(CNN) – After Arlen Specter bolted the GOP Tuesday, Republicans like party chair Michael Steele attacked him as a "leftist" with a history of "left-wing" stands.
That was yesterday.
Twenty-four hours later, his former colleagues in the Senate GOP are rushing to embrace Specter's past in a new campaign designed to highlight the consistency of his Republican record.
"In light of Senator Specter's changing political party, we felt it was our civic duty to adequately inform Pennsylvania Democrat primary voters about their new Senator's record and his close relationship with our former President George W. Bush," National Republican Senatorial Committee spokeswoman Amber Wilkerson said in a Wednesday announcement.
The effort includes a Web page featuring YouTube clips of Specter's positive comments about conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and Rick Santorum, and criticism of Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid. It also involves robocalls to Pennsylvania voters to "help you welcome your newest Democrat senator" that use audio from Specter's old campaign ads - audio featuring what the NRSC describes as "glowing support" from former President George W. Bush.
"I'm here to say it as plainly as I can, Arlen Specter is the right man for the United States Senate," says Bush in comments included in the new call. "I can count on this man - see, that's important. He's a firm ally when it matters most. I'm proud to tell you I think he's earned another term as the United States senator."
The remarks were made back in 2004, when the Bush's endorsement was widely credited with helping Specter eke out a narrow primary win over challenger Pat Toomey.
From CNN Politics
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Stupid is as spupid does. Eat there own.I support you.
how old is he? How bad is his cancer?
What value does he have?
HA! This is great! Use the two-faced weasel's own words against him.
You just have to laugh at the hypocrisy of the repukes.
When President Obama used the ties to the shrub it was "blame game" now it is the "praise game"?
i think it is his decision and the fact that they would bad mouth jom shows no loyalty or respect
The republicans are a vindictive group of people that will do anything below the belt to justify their means!!
GOP…you are under ARREST.
You have the right to remain ignorant.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a "voting booth."
You have the right to have former Att. Gen. Gonzales present during questioning.
If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you,
On your way OUT of the White House!!!
You're in denial...Goodbye and Good Riddance!
You can be sure Republicans will throw everything, including the kitchen sink at him. But he knows first hand how they operate, so he can withstand their assaults.
Specter is acting just like all the rest of the poloticians in DC; make all kind of promises to get elected and the jump ship from those that supported him. Talk about a turn coat, he sure is one!
Ghee! This oughta get conservatives to vote for Specter again!
Geez.... what a surprise that the GOP tried to use Dem voting against him and now try to use GOP voting against him.... Get real Rep's.
A -although I live in PA and support many issues the Senator supports, he prides himself on his honesty. His "honesty" should be seen in this new light. It's fair to use his words.
Come on and get serious with this story CNN. His switching parties is good for all. He votes left and pretends to be right. Nothing lost at all by the GOP. NO SPIN CNN.
I truly think he has done his best,so far so good.And please lets not forget this is just the BEGINNING OF A BRAND NEW START.
GOP still playing dirty dirty politics.....that's how mccain lost.....sad for america to have immature leaders in the house & the senate for all the bickerings.....to the nonsense-talking members of the house & senate, pls. grow up & work fFOR THE PEOPLE !! that's why you're there, for US !!
The Repubicans Party is known to eat their own so what new.
I think it is quite telling how the Republican party is reacting to Senator Spector's decision to switch parties. They are touting the close relationship back in 2004 with former president GWBush. That closeness alone should be enough for the people of Pennsylvania to realize that Senator Spector is right in understanding full well how far the Republican party has gone down the wrong road. More power to the Senator for having the guts to remove himself from such a downspiral.
Republican leaders are like the "Borg" on Star Trek keeping all their people in lock step. If one has an "Independent thought" and attempts to
re-indoctrinate them are unsuccessful, they are DESTROYED by their
very own.
Same nasty tactics that label the old dog republicans as nothing more than a hindress to the american people. Mean spirited has-bens.
It's in his favor for the GOP to be doing things like this. Most people can see the GOP is desperate and what they say only makes themselves look bad
There has always been disagreements within the DNC, and that is why I like them. You are FREE to have an opinion! If you have a differing opinion and you are in the GOP, you are called a 'traitor to your party.' I think Specter will get re-elected just from the sheer spitefulness being demonstrated by the Republicans.
