Why Specter Switched

But he couldn’t win its primary because he is not far right enough. Which makes the GOP tent really, really, really, really, very small.

We takes em as we gets em. Any distance from the Bushies is a notch for rational thought. Obama is working on the hearts and minds of America. Eventually, we will get to Pat Robertson and Rush. Watch out, dancing in the streets.

That’s a pretty tough piece.
But I learned this about the newest old Democrat “He introduced a bill to establish a flat tax.”
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Glad “we” got him!

You don’t go to war the GOP you wish you had……

I think Grunwald is just flat out wrong. Specter probably would not have survived the Republican primary, but he’s almost a lock to win another term now. It wasn’t desperate opportunism. It was accepting the reality that the party he had called home had gone so far off the deep end that it represented neither Specter or his constituents.

” Specter probably would not have survived the Republican primary, but he’s almost a lock to win another term now”
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I thought that was Grunwald’s point sacredh.

I still don’t understand why people differentiate between politicians doing things for their own selfish ends vs doing it for the good of the voters. The whole point of the design of our Constitution is so that those forces pull in the same direction.
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Grunwald is free to imply that Specter is doing nothing but looking out for himself, but the fact that his own best move is to bolt from the Republican party speaks volumes about how the party itself is fracturing and leaving the inmates in charge of the asylum.

Here is the video from the tweet KT sent earlier
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“What the hell does that mean?”

Grunwald’s mastery of teh obvious is … yawn. Talk about your desparate opportunism.

Whups, link
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PNNTO: The part of Grunwald’s post I disagreed with was the “desperate opportunism” bit. I don’t think it was desperate or opportunistic. I said months ago that the republican party was in danger of losing the few moderates they had because the party had gone bats!t crazy. I also said we should go after Collins and Snowe. When your party seems intent on destroying itself and takes positions that fly in the face of reality, switching parties is the sane recourse. I’m sure Specter does look at it as means of survival, but I also feel that he realized he had little in common with them anymore. I think Specter’s switch was just facing reality.

The whole point of the design of our Constitution is so that those forces pull in the same direction.
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Just so, PD, and it’s worked pretty well. If the Founding Fathers had seen Cheney coming, they would have been too depressed to finish the document. Nothing’s fool-proof.

The only way you can accept Grunwald’s critique is if you really believe that Pat Toomey is a viable statewide candidate which it isn’t. In Specter’s mind I am sure he is thinking he is actually keeping a REAL Dem out by switching. Besides that he went down the list of Republicans who the Club For Growth had primaried only to have their candidate get their ass WHUPPED in the general which lead to in part the GOP being in the minority in the first place. True there was some self preservation inherent in Specter’s move but its also true that the wingnuts in his party forced him into it after he voted for the stimulus bill which was the responsible thing to do. I am pretty sure Specter noticed that Tedisco said late in his campaign after hedging for a long time that he would have voted against the stimulus bill and you see where that got THAT bozo.

I gotta believe that Specter was tired of being in the same party as Michele Bachmann also
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http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/28/bachmann-flu-democrats/

“What the hell does that mean?”
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It means that CNN isn’t an automatic walkover for a Republican if he’s batsh!t insane. Finally!
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And what a lame bunch of garbage shoots out of DeMint after he gets his bluff called.

At 79 and with two bouts of cancer behind him, seems to me he could be considering his legacy in history, as these are truly historic times and many volumes will be penned about it.

Specter’s heart hasn’t been in the GOP for a long time, probably since ’92 when the wingnuts took over. Maybe he wanted to leave a record that he wasn’t on the losing side of history. Maybe he doesn’t want an R by his name when he leaves this earth.

And that would be a perfectly sound reason to me if it were to be the case.

I just can’t understand -other than KT’s point about this being for immediate results on BHO’s agenda-how this is a plus for Democrats.
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If he was sure to lose in either a Republican primary or the general to a real Democrat this is a pretty big give away.
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Great for Specter. Maybe good for BHO. Likely bad for the Democratic party.

Much less to that Grunwald take than meets the eye. That Specter was likely to lose in the GOP primary reflects no failure on Specter’s part, only on the part of the PA GOP.

