Longtime GOP Sen. Arlen Specter becomes Democrat - CNN.com »
Posted By epiphannyy 6 months, 4 weeks ago in NewsWASHINGTON (CNN) -- Veteran Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party on Tuesday, Sen. Harry Reid said.
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epiphannyy
"I will tell you, I am a liberal; I am a progressive. But, you know what I really am? I am a "bleeding-heart conservative." Yes ...
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epiphannyy6 months, 4 weeks ago
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All I can say is welcome home Mr. Specter. I've always had respect for the man, even as I have disagreed with him, because his positions are thoughtful. He has his reasons for the votes he casts and I respect that. I'm not sure how great of a fit he'll find the democratic party to be for himself, but I can see where he fits better over here than he did over there. A man who doesn't suffer fools well isn't a man to align himself with the likes of Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh.
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As he said.......he isn't leaving the republican party as much as the republican party has already left him.-
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BBcamaro6 months, 4 weeks ago
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What you really mean is, he is doing that Democrat flip flop again. He was a democrat before he switched to the Republican party when it was the way to go and now back to a Democrat, so he can stand a better chance to stay in congress.
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He as been in congress way to long and switching back and forth just to stay in office tells me he doesn't really care about the people he is elected by, and is part of the problem. He should be kicked out of congress and forced to live under the rules and laws he has been apart of making.
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nuiloa6 months, 4 weeks ago
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Mainly it has to do with the fact that the GOP has shrunken to the point where only the most hardcore conservatives are left -- there's no longer any room for moderates.
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In that environment, Specter wouldn't be able to win the GOP primary in 2010. Now he's almost guaranteed re-election. -
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Tangent0016 months, 3 weeks ago
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I think much of it has to do with how far the GOP has swung to the right. Perhaps a better analysis would be how far the GOP has re-defined the right to stand for things decidedly un-conservative. They abandoned fiscal conservatism and foreign policy non-interventionism under Bush 43. They are entrenched in the trickle-down economics camp. Welfare for people is inherently bad, yet unaccountable welfare for large corporations is inherently good. There is nothing 'conservative' about their energy policies. Ultimately, they have no ideas to offer except cutting taxes for the wealthy and corporations.
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When they hollered about the re-authorization and expansion of the GIVE Act being tantamount to Obama setting up socialist indoctrination camps, they officially jumped the shark in my book. Since when is national service NOT a conservative value?
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JustTrollKingComment removed: Hard Banned
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jaspersneed6 months, 4 weeks ago
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They can whine all they want. They did it to themselves. Not that it much matters... give it a while and the democrats will once again do it to THEMselves, because the carte blanche to be the Liars And Thieves Of The Majority (LATOTM) at taxpayer expense is only extended so long... and then the collective hubris thus generated hits critical mass, political tone-deafness takes an upswing, and..... lo and behold, the OTHER gang of Cretins With Sinecures (CWS) bamboozles enough clueless voters into letting them retake the Majority once more.... And it's Deja Vu All Over Again (DVAOA), .... but With A Vengeance (DVAOAWAV)
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And all the while, the Fuse Is Burning (FIB)...........................................
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slate6 months, 4 weeks ago
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Hmmmmmm isn't it interesting that Specter ran as a Republican back in the day when he knew he couldn't win as a Democrat then, now he's switching once again to ensure his power? This is a fine example of the narcissistic nature of politicians as a whole and a good reason that they ALLLLLLLLL need to have term limits on them? Your ***** Becomes our ***** until they become YOUR ***** later down the line.
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ADAGUY6 months, 4 weeks ago
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You may be right. This may be no more than a move to ensure victory. But for the last three months the republickins' on this site have been telling us how this bunch will regain a majority in 2010. This being the case, what makes you think that being a democrat is more likely to be to his advantage?
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Did it ever occur to you that there comes a time when cutting ties is simply the right thing to do?
No, I would say a party line individual like yourself never has that thought! -
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slate6 months, 4 weeks ago
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No, I would say a party line individual like yourself never has that thought!
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It's pretty petty and 'assumptive' of you to think you have a clue how I 'think' on this or any other issue ADA. But let's turn this around, seeing how you are a HARD Democrat Party individual, it seems to me that you are a hypocrite even suggesting such a thing. -
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epiphannyy6 months, 3 weeks ago
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This is in response to Slate's comment, but really an overall comment to the republicans reading.
