Specter jumps to the Democratic Party

[applecorped]

Klaus Barbie?

 

[Sword_Of_Truth]

Megan McCain has the guts to argue and vote her own mind, rather than listening to a collection of unhappy old men who don't think women have rights, who want to establish a religious state, and who are opposed to minorities, civil rights, and freedom. Therefore, she is not a (modern) republican.

It's a lot easier to dismiss opposing points of view and not actually deal with them if you turn them into a cartoon villian first, isn't it?

 

[Dr Adequate]

What's funny is that at Specter's press conference he basically said that he was doing this because he wouldn't be able to win as a Republican.

But that's not what he said.

He said that he wouldn't be able to win the Republican primary. I think he thinks that he could have won the seat as a moderate Republican, but that he's not going to get the chance.

 

[fishbob]

He is a moderate, he votes independently, always has, and I expect always will.

Yeah, but that is beside the point.

In taking testimony from Alberto Gonzales, he said this:

You may be treading on your interdiction and violating common sense, Mr. Attorney General.

This line is now in the congressional record. Gotta respect him for that.

 

[Sword_Of_Truth]

Ace of Spades weighs in on the GOPs "loss" of Specter:

But Arlen Specter wasn't merely a social liberal -- he also turned out to be an economic liberal, too. He was indispensable in getting Obama's Spendulus passed. And note that the choice here was not binary, as on immigration, up or down. Almost every Republican wanted a stimulus too, but a "targeted" and "temporary" one, one that didn't grow the federal government years and decades down the road.

If Arlen Specter had voted with Republicans to continue debate, Obama and Nancy Pelosi would have been forced back to the negotiating table to bargain for a more sensible and affordable (and fiscally responsible) stimulus. Which, in turn, would have passed.

Instead Specter cast his vote for full-fledged tax-and-spend budget-busting liberalism. Actually I don't know if liberalism is the right word -- we've seen liberalism in the past, and it's never looked so ruinously irresponsible before. This is some sort of mutated, insane liberalism -- like the Reavers in Firefly. Liberals went all the way to the edge of the 'Verse and went crazy staring into the void.

As I said, some of you are painting this as the work of religious loonies, saying that the Republicans need to drop social conservatism and bill themselves as a primarily small government focused party.

Unfortunately, even under that scenario, Specter still had to go.

 

[hgc]

But that's not what he said.

He said that he wouldn't be able to win the Republican primary. I think he thinks that he could have won the seat as a moderate Republican, but that he's not going to get the chance.

Considering he was facing a primary as a Republican, there is zero difference between saying he can't win a Republican primary and he can't win reelection as a Republican. That he could win a general election as a Republican is irrelevant if he can't make it onto the general election ballot.

Operative fact (from his own point of view) - Can't get elected as a Republican.

Other pesky fact - PA has sore loser law. So can't lose Republican primary and then get on ballot as Indy (a la Lieberman).

Other pesky likelihood - Can't run as an Indy from the start and hope to win in a 3 way race.

Politically expedient conclusion - Become a Democrat, where the field is cleared for you by friendly helpmate Gov Rendell.

ETA: Forgot to mention: The Senate Dems will give him seniority within the caucus for committee assignments, as if he'd been one of them for the last 28 years. Sweet deal. Lieberman must have coached him.

 

[pgwenthold]

If, as Specter claims, this move is not going to change his views, it is just because democratic is a better descriptor of them, then it seems to be an indication that the dems are moving right, as opposed to anything else. IOW, that line between right and left has moved further to the right.

I heard something on the radio the other day about approval ratings. Apparently Specter has a 30% approval among repubs, but 70% among democrats. However, I think you have to be careful in interpreting this, as that approval is based on expectations. Democrats like him because, as a republican, he is not a disaster. That makes him a center republican, true, but that also means he is going to be a center democrat. Overall, it moves the overall democratic picture in the senate to the right.

 

[Cicero]

Good point. Compared to post JFK campaigns, though, I think the JFK and Ike campaigns were fairly tame. JFK was essentially saying Ike's administration was falling behind the Soviets technologically, which few people really believed (except with respect to the Space Race). Ike wasn't even able to say Truman did anything particularly wrong. It was more the principle of the matter.

JFK knew that the U.S. was indeed not falling behind the Soviets and there was no "missile gap," yet he had no compunction about using this lie for self-aggrandizement. Of course JFK was an expert at selling the American public a completely erroneous picture of himself, so including geopolitics in the mix was no big deal.

 

[jj]

JFK knew that the U.S. was indeed not falling behind the Soviets and there was no "missile gap," yet he had no compunction about using this lie for self-aggrandizement. Of course JFK was an expert at selling the American public a completely erroneous picture of himself, so including geopolitics in the mix was no big deal.

Oh, no missile gap. No rocketry gap?

Wow, talk about historical revisionism.

Cicero, are you young by any chance? You certainly appear to be unaware of the actual situation of the time.

 

[Cicero]

And the vilification proceeds.

"I'd like to see Larry Craig seek to withdraw the guilty plea, and fight the case. I'd like to see him fight the case because I think he could be vindicated." Arlen Specter

Vilification? He is a perfect fit for the Democrats.

 

[Cicero]

Oh, no missile gap. No rocketry gap?

Wow, talk about historical revisionism.

Cicero, are you young by any chance? You certainly appear to be unaware of the actual situation of the time.