According to Greg Sargent -
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***Only a month ago, Reid suggested to reporters that Specter’s opposition to EFCA was a dealbreaker in terms of a party switch. “In coming out against card-check,” Reid said then, Specter “stopped everyone from being able to help him.”
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Today Specter stated unequivocally that not only does he still oppose EFCA, he’ll also vote against bringing it to the floor for a debate.
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But this is now not a dealbreaker for the Senate Majority Leader. I asked Reid spokesperson Jim Manley if Reid would support Specter in the primary if his EFCA position remained what it is today.
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“Senator Reid is going to support Senator Specter in the primary,” Manley replied. This makes it tougher for labor to mount a pro-EFCA primary challenger, obviously.
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Specter also confirmed today that he will continue to oppose Dawn Johnsen, who is prized by many liberal Demcrats, for the crucial post of Office of Legal Counsel chief, where she would have a major role in determining what Bush-era legal practices get reversed.
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Be interesting to see how this plays out.

Oh boy.
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Bachmann: It’s ‘interesting’ that the last swine flu outbreak also occurred under a ‘Democrat President.’
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http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/28/bachmann-flu-democrats/

PNNTO
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By next year most of the important votes will be over. Like I said before the proof will be in the pudding. All we need is for Specter to vote for cloture about 5 times this year and then its well worth it. Put another way, had he not switched we still would have been lobbying for his vote or Collins’ vote or Snowe’s vote on just about every single important piece of legislation. At least now we have him in our tent where we can work to influence him full time. Now like I said, if he screws the Dems behind this then you won’t hear Specter’s name after next year. I don’t know that Reid knows it or not but we hold all the cards on this one. If Obama endorses a Dem challenger in the primary Specter is toast. And with the sore loser law he can’t pull a Lieberman. Don’t look at what Specter is saying today, look at how he ends up voting. He may personally vote against Dawn Johnsen for instance but vote FOR cloture so she gets an up and down vote and the effect is she still gets confirmed.

Also from Greg Sargent, because it’s happy hour, a bonus Michelle Bachmann moment.
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http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/28/bachmann-energy-solutions/

Why did he fly leave the party? Self survival. He saw the writing on the way – he was going to lose his primary.

By the way, Specter is not a moderate. Speaking as a native Keystone stater (now removed), the last “moderate” Republican Senator from Pennsylvania was the late great, John Heinz.

sgw, since you were right early on this switch, I’m hoping you are right on the playout you outlined above. Like the way you showed it happening.

The GOP is truly becoming the party of “Lord of the Flies”

Okay Specter, sit down, shut up and vote with your party. To the spurned Republicans: FYM, as MC Steele might say in an unguarded moment.

Sebelius just got confirmed

And since I don’t believe in jinxes — where are those right-wing crackpot guys?

From the Washington Post, re: Specter
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Kristol: Good News for the GOP

yup. Just like Glenn Beck said.
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All those people that died were in on the conspiracy, it seems.
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I can see the thundering herd of idjits headed this way…

Micheal Steele should consider leaving, too.
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It wouldn’t be good form to have him have to turn out the lights after everyone else is gone…

I am not giving Specter any kudos. He made a calculation; and he thinks he can ride on Democratic coattails and still maintain his “independence”. There is something wrong with this picture. Another character and caricature comes to mind : the once KKK Robert Byrd. There are a group of Senators who are taking the concept of entitlement to office to ridiculous lows. These men/women should retire at 75 and give others a break. When you look at the past and present: there is simply too much frigid thinking in the Senate.

SG: Glad to hear about Sibelius. Women are having a hard time getting confirmed. Another strike at these old bulls.

Pretty soon, the idea of aerosolizing Risperdal might become more than a pipe dream.
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What would the collateral damage from a well placed Risperdal-tipped missile be called?
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Collateral sanity?

The Sebelius announcement
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http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE53R7IH20090428

How did specter vote?

Although I detest trolls, I gotta say that its striking that there hasn’t been even one troll comment since the Specter news came down. They must be all huddling over at RedState to try to work on their wingnut messaging. LOL I can’t wait to see what they come up with.
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Something to think about is in wingnut world Arlen Specter just left the refuge of the true American patriots to go follow a bunch of facist socialist baby killers. That’s gotta mess up their whole world view.

53_3
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Don’t know for sure but considering only 35 voted against I feel pretty confident guessing he voted for confirmation.

Dick Lugar is supporting Dawn Johnsen
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http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20090428/NEWS03/904289877

Don’t see anything on OpenCongress about it yet.

There needs to be term limits for the house and senate. Letting these people stay in office too long makes it too easy to become corrupt.

