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[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/05/19/specter.arlen.loss.gi.art.jpg caption="Sen. Arlen Specter, a former Republican, lost to Rep. Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania's Democratic Senate primary."]
Specter's loss, Paul's win shake up murky political map
(CNN) – Voters sent mixed signals in Tuesday's primary elections in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Arkansas. They tossed out a veteran senator, nominated a Tea Party-backed candidate and also chose a longtime aide to fill the U.S. House seat vacated by the death of Democratic Rep. John Murtha.
In another closely watched race, Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln failed to win more than 50 percent of the vote and faces a June 8 runoff in the Arkansas Senate primary to decide the party's candidate in November.
The results reinforced the perception of anger across the country against Washington politics-as-usual, but also showed the public discontent may be aimed at both Democrats and Republicans.
In Pennsylvania, voters rejected longtime incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter's bid to run for a sixth Senate term, choosing Rep. Joe Sestak as the Democratic nominee for Senate in November. Read more
Latest: Arkansas | Kentucky | Penn.
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CNN keeps going on about incumbants being voted out...and who do they ask to explain the trend....Fred Thompson...too funny!!
You would be hard pressed to find one legal immigrant w/ a job in Appalachia, let alone an illegal immigrant w/ one!!!
No Melon, the GOP is trying to silence even debates on the issues. Obstructing most bills from even an up/down vote!!!
Raymond... there aren't any job Americans won't do but they do need to make a living wage. You comment is nothing more than Pro Illegal Alien propaganda.
If one illegal alien has a job in Appalachia – it's a problem.
Fred Thompson is a culprit! I don't know how Kiran can ask him for an explanation on the current state of affairs.
A country lawyer geesh Thompson you know about small town justice cause I do...the constitution is a good thing in a small town if you can afford it!
Does anyone really believe that BP is recovering 40% of the leaked oil after the release of the latest video?
Actually Pauly.... the Democrats kept changing the "rules" of the "debate" to block the Republicans from voicing their opinions ... same thing.
Why is CNN giving airtime to Fred Thompson? No one wanted to listen to him when he was running for the GOP Presidential nomination. Not even Republicans. So why do you think we want to hear him now? Too many pundits & also rans in the media already.
No Melon, not like the Dems did to the GOP during the health care reform debate. They voted down many amendments by the GOP but they didn't block the vote!!! Please take your own advice & research the fact that the GOP is using blocks & filibusters in numbers never before seen in the history of this great country!!!!
Immigration was not a problem when we were paying Mexicans $6.00 an hour for during all the work we did not want to do. What we need is immigration reform, not fascist laws. Let sanction the employers who hire and exploit them, not the poor souls trying to feed their families.
Melon, you keep telling others to research but you usually throw things out there that are based on little more than your opinion. Jobs in Appalachia were scarce before this recession. Most illegal immigrants are drawn to areas where they can find work. They seek to get out of poverty not get deeper into it. So my comments had nothing to do w/ Appalachia not being near the border.
MeLoN the point i was trying to make was the props given to the tea party for getting him the win when both democratic candidates had more votes and no one has made a point of that. If you added the total votes more dems voted than the energized repubs driven by the highly noted tea partiers. It may not mean anything but maybe it does. I think they get more credit than they deserve. Kentucky is suppose to be a republican state.
Last night should be more of a wake-up call to the Republicans than to the Democrats. Even thought McConnell, Cheney and Palin supported Grayson, Rand Paul pulled off the upset. He should be easier for the Dems to beat because he has the Tea Party support but also goes off on tangents that are not general election friendly. The Dems retained Sen. Murtha's seat even though the Republicans thought they could take it. Sen. Specter has had a long, admiral career but probably Sestak has a lot better chance at beating Toomey. Sen. Lincoln has a good chance of winning her run-off election so don't count her out. The mood of the country may have been oversimplified by the media which isn't a surprise. Maybe the voters are most angry at the party of NO who were the ones who wouldn't work in Washington, tried to obstruct everything, wouldn't try to compromise and have tried to keep the administration from getting most things done. The Dems wanted to work but if they go it alone they get criticized for it. They can't please these people.
