Every Speech a Filibuster

Arlen Specter doesn't need to sweat about a potential challenge from Chris Matthews--at least, not yet. The euphoniously-named Public Policy Polling has just released a new poll, which shows Matthews trailing Specter by a not-at-all-insignificant 40%-27% margin.

It's not exactly good news for Specter, though. Pundits always say that an incumbent's in danger if their numbers drop below 50%. I'd peg the danger zone a bit lower, maybe around 45%, but 40% is a definite warning light.

Matthews probably wouldn't beat Specter. I mean, the man makes Joe Biden look like Calvin Coolidge. Forget gaffe-a-minute; he'd be a gaffe machine, cranking 'em out one after another. He simply cannot shut up.

That doesn't mean Specter's invincible, though. The Pennsylvania Democrats have a lot more weapons than just Chris Matthews. What if, for instance, Ed Rendell decides he wants to go to Washington? He could make it a real race. In fact, I'd even say Rendell would be favored in that matchup.

Pennsylvania also has a ton of Democratic House members, many of them newly-minted products of the '06 and '08 elections. Guys like Chris Carney or Joe Sestak could prove a real challenge to Specter, assuming they have the nerve to take him on.

Which leads me to a larger point. For the GOP, the consequences of two consecutive electoral wipeouts are going to be felt for the next couple years. Everywhere except the South, the GOP benches are dangerously thin. We just don't have the manpower to compete in many gubernatorial and senatorial races.

If the GOP wants to become competitive again, we need to step up candidate recruitment now. Right. Now.