“They must be all huddling over at RedState to try to work on their wingnut messaging.”
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Is Sarah Palin the messeuse?

I think Grunwald is right. Specter has always been a preening opportunist who never met a position he wouldn’t vacate if it gained him some sort of temporary advantage.
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I was looking forward to a Dem blasting Toomey out of the water in the general election.
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Alas, we are stuck with another Lieber-Dem. Just one more “moderate” to appease. Today we get to watch the Republicans melt down even further. Tomorrow we are back to the hard work of trying to turn around the damage that conservatives and their enablers in the media (Broder, Will, and the rest of the editorial page of the WaPo) have done to the country.

Found it!
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00172
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Specter, yea

It’s good to see a politician willing to stray from party platforms, even if it means actually joining another party. I think that there should be much more communication and dialogue between the parties and party members to tackle some of the most difficult situations that we face such as global malaria, measles, and malnutrition.

The Borgen Project has good info on the estimated cost of ending global poverty:

$30 billion: Annual shortfall to end world hunger.

$550 billion: U.S. Defense budget.

choksa:
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At least the bright side of it will be that we can sort through ‘em and pick out the best ones!
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I’m trying to look at the bright side.

So Gregg and Bond both voted for Sebelius. Gotta say Im surprised.

New Hampshire is kind of a go-its-own-way state. Missouri has the same problems as the upper midwest and maybe Bond is feeling the heat.

Murkowski said yea. Palin doesn’t have a headlock there, does she?

sorry, wrong vote! Gotta check sources before I post.

sgw@6:29: The trolls are still unconscious. They clutched the pearls and fainted dead away. My guess is that they’re going to go out in the backyard, sacrifice a chicken and try to make sense of the tea leaves. Man, would I ever hate to be their dog right now. Run Spot run.

Someone should tell DeMint that he will soon get his wish
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http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Did-DeMints-endorsement-of-Toomey-set-off-Specter.html
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DeMint continued: “I would rather have 30 Republicans in the Senate who really believe in principles of limited government, free markets, free people, than to have 60 that don’t have a set of beliefs.”

SG- thanks for your thoughts, and as Ivy points out you were proved F’in right (hat tip Judith Miller) on the flip.
I guess I am a bit nervous what with KT reporting that BHO assured Arlen that he will campaign for him and Sargent reporting that Reid will do the same.
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But there will be a report card before there will be a primary so here’s hoping.

Rick Sanchez…”FREEDOM?…WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?….Lmao

Translation of DeMint’s reply, “Why Rick, it means if it’s up to us Republicans, you’re on your own…”

I’m watching Hardball and CM is crowing about how already the other Dems in PA are rolling over for Arlen…long way until 2010. Arlen needs to get in line…

As always, GG rains on the euphoria parade:
~ http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/04/28/specter/index.html
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But I like his 4th point–even if I agree with his larger view, I am relishing every moment of the GOP’s self-destruction.

Thanks for the Glenzilla link jcapan, that’s what I have been laboring to say.

Michele Malkin isn’t done with the purity trolling
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http://twitter.com/michellemalkin/status/1643366827

You know I hadn’t even noticed that Heather Wilson got beat this past fall. I was wondering why I hadn’t seen her on my Tee Vee looking like a stepford wife.

sg-she more looked like a political prisoner. I can’t stand Heather’s positions on lets face it all of them. But she is much smarter than being a member of the republican party allowed her to be. I always got the sense that she was just a not so good liar and it was like she was sitting there saying to herself over and over again-everybody knows I’m lying my butt off.

Watching and listening to the young turks and they are highlighting Rush saying Obama is now responsible for the newspapers going out of business, bank failures and the earth quake in Mexico.

Off topic, but did anyone catch Bacevich’s column last Sat? Excellent:
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http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/04/25/obamas_sins_of_omission/
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As much as I may scorn Joe Klein’s fo-po ideology, it’s perfectly in line with our “CIC”

jcapan
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I read it and I understand where Bacevich is coming from but he is politically tone deaf if he thinks President Obama could get away with anything less than what he is doing right now. If we weren’t at war MAYBE Obama could cut the MIC money but we all saw that even though he is putting more money in than last year he was STILL villified by the right and accused by some sitting Congress people of putting our soldiers in harms way by underfunding them. I will say this also, the fact that he tasked Gates with cutting programs and trimming the fat on the other hand IS a sign to me that should he get the chance in the next 8 years Obama plans on going after that sacred cow. But we will damn near have to be out of both Iraq and Af/Pak for that to even be a consideration. There isn’t anybody out who would really turn off the spigot right away. I would bet that even Ron Paul or Dennis Kucinich would have had to play politics on the issue in the middle of two wars. It is what it is.