Why are there young men here from the middle east, illegally, living the American dream, when our young folks are over in their countries, putting their lives on hold (and loosing them), fighting for their freedom/safety?
Bring our citizens home and deport illegals then deny entry to anyone from the middle east until they get their countries sorted out!
Am I the only one to feel like so many back seat drivers and nowhere to go.
Just want to inform Kiran that she misspoke a few moments ago. Pennsylvania did not vote in favor of Mccain in the 2008 election. President Obama not only won that state, he did so by 10 or more percentage points!
Do people really think that switching political parties make their political record and voting history go away. We are finally xeroscapnig the political landscape, instead of watering the lavious lawns of goverment!
Pauly.. sort of like what the Democrats did to the Republicans at the time of the health care reform "debate", eh?
Jeff in reply to your statement
– we ought to make politics like jury duty,no elections just names from a pool.you serve your termand thats it-
Read the book targeted for release in November because it changes the way we select public officials as well it introduces random selection to key law making.
While the media was focused on the primaries, the Grand Obstrctionist Party struck again! from HuffPost:
Senate Republicans blocked Democrats from voting on three amendments Tuesday that are strongly opposed by Wall Street.
Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the top-ranking Republican on the Banking Committee, rose to object to a vote on one of the most talked-about amendments, cosponsored by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). Levin-Merkley would ban commercial banks from trading for their own benefit with taxpayer-backed money.
Shelby also objected to an amendment from Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) that would rein in predatory practices of payday lenders and one from Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) that would have banned naked credit default swaps, which were at the heart of the financial crisis. Dorgan's amendment was expected to fail, but Levin-Merkley had been surging in recent days.
When it looked as if Levin-Merkley had at least 50 votes, the threshold was moved up to 60. Now that it appears within striking distance of 60 votes, the new tactic is to deny it a vote altogether.
Why is the media equating Sen Specter's defeat as part of the anti incumbent sentiment. Sestak was recruited by the PA Democratic party to challange Sen Specter for the Senate seat in the 2010 election. When Sen Specter switched parties the PA Democratic party had to chose which would be the stronger candadite to keep the Senate seat. Sestak was their choice. That is why Sen Specter received only token support from the Democratic party.
In Pa every US House incumbent was renominated. Also Critz won the special election to keep Murtha's seat in the Democratic column.Anti incumbent sentiment did not appear to be apparent in this election.
Enforce immigration laws as they stand? A report released yesterday shows that AZ's new law will actuaaly make more illegal immigrants semi-legal. When an illegal is picked up & faces deportation, they have a right to appeal. They are usually given low bonds & released.
During the appeal process, that currently takes up to 5 years, they are eligible for drivers licenses & work visas. Twenty-five per cent of these people don't ever show up for their appeal hearings!!!
We were facing a depression. If Obama had done nothing, we would have all been eating out of pots. The mistake he made was not taking over the banks putting them in receiveship.
definition:
In law , receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver , a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of ...
The banks took our money and froze the credit markets. I agree, no more dam bailouts.
Joe from North Carolina.... Didn't Clinton leave Bush with NAFTA?... Or the deregulation of Wall Street?... Yes he did. Simple as. And both of those "items" caused major problems during the Bush years. The typical Democrat then blames Bush for the state of the economy – which is totally wrong. The blame should be laid where the root cause of the problem started .. ie ... Clinton.
Pauly... there is an illegal alien problem in Appalachia as there is in EVERY state of a America. Do some research. Also.. research THIS... how much is spent out of every federal tax dollars paid by the taxpayers of Michigan (about as far away from the border as a state can get) to fight and/or support illegal aliens. It is the same in every state. Those tax dollars would be better spent helping the people that actually pays them – not to non citizens that are in the country illegally.
Richardson is wrong. It is Arizona's right to protect it's self when the federal Government fails to do it's job.
