"If we're to be held hostage to the whims of Chafee, Snowe, Collins, McCain,Hagel, and Specter, what, exactly, do we have?"
We DON'T have a majority of conservatives in the Senate which means that whatever conservatives want will have to supported by either moderates or conservative Dems to get things passed. That means that conservatives WILL have to work with others. If we come out of a very successful election trying to throw our moderates overboard it will bode ill for future success.
We will need to work with moderates so we shouldn't try to alienate them.
Specter's feet are being held to the fire and that's good but we mustn't try to overreach.
OK, you seem to know what is going on. Please explain in detail HOW HIS FEET ARE BEING HELD TO THE FIRE ????
How so?
He's made the statement that President Bush should be careful who he nominates. This does not sound like a man who cares what others think of him. This sounds like a man who will do as he pleases, whenever he pleases, and critics be damned.
Kind of hard to burn a ghost isn't it. Specter is a good name. He is what he ain't. He flip flops every time the year before his re-election.
We will need to work with moderates so we shouldn't try to alienate them.
You keep saying moderate. Specter is not a moderate. He is a liberal. His lifetime ACU rating is only 43. There are Democrats who have higher ratings.