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April 26, 2004,
1:13 p.m.
Toomey vs. Specter
More than a dime’s worth of difference.
Free market conservatives often voice frustration that in most elections voters see little ideological difference between the candidates — especially in primary races. As Kellyanne Conway of the polling company has put it, too often conservative voters are forced to choose between "vanilla and French vanilla."
Not so in Pennsylvania's primary election for Senate on Tuesday. Here voters have a choice between vanilla and chocolate-fudge brownie. The contrasts in the voting records of incumbent Arlen Specter and challenger Pat Toomey could hardly be more stark. To highlight those distinctions, I constructed a list below of the clarifying differences between what these two candidates stand for.
| Toomey | Specter | |
| National Taxpayers Union Rating | Grade A | Grade C+ |
| Supports School choice for parents | Yes | No |
| Position on Bush tax cut | Make it much bigger | Make it much smaller |
| Medical Malpractice reform | Yes | No |
| Trial Lawyer Campaign Support | close to 0 | $1.3 million |
| # of Votes for Higher Taxes | 0 | 6 |
| Citizens Against Govt Waste | A Rating | Porker of the Year |
| Amer. Conservative Union Rating | 96 | 43 |
| Support for Free Trade | Yes | Sometimes |
| Taxpayer funds for abortions | No | Yes |
| Support National Endowment for Arts | No | Yes |
| Voted on $530 Medicare Drug Bill | No | Yes |
| Private Accounts For Social Security | Yes | Depends on when he's asked |
| Farm Subsidies | No | Yes |
In sum, fiscal conservatives finally have a race where there is no just a dime's worth of difference, but hundreds of billions of dollars worth.
Polls show that more than 1/3rd of self-professed conservatives in Pennsylvania are leaning toward voting for Arlen Specter. This is like an oak tree voting for a chainsaw. If conservatives do vote for Specter, they may be suffering from buyer's remorse for the next six long years.
