Oh, Jesus. Huge political story - Republican senator Arlen Spector switches parties

D_Ireonsyd_Colonrinse

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This is just breaking.

Republican senator Arlen Specter from Pennsylvania reportedly switching parties to become a democrat.

With Al Franken getting ready to be seated as a democrat and Spector switching parties, this will give dems a fillibuster-proof 60-vote majority.



(Arlen Specter, a moderate republican, what used to be called a "Rockefeller Republican", says that the new republican party has left him. Says his political philosophy is now more in line with the democrats)
 
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D_Ireonsyd_Colonrinse

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Specter switching parties is indicative of what's happening to the republican party in general, nationwide.

A Washington Post poll, just released, surveyed the percentage of americans identifying as democrat, republican, independent.

Results:

Number of americans identifying as a

Democrat: 35%

Independent: 38%

Republican: 21%


(that is the lowest for republicans in a 25-year period)
 

jason_els

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Results:

Number of americans identifying as a

Democrat: 35%

Independent: 38%

Republican: 21%

(that is the lowest for republicans in a 25-year period)


Or, as the Republican pundits would say....

Pinko Commies: 35%

Wimps who can't make up their minds: 38%

Red-blooded American patriots who love God and country: 21%
 

jason_els

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(rollseyes)

Listen to Hannity's descriptions of Democrats and Independents. I have heard him say all three of those things in respect to each political bloc (except for the, "pinko," part). Sean loathes independents with a passion, maybe even more than Democrats.
 

B_VinylBoy

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What's that sound? Is it the morals and ideals of the modern Republican being flushed down the toilet? Eight years of talking all kinds of shit, and in the process of 2 they've lost it all. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

I'll give them one word to ponder as the current administration puts more nails in their coffins... HUMILITY. Learn some!
 

B_Nick8

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Spector was very clear that he should not be counted upon as an "automatic 60th vote" and that he would continue to vote his conscience on the issues. But equally emphatic that as a moderate Republican, the hijacking of the Republican party by the far right on issues such as stem cell research, the NIH, executive authority, warrant-less wiretaps and, lastly, fighting the stimulus package which caused "a schism" for him, he could no longer allign himself with such interests and fully represent his constituency.
 
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rawbone8

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I suspect Specter knew well that the GOP were targeting his "heretic" head in the next primaries, and took a move that ensures his survival in a state that is now split red/blue.

Politicians are, above all, pragmatists when it comes down to it. I'm sure he had some advisers assess whether it would impede his re-election, and there may well be some back room deals to broker the switch.

A lesson for the GOP?
Canada's right wing party, the Progressive Conservatives, imploded after Brian Mulroney's run ended in the early 90s. They were torn into three parts by the emergence of two newer parties that siphoned off many supporters: the Reform Party in Western Canada (offering a much more right wing ideology and platform) and the Bloc Quebecois (the separatists' party at the federal level). It took more than 10 years in the wilderness before the surviving rump of the Progressive Conservatives re-united with the Alliance Party and formed the Conservative Party of Canada. They've managed to win only minority governments, despite the huge scandal that the Liberal Party ( roughly equivalent, but to the left of US Democrats) wrought.

There have always been members who cross the floor here depending on the issue and the rewards brokered for doing so. Many are so popular that they know their core constituents will vote for the person and not the party.

Of course, though, some do miscalculate.
 
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D_Ireonsyd_Colonrinse

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Nick8/jason:

I've always admired Arlen Specter. He's a true independent, I remember listening to Chief Justice John Roberts' confirmation hearings and Arlen Specter grilling him about his stand on abortion (nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court give as little answers to controversial issues as possible, usually saying that they can't answer because an abortion issue may come before the court , but it's really because they don't want to alienate either congressional party during the confirmation period).

Specter is fiercely pro-choice & showed up at the confirmation hearings with charts and graphs illustrating years of legal precedents (stare decisis), and all the conservative talk-radio hosts went nuts, berating him for weeks, as if he were an evil, bona fide democrat.

Specter has always bucked conventional party lines and frequently votes his own conscience (even if it occasionally overrides the will of his constituents).

He is, generally, a social liberal, a fiscal conservative -- and I'm absolutely thrilled he's now identifying as a democrat (even if it's for political expediency. Pennsylvania has been trending more democratic lately, went for Obama, and although Specter may not be able to win a republican primary this time, because the conservatives are less moderate now, he can most likely win a general election, some republicans, independents & liberals alike there respect him).
 

D_Ireonsyd_Colonrinse

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Thank you, Joe!

Don't say Joe Biden never did anything for us.

