Posted on 12/20/2010 8:02:25 PM PST by Weird Tolkienish Figure
One of the most ignominious political careers of the modern era will at last sputter to a pitiful end when the 111th Congress finally relinquishes its strangle-hold on the American Republic. Arlen Specter, outgoing senator from Pennsylvania, personified the sort of elite, politically opportunistic, government careerism that the American people have grown to so justifiably loathe. He will not be missed.
Educated at Yale Law School, Specter first sought public office when, though a registered Democrat, he ran for district attorney of Philadelphia on a Republican ticket in 1965 because, as TIME once noted, “ he failed to secure the Democratic nomination.” Not long after, Specter officially changed his spots and became a Republican just in time to ride the ascendant conservative wave of the latter decades of the 20th century: In 1980, he was swept into the United Sates Senate on Ronald Reagan’s back, as so many were. In early 2009, however, after the Obama tide seemingly washed political conservatism back into the sea, Specter changed his spots yet again, abandoning the GOP and officially changing his party back to Democrat. Any which way the wind blows, that has been Arlen Specter’s political motto.
His latest political transmogrification did not pan out so well, however: Specter lost the recent Democratic primary, and so will soon be shuffling off to retirement. True to form (the only form he seems capable of being true to). Specter tried to take some federal pork dollars home with him one last time, requesting 126 earmarks in the (thankfully) now defunct omnibus spending bill, which would have soaked the taxpayers to the tune of $143,987,000.
Nice try, Arlen. But didn’t you get the memo? That kind of thing just isn’t cool anymore. Now don’t let the door hit you in the donkey on the way out…
Matt Patterson is a contributor to Proud to Be Right: Voices of the Next Conservative Generation (HarperCollins, 2010). His email is mpatterson.column@gmail.com
Bravos for a well written article that exactly expresses the sentiments of millions of Americans....Good riddance you traitorous POPS.
...and now he gets to live a comfortable life as we pay for his retirement and benefits while he probably lobbys or consults his way into doing more damage to America before he leaves this earth.
Arlen Specter, outgoing senator from Pennsylvania, personified the sort of elite, politically opportunistic, government careerism that the American people have grown to so justifiably loathe.
A perfect one sentence summation of a fop's career.
More: I wouldn’t be surprised to see him worm his way into the FCC and go right to work on censoring and controlling the internet.
Arlen Specter, author of the physically impossible “magic bullet” fraud, should be in prison for life, or hung by his rotten neck, for being an accessory after the fact to the JFK assassination.
He knowingly participated in the cover-up, and is guilty of high treason for doing so.
I can’t stand looking at the creepy, lying fraud. POX of the House of Specter for seven generation!
Any Questions?
We need some kind of big bash for this. It should be like a great hero’s salute, with bands, parades and lavish parties. Only the exact opposite.
Too much time on Facebook lately - I was looking for the “like” button.
AMEN! But You are being much too polite!
Our gubmint is over run with these traitorous POS.We will be years getting rid of these scum.
I will say one kind word for Arlen Specter: At least he wasn’t afraid of his constituents and held regular town hall meetings. That’s something Bob Casey Jr. would never do.
Came to DC as a Democrat and leaves as a Democrat. Good riddance indeed.
So what you're saying is, he continues to suck...
“Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute.”
said Specter at his last townhall meeting.
Nuh-Nuh. No questions. (I just wanted to post so I could change my tagline to a new one. Sorta like Specter changed parties back and forth to suit himself, only on a much smaller scale.)
Not from me J Edgar. GRRRRRREAT post in a great thread!
I notice that Specter continues to vote with the very same Democrats who betrayed him and against the Republicans who stood by him six years ago. Oh well.
Look for Arlen to resurface with the No Labels crowd, just like Charlie Crist
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