ARLEN SPECTER MAKES THE BIG SWITCHEROO

AFTER MORE THAN FOUR DECADES AS A REPUBLICAN SENATOR SPECTER IS ANNOUNCING HIS DEPARTURE TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY - WHAT HAPPENED?                                                                           

"On this state of the record, I am unwilling to have my twenty-nine year Senate record judged by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate. I have not represented the Republican Party. I have represented the people of Pennsylvania".

                                                                    Sen. Arlen Specter statement on party change

By B D Fenton

The venerable Senator Arlen Specter has just announced after almost a half century as a republican, he is leaving the GOP to become a member of the Democratic Party. He has long frustrated the core of the Republican Party by taking a more moderate stance on certain issues. But only a few weeks ago he was talking about himself as a loyal Republican. Why did he suddenly jump all the way across the political spectrum? Why not run as an Independent? Because this is not about a sudden epiphany of political principle - it is about self-preservation – pure and simple.

 Follow the money!

Money is power when it comes to winning elections. And what do you think the Democrats are willing to give up to get that final cloture, to get the filibuster-busting, Senate controlling, final-nail-in-the-republican-coffin, 60th vote? What do you think it is worth to them to finally have the Whitehouse, the Judiciary and both Houses of congress locked up? You can bet Specter has been promised support – financial and political – possibly more than he has ever had before. So much that he has even offered to return (upon request) Republican campaign contributions. How often do you hear of politicians offering to return campaign funds? Usually they have all kinds of excuses to keep donations from international criminals, Chi-Com Generals, or terrorists, but good old Arlen is offering to give it back. Let’s get real. Any time a politician says you can have your money back before anybody even asks for it, you know something is up. All this guy cares about is getting re-elected and that takes money. He is a forty year political veteran who knows it takes money and publicity to win. It is obvious the Democrats have promised plenty of both.

The Big Switcheroo

A month ago he was talking as a solid Republican. Now he claims he has suddenly seen the light and jumped parties. In the interim two important things happened. He fell way behind his republican competitor, Pat Toomey in the polls – 51-30. Since he barely beat Toomey by less than 3% in the last election, all indicators were pointing to Specter losing badly in the Republican Primary. Next, a PA approval poll came out showing Specter with Republican approval ratings in the high 40s, but his approval ratings among Democrats was close to 70 per cent! Coincidence? Hardly. The writing was on the wall. Being a true “Professional Politician”, he had no choice if he wished to stay in office. And that is what being a “Professional Politician” is all about – staying in office. To do that he had to switch parties. He knew his constituents and the party that supported him for the past four decades would be disappointed, but what was that compared to the tremendous support the Democrats would shower on him and getting re-elected to another glorious term?

He addressed both points in his statement this morning. It wasn’t hard to read between the lines. He knew he could not win the Republican Primary. He said very plainly that he was, “disappointed that so many in the Party (Republican) I have worked for more than four decades do not want me to be their candidate”. Although he didn’t mention the recent poll he did say, “Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans”. That sounds like another way of saying that his only chance is to line up with Democratic votes and wallets. At least he is willing to acknowledge that he had to switch parties to preserve his chance to get re-elected.

I guess what he meant when he said toward the end of his statement he did “not represent the Republican Party. He represented the people of Pennsylvania” was that he would be willing to switch sides like an Afghan Warlord to stay in office. When the Founding Fathers set up our Democratic Republic they never intended to create a class of “Professional Politicians” who, once elected, would become permanent fixtures in our government. That is why they stipulated limited terms – they understood how difficult it is to withstand long exposure to great power without becoming corrupted. This possibility was one of the dangers they feared. And Arlen Specter is a perfect example of the metamorphosis they feared that occurs after too many years in public office. He is whatever he needs to be to get re-elected and re-elected and re-elected……

 He is like so many of the hoary heads ensconced on Capitol Hill. Career politicians like Senator Specter are more interested in maintaining their personal power and status than anything else. Once elected they never want to leave their lives of luxury (paid for by working Americans). They have created, exclusively for themselves, cushy-fat-cat pension plans, superior health care and automatic pay raises regardless of what the rest of America is going through. All of their transportation, mailing, office overhead, meals and entertainment is covered by taxpayer dollars. They are feted like celebrities wherever they go. After a while it seems they start to believe that they are entitled to live above their constituents. Too many of our politicians from both parties have become intoxicated by the combination of money, power and influence that come with political office. It is a powerful corrupting drug that seems to affect even the best intentioned after they have spent too much time in Washington D. C.

 Senator Specter is a perfect example. He is one whose true allegiance is to him self. He was swept into office in 1980 as part of the Reagan revolution and gradually learned that his personal re-election was what really counted. Therefore switching parties after forty plus years is only a necessary minor nuisance. The Holy Grail is getting re-elected