Posted on 04/28/2009 2:48:46 PM PDT by reaganaut1
The departure of Arlen Specter looks very bad for the GOP. You never want to lose anyone. But could Senate Republicans have stopped it? No, not once it became clear that he was going to be trounced in his primary. Specter's problem is not the party in the sense of its leadership or direction, but rather with the Republican voters in Pennsylvania.
Arlen Specter switched from Democrat to Republican in 1965 so that he could win an election. He is now doing the reverse for precisely the same reason.
If we take Arlen Specter's word for why he is leaving, we have to accept the idea that the stimulus vote represented some kind of huge turning point for him. In fact, Specter's apostasy on that vote was less remarkable than several others — for example, his vote on the Employee Free Choice Act, or his courageous refusal to vote either "yes" or "no" on Bill Clinton's impeachment. The reason the stimulus vote matters is that it matters to voters and has become an issue in the primary — which again, is the only reason Specter is leaving the Republican Party.
If we take Specter's word, then the GOP has become intolerant of moderate politicians like himself. On this score, Specter appears to have a severe case of amnesia. Exactly five years ago, the national Republican Party swooped into Pennsylvania and saved him from certain defeat at the hands of Rep. Pat Toomey (R). Valuable presidential time was sacrificed on his behalf. Also sacrificed for Arlen Specter was the reputation of his conservative colleague, Rick Santorum (R), who never recovered. From that moment forward, he lost his core constituency, and was easily defeated two years later by a pro-life Democrat.
Without essential help from the party that is so intolerant of people like him, Arlen Specter would already be a former senator today. It is not the party but the voters in Pennsylvania who have stopped tolerating Specter.
If we take Specter's word, then conservatives act in bad faith when they become involved in the political process and try to elect the candidates of their choice. Conservatives should disengage from the political process and stop challenging people like Arlen Specter. They should not organize — whether through groups like the Club for Growth or otherwise — nor should they participate in the political process, nor donate to nor vote for candidates they prefer.
Specter noted this afternoon that the Club worked against several moderates, including Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R, R.I.), who won his primary but lost his general election in 2006. Chafee did not even vote for President Bush in 2004, but like Specter he received a great deal of money and help from the Republican Party in his primary.
Reps. Joe Schwarz (R, Mich.) and Wayne Gilchrest (R, Md.) are two moderate victims of the Club for Growth whom Specter mentioned today. They were not being sore losers, but rather acted in good faith when they lost their respective primaries to conservatives and then turned around and endorsed the Democratic nominee in the general election. (Note that when he lost to Specter in 2004, Pat Toomey endorsed him immediately.) Conservatives must be team players in the GOP, but if moderates behave differently, we blame the conservatives who challenge them for subsequent disunity and defeat.
What is funny is that without any action so far by the Club for Growth, social conservatives, or anyone else, Republican voters in Pennsylvania have been lining up to end Specter's career, as the polls demonstrate. That is why Specter does not want to be judged by them. It is the only reason he has left the party.
Don't pin your hopes on that. Robert Byrd is still in office although I doubt he knows he is.
He's always been an opportunist. This isn't about principles because he has none.
Freddoso should have been quotation marks around “pro-life” when referring to Casey Jr.
>>>> The departure of Arlen Specter looks very bad for the GOP <<<<
I agree. Best thing that’s happened to the GOP in years.
Now if McQueeg, Snowe, Collins, and a few others would follow suit....
Amen. I would sooner trust a whore than Specter.
That’s right. The democrats in particular love their dinosaurs.
I think Arlen is finally going home, and that Pansy should stop being such a pansy and go with him to the jackass party if he won’t.
I keep hearing Brit Hume what I think he is saying and that is we should vote for who think can win moderate or not according to the red or blue states and that Snowe and Collins work with the Dems. That may be true up to a point; but not to the point of losing our country. I am all for working with each other but not at that cost.
Surely when Spector, Collins and Snowe defected to vote for the stimulus bill; they should have known it wouldn’t be good for the country.
We already HAVE term limits. Simply vote the incumbent out.
This ain’t rocket science.
Specter wanted to pass a law making it illegal to switch parties midstream. I guess the rules are for other people. He has always been a democrat, but would do or say anything to get elected. He’s the scum of the earth, and even Pennsylvanian democratic voters won’t trust him.
Specter further cemented the fall of the GOP majority be being a big-spender and refusing to pass permanent tax cuts. He damaged the GOP brand. It's a great pity we didnt lose him in 2004 when we could afford to lose him rather than in 2010 when the Dems enjoy a super majority. Perhaps the voters will weary of his self-centeredness.
McConnell wasnt even majority leader then. Dont blame him. The Bush/Rove WH made that call.
My approach is the same. At this point we are out numbered. I pray that will change.
Arlen Rectum’s switch is as irrelevant as republicans are these days. The beauty of the switch is that baraq will not have an excuse to use the “reconciliation” ruse to get the next trillion through congress — especially after the comedian from MN joins the scene. Sans excuse, I would think that the next trillion should have to be subjected to at least a measure of debate. Maybe light will be shed on the full-blown communism of it all. Don’t forget that baraq was about to just ramrod the boondoggles through via “reconciliation” — a euphemism for “fiat” or “decree”.
Well one thing for sure, if I were a Dem I wouldn’t vote for him. If he wins he could switch back after the election. Who knows since he has 0 credibility or loyalty.
“I’m tired of Conservatives taking it in the chin all the time”
Exactly. we worked to get Republicans elected to do conservative policy things. Then we find out that despite 80% of the Republicans being good, the 20% of them that are RINOs are the swing vote and ruin everything - they stop any meaningful conservative policies from getting enacted.
we are tired of having RINOs sell out what we believe in and we WILL dump these non-Republicans in the primaries.
Conservatism has ‘hit bottom’ with this news. We now know where we stand. Time to rebuild.
Do we have a shot at unseating this SOB?
I’d like to start saving now to donate!
That's the thing that these butt-smooching, NE RINO lovers refuse to acknowledge. Specter is too damn old to run for re-election and should have stepped down even back in 2004. He's the epitome of what's wrong with Washington but unfortunately the country clubbers don't see it that way, they just to blame conservatives.
Party of one boarding the Jackass Express, now leaving Elephant Station.
At last, a little truth from Specter. Truth in labeling anyway.
The departure of Arlen Specter looks very bad for the GOP
As a Pennsylvanian and American,Specter leaving the Republican Party is NOTHING BUT A GOOD THING..........
Since he has not been a Republican for many years now his moving out free’s up a spot for a real Republican to enter....
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