I tried to stay away from the Arlen Specter party-switching story but since I have written posts on him in the past (and his dissaffection with the conservative wing of the Republican Party), I have to put my two cents into the void and see if it turns up anything interesting.
Most pundits, and bloggers, are shocked that Specter made the move. I am shocked that he did not make it before yesterday. Arlen Specter has made it a point to butt heads with the conservative wing of the Republican Party since 1994. In his ill-fated presidential run in 1996, Specter attacked the religious right by stating that “neither this nation nor this party can afford a Republican candidate so captive to the demands of the intolerant right that we end up re-electing a President of the incompetent left.” In 1998, he voted “not proven” in the Clinton Senate Impeachment Trial.
Of course, the writing has been on the wall since the 2004 primary that Specter barely won over Pat Toomey – 51% to 49% – and he has trailed Toomey in some polls by almost 20 full points. This decision is about Specter’s political survival. He knew that his chances of winning a rematch with Toomey were severly damaged after he voted for the Obama stimulus package. Plus, Specter probably looked at the race in the 1st Congressional District of MD where moderate Wayne Gilchrest lost the primary to conservative Andy Harris… only to have Harris lose the seat to a Democrat.
The only change that has occured since yesterday’s announcement is that Specter has given himself a better opportunity to win re-election in 2010. This move did not change the power balance in the Senate, as some would think, because Specter was not a vote that the right could count on in the first place. At best, Specter will be a DINO to the Democratic leadership just as he was a RINO to the Republicans. Let’s see if the Huffington Post and/or Daily Kos will be pleased with his party reaffliation after he pulls the inevitable “Magic Bullet” out of his bag.
Faculty, Department of Political Science, Towson University. Graduate from Liberty University Seminary.