From today's Politico:


Biden spoke with Specter 14 times


In the Democratic Party&#8217;s courtship of Arlen Specter, no one may have played a bigger role than Vice President Joe Biden. Biden has been trying to convince Specter to switch parties for at least the past five years, but those efforts were stepped up once he was sworn in as vice president, a senior White House official said.

Biden has met or spoken on the phone with Specter an average of once a week since the Inauguration. And after Specter became one of three Senate Republicans to support the administration&#8217;s stimulus package, those conversations were stepped up.

--------------------


There's a montage of today's cable news coverage re: Specter on this politico page that explains the issues nicely:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0409/21808.html
 
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B_Nick8

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He is, generally, a social liberal, a fiscal conservative -- and I'm absolutely thrilled he's now identifying as a democrat

Funny. That's how star self-identifies. Think we can get him to pull an Arlen on the second part of your sentence?
 

Bbucko

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One of the many things I do for my employer is research political stories for inclusion in a couple of different online newsletters. I came across this story here at TheHill.com back in mid-March, which I submitted and which was ultimately included in the client's weekly newsletter. This news is really not any surprise to me.

Among the better quotes:

He said in an interview with The Hill that the role of the Republican Party in Washington is too vital for him to switch to the Democratic side.

“I’m staying a Republican because I think I have a more important role to play there,” he said. “I think the United States very desperately needs a two-party system. … And I’m afraid that we’re becoming a one-party system, with Republicans becoming just a regional party.”
“It’s pretty hard to run without a party,” Specter said. “It’s always something that could be a possibility. But then I wouldn’t be in the Republican caucus — wouldn’t have quite the standing as a Republican.”
A recent Susquehanna poll showed 66 percent of Pennsylvania Republicans saying they would like a new senator, while just 26 percent said they would support Specter.
And, very telling (and in keeping with Rawb's post above):

Specter also has a viable primary opponent in former Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), who lost to Specter by less than 2 percent in the 2004 primary.
It also points out that Specter was originally a Dem, but switched before beginning his political career in 1965 with a run for Philadelphia's DA. I always thought that he was more Blue Dog than anything else, personally. His positions on disability rights, domestic AIDS and abortion access are decidedly not Republican.

I also think it's really telling that while current Republicans worship at the altar of Reaganism and are cult-like in their veneration of him, they have disavowed one of his chief attributes: the so-called "big tent" of inclusion (always more of a myth than a reality anyway).

Now it's all about stiffening the boundaries and subjecting candidates to litmus tests for ideological purity. Every time they repeat that tired RINO rhetoric the "big tent" gets a little smaller, even if it gives some Talk Radio listener a hardon.
 

D_Ireonsyd_Colonrinse

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Nick8:

I think you & I should work on star - just like Biden worked on Specter.

Star can work with the dems on fiscal responsibility (from inside the party). Plus, star likes hookers and happy hours and is a tad bit bi-curious (don't let that 100% fool you!)... and he'd have to hide this side of his personality with the conservative base. - Dems, on the other hand, embrace sexual freedom and booze and lighthearted immorality and are more in tune with star's social views.

All we really have to convince star is: sometimes taking a a bit more out of our taxes for the sake of the common good (universal healthcare, environmental concerns) is a necessary evil. Occasionally we all have to pony up and chip into the center national pot and spread around the wealth so nobody goes without.


(Nick: in post after post, I keep describing, subconsciously, a desire to live in Denmark. Or France. National heealthcare. Free college. Equal rights across the board. A 32-hour work week and six weeks paid vacation. A more laidback, happier, less capitalistic lifestyle. Too bad this country is too large at 306 million to morph into Denmark!)
 
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I am OVERJOYED!! I guess we know who the remaining 21% are....the Deep South, homophobes, plutocrats and theocrats. Just not enough to be a national party by any means :biggrin1:
 

B_Nick8

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Nick8:

I think you & I should work on star - just like Biden worked on Specter.

Star can work with the dems on fiscal responsibility (from inside the party). Plus, star likes hookers and happy hours and is a tad bit bi-curious (don't let that 100% fool you!)... and he'd have to hide this side of his personality with the conservative base. - Dems, on the other hand, embrace sexual freedom and booze and lighthearted immorality and are more in tune with star's social views.

All we really have to convince star is: sometimes taking a a bit more out of our taxes for the sake of the common good (universal healthcare, environmental concerns) is a necessary evil. Occasionally we all have to pony up and chip into the center national pot and spread around the wealth so nobody goes without.


(Nick: in post after post, I keep describing, subconsciously, a desire to live in Denmark. Or France. National heealthcare. Free college. Equal rights across the board. A 32-hour work week and six weeks paid vacation. A more laidback, happier, less capitalistic lifestyle. Too bad this country is too large at 306 million to morph into Denmark!)

You list a couple of projects but I'm always up for a challenge.