Blue Dog Democrats = Republicans who don’t want to deal with the crazies. The Democrats are building their own opposition party and leaving out the Republicans entirely.

Blue Dog Democrats = Republicans who don’t want to deal with the crazies. The Democrats are building their own opposition party and leaving out the Republicans entirely.
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Why am I not seeing this as such a bad thing?
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Oh and JC-san: I agree with Sgw. At some point the MIC beast HAS to shrink, but during two wars that ain’t gonna happen. Plus the military is one of the best employers going right now, so in essence paying for troops is in its own way a stimulus.

Yeah, I get you SG. Idealist longing vs. pragmatic politicking. I read that the parts for the F-35 come from 40 diff states! Viral distribution of the MIC apparatus, from bases to manufacturing, is daunting to say the least. And I’m not gasping about his decisions/budgets thus far–A) I knew what I was voting for and B) realized he’d never have been elected had he signalled otherwise–the powers that be deemed him safe to their interests. But note what Bubba accomplished:
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http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0904490.html
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And WJC was no crossover rockstar.
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OK, signing off–sunny national holiday in J-town.

Someone needs to update their FaceBook page……

2010 is shaping up to be another tough election for Sen. Specter and we need your help. Already three potential primary opponents have surfaced.

Citing Sen. Specter’s centrist record and willingness to reach across the aisle to solve our nation’s problems, his far right opponents have wasted no time in attacking the Senator.

Additionally, leaders from both parties acknowledge that Senator Specter is the only Republican who can hold this seat in 2010. Without him as the GOP’s standard bearer for U.S. Senate, Democrats will take this seat and potentially tilt this country even more towards one party rule.

join this group and invite your friends to keep track of election 2010 issues, and to follow Sen. Specter as he campaigns for reelection.

This is a very interesting set of commentary, folks.
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I love reading this.
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Thanks for the Greenwald link, Oregon JC.

I really cannot see how this is good for the Democrats. Obviously it hurts the Republicans short-term but it hurts the Democrats long-term.
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Before everyone cites “60 votes”, due to Specter’s independent nature, does anyone really think he will vote significantly different now that he’s changed parties? If/when he votes for Democrat initiatives, it seems to me he would’ve even if he was a Republican. The man votes independently. Even switching parties is not going to change that.

Before everyone cites “60 votes”, due to Specter’s independent nature, does anyone really think he will vote significantly different now that he’s changed parties? If/when he votes for Democrat initiatives, it seems to me he would’ve even if he was a Republican. The man votes independently. Even switching parties is not going to change that.
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http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/04/what-kind-of-democrat-will-arlen.html
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If Nate is right (and he has a pretty solid track record) Specter could drift significantly left.

What a typically opportunistic politician? Changing side after almost three decades, thus enabling the Democrats to have full say in the senate — how could such person dare to face his voters?

The only winner is of course the president. And the losers are, not the GOP, not the senators or congressmen, but the people of the US (the nation that relentlessly pursues and champions the ideal of world democracy).

(btt1943)

Ok I watched FoxNews so I pretty much think I have the troll talking points down.
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1. He was a liberal democrat anyway
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2. He was fine but then recently turned far left
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3. Good riddance because he wasn’t a “real” conservative
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4. The Dems should beware because he is going to be a headache
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5. This isn’t about the state of the Republican party its about the state of Pennsylvania
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6. Specter doesn’t have any principles.
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7. Specter was a coward who didn’t want to fight for their nomination.
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8. This is actually good for the Republicans.
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Now just sit back and watch the different ways these 8 points are made today by the usual suspects.

does anyone really think he will vote significantly different now that he’s changed parties?
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I think he’ll split his vote. Vote against measures but vote for cloture when its called for. Don’t forget, Obama’s from Chicago where an honest politician is one who when once bought, stays bought! They’ll keep him in line.

SG — Do you consider that “now the Democrats are going to overreach the same way the Republicans did when they had control of everything under Bush,” part of the good for Republicans school of thought?
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If the answer is yes, then I would say you have everything covered.