Term limits? YES! Those that are already dancing in the streets over the results of these elections do not get to excited. Now that the "say anything, promise everything" phase of "trying" to get elected, is over lets give them some time and see how they act when faced with reality. It really tickles me that people "think?" things are going to change just because "their" candidate got elected. The REAL problem is that neither parties can agree on anything! WHY? Because they ALL have their own pet projects, and OUR problems are way down the list. SO, the only way I see to get their attention is to VOTE EVERYONE of them OUT! Start over, how worse off could we be?
What's the unemployment rate in NM? Now, what's the percentage of illegal aliens in NM?
Correlate!
CNN's talking points are getting more than a little tired. Rand Paul won a Republican primary with the backing of the tea party; however, he did so with fewer votes than either of the Democrats running in their own primary. What about the Democratic win of Murtha's seat over the tea party backed candidate?? Prior to this vote all your pundits were saying that this election was going to be the defining one.
What about the fact that just over a million votes were cast in the contest in the Pennsylvania contest in the Democratic primary there? Seems like you decided before the votes were cast how you were going to frame these elections regardless of the outcomes.
CNN once again is trying to MAKE news rather than REPORT it!!
We don't WANT 'comprehensive immigration reform' we want ENFORCEMENT
thank you melon,i got a sackful of others if you wanna hear them.
I'll vote for the first politician to promise to enforce immigration laws as they stand, and sign a contract to leave office if they don't within 1 month of taking office.
Why are there Pakistani men in this country (illegally), getting married, buying businesses, etc... while OUR young men and women are in Pakistan putting their lives on hold – or loosing them all together- to fight for their freedom????
Regarding the (uninteresting) Soldier's Story you continue to air, why is Brandon getting a pass? If he can't handle his kid alone, what does this say about his ability to be a parent? And his youth doesn't excuse but rather reinforces the question. Him caving after three weeks on his own also help reinforces the misconception that men cannot be single parent. Too bad as it's a missed opportunity on all fronts.
MeloN I get $648 a month and $48 dollars food stamps. I pay the State of Texas $148.50 of that in probation fees for a DWI! I pay electric, gas and Water-sewage plus property taxes. House insurance and taxes with my everyday spending and I'm not complaining. You couldn't give me an automobile.
I have a brother that paid over $3 million in income taxes his last two years in business before retirement and he was angry and upset with the Bush tax cuts because he said he wanted to pay more of his share.
Right here on CNN during the Larry King Show when he was interviewing fomer President I heard President Clinton tell Larr King, "Larry, you and I don't need a tax cut"!
What gives? Should the wealthy pay more taxes? Is a 78 pound Robin fat?
And Melon, Specter was a Dem before he switched to the GOP. It's just that he has been a Republican for so long people forget what happened 30+ years ago!!!
Melon, there isn't an illegal immigration problem in Appalachia!!!
I don't know why you are spending so much time and effort in covering the primaries in such an unstable world, where anything can happen to make your political analysis completely off. Americans are not angry at the political establishment alone, they need to get even with any living human being anywhere on the planet. Obviously, the worst thing that can happen is for the rest of the world to begin feeling in the same way and to reciprocate. This outpouring of emotions with no boundary is ugly and scary, as it may lead the world into worst and unthinkable scenarios. I see no reason to rejoice at the current cleansing movement, given that ultimately I am scarred that rain may come to cancel the parade. Don't we know better by now, and are we so fed up with the laisser-faire attitudes of political leaders that each and everyone of us individually have to take the matter in our own hands. The danger appears so obvious, why is it so, and why are we letting desperate people do desperate things. We are moving so far from the equilibrium socially and politically, that we risk changing the whole landscape, or the curves, all together forever.
Melon, from Newsweek:
It's up to President Obama and the Democrats to make libertarian thinking the issue in the fall - by proving that the philosophy, if actually implemented, would mean the end of Social Security, Medicare, student scholarships and even the Interstate Highway System.
Paul, named for libertarian radical writer Ayn Rand, favors shutting down the IRS, the Fed, the American military presence overseas, the Department of Education and much of the rest of the federal government.