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I understand that the right is trying very hard to marginalize this defection as nothing more than a preservation tactic, but I honestly believe you all realize it is more than that. Yes, part of his reasoning is that he'd likely lose running as a republican in the current climate, but that also supports the overall picture of him representing the constituency who elected him. He's never been a hard-line right winger...NEVER. He's always been a moderate and his constituency agreed with him. That's why he kept getting reelected. Now, however, his constituency is switching sides because what is happening to the republican base in eastern Pennsylvania and elsewhere. The bulk of republicans in his district are moderates like him. They are leaving your party in droves as well. So really, for you all to now say he's only switching sides to preserve his senatorial seat are being a bit disingenuous and I really believe you know this. And I think the nastiness coming from the far right only prove that you know this. If he were someone you didn't really want on your side anyway, then you wouldn't be throwing such tantrums over his exit. You realize that he really IS following the lead of his constituency, which is what our elected officials are SUPPOSED to do by the way, and going where his constituency is going.
I'm not surprised at the nastiness coming from the far right, but I think the outrage over this decision is fooling no one. You see your party falling apart and you are showing your uncertainty over it. And when I say "you" I don't mean YOU specifically, just to be clear, but the party as a whole is realizing that the steps taken over the past eight years are proving disastrous. The alliances formed with special interest groups while ignoring the bulk of your party have finally begun to push a great many of them away. Just as LBJ's decision to go so far to the left in his administration cost the democrats a great many voters, so has the decisions and choices made by the Bush administration done to the republicans.
That's how I see it anyway. These attacks on Arlen Specter are more fear-based than anything else. How you all choose to deal with it from this point forward, however, will define and dictate the future of the republican party. Are you going to act like children, calling names and telling others to take their toys and leave with him (as Rush Limbaugh has done suggesting John and Megan McCain do) or will you use this as a wake-up call that changes need to be made if your party is to survive into the next decade? The choice is entirely yours. -
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rally-monkeyComment removed: Abusive9 Replies
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JackofallChems6 months, 4 weeks ago
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Gee, looks like the RINO is finally ready to retire and wants to have the 'democrat' label so that his adoring fans will finally know for sure which side he's on. It's a shame that ol' single bullet Specter couldn't have been run out of town instead of just strolling away on his own schedule, but I'm sure that we're all familiar with how incorruptable the voting system in Philly is, so it's understandable that the incumbent always won. I've always wondered, though, whether it was actual voter fraud or if it was just that the fine folks in Philly actually considered corruption to be that big of a selling point.
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(of course, when a sitting mayor finds an FBI bug in his office as part of a sting operation for city gov't corruption, it wins the election in spite of his record rather than being a detriment - so maybe Arlen didn't need to have those voting districts handing over more than 100% of the possible votes as per the Census population figures, but I guess it never hurts to be on the safe side when the votes are being counted...) -
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Tcaros6 months, 4 weeks ago
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Senator Specter is from my state. I went to his office in Washington DC to speak against Bush's illegal domestic wiretapping. His staff listened well to our group of twenty people. He is a former prosecutor and respects the judicial system.
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He is a man of conviction and principle and will always try to be on the correct side of an issue. He should be commended by his colleagues. All the lies and treachery of the Bush administration would be hard for someone of principle to stand behind. He, like others in his party, have a problem with breaking the laws and hurting America. He chose the right party for now. One that holds views of the Constitituition and individuals that respect our American principles.
He has my vote and support.-
JustTrollKingComment removed: Hard Banned1 Reply
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scott42616 months, 4 weeks ago
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Personally, I'd rather Arlen Specter had become an independent to caucus with the Democrats. Labels aside, that's what he's gonna be. He was one of only three liberal Republicans in the Senate (the other two are Olympia Snow and Susan Collins, both of Maine). Other than them, there are no Republicans left in the northeast....at all!
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And I do admire Specter for standing up to the nutballs in his own party on the issue of abortion and the nomination of Robert Bork.
Still, I'll never forgive him for his questioning of Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings and saying that she was guilty of perjury (and for the record, I believed her then and I still believe her now....).-
rally-monkeyComment removed: Abusive3 Replies
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illdrinktothat696 months, 3 weeks ago
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I think people are so blinded with partisanship right now and what some see as a wished for embarrassment to the GOP to see the cynicism in Specter's move. Just a few weeks ago, Specter was quoted as saying he would not leave the Republican party. Now Specter is switching back (after switching from the Democrats in the past) because of polls indicating that he is almost assured of losing the GOP primary.
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His reasoning about feeling out of touch with the GOP is betrayed by his further reasoning that he would not subject himself to losing a GOP primary after 29 years of "my service". My as in it is all about me, right Arlen? This man is a poster child for term limits.
If people are content because they see that it is desirable that we get closer to becoming a one party system, then they should reflect on the harm of that kind of development for our country. -
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rawleighf6 months, 3 weeks ago
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The appointment of Clarence Thomas was one of the best things that happened in this federal Democratic Republic.! I'm interested, without prejudice, but what is Specters background, the Social statistics? He certainly is a character!
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