But he IS a Republican.
What is his record in the past?
Has he suddenly turned or has this been going on for a while?
Did the GOP see this coming?
Whats going on here? Will there be others who will turn?
Maybe we should let this play itself out and see whats really happening, if we jump to soon we may not weed the others out lurking around. IF there are others.
He started as a Democrat.
What is his record in the past?
He Borked Bork. He invented the Magic Bullet Theory. He apologized for getting Clarence Thomas appointed. He voted "Not Proven" in the impeachment of Clinton.
Has he suddenly turned or has this been going on for a while?
It's been well-known since the beginning of his public life that Specter is a Democrat at heart.
Did the GOP see this coming?
Yes.
Does the name Rober Bork mean anything to you?
Specter is always out for himself. He's similar to Clinton in that he's a liberal, but he'll side with conservatives if it's necessary for his political survival.
Just as Clinton signed welfare reform and the Defense of Marriage Act, Specter supported Clarence Thomas to stave off a potentially successful 1992 GOP primary challenge from the right.
Specter, like Clinton, has an enormous ego and loves media attention. He especially loves the fawning media attention that generally is given to GOP liberals who rebel against the party's conservatism. He got some negative media coverage for a couple of years after his support for Thomas, so he'd like to avoid that if possible.
So he's in a tight spot, and he's also put us in a tight spot. He can screw us by either switching to the Rat party or by opposing our judicial nominees. As chairman of Judiciary, he could try to stop their nominations on the spot. But if he switches parties he can be dumped from the committee entirely and he certainly won't get the chairmanship. On the other hand, he could be given the chairmanship with a warning that he must be on good behavior to keep it.
So there's some calculating to do by both sides.
Well, maybe we should remember that he DID fight for Thomas -
Maybe the devil we know?