Now soon after Specter's announcement several high profile Republicans came out to slam the move and dispute his characterization of the party. According to them he was just running from the fight and Toomey was a mainstream candidate who could win not only the primary but also the general election. There was all kinds of fantasy based happy talk saying that Specter leaving the party was a great development for the GOP. This was supposedly the first step in the resurgence of the party they said.
Well it seems like since those proclamations some lightbulbs have come on with other people in the Republican party and they are starting to see the truth of Specter's words.
Still stunned by Arlen Specter's party switch, Republican senators are pessimistic about the chances for conservative GOP hopeful Pat Toomey in the Pennsylvania Senate race.
"I don't think there is anybody in the world who believes he can get elected senator there," said Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the vice chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Asked if the NRSC would back Toomey, Hatch said, "I don't think so" and that the party should look for "someone who can win there."
Now think about what Hatch is saying here. He is saying that a guy who is up 20 pts over Specter in a Republican primary has absolutely no chance in hell of beating Specter in a general election. That is about as close to an admission that the party is now dominated by the fringe of not only the GOP but also the fringe of Pennsylvania in general as you will probably ever see. But that is the state of the Republican party today and as Olympia Snowe pointed out in her op-ed Pennsylvania is just a microcosm of what is going on in that party nationwide. And what makes it worse is that some leaders in the Republican party seem to think this is a good thing.
Well written, well thought out, and the truth shall continue to set them free.
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