Michael Steele attacked him as a "leftist" with a history of "left-wing" stands.***Did you get permission from Rush to open your Ghetto TRAP***BUTT KISSER
Smart tactic. Also smart on Specter to vote against the spending bill today. It makes no sense for a person who was supportive of the bailout to vote against the spending bill. Instead, since it was a guaranteed pass, he voted a symbolic vote to help show that he votes on his own terms. This man is a sellout. Obama better watch out.
What do you expect from the current Republican party? Honestly, they act like bullified children. It's embarassing and no wonder most of us have jumped ship.
i think senator specter did the right thing.congrat.
The problem with the GOP is they are very negative.
Their Motto Is:
ATTACK – ATTACK – ATTACK
We are very tired of it. We tell our kids not to such things. Maybe we should tell the GOP.
The party of WAR, ATTACK, LIE, CHEAT
Can the GOP get any more negative? And even their answer to that question would be – "No".
LOL can you say mixed message? is Specter a liberal who belongs in the democratic party for his liberal voting record, or is he a staunch conservative that should be beaten in a democratic primary, maybe he really is just an independent minded senator who is simply looking for a party to be involved in to help his constituents. Guess we will ahve to see what his democratic constituents feel eh?
Specter is the "poster child" for TERM LIMITS. He is an aged, senile, ailing Senior Citizen that is a "Legend in his own mind" and should be sequestered in a retirement home. These old farts hang on way to long and prevent younger new blood from joining the government. GO HOME ARLEN IT'S OVER!!!
while i agree that this is anti Specter rhetoric.... isn't it also anti – the rest of the republican bunch?
these people are hysterical
Who can blame Specter as millions of us moderate and liberal Republicans also leave a radical-right party that no longer represents us or, more importantly, most of America. How silly to be fighting cultural wars long ago decided when team-playing is necessary during this national crisis (largely created by the GOP's policies)! Worst of all, our loss of the younger generations guarantees increasing irrelevance in the future. What a sad fate for a once great party that trumpeted liberty, personal responsibility, and individualism. Lincoln would cry.
Tactics as the ones the GOP are using against Specter in Pennsylvania are sickening. Have they not learned a lesson from the Presidential election 100 days ago? Just 99 days ago before he made a decision to work with the administration – with a different political party, all was well. Now all hell breaks out–Looking for faults.SICK,SICK,SICK
Nutty. Could they think of any way to more marginalize their own party?
So the GOP is saying the fact that Bush supported Spector in past campaigns, is a NEGATIVE for Spector? If the GOP believes Bush is a negative, whey would anyone trust them?
@ John Doe.
The same can be said for Kennedy, Byrd and Bunning. These guys are turning the US Senate into the world's most expensive nursing home.
I want to see a caring, young blood, charismatic Democrat run for
this office, not the opportunist Specter. He should throw in the towel
and call it a day.
Surely the Democrats can come up with someone better than a man
that has switched parties 3 TIMES!! Democrat-Republican-Democrat.
Please, we need some young Democratic leaders that care about the middle class!!! Bring in the new. I am sick of these Specter KIND!
Wow.What a party that has lost all touch of reality.The party of No,and
they wonder why Sen.Specter left them behind.All they have to do each day look into a mirror and asked what hace I accomplised for my
country today? Not what have I done for myself and complained
about the Democrats.Time to take a hard look at their actions.
I understand left...................... it's ok for you guys to use Bush to slander somebody but how dare the GOP do it......
As usual..... a bunch of hypocrits.
Spector after all was a mirror of what Bush did most of his 8 years.
Nice and dirty, good job GOP, no honor amongst a one of you thieves.
This is quite simple. The GOP is laying the groundwork for a leftist challenger in the Democrat primary election to beat Sen. Specter. They know that if a serious leftist wins, Mr. Toomey will crush said leftist to win the general election in November of 2010.
I hope they come up with a medicine to combat what the R party has contracted.
It's UGLY
Now they're eating their own. No wonder Specter left. When will they stop all this nonsense, when their numbers in the senate are down in the teens and about 10% actually call themselves Republicans? Do they not realize all this purist stuff is starting to sound Nazi-ish?
Here's the deal GOP. Do you really think that Pennsylvania Democrats will care what you have to say over someone like Arlen Specter who is well respected by by them. Do you think they will reject him for walking away from the GOP after your behavior that he has witnessed since President Obama's election. Also why would you put those adds out now? Why not wait until he is actually running in an election as a Democrat? You look and sound petty and childish.
