In a move that shocked no one, Arlen Specter abandoned ship on the G.O.P. Seeing that he had no other choice than jump sides or get unceremoniously trounced in the primaries, Specter did what most politicians are apt to do: he looked out for number one. He made all kinds of claims about the "far right" and various demogauges in the Republican party for his decision to join the Democrats. He gave his best version of the Reagan speech where he did not leave the party, but the party left him. Unlike with Reagan, people are seeing this shill for what he is. He is little more then another opportunist politician that felt a change and the winds and decided to follow suit. His voting record was never particularly principled to begin with, unless you count his constant attempts to make himself for powerful and important.All that has changed by his actions is that the Democrats now have 60 seats in the senate and are "filibuster" proof. Unfortunately, this means that a lot more of Obama's agenda is going to get forced through the Senate. This has nothing to do with the Republicans and the Democrats actually disagreeing with each other, it's just that they have to spite each other from time to time. With this new super-majority, Obama and the Democrats are going to be able to run rampant over the Constitution and the free markets. Government Motors will soon be a small blip when compared to what is coming now. With no real opposition remaining, every big government, Keynesian pipe dream is now on the table. The saddest thing about this is that it would only be different under McCain because the Democrats would be against this stuff if a Republican proposed it.
One of the reasons that he was being pressured out of the Republican party was his support for the bailouts. It would be wonderful if that meant that the Republicans were finally moving to an honestly fiscal conservative platform. It would do the party, and the country, a great service if there was a truly libertarian voice to stand against the statism that is currently running rampant. One of the best ways for the Republicans to recapture America is to remove the neo and theo cons and the squishy center. Sadly, this is unlikely to happen. The Republicans have made many small government promises in the past, which they quickly forget once they regain power. It also wasn't too long ago that they were largely in favor of the TARP programs when Bush was proposing them. Let's also not forget a very (neo)liberal senator that recently left the Democrats and was welcomed by the Republicans with open arms simply because he supported military adventurism. It is hard to believe that the Republicans have actually changed when this guy was almost their Vice Presidential candidate:
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SOCIALISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWrong ism...
ReplyDeleteEveryone is attempting to paint Specter's jump as a "big deal." I just don't see it that way. Sure it gives the Dems 60 votes in the Senate but that is only enough if all 60 Dems vote together, something not likely to happen often, if at all. Specter is all about his re-election, his views are not changing. He is not switching his stance on the Employee Free Choice Act, nor do I expect him to vote for cloture on every Democratic-sponsored bill.
ReplyDeleteIf the Dems were smart they would have told Specter that he would not be supported in the 2010 Dem Senate Primary. Specter would have been forced to lose the Republican Primary or run as an Independent. The Dems now hold a great advantage in PA thanks to the registration efforts of Obama in 2008 and could have picked someone with real ties to the Democratic Party to run. Of course, to reject Specter would require a backbone on the part of the Dems.
What will be truly interesting to watch is the other 2010 Senate races. Only one Dem seat looks vulnerable (Colorado), and it looks like there will be weak competition for the newly-appointed incumbent. But there could be multiple pickups for the Dems (KY, LA, FL, NC, SD, MO and AK, maybe OH). If many of those seats switch, we may be headed for some big changes. These pickups would allow for some dissent within the party on the 60 votes needed for cloture. If Dems can get cloture on anything they want, Obama will enjoy some of the greatest power of any president, ever.
It will be very interesting to see whether the electorate, which appears to be in love with Obama according to the latest polls, gives him more power or decides to ensure some resistance to his policies by electing Republican Senators. Time will tell...
See, I think it is a big deal because as I understand it (and I could be very wrong) the Dems don't even need to discuss anything with the Republicans now that Specter is caucusing with them. If all 60 can get together and reach a decision, they can decide to cloture and push it through without asking a single Republican their opinion.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that this makes Specter one of the most important people in the Senate until the 2010 elections. Since he has made a point that he will not rubber stamp every proposal, he will be a key person Democrats need to please in order to get their cloture vote.
That's what he is going for. The DNC is already making noises about not supporting anyone in the primary, and he is keeping his seniority. Until 2010 the name of the game is keep Specter happy. After that, reality is going to hit him really hard.
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