speculation
As I ruminated last night in bed about Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Spector resigning his GOP membership to become a Democrat (first senator to switch teams since Larry Craig. Shazam!) I became less giddy and more concerned. Why did Spector switch? I think it is less about a philosophical shift inside of Spector and more because he is a political opportunist. The Republican leadership has been on a quest to weed out RINO's (Republicans In Name Only.) It is not so much that RINO's are liberals but they are often times moderate/centrist Republicans. The Conservative leadership led by gentlemen like Hannity and Limbaugh have convinced people to donate all of their money to only "true" conservatives even if that means moderate Republicans lose in the general election. What has happened then is there have been intense battles in primaries between very conservatives with a lot of money and incumbent moderate Republicans. Even if the moderate wins the primary, he is so bloodied and broke, he loses to the Democrats. To people like Hannity and Rush, this is still a victory as they are eliminating "RINO's". What has happened is moderate Republicans like Norm Coleman, Lincoln Chafe, and others lost in 2006 and 2008 as part of the weeding out process. Arlen Spector is no dummy. Pat Toomey, a super conservative has received not only lots of money but also the support of far right radicals like Coulter, Hannity, and Rush. My point is that even if Spector survived a very tough primary against Toomey and beats him, he will be broke, and exhausted going against a formidable challenger, most likely, against popular Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell. Spector being the opportunist thinks he has a much better chance to win Pennsylvania, a state that gets bluer and bluer with every election, as a Democrat. My guess is he has worked out some sort of deal with Governor Rendell. Here is my problem then. I think he will easily be Toomey in 2010 but personally I would have rather patiently waited for 2010 for Governor Rendell to destroy Toomey or Spector than have a conservative Democrat who cares more about politics than his own philosophy. I could be wrong... but I doubt it. ; )
1. To all the Vikings fans out there who are so desperate for a quarterback that they are clamoring for Brett Favre... stop. This is not 1999. I would much rather take Sage Rosenfels (I acknowledge my Iowa State bias here) than an aging Favre. Last year was much different. He is showing his age. To those who think he is serious about being retired. Today he said, "Nothing has changed. At this time, I am retired and have no intention of returning to football." I see. "At this time"??? What a diva!
2. Currently listening to "Soulmate" by Natasha Bedingfield. Album: Pocketful of Sunshine
posted by cyclonejohn @ 12:52 PM
1 Comments:
Arlen Specter did not shift philosophically, you're right, but neither is he an opportunist. It is the REPUBLICAN PARTY whose philosophy has shifted. They are now alienating the very leaders who used to be their core. The percentage of Americans who now identify as Republican is tiny and shrinking every day. Most Americans who define themselves as conservative won't ally themselves with the Republican party, and that's because it's not a conservative party. It is a radical reactionary party. If you're not fat, white, "straight," male, rich and seething with hate, you can't be a member - look who they've chosen as their de facto spokesman. The Republican party is crumbling. They lost a big piece of themselves earlier this week when Specter switched sides.
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