I’m not a fan of Arlen Specter. He’s out of touch. He ignores his constituents. He sends the wrong form letters. He cares more about his corporate campaign contributors than the people who voted for him. He is unable to answer any questions about what he is doing to help his Gen Y constituents.
I wasn’t one of them. He is my arch nemesis after all.
Still, I was thrilled that he jumped the Republican Party ship yesterday. Good. Good riddance to bad rubbish. The Democrats can have him. (Please note: I am a registered Libertarian but there is a small part of me that hopes and dreams that one day, the Republican Party could return to what it really stands for and then we could have a three party system.)
The only way this could possibly be better is if he didn’t get reelected.
What Specter is doing now is a last ditch effort to stay in office. Pat Toomey is going to get that Republican nomination in the primary. Because no self respecting Republican would have voted for Specter. And after thirty years in the Senate, Specter had to have known the fat lady was singing his song.
This had nothing to do with your best interests. That’s right. Nothing to do with you. You might his constituent. You might need your senator’s help. He does not care. This had everything to do with him desperately clinging to his political life as a feeble, 79 year old man.
If I was the Democratic Party, I would turn him away. I would be raising questions about his ability to make strong, effective decisions in the Senate. I would be wondering if he would be able to understand the world around him and the long term impact of his decisions on others. I would be asking his doctor for proof that dementia isn’t setting in.
But here’s the important part: Whether you are a Democrat, a Republican, a Libertarian or an Independent, you don’t have to vote for him.
Just because he’s been around for a while does not mean that you have to participate in his ineffective politics any longer. Just because he has been in the Senate for 29 years does not mean that he has wisdom and insight. Just because he kept getting reelected before doesn’t mean you have to continue to vote for him now.
The message Senator Specter needs to hear from us, from his constituents, is that we will continue to hold him to standards. We will continue to have expectations of what his performance should look like. We will hold him accountable for his actions. Changing parties will not liberate him from accountability.
If anything, he needs to be held to a higher, more consistent standard. If anything, he needs to know that if he fails us, if he fails the voters, we will fire him. We will vote for Pat Toomey, not only in a primary but in the general election. We will seriously consider 3rd party candidates. We will no longer take what he says at face value. We will ask him tough questions and we will expect him to have honest answers.
And at night, I dream we’ll elect politicians who haven’t penned garbage like the Magic Bullet Theory.
Rachel said...
1What if you’re green party? ;o)
(I’ve been tempted to go Green for a while now… the only thing preventing me is that there’s no point in voting in primaries if you’re a registered Green candidate, and I love voting and vote in as many elections as possible. Stupid Pennsylvania. The other states have it right, primaries should not be separated by party… Or else, you should be able to have duel registration.)
That being said, I think Specter is okay, I have no qualms with him like you do. I will say that I appreciate the fact that he IS a moderate, and always has been. There are so few of them in the senate, and so many of us out in real life. I didn’t have the opportunity to ever vote for him before. Last time he was up for reelection was 2004 and my absentee ballot never came. It sucked.
So yeah, no strong feelings one way or the other. I’ll have to see who he’s up against and then make my decision.
04/29/09 7:56 AM | Comment Link
Carmella Tress said...
2I almost called you when I heard the news, cause I was dying to hear your thoughts!! As a Dem, we don’t want him, either.
04/29/09 10:56 AM | Comment Link
Reaganite Republican Resistance said...
3This cynical, self-serving move had absolutely nothing to do with values, policy, or any high-minded thinking of any kind- though President Obama surely would like for you to think that.
Everybody knows he did it because he was down 21% in the polls leading-up to the GOP primary for his seat- and Joey Pluggs made a deal with him, he already admitted as such. The sad truth is that this hack has spent three decades in the Senate, while accomplishing little.
And Barack and him have a lot in common- as unprincipled political opportunists, I’m sure they’ll get along just great.
Just a little over a month ago, the Senator said in an interview that he wouldn’t switch parties due to the importance of checks and balances.
And back in 2001, Sen. Arlen Specter, then a Republican, proposed a rule forbidding party switches… he was upset when Vt Sen. Jim Jeffords’ left the GOP to become an independent.
Who knows what the truth is with this guy, you’ll never get it from him.
With all due respect, Senator- don’t let the door hit your butt on the way out. Nobody on our side’s going to miss you.
http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com
04/29/09 3:38 PM | Comment Link
Reaganite Republican Resistance said...
4This cynical, self-serving move had absolutely nothing to do with values, policy, or any high-minded thinking of any kind- though President Obama surely would like for you to think that.
Everybody knows he did it because he was down 21% in the polls leading-up to the GOP primary for his seat- and Joey Pluggs made a deal with him, he already admitted as such. The sad truth is that this hack has spent three decades in the Senate, while accomplishing little.
And Barack and him have a lot in common- as unprincipled political opportunists, I’m sure they’ll get along just great.
Just a little over a month ago, the Senator said in an interview that he wouldn’t switch parties due to the importance of checks and balances.
And back in 2001, Sen. Arlen Specter, then a Republican, proposed a rule forbidding party switches… he was upset when Vt Sen. Jim Jeffords’ left the GOP to become an independent.
Who knows what the truth is with this guy, you’ll never get it from him.
With all due respect, Senator- don’t let the door hit your butt on the way out. Nobody on our side’s going to miss you.
04/29/09 3:39 PM | Comment Link
Dorie said...
5@Rachel – I hope you go Green! I think you would be a great asset to their party.
@Carmella – Yet the PA Dem site seems so happy to have him…
@Reaganite Republican Resistance – This whole thing reminds me of someone getting fired and their response is to scream out “You can’t fire me!!! I quit!!!” As if it would change something. It doesn’t.
04/29/09 4:51 PM | Comment Link