Darn it, I was just in the middle of writing that the gift of choice this Christmas for the GOP ought to be a dictionary, when Smirconnish (sp) just said that conservatives have the role of the party confused. Joe keeps talking about his party isn’t real conservatives, not conservative enough, blah, blah, blah, blah. When the problem is conservative is not the name of the party, it was supposed to be a description of one of the elements.

Here’s something very few seem to have thought… What if Specter is simply telling the truth? I don’t buy the argument that he’s meat on a slab in the next Republican primary, since he didn’t win his FIVE terms by being a pantywaist.
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I, myself left the Republican party in the early 90′s because I felt it had moved out from underneath me. And does anyone else remember all those times in Bush’s second term (especially) that Specter raised his objection to GOP-sponsored programs, only to be shut down by his own party?
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Ultimately, he was a good soldier and voted with his party the vast majority of the time, but even in this cynical age, it’s possible he was expressing his real misgivings with the Bush/GOP agenda and acted accordingly. I think this scenario hangs together at least as well as the “he jumped ship before he could be thrown overboard” meme, and better, since it has the advantage of drawing on Specter’s past, not merely his future.

Dee
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No I didn’t because the going meme on FoxNews is that he won’t vote as a down the line socialist commie facist librul, but that he will give Harry Reid headaches. I would say there is a smidgen of truth in that in all actuality but not to the point that they are saying. Funny how they never had anything bad to say until he voted for the stimulus bill. Its truly amazing when you think about it that a party that had just been slaughtered in the last 2 cycles would turn a vote over a bill that was about as “centrist” as you can get into a litmus test for a guy who has been a card carrying Republican for 5 terms in the Senate. What I think is obvious now is that the Club for Growth is really the Club for Shrinkage and they are a lot more concerned with pyhrric victories than actual electoral wins. The real question is will the GOP continue to allow themselves to be led by people who have no real interest in governing, only making statements in primaries or if they will finally wake up to the reality that they will soon be less than irrelevant if they keep on that path. I don’t think it will happen soon but I do believe that when they lose more seats next year in the Senate then they won’t be able to lie to themselves anymore.

“I don’t think it will happen soon but I do believe that when they lose more seats next year in the Senate then they won’t be able to lie to themselves anymore.”
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SG I keep trying to figure out how that could happen. Part of me thinks it “must” happen but with the current leadership I can’t see how it happens top down and for it to happen bottom up a lot of republicans who have left the party would have to come back. Why would they if the leadership hasn’t changed?
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Chicken or the egg situation, it seems.

Awesome cartoon that sums it all up
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http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/jim-morin/image_media/1022412.html

SG — I have only one more question, is Evan Bayh on the GOP talking points distribution list?

PNNTO
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It will happen because some of the GOPers in Congress and some of the Republican Governers aren’t really batsh*t crazy. They just play like they are to play to their batsh*t crazy base. After next year I think at least a few of them are going to be like PHUCK THAT! I can see people like Charlie Crist and Tom Ridge being more featured more prominently than people like Sarah Palin and Mitch McConnell. Its going to take some time but there are some moderate Republicans out there but their voices are either muted or drowned out by the Club for Growth crowd at the moment.

Dee
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Of course he is. Which is why he should and probably will get his ass primaried. The fact that he lets Joe Scarborough smear Nancy Pelosi without ever pushing back for a fellow Democrat to me is absolutely disgusting to me.

I can think of one group that aren’t card-carrying members of the crazy for loco nuts element of the GOP and that’s the Mike Murphy, wing of the party. When the shrinkage starts to hurt the fee base of the consultant class I think you will begin to hear the clamoring of a new page trying to emerge.

Dee
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David Frum is another. He was truly pissed off about Specter leaving and his anger wasn’t aimed at Arlen.
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http://www.vanityfair.com/online/wolcott/2009/04/club-for-growth-shrinks-republican-party.html

I’m kind of a coastal snob and don’t relish the thought of spending a lot of time on the ground in Indiana, but sign me up for ground troop duty when this skeezer faces a primary because Bayh has absolutely no class.

SG-excellent point about Crist. If his non-insane brand of republicanism catches on we would be a healthier country.

From Glenzilla,
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(3) Arlen Specter is one of the worst, most soul-less, most belief-free individuals in politics. The moment most vividly illustrating what Specter is: prior to the vote on the Military Commissions Act of 2006, he went to the floor of the Senate and said what the bill “seeks to do is set back basic rights by some 900 years” and is “patently unconstitutional on its face.” He then proceeded to vote YES on the bill’s passage.
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That’s the Arlen I know.

