| Earlier this week, I wrote about the fundraiser for Sen. Arlen Specter that featured DSCC chair Sen. Bob Menendez that will occur later this month. Another interesting name on that invitation was Steve Pigeon, who played a huge role in the disruption of the New York State Senate.
The Pigeon connection alone isn't good for Specter. Pigeon, while a former Erie County Democratic Party chair who has been photographed with Democratic Party leaders like former President Bill Clinton, has done more to hurt the Democratic Party than help it. He has ties with Republicans, including Sen. George Maziarz, which were key in coming up with the coup plan to begin with.
Pigeon's destruction has been seen in Erie County, where he recently canceled a fundraiser benefiting Buffalo mayor Byron Brown, who has been a Pigeon ally, and where he is still wreaking havoc. It was announced earlier this week that Pigeon teamed up with Republican Chris Collins to force a Democratic primary with Erie County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz.
For Pigeon, it's about furthering his own political agenda, not supporting the Democratic Party. That is why his support of Specter (and Specter's presumed acceptance of that support) is questionable.
But Pigeon also had some help in the coup. He admitted last week that Roger Stone was in on the action too. Stone, of course, is a shady Republican political operative who has done a lot of his own damage in New York and also has ties to Specter.
So Arlen Specter, who switched from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party in late April, is siding with two characters who have been key players in the dysfunction going in the New York State Senate. Pigeon and Stone both had a hand in taking apart the Democratic majority (something both men surely got a lot of pleasure out of) and now Specter, who is trying to show just how much of a Democrat he is, is welcoming their support. Pigeon is playing a role in raising money for him and Stone has held a fundraiser in the past for Specter.
If I were the DSCC and Pennsylvania Democrats, I would be asking questions about who Specter is aligning himself with. These aren't Democrats. Roger Stone is definitely not a Democrat. Steve Pigeon might claim that he is a Democrat, but he is not. He has helped lead many fights against Democrats over the years. Specter shouldn't be aligning himself with these two individuals if he wants to be supported by Democrats, not only in Pennsylvania, but outside of Pennsylvania as well. |