Tell that boy to man up and let his wife do her thing pursing her dream. I am a single fatehr of 5 and was the sole provider and caretaker for my children for the last 8 plus years. My oldest was barley 10 and my youngest was not yet 2 whne I found myswelf wokring and caring for my 5 children full time.
Tell that boy to be a man and handle his 2 year old daughter and enjoy it, he is not providing a good example for fotehrs and dads everywhere.
The military MOM ought to divorce that deadbeat father/husband she has. He isn't much of a man if he can't care for his own child.
The only office won yesterday was Murtha's old seat in PA's 12th. Critz (D) handily beat Burns (R). The GOP poured a lot of money & effort to try to gain this seat. They failed!
Actually, it was a bad day for the GOP. Rep Souder became the latest family values conservative to get caught in an affair. Also lost in all the hoopla over the primaries was Kerik, (remember him? Bush's 1st choice for Homeland Secuirty Chief), reported to prison. Sen Inhofe blocked a bill to raise the liability cap on oil co's which was also mostly ignored. As was the defeat of 3 amendments to the financial reform bill.
How does the GOP plan to win the independent vote when they are defending financial giants like Goldman-Sachs & oil giants like BP? There are a few Dems who also support/supported these giants and/or the insurance giants. This is why Licoln was forced into a runoff by angry Dems.
It's time for our lawmakers to represent the people rather than corporate America. However, after the SCOTUS ruling allowing corp's to spend as much money as possible on elections, it's not going to happen anytime soon. The one good thing about incumbents is they have voting records. Americans need to check & recheck these records prior to voting.
MeLon,
I was just curious how old you were when Clinton was in office? Our budget was actually balanced and we had a surplus. That didn't seem like much of a problem to me. There was the sex thing, but I'll take the balanced budget over his personal sexcapades any day.
I do like Bush as a person. But, he had a personal stake in the Iraqi war. I Espercially like his wife. She is really kind.
------------
May 19th, 2010 7:10 am ET
Joe from North Carolina..... don't you remember the problems Bush inherited Clinton?... or doesn't that mean anything to you?
Jeff.. that is the excellent idea I have heard in quite the while
we ought to make politics like jury duty,no elections just names from a pool.you serve your termand thats it
David... it means absolutely NOTHING... which was the reason for my rhetorical question earlier.
I do not care if a Dem., Rep, or Tea Party wins!!! I want to see every politician in office kicked out!! People are tired of record unemployment and Washington continues to play games. Unless you are a millionare you would be crazy to think ANYONE in Washington cares about you and your faimly. Do you really think any politician stays awake at night wondering how they will provide for thier childern?? I can not wait to vote!!
what does the fact that both democratic candidates had more votes than Rand Paul mean.
The Tea Party’s influence in the primaries is a bite over rated. The primaries proved that their influence does not go any further than the Republican Party and forces on the extreme right. They poured thousands of dollars in Pennsylvania to win Jack Murter’s seat, but failed. The American people are upset with both parties, but they are not willing to accept candidates who are to far on the right. Lincoln was targeted by Move On org. She will probably loose in the run-off in June. The message for the Obama Administration is that he needs to take a more aggressive approach when dealing with the Republicans are he will be looking for another job in 2012.
P Marin... I know how primaries work... it was a rhetoitcal question directed at another person's comment...scroll back and see.....
And a major part of the inflated budget is Obama's fault... he increased spending at least 3-fold.
They haven't used any of these comments on tv do they?
Re: Rand Paul...He sounds just like his father. Congrats to him but Is he his own man or is he just saying what his "Father" wants him to say or to believe?
The South is compromised of tyranno coliticians as evidenced by their membership i n the Confederacy which recoginized that some men where created unequal.
See the true constitution began in era as it was forced to recoginize slavery. In 1857 the Supreme Court the Supreme Court ruked in a 5 to 2 decison that Congress could not ban slavery from the terrorities. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney wrote that Negroes "had no rights which any white man was bound to respect". They have belly-ached ever since the end of slavery in the Civil War.
Politicians from the south have mainly excercised under the guise of hatred. Rand Paul should go to Iraq and fight for free and not take tax payers monies in Military support.