SG — I love this line:
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“The Specter defection is too severe a catastrophe to qualify as a ‘wake-up call.’ His defection is the thing we needed the wake-up call to warn us against!”
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Ivy_B — I don’t think anyone including Specter suffer from any illusion that he is a principled player railing against the thwarting of his most passionately held reason for playing. But the upside is that because he’s a player he is predictable in his motivations and ultimately maneuverable in his execution. Obama, chess master in chief, will be able to make use of Specter in a way that no person of true character would relish doing to a truly believing, idealistically inspired, answer to Obama’s call to participate in the process of restoring our democracy.

Ivy_B
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I love Glenzilla and again I am not Specter’s biggest fan but there is a lot more to the story than Greenwald lets on.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/28/AR2006092800824.html
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Specter and his allies said the habeas corpus right must apply to all persons — including noncitizens — held in U.S. custody. Most other Republicans said foreigners designated by the military as “unlawful enemy combatants” do not deserve habeas corpus protections.
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Specter’s amendment failed, 51 to 48. Senate Republicans voting for the habeas corpus amendment were Specter, Chafee, Gordon Smith (Ore.) and John E. Sununu (N.H.). Ben Nelson (Neb.) was the only Democrat who opposed the amendment. Four amendments drafted by Democrats also failed, mostly along party lines.

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Again I point to Ben Nelson who is a Democrat and actually voted against Habeus rights for detainees. Also I will point out that Specter was at least partially right about the fact that the Supreme Court would strike down the habeus provisions as they did in the Boumedienne case. However they didn’t strike it all the way and so its still being litigated to this day. But the reason the detainees in GITMO have habeus rights now is because the Supreme Court ruled parts of the MCA unconstitutional. In the end had Specter voted against the MCA it wouldn’t be anything more than a protest vote as it passed with 65 yea votes which also tells you that more than a few Democrats voted for it too. That doesn’t make Specter someone to adore, but it is a lot more than just him being a hypocrite on the issue.

Specter’s switch is the ultimate signal that Obama’s agenda has become mainstream and the GOP has overreached in their constant lurches to the right.

But the pressure is now squarely on Congressional Dems. Reid and Pelosi can no longer blame “obstructionist” Republicans for their failures.

http://www.political-buzz.com/

As to Specter changing votes, Nate Silver has a piece showing the degree of change of those who have changed party while in office, which indicates that Specter’s likely to vote more Democratic:
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http://www.fivethirtyeight.com

Matt
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Unless you know something the rest of us don’t the Dems still only have 59 seated Senators. It will be at least June before we could even possibly get Franken seated so you can bet your ass that there will be a lot of obstruction going on between now and then by the GOP.

Matt – to your point, Bradley Blakeman has the following at Politico’s Arena (and I know Blakeman’s very partisan, but I hadn’t put him in the Michelle Bachmann crazy category before):

If you think dealing with Somalia Pirates is bad, try working with Blackbeard Spector. …Obama will put the pedal to the metal and steam roll as much legislation through as is possible while he enjoys his “dictatorship”.

kathy
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Blakeman isn’t crazy like Bachmann but he IS hyperpartisan and he isn’t above using the Socialism cannard.
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Bachmann has her own category of crazy though.

sg – Blakeman also says this in him Arena paragraph: The Dems were able to get by defection something they may have never have gotten at the Ballot Box, a closure needed, debated ending 60 votes.
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OOps, I guess they let the cat out of the bag. Even the wing nuts know Franken won the seat

sg – (hadn’t gotten your comment at 43 when I sent mine at 44.) agree with you about bachmann’s level of crazy being sui generis.
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also, kudos on being the first commenter (I think) to embed a video. All sorts of possibilities…

kathy
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I wish I could take that credit but somone else embeded one the other day and I was as amazed as anyone. I guess they changed the formatting on Swampland to allow for it. I know it will make for fun times from now on lol.

sg, I followed that habeus rights bill closely and know that what Glenn said about that wasn’t all there was to it. However, since he has been my senator for 29 years, I’ve built up a lot of grievances, so I’m less than rational in regard to him. I bow to your greater impartiality.
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However, Arlen Specter is one of the worst, most soul-less, most belief-free individuals in politics. Several times I called his office and expressed my agreement with a position he took, then ooops he voted the other way at the end. I’m tired of it. Look forward to Obama and Biden holding his feet to the fire.