For the die hard JFK apologists, it is always 1962. The myth of the "missile gap" was long ago debunked and JFK knew it at the time he used it to incite fear in the electorate. Where have you been?

"John F. Kennedy owed his victorious bid for the presidency—as well as his success in reversing former president Dwight D. Eisenhower's military and economic policies while in office—largely to his ability to exploit fears of an alleged Soviet strategic superiority, famously known as the "missile gap." Capitalizing on American alarms about national security, within months after his inauguration, he won Congressional authorization for two supplemental defense appropriations that collectively increased the defense budget by more than fifteen percent. Yet, argues Christopher Preble, the missile gap was a myth. The Kennedy administration perpetuated that myth to justify a massive military build-up that had profound implications for both the domestic economy and for American foreign relations."

"John F. Kennedy and the Missile Gap"
by Christopher A. Preble

"During the election, JFK railed against the "missile gap", a supposed shortcoming of U.S. nuclear missile capability compared to that of the Soviet Union. Through briefings with high ranking officials Kennedy knew no such gap existed, but it became an issue to the electorate worried about nearby Cuba.

"The Dark Side of Camelot"
by Seymour Hersh

 

[Cicero]

Not at all. Democrats have tolerated right-leaning politicians in their ranks for years;

Strange how the word tolerate never comes up in the Dem lexicon regarding Senator Byrd. While the antithesis of a "right-leaning" politician, the ex-Kleagle of the KKK is a permanent fixture in the Dem Party.

 

[Cleon]

Strange how the word tolerate never comes up in the Dem lexicon regarding Senator Byrd, the ex-Kleagle of the KKK and the antithesis of a "right-leaning" politician.

I'm not entirely sure what point you're trying to make, if you in fact have one. So I will simply take your post to mean "Democrats BAD," which seems to be a pretty safe bet.

 

[GreyICE]

Scum is scum. Arlan Specter is scum. I've said it before, I'll say it again. The man believes in no ideology, no ideals, no goals beyond Arlan Specter.

Does scum become less scummy if it is -R or -D? No. Slimebag is full of slime. He did this for one reason - Arlan Specter. Now he's part of the majority party, he doesn't face the same challenge he did before, he has more leverage, in short, he served Arlan Specter.

I still want the scum run out of office, and that will never change. He's an insult to American politics, and that's saying a hell of a lot.

 

[Cicero]

I'm not entirely sure what point you're trying to make, if you in fact have one. So I will simply take your post to mean "Democrats BAD," which seems to be a pretty safe bet.

You said Dems "tolerate right-leaning politicians in their ranks." I merely pointed out that Dems embrace, honor, and celebrate the ex-Kleagle of the KKK in their ranks. Conservatism is "tolerated" in the Democratic Party, but the ex-recruiter for the KKK is a distinguished member.

 

[tomwaits]

I understand how a jingoistic bigot who insists on party loyalty above doing one's duty to the people and country would regard that as a problem.

I have not insisted on "party loyalty". Even if I did, I'm not sure why that would make me a "jingoistic bigot". Explain?

That makes it a benefit in my eyes.

Your smearing

Stop. My smearing?? How did I smear him? He stated outright that he was switching parties because he wouldn't be able to win otherwise.

sounds a lot like Courtier's treatment of Millicent Fenwick back in NJ, bringing in divisive issues like abortion, accusing her of being indicted in the house bank scandal (she was not involved at all, and was so rich your brain won't really digest the numbers), and accused her of being an apostate republican.

Really? It sounds a lot like that? Funny, it doesn't seem the same at all. Maybe you just found it convenient to try to compare me to Ann Coulter.

Then, as now, it was "adhere to the party line or else" for the republicans, and if someone doens't, "teach them a lesson". It's all about totalitarian behavior and "staying on message" and not a bit about voting one's logical conclusions, concience, or about considering the good of the country, the constituents, or even one's own individual self.

That's not american politics, that's 1930's Russian politics. How you go, Joe?

He is a moderate, he votes independently, always has, and I expect always will.

WTF? Because I criticize his decision, you're comparing me to Ann Coulter and Joseph Stalin? Lay off the hyperbole, dude.

I'm not even sure what this last rambling section was supposed to be about. The Republicans didn't kick him out of the party, he left of his own volition so that he could win the election easier.

 

[Roadtoad]

Re: The OP...

See ya. Good luck.

 

[tomwaits]

Scum is scum. Arlan Specter is scum. I've said it before, I'll say it again. The man believes in no ideology, no ideals, no goals beyond Arlan Specter.

Does scum become less scummy if it is -R or -D? No. Slimebag is full of slime. He did this for one reason - Arlan Specter. Now he's part of the majority party, he doesn't face the same challenge he did before, he has more leverage, in short, he served Arlan Specter.

I still want the scum run out of office, and that will never change. He's an insult to American politics, and that's saying a hell of a lot.

WATCH OUT DUDE! According to jj, you're a smearing totalitarian jingoistic bigot Ann Coulter Joseph Stalin wannabe if you even dare question Specter's decision.

 

[Roadtoad]

I don't know that Specter is Scum. But I do think he's very self-serving. Not a good thing at all. In the end, he won't be doing the Democrats any favors.

 

[Cleon]

You said Dems "tolerate right-leaning politicians in their ranks." I merely pointed out that Dems embrace, honor, and celebrate the ex-Kleagle of the KKK in their ranks. Conservatism is "tolerated" in the Democratic Party, but the ex-recruiter for the KKK is a distinguished member.

So, yeah. Democrats BAD.