Perhaps your principles have deadlines or they just aren't very important to you, I don't know. My goal has been to get rid of Specter. It's not a protest. It's because he is not fit to chair the SJC.
Some will simply write in another name. Some will vote for a third party. Some of us will pull the lever for Hoeffel because that's what will make it the most difficult for Specter to win. Some of us have previously voted for Specter. Some of us haven't. The thing that we have in common is that we will NEVER vote for him again.
For now, liberal Specter is a bigger threat to GOP principles and good judges and he must go. We'll deal with Hoeffel at the next election.
Six years is a long time.
The loss of Senate control during a judicial picking period that will give us two to three new SCOTUS members in addition to numerous other high federal posts would be absolutely devastating!
Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
Yes, Specter cannot be relied on to vote conservatively, nor can several others. His seat is what is important, because the Senate schedule and committee membership is controlled by the party with a majority.
If the dems take the Senate back, the damage could be incalculable. Specter's line of reasoning is now changed a bit. I would assume his voting will reflect what happened in the primary. We can only hope that is the case, but we know the outcome of a democrat in that seat. That fact is certain and unarguable.
Better the devil we know in this case, but in the end it is a matter to be decided by those who are voting.
My 2 cents have been put in the pot on this issue, and I hope you do the right thing.