Leftist political activist and boilerplate, lunatic feminist Michael Grunwald asserts: “[Specter is] best known for trashing Anita Hill.” “Trashing Anita Hill”? ROTFLMAO! Actually, Specter is best known for helping to expose Anita Hill as a militant, deranged fraud who fabricated a tale easily recognized by the thinking community as the fraud that it and she are.

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Together with ridding the Republican party of its worst senator, the best part of the Republican party freeing itself of Specter will be the sight of feminists like Michael Grunwald having to contribute their money, time and votes to someone they hate even more than they hate the United States and the family. Feminists for Specter!!! I especially can’t wait to see the feminsists (male, female, other) of Washington press corps start their campaign on behalf of Specter’s re-election.

Are all the Swamplanders sleeping in today or something?

sg – we’ve gotten lazy without new posts, I guess.
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Only slightly OT – I see in the Washington Times (via huffpo) that there are enough signatures to force a special meeting of the RNC to vote on whether Democrats are socialists. How is that anything but a lose-lose for the Republicans? Either they’ll absolve Democrats of being socialists, or they’ll look like looney-toons for declaring they are.
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Unhappy RNC conservatives secured the signatures to force the committee to convene next month’s special meeting to vote on a resolution labeling Democrats as “socialists,” despite the chairman’s reservations about the political wisdom of the move.

oops, I should have noticed that the RNC is going to vote on whether Democrats are “socialists,” not whether they’re socialists

Socialists!!???
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I thought you said Socialites!
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never mind….

Looking at his political views, he’s a bit weak on gay rights, maybe a bit too gung ho on guns, good on civil rights, is not a ‘free trade’ guy, moderate on immigration, but he’s going to be a problem on EFCA, I think.
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Overall, he’s better than some of the blue dogs we have, and certainly a better catch than Liebermann.
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I’d really like to see EFCA become reality, and I think Specter won’t help there, which is a big minus. Still, he’s not real anti-labor either.
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Let’s not look this gift horse in the mouth too long. He’s got 32 teeth.

I think labeling Democrats socialists is the least of it. Was listening to the BBC Worldservice this morning and they interviewed a woman (from Oklahoma, I think) who said that she was a small business owner and her business was going to be shut down because she wasn’t black. BBC reporter said, Shut down? Surely you don’t mean someone from the govt is going to come and shut down your business because you aren’t black? She responded, They’re getting all the promotions. There were a lot more, somewhat less nutso comments in that vein.
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I think we have no idea of the rage that is being whipped up under the radar by the right wing. The gun buying craze is really scary.

Kathy:
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Do you think that they could include a couple more items in their agenda, like whether the earth is flat or not, and maybe repeal the law of gravity?
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I would love to be able to flap my arms and fly…

Ivy_B:
They’re still at it with the Southern Strategy over there in wingnutland. As they get smaller in number, watch for them to become shriller and shriller.
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To me, they are only a step or to from fascism right now, and it won’t take much for them to make that jump. Only four moderates left and that’s it.

There’s a lot of discontent now amongst the GOP members. Some of the more conservative GOP members felt that some of its members have alienated their values. They felt that a lot of them have turned ‘soft’ and become “liberal” in the conservative sense. Some of these conservatives are not only conservative but have nationalist values as well.

Try reading the comments on FOX NEWS website and you find that there are a lot of “Little Rush Limbaughs.”

Whether it was shameless self-interest or a fit of end-of-life conscience that drove him to it, respect that decision. At the very least he showed himself to be a man willing to grow and change. Let the Republicranks vilify him if they wish. They sound uglier and crankier at every turn. Specter is old and ill. He probably won’t survive another six years. Even if he is no lap-dog, he will win the next election and hand a seat over to a Democrat to fill out his term. In the meantime, we should wish him the best and let him enjoy liberation for the time he has left on this earth. Thanks Arlen, the country needed that!

Lets not try and shove Sen. Alen Spector to the grave yet. I think this Senator is very noble and ranks amongst reality folks who make sure that there is an America in future generations and not for self interest. If you look at the Republicans, MY GOD, they are just shoving the country into chaos. First by military, second by economy and third perhaps through welfare. I think if America is going on that road we might as well open up our Southern borders and let whoever wants to join and turn it into a desperate nation.

I think Canada will overtake America in two decades time if the GOP runs amok in the Senate with their policies.