Posted on 07/22/2003 3:00:10 AM PDT by decimon
Feinstein, Specter Switch Parties During Voucher Fight
(2003-07-18) -- U.S. Senators Arlen Specter, R-PA, and Diane Feinstein, D-CA, announced today they would each switch political party affiliation.
The moves come as the Senate Appropriations Committee wrangles over whether to include funding for school vouchers for the parents of 2,000 low-income children in Washington D.C.. Sen. Specter opposes the measure, but Sen. Feinstein may vote for it.
Sen. Feinstein said her leap to the Republican Party was "purely practical."
"In the past, I've opposed school vouchers because I think they deny the government freedom of choice about how children should be educated," said the California Senator. "But clearly the D.C. government has neglected its children, and we need to step in and take its children away."
She said her new party affiliation has nothing to do with DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe's recent statement that no Democrat would appear on the ballot to replace California Gov. Gray Davis if he is recalled.
Sen. Specter said his move to the other side of the aisle is "just a formality."
"For many years now, I've felt like I was sitting on the other team's bench," said the Pennsylvanian. "Now I'll be with my ideological peers."
He said he opposes school voucher programs because they erode public accountability.
"The rigorous scrutiny now applied to public schools must continue," he said. "Otherwise, the schools could fall into the hands of cash-sucking unions and fat-cat administrators who fail to address declining test scores, indoctrinate children with their own political and theological agendas and blame parents for all of their problems."
WOW!
Oh. Nevermind.
But confirming of all you've suspected. Feinstein was given some great lines. :)
Life imitates art bump.
Ahh, drat. I admit to a few double-takes, but then continued to read the whole story. I was hoping to read that Governor Davis had resigned.
It occurred to me that maybe there was another full moon.
Hope really does spring eternal behind rosey colored glasses. (g)
This was a bit over the top but good satire gets you for saying just what you want to hear.
I was hoping to read that Governor Davis had resigned.
Nah, they thought he'd resigned but his absence was explained by his attending the Amin funeral.
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