Posted on 12/25/2010 2:08:43 AM PST by Scanian
Arlen Specter's rabid outburst on the floor of the United States Senate the other day was nothing out of the ordinary for his particular brand of politician. A political opportunist baring his teeth and foaming at the mouth in fury at what he perceive as the barbarians storming the gate is as trite as it is silly.
But buried in the diatribe there was a most revealing and interesting phrase employed by the Scottish lawman over his apparent astonishment at the behavior of some of his brethren "in the Senate I joined 30 years ago." (Italics added)
Did you catch that? Arlen Specter joined the Senate. He was not, apparently to his thinking, elected. He was admitted to The Club and membership has its privileges. One of those privileges -- or as Specter would argue should be -- is that only Members decide who is admitted to and who is rejected from the clubhouse.
People like Specter who spend any significant amount of time on Capitol Hill are -- or become -- quite bizarre. They devolve into thinking of the Senate not as an elected office but an elite club whose dues are paid by the unwashed in exchange for a few benefits devised by and doled out to those with the nuanced knowledge and skill that can only be attained through membership.
Non-members do not have an army of staffers to unwind for public consumption the complicated legislation sitting Club Members are just too busy to write. Non-members could not possibly understand the wisdom that comes from knowing which drawer in which desk on the Senate floor houses the special candy -- for Members only. Non-members do not have access to the hideaway offices where luminaries such as Ted Kennedy and Christopher Dodd no doubt did their most profound thinking -- for the greater good, of course.
Specter's violent reaction is borne out of total confusion about many things; our system of government, our Constitution, and the role of we the people. It is borne out of the anxiety that comes when one's protective bubble is shattered, when a career opportunist is cast out into the cold, dark world alongside the huddled masses who suddenly turn like cobras on their benefactors. It is borne out of resentment for certain justices who actually take their oaths seriously and really do follow through on their promises to the august Club Members who decide their fate. This is confusing to people like Specter, he of the back-and-forth party affiliation.
It is also out of rage against people like Jim DeMint, who work avidly to upset the fraternity. Ingrates like DeMint do not behave according to Club rules. They bring in dew-eyed interlopers who think the arcane Constitution is applicable in Club activities and decisions. Don't these people know that The Club writes its own rules? Did they not take heed when Club Member Barbara Boxer sternly reminded the dimwitted military man how hard she had worked to gain membership?
Specter is just the latest in a decades-long line of walking advertisements for term limits. Citizen cavalries led by the likes of Katy Abram should take just patriotic pride in advising the unprincipled to pardon our dust: The Club is undergoing a change in management.
When will this turncoat finally go away?
I really do think the state legislatures should go back to choosing the senators. That way senators would really represent the interests of the various states and not the lobbyists.
I would like to see us go back to appointing and recalling Senators. I really believe that that was the way the Senate was designed to function properly and ever since we tinkered with the founders wisdom, we have built this club for Specter and his ilk.
That was very easy for me to say. I have much more difficult time coming up with a workable plan to make it happen. Since these “Members” seem to govern themselves, it doesn’t seem likely they would agree to tear down their own clubhouse.
In the end, there was only one word to describe Arlen... ‘Loser.’
As an alternative (and a plan I actually like better):
Establish a 'vote of confidence' (for lack of a better term) process. At each major election (every two years, generally), voters vote for continuance or recall. Set the bar high enough that it can't happen lightly -- say, if the number of voters casting a vote for recall is equal to 2/3 of the votes cast in the previous election, then the senator is recalled.
Prevent re-entry. If a senator is recalled, he or she is barred from holding any elected office in their state, or from engaging in business which puts them in contact with elected representatives, for a period of at least ten years.
This ought to be possible at the state constitution level -- if it's an amendment, it would make it hard for state lawmakers to dilute it.
It’s hard to evict members out of the Senate club. No matter how terrible these guys are, when it comes election time, they are nearly unbeatable. As soon as they get into office, they open up the Treasury and start doling out the favors. A little public works project here, a little special consideration on a bill there, an earmark over there... and next thing you know the whole State owes them. As a result, they have warchests of millions of dollars. It’s very difficult for a challenger to come in and overcome that. Here in PA, it took Pat Toomey two election cycles to beat Specter. After Santorum and Bush helped Specter over the finish line in 2004, Toomey continued fund-raising with the Club for Growth for 6 years before going again.
Maybe Zer0 had people like Specter in mind when he coined the “bitter clingers” term.
He did, after all, spend a few days in the Senate-—maybe enough to get a feel for the place and its inhabitants.
If we ever get to the point of calling a constitutional convention, that should be one of the main items for deliberation.
If being elected senator can do that to Arlen, what must being elected president do to an immature little dick like Obozo?
Its Christmas. Lets not think about Satans pawn and his intentions.
But you raise a good point.After 30 years of being in power, Arlens head swelled to historic levels. And he was only a senator.
Obama is a self centered type who craves power and its trappings. Who knows what this man and his minions are capable of doing.
Sorry.
The sight or even the thought of Hussein takes the Christmas spirit right out of me.
Maybe it’s because the spirit in me discerns a different kind of spirit in him.
“Maybe it’s because the spirit in me discerns a different kind of spirit in him.”
AMEN Brother! The Spirit of Truth. “By their fruits ye shall know them.”
Merry Christmas!
I knew I shouldn’t have tried to watch that on Christmas morning.
Now I’m going to have to get down on my knees and beg forgiveness for what all came out of my mouth about Arlen before I head off to church.
IIRC, the reason for Senators having six year terms and Representatives having two year terms was that the Senate was to be a more deliberative body than the House and were therefore less dependent on the shifts of the political winds. All spending originates in the House and that makes the Representatives exposed more often to the will of the people.
There was a reason for that. Spending was intended to be little and only on what was needed and those doing it were to be wary about it. Treaties which determine our relations with other countries also become our law of the land, so they should be entered into only after much deliberation and done for the good of the whole country, not states and districts. Therefore, the Senate ratifies those and it takes 2/3 of them to do it. That is how serious the business of the Senate is supposed to be.
Bottom line, as the founders understood, the whole thing depends on a moral and just populace electing moral and just representatives. We need our spiritual natures to keep our selfish natures under control.
Lobbyists are depicted as necessary advisors with special knowledge on the many diverse subjects taken up by the Legislature. That may have been the intent, but they have become bag men. Whom is more to blame, the briber or the bribee? Neither can exist without the other but I suggest it is the taker who bears the moral burden. Those are the ones we elect.
Having state legislatures appoint Senators puts them a little closer to the voting public but that doesn’t in itself solve the problem. How many of us know who our State Representatives and our State Senators are much less what their views are? Those are the ones most dependent on us and and the ones who can affect the bigger picture. We should get to know them. You can bet those who want favors know them. Let them know there are more of us who just want good government than there are those who want favors and that our money collectively is more than that of the favor-seekers.
We can’t change human nature but we can make those who are tempted aware that we are watching. That will have more effect than most of us think.
Have hope. Just remember, today is another day with no Senator Gephardt or Senator Daschle. :)
Like all amendments to the constitution, the one allowing the direct election of the senate weakened the country. It needs to go back to the legislature choosing the senators.
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