological purity as Republicans do. If that was true they would not have managed to get to 60 senators.

Specter will coast, Democrats will focus their effort on winning more seats, not being ideologically pure.

Gdiguy: I don't understand this either - what's their goal? To make people go "well, Specter is now a Democrat, but he's really secretly a dirty GOP-er... so instead I'm going to vote for the even more conservative GOP-er"?

I guess they could trash him enough to lose the Dem primary (even if the national party dissaudes people from running there'll be someone for sure), but even then as long as it's a reasonably sane Democrat they'll crush Toomey mercilessly in the general; and then all they get is an even more liberal senator from PA. At least it looks like Specter is going to still be a pain in the ass for Obama regardless of party


Do you think the Grand Old Party gives a fig that Specter will not be a lock-step Democrat?

Both of our political parties have the ability to be remarkably childish, and I put the blame for that squarely upon the American public -- we demand our politicians lie to us and coddle us as if we were children, and throw a devil of a tantrum, for instance, when they tell us we need to clean our rooms or not spend our allowance of crack cocaine.

The GOP had long been the more slick and savvy of these two parties, and thus it is no surprise that they have devolved to the mindset of tired toddlers. They were, perhaps, too good at what they set out to accomplish, and their constant lowering of the bar has begun to embarrass all but the most hateful and childish of the citizenry.

Do not remotely think that the GOP care more about winning in PA than they do for burying Specter; their hyper-partisan minds place far more value in masochistic revenge than any other endeavor. They will embrace their demise with the furor of any classic martyr if they can destroy those they feel have betrayed them before succumbing.

I recall the GOP effort to rename the democratic party as the democratic socialist party. I find myself wishing that some snarky socialist soul would demand the GOP update the logo to have removed it's trunk, but I desire more that they strive with utmost to aspire at least to the maturity of a sex-starved teenager, rather than crawl around in their own shiat and drink Drain-O like their 'conservative' counterparts.

Iamnotmybrain: I'm a pinko communist baby-killer liberal, nonetheless, this campaign seems oddly creative for the Republicans. Good move on their part. I don't really see this as 'Specter votes with republicans = bad' but 'Specter is a hypocrite.' Most people dislike inconsistency. Smart move.

I'm wondering if people will be more accepting of 'inconsistency' when said dichotomy is between "LET JESUS fark YOU! VRAAAGH!" and "Look, those guys? fark those guys, man. 'Cuz, shiat, them mothafarkers is straight up crazy. I'll call myself Captain Tanelle if it get me away from those weapons-grade cum dumpsters."

Aeonic_Blue:

Both of our political parties have the ability to be remarkably childish, and I put the blame for that squarely upon the American public -- we demand our politicians lie to us and coddle us as if we were children, and throw a devil of a tantrum, for instance, when they tell us we need to clean our rooms or not spend our allowance of crack cocaine.

The government policies of your district interest me, where is it located?

MadeuLaTerestrian: Aeonic_Blue:

Both of our political parties have the ability to be remarkably childish, and I put the blame for that squarely upon the American public -- we demand our politicians lie to us and coddle us as if we were children, and throw a devil of a tantrum, for instance, when they tell us we need to clean our rooms or not spend our allowance of crack cocaine.

The government policies of your district interest me, where is it located?

Curses. I knew someone would catch that.

MN-6, by the way.

/Explains a lot, doesn't it?

holy wowballs.

when the biggest political arrow in your quiver is saying somebody is a model citizen of your party and closely aligned with your most recent executive, that admission of suck has to be applauded.

you know your party is in a bad spot where they run ads against their opponents tying them to.... them.

"this guy is so bad, he's one of us"

CitizenTed: The GOP is trying to start a smear campaign to destroy Specter. By painting him as a "true Republican" and closely associating him George Bush, they hope to undermine his electability. IOW, they know that their party is in the weeds and they know their #1 exemplar (Bush) is political kryptonite, so by holding him tight they hope to crush him to death.

It's an interesting gambit. "This candidate is a model Republican and a champion of our beloved twice-elected Republican president, so you'd have to be an idiot to vote for him".

/We live in weird times...

I am glad to hear you say it. This is just what it seemed like to me. But I had a hard time believing it.

Just think, a guy leaves your club, and you "crucify" him by claiming he's still a member.

mesohorny: kxs401: I am a registered voter in Pennsylvania, and the GOP will not succeed in tricking me with these wily shenanigans.

Maybe it's double reverse psychology. Maybe Spector came up with this idea?

Specter had that "R" next to his name AND he voted for Obama's Stimulus plan. I would think he could pull them in from both sides. Now he has to court a whole new base.

This is not smart. It has to be a matter of principle.

/I can hope

Iamnotmybrain: I'm a pinko communist baby-killer liberal, nonetheless, this campaign seems oddly creative for the Republicans. Good move on their part. I don't really see this as 'Specter votes with republicans = bad' but 'Specter is a hypocrite.' Most people dislike inconsistency. Smart move.

I think the people who don't like hypocricy and inconsistency left the GOP long ago. But it may affect others.

log_jammin: oh yeah! you wanna vote for HIM! HAHAHA! Well he's just like ME! Is THAT what you want?? someone just like ME??? Of course you don't! so don't vote for him since he's just like me, vote for me instead! Cause I'm nothing like him since he's just like me!

Vote me in 2010.

Nice try, but this is not about trying to convert every possible voter. If the other guy's supporters stay home, then the winner doesn't have to get 100% of eligible voters.

Have the Republicans been drinking again? Perhaps they had a meeting with Kennedy. When it comes to drinking, they are out of their league when going up against him.

EverWatcher: If the other guy's supporters stay home

fine. cause saying...

oh yeah! you wanna vote for HIM! HAHAHA! Well he's just like ME! Is THAT what you want?? someone just like ME??? Of course you don't! so don't vote for him since he's just like me. just don't vote for me instead! Cause I'm nothing like him since he's just like me!

is another brilliant strategy.

Unless Toomey runs ads of him cradling paralyzed babies and gently drying their tears after Specter has kicked the children into a gutter, the Reps won't win this time. It's Pennsylvania, remember, GOP? It's not "Obama vs. McCain: Brace Yourself, John", but Toomey has the uphill climb here.

mesohorny: kxs401: I am a registered voter in Pennsylvania, and the GOP will not succeed in tricking me with these wily shenanigans.

Maybe it's double reverse psychology. Maybe Spector came up with this idea?

Oh shiat, it's a trap!