R in Mississippi April 29th, 2009 10:44 pm ET
It's in his favor for the GOP to be doing things like this. Most people can see the GOP is desperate and what they say only makes themselves look bad
__________________
R in Mississippi, if you haven't taken the steps to see what Republicans are saying on their blogs.... the reality is that the only people who don't think the GOP is desperate and in damage control over Arlen Specter's political decision are the Republicans themselves....
Watch out for Specter, I don't trust him or the Republicans.
These contradictions from the RNC are very scary. What the USA and the rest of the world would have looked if these republicans retained the W.H???
lying, self-serving, weasel. Glad he's in the Obama camp where he can now stab the Dems in the back. Kind of reminds me of Bill Richardson who knifed Hillary in the back but then got his. These people like Specter need to learn that what goes around comes around.
You can just smell the wood burning in GOP strategy sessions to discredit him... uh, he's a lefty anyway... uh, no wait... let's go with an ad campaign to peg him to Bush so he'll loose his race.
Do we really need a senator that switches parties simply because he'll have a better shot at re-election? Heck, the previous president started a war to make sure he got a second term, which was his primary objective during his first term.
Arlen Specter will soon be Pennsylvania's ex-senator. I genuinely wish him well in retirement.
one moment the Repubs are pushing Spector out the door faster than than they can say get out because he was too liberals or moderate for a right-wing conservative party, and now they're having an ad saying he's just like us, loving Bush.....
The Republican party is just so weak....face it, the GOP is doomed to fail again and again!
Let's see Specter had no problem being critical of the GOP, so I guess fair is fair. I say good riddance to Specter, he is not in it for the people, he is in it for himself. No great loss there.
Oh get over it folks! the dems were going ballistic to whenever one of their own switch sides. But as for Specter, he's just an old man trying to hold onto his senate powers anyway he can. All the more reasons for limiting the old farts to just two terms and hit the streets jack!
I keep thinking that the GOP cannot get any nastier, but they have proven me wrong again. Where is this Steele guy coming from? If you leave or say somenting about the Republican Party, you better watch out because the dirty stuff wiill come and come and come.
For once, I do agree with the GOP- Specter is doing this to save his own job. I really think the democrats should think twice about trusting him and welcoming him with open arms. I saw a rant by Chris Matthews yesterday where he nailed it....
As a democrat, i'm excited to get another dem in congress....HOWEVER..this defection from Specter is a selfish move...he's doing it only for his own POLITICAL gain...he doesn't care about the democratic party, he's in it just to win and he knows it! he's lame for that...hopefully a REAL democrat will join the ticket and beat him...he's already said NO to Obama's budget....I don't trust ANY republican...defected or not!
21% of the country currently identifies themselves as Republicans. Why are we even having this discussion? The GOP is going the way of the dinosaurs and the dodo bird...
Rush limbaugh wanted President Obama to fail, but it seems the only thing failing now is the republican party.
They should have a commercial with Dick Cheney in it. He's popular and non-polarizing right?
Arlen is a joke! I have distrusted him dating all the way back to the Anita Hill
hearings. Get real, people, this joke has got to go!! The irony of it all is that because Obama is backing him (for his own political gain) the people with their heads in the sand will do as told and vote him back in. Too bad!
Not a good first impression voting against your own parties budget. If he was more in tune with Democrats, then why doesn't he like their big tax AND spending budget. Total Clintonian to want to have all sides on every issue. Like John Kerry, I was for it before I voted against it. Must have accidently brought his Republican notes when making that vote. PA Democrats will pass on him and elect a real Democrat in the primary.
So the argument is that Specter is liked by both the republicans and the democrats? I don't get it? You mean conservatives like Specter so any sane person would not?
Isn't this more of an ad against the republican party than against Specter? I'm really confused.
What ever happened to Steele's "more inclusive", "big tent", and "room for people with different views" decriptions of the "new" Republican party he wanted to build (remember his speech about reaching out to the hip-hop generation?). His comments are sending a strong message to moderates: the Republican party does not want you.
I think there will be more defections of moderates, as the Republican party relentlessly and purposefully continues to narrow its demographic into a marginalized odd-ball collection of paranoid geriatric white southerners, desperate robber barons, and Talebanesque religious fanatics. That combination alone should make for hilarious conventions!