Tom,

Though not a resident of Pennsylvania (live in MD), I've been reading about the primary battle with interest. I'm also rooting for Toomey and, if Toomey does not win, it might just be best for a liberal Democrat to take Specter's place to clear the field for the next Republican primary.

Here's what Opinionjournal.com had to say on this issue:

Goliath Specter

ALTOONA, Pa.--Republicans will be focused on Pennsylvania come November because capturing its 21 electoral votes almost certainly would mean a second term for President Bush. Conservatives, however, have reason to tune in to the state a lot sooner.

On April 27, GOP Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania's notoriously liberal pain in the trunk, will face conservative challenger Pat Toomey in a primary contest. A Toomey upset, say many on the right, would be a shot across the bow and send an important message to other "moderate" darlings of the Washington press corps: Continue to undermine your caucus--and for the past three years, your president--and you, too, might pay a political price in the form of a primary challenge.

Mr. Specter, first elected to the Senate in 1980 and seeking a fifth term, epitomizes the conservatives' dilemma. As Mr. Toomey put it during their debate here last weekend, "Whether we're talking about economic, social, legal, cultural or business issues, Senator Specter has a long history of voting with liberals."
Mr. Specter was one of President Reagan's most consistent Republican foes and one of President Clinton's most reliable allies. He's voted for five of the largest tax hikes in history and has opposed eight attempts to cut taxes in the past nine years. The senator is all for choice when it comes to abortion--even the partial-birth variety--but he draws the line at giving the underprivileged parental choice in schooling.

As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr. Specter has blocked conservative judges such as Robert Bork and Jeff Sessions. And while he strongly supported Clarence Thomas's nomination to the Supreme Court, he has since expressed "disappointment" with Justice Thomas's performance.

In Mr. Toomey, the incumbent senator faces a challenger with principled conservative views and the voting record to back them up. Mr. Toomey, who has represented the Allentown area of eastern Pennsylvania since 1998, has used his time in the House to push for everything that Mr. Specter resists: lower taxes, less spending, limited government and a social agenda in tune with his party's mainstream. The congressman has stood by the president on the war on terror. The senator's reaction to the capture of Saddam was to announce that he should be tried in the International Criminal Court and that the death penalty should be off the table.

Fearing that GOP primary voters might not abide his liberalism, Mr. Specter has spent the past year doing what he typically does in the fifth year of his term when facing a conservative primary challenger, as he was in 1986, 1992 and 1998. The senator has shifted rightward in behavior for the balance of the campaign to neutralize his opponent. Thanks to Mr. Toomey, for example, Mr. Specter has taken a hiatus from holding up court picks in committee. And after doing all he could to help Democrats shrink the 2001 tax cuts, he was an outspoken proponent of last year's tax package.

MORE...

Isn't Specter the brainchild behind the magic bullet theory in the JFK assassination?

If he was, then somebody should ask him if he still believes that crock.

Specter has been responsible for more dirt than was removed from the pit at the twin towers site. But, if Tom Bux and David Flanagan support Pat Toomey, I fear he must be totally off the heezey. I will be following up on whether Toomey is an utter nutcase when I've done some research.

Diva, I'm sure you will decide Toomey is a TOTAL "nutcase" as you said, or worse. By that, I mean simply that Toomey is a strong mainstream conservative- far to the right of Arlen Specter.

What are the odds of you approving of any kind of conservative Republican? Therefore, let me save you some valuable research time. Just say Toomey is a racistwhitesupremicistneo-confederateklansman. And those are his good points.

There- run that through your thesaurus, and you've got your report on Pat Toomey.

Add water, makes it's own sauce.

XOX

And, I'm back with the goods. Pat Toomey is way out there even by Right standards. Once I started thinking about the ole Keystone State, I remembered who he is from my Pennsylvania days. Read about Toomey at Mac-a-ro-nies. I will post the entry to Blogcritics after running some errands. A girl's got to buy groceries, you know.

I prefer Toomey to Specter.

The problem is, Toomey is unlikely to win against the Democrat, Hoeffel, in November. Which means it will be harder for Bush to win PA's Electoral College votes. And Bush REALLY NEEDS PA in the upcoming Presidential election.

So I'm still not sure what is the best outcome. But I suspect Toomey will win the Primary...

Tom, us conservatives here in California wish you luck with the conquest against Specter. I hope he falls flat on his face personally.