Real people or the voters have been electing this mess we are already in. The immediate step is to have the Social Security Trust fund become owners of all electric companies. Last nights profits from the electricity goes to the people for the people and by the people.
I'm not sure that everything being read into these primaries is correct..
Sounds more like an 'ok! time to change players' moment.
re:MeLon asking how Paul won- it's called a primary dear. Republicans against other republicans; democrats against other democrats!
Joe from North Carolina..... don't you remember the problems Bush inherited Clinton?... or doesn't that mean anything to you?
Are there parts of the US that's not proverty stricken?... Parts of every state is. Another reason to stop the invasion of illegal aliens.
One can't consider Specter as one would other politicians.
Specter only turned Democrat because he thought he couldn't be elected as a Republican. He was a fool. He is a turncoat.
Nobody likes a turncoat.
I just listened to the Rand Paul interview. It sounded like he was blaming the inflated federal budget on President Obama. Doesn't he remember that the inflated federal budget was inherited from President Bush?
That's not what Rand Paul said.
Maybe you should attempt to listen to what is actually SAID before spewing the party line. It's amazing ... a person can say something and some people listening can hear something entirely different that what was said.
Also, Please try being part of the SOLUTION instead of being part of the continuing PROBLEM.
KY residents have been anti-govt, especially "anti-revenooers," for a very long time. However, I wonder how they will vote when they realize Paul wants to end Social Security & Medicare. He wants to repeal the American w/ Disability Act also. Parts of KY are already poverty stricken. What will happen if you take away benefits from the elderly & disabled?
Many KY residents worked hard for years in coal mines only to be forced into retirement/disability w/ black lung disease. All they have to show for it is their SS checks. The mining co's didn't take care of them while they were working & sure aren't doing much for them now that they are disabled/retired.
I know Pauly – that was a rhetorical question.
15 days of quesioning .. or torture?
Melon, the Dems voted for the Dem candidates while Reps voted for their's. That's what primaries are about, who's going to represent them in the elections! Rand Paul only won the nomination, not an office!
Replace both Republicans and Democrats with Americans.
Republicans and Democrats are AINOs.
If there is truly an anti-incumbent movement in this country, the voters should join the rest of us who have been supporting term limits for many years. If the President can be limited to 2 terms, why aren't Congresspeople? The longer a person is in Congress, the cozier they get w/ the lobbyists & special interests.
If the Democrats had more votes .. how did Rand Paul win then?
It may not be as exciting as predicting what outcomes of yesterday's primaries mean, but whatever happened to the old adage, "All politics are local"? Since your talking heads will be telling us all morning what the results mean for November, please note that in the Senate primary in PA the total votes were 1,045,520 Dems and 818,604 "R's"; do you suppose that means anything???
The primaries yesterday proved little. Specter lost because after voting against him for decades, many Dems couldn't vote for him. Lincoln was forced into a runoff because many Dems are mad at her recent voting record.
There was no incumbent in the KY primaries. Rand Paul's dad is one of the longest serving Congressmen so his victory can't really be called anti-establishment/anti-incumbent.
In OR, Sen Wyden is still on the November ticket. So out of four races, only 1 incumbent actually lost the nomination. And even in that primary, another incumbent won, Sestak. So much for the spin from the media.
.. Rand Paul of Kentucky.
Arlen Specter is eighty years old and lost his primary to run for another term. John McCain is seventy-three and he is losing the upper hand in the polls; there's no country for old men.
Good Morning Kiran!
Nice to see the CNN censor hard at work this morning already... lol...
Good thing Spector is OUT.
Democratic mouthpiece spewing about what the Republicans are doing while the Democrats are doing that exact same thing.
would someone make the point that both democratic candidates had more votes than Rand Paul. I know you need something to talk about and you probably have your talking points to do, but the tea party is not that important. Only about 20% of the public and they get way to much credit.
It's nice to see that Sara Palin isn't all that she thinks she is! Only one of the "Tea Party" endorsed politicians won last night. And we all know who he was.