Arlen Specter Changes His Nametag but Doesn’t Switch Sides
This is big news, but not even a little surprising.
A source involved in the talks confirms that Senator Arlen Specter will switch to the Democratic Party, a dramatic move putting the Democrats within reach of two votes in the Senate.
The move stands to put the White House’s agenda on a fast-track, and to renew hopes among organized labor for the Employee Free Choice Act.
Vice President Joe Biden was, I’m told, deeply involved in the talks with Specter.
Arlen Specter isn’t a Republican nor a Democrat. He’s an opportunist. He’ll go where he can get the best deal. Up until today, he could get love and attention from the GOP, which bought his moderate act so long as he threw them a meaningless vote or two. Lately, though, conservatives have pointed out just how feckless he’s been. combined with his inexcuseable votes on the Stimulus Bill and his waffling on the right of Americans to be able to vote secretly and without intimidation, the GOP hasn’t shown him the love it once did.
So now he’s gone running back to the Democrats, where he started back in 1965 (before he switched parties after he won a local election). Let’s not be terribly shocked that he ran back home. It’s not like he hasn’t been telegraphing the move for a couple years. Even though he’s switching parties, he’s not switching sides at all.
This isn’t terrible news for Republicans. It means they can run a clean primary in PA while Specter will have to run the gamut of Democratic challengers. Should he get past the primary, he’ll have left enough ammunition lying around for whichever Republican runs against him.
The only drawback is that we’ll have to endure a couple days of hagiographies from a newly-adoring MSM. You know hos they like their Mavericks. Well, so long as they’re not bucking the progressive agenda, that is.
Other Posts of Interest:
- Arlen Specter is What’s Wrong with the Republican Party.
- GOP Senators Again Demonstrate Why They’re in the Minority
- Specter’s Weak Tea
Category: Our New Democratic Overlords, The Republican Minority
You know, I could be hurt and angry over Arlen Sphincter going back home to the Dems. But at the same time, I can't help but think ol' Sphincter may have bought the GOP their freedom. Once the dustup between Franken and Coleman gets settled in Franken's favor, the Dems will now own total responsibility for the first time since the late '70s.
Which means we'll get to see how "effective" Harry Reid really is as a Senate Majority leader. History suggests he'll rage in the darkness at all those Dems (Lincoln, Pryor, Begich, and McCaskill come immediately to mind, but there will be others, even Sphincter!) who did a dastardly deed in voting with the GOP to bring Obama to heel.
This may not hurt the national Republican Party very much. After all, you can't kill a dead elephant. But it will crush the Pennsylvania Republican Party. They used to be Arlen Specter and a bunch of crazies. Now they're just a bunch of crazies. If Pat Toomey gets 25% of the vote, I'll be shocked. And Specter can win the Democratic primary. He's savvy enough. I can't say I like him, but he can stick his finger in the air and know which way the wind is blowing. Expect some minor changes to the EFCA so Specter can 'suddenly' support it. If he does that, he'll get his union money and win his primary. And that's not really good for the Democrats. They really don't need another LieberDem. But that's a good thing in my mind. Any move that hurts both parties just warms my heart. I dream of the day when there are no political parties. That will never happen, of course. But I can dream, can't I?