Specter: Reagan’s GOP is gone [attacks GOP, Club for Growth, conservatives]

The Christian Science Monitor ^ | 2009-05-03

[rabscuttle385]

On Sunday talk shows, he says the 'big tent' party of Reagan and the late Jack Kemp has been replaced by rigid conservatism.

BY MARK TRUMBULL

Sen. Arlen Specter (D) of Pennsylvania and leaders of the party he bolted last week surprisingly struck a chord of near agreement in discussing the future of the Republican Party Sunday.

The question of whether the party can stage a revival without welcoming Northeastern moderates came to the fore on television talk shows Sunday morning.

On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Senator Specter blamed the inner workings of the conservative movement for his own departure, and suggested that “there has to be room for people who are moderates.”

Appearing later on the same show, some Republican figures essentially agreed with that assessment, even while they did not endorse all of Specter’s remarks.

[buccaneer81]

The majority party gets the committee chairmen.

I'm aware of that. A Specter or equivalent is no guarantee of the outcome of a committee vote.

[LachlanMinnesota]

Reagan was a conservative Republican that welcomed moderates, and convinced them that it was in their interest to do so.

Today’s Republican party is a liberal party asking to be welcomed by Democrats, and have been convinced that is in their interest to do so.

[LachlanMinnesota]

So it is passed out of the committee and the committee chairman votes with the opposition. So what good is the committee?

In a normal world, I would agree with you, but we are not libving in a normal world right now.

[LachlanMinnesota]

And smart enough to know that you can give your vote to the opposition to give them the numbers they need.

[LachlanMinnesota]

What I don’t understand is how the Democrats really could care at all about him, since they had the majority anyway, and Spector was a sure vote either way.

So why give Spector any deal at all?

They didn’t have to buy the cow to get the milk for free.

[LucyJo]

The Republicans did not distance themselves from conservatism.

They said after the Republicans mentioned in this article completely distanced themselves from conservatism.

[philman_36]

That's Why!
He needed to tell us something we didn't know!
We have not been conservative as a party, we've been radical.
What is missing, and plainly lacking, is his and the party's solution! (and it shouldn't be coddling the current crop of RINOs or bringing in new ones)
When they have a solution they'll warrant my attention.

[philman_36]

So what good is the committee?
It's good for appearances.

[philman_36]

So why give Spector any deal at all?
If you read the transcript I posted above you'll read that there was no deal.
Page 3...
MR. GREGORY: I want to move on, though, to the question of what it took for the Democrats to get you. What were you offered? What inducements have you been given to switch parties?
SEN. SPECTER: None.
MR. GREGORY: None.
SEN. SPECTER: None.