A devastating poll came out for Santorum this past week. Rasmussen released their latest poll putting Santorum 23 points behind his Democratic challenger, Bob Casey Jr. This is by far the bleakest things have ever looked. I’m not totally resting easy with this poll, though, as something seems a little off. Just a few weeks before several polls had come out with Rick closing in on Casey, one having him as close as six points. Suddenly, Rasmussen releases this bombshell out of nowhere. In the same respect, Rasmussen has generally been a very accurate pollster so it’s hard to gauge until we see another poll released.

Mr. Santorum, in the eyes of many of his ideological allies in the state party, tarnished his conservative credentials with his support of Mr. Specter against a 2004 primary challenge from former U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey. Mr. Toomey supports Mr. Santorum in this race, but many of Mr. Toomey’s supporters still resent his actions in 2004.

This is turning out to be a bigger problem than I thought it would. All of us in the Toomey camp were clearly angry with Santorum after that primary, but I thought within the following two years it would blow over. For some people it has, but I am amazed at how many out there are still holding that against him. The polls are reflecting it as well.

A Rasmussen Reports poll of Pennsylvania voters published last week suggested similar concerns for Mr. Santorum, who had the support of 67 percent of Republicans. His challenger, state Treasurer Bob Casey, on the other hand, had the support of 87 percent of Democratic voters.

Could the specter (no pun intended) of Santorum’s betrayal in the Toomey race really cost him reelection? Santorum has always been down in the polls coming up on reelection, but in the end has always managed to pull it off. However, it’s never been this bad before. I’m keeping an open mind for this one in November, but at the same time I am not holding my breath.

From today’s liberal Post-Gazette…

Leaders of the Republican State Committee this weekend struggled to bind the wounds of a fratricidal primary and ease the concerns of a conservative base skeptical of the party’s direction.

During a crisply choreographed meeting yesterday, committee members ratified the choice of the party’s elected leaders by making Cambria County’s Robert Gleason the new state chairman.

I’m going to do my best to reserve judgement on Gleason for now, but from what I have heard so far he is apart of the same Harrisburg RINO crowd that we conservatives just gave a good ass-whipping to. I am also not pleased that he donated $10,000 to failed reelection campaign of RINO Senate President, Bob Jubilirer, who was defeated last month by a conservative challenger in the Pennsylvania primary.

“The last 18 months has not been the best of times for Republicans,” noted Eileen Melvin, the outgoing chair.

With a clear reference to issues such as last year’s controversial, quickly reversed state legislative pay raise, she drew one of the day’s loudest rounds of applause when she said, “We have some great elected officials, we have wonderful grass-roots workers, but sometimes our elected leaders make policy decisions without party input and our workers feel like they just carry the bucket for the elephants.”

And where were you at last summer’s State Committee meeting when we had drafted a proposal condemning the actions of our Republican “leaders”, Eileen? Oh, that’s right. You supported the payjackers.

Several of the regional caucuses, meeting before the general session of the committee, approved resolutions protesting the state committee’s pre-primary decisions to give extensive financial support to legislative incumbents challenged by other Republicans.

That is a serious, serious issue to be addressed, but happily this time conservatives triumphed over the machine. All four of our closest watched races were a success despite being monstrously outspent by the incumbents with the help of the corrupt State Committee.

Hopefully, newly elected Chairman Gleason payed close attention to what just happened here last month and will have the wisdom to guide the State party back in a prosperous direction.

If you were to watch any national news outlet - you must at this time be aware of the great sacrifice our men and women in the press are making dodging IEDs, bringing us late breaking news of American imposed occupation and massacres, and further adding to the low, low morale across the US, while still working to break our servicemen and women.

As sorry as I am that a few in the press have lost their lives, the media continues to blare their message, bring their biases and use these unfortunate situations to discuss their greatness - nothing like the humility our soldiers show while serving American interests and liberating Iraq.

The dichotomy we are supposed to draw from all of this: Reporters risk their lives to expose American injustices (and uphold the First Amendment), as soldiers are dragged through the mud as either crazed murderers or silent dissenters from an “illegal war.”

A good rule of thumb in any year is that it’s not a good idea to make any sort of statement that might be construed as encouraging illegal immigrants to vote. This goes to the quadruple-word-score category when you’re a Democrat running in a year that immigration is basically the only weapon left in the Republican party’s holster. Francine did not get the memo. Stay classy San Diego.

Elsewhere, the peerless Bob Novak is saying Pelosi is out if the Democrat party fails to take back the House in November. I’d be shocked if she was sacked personally, it might be perceived as…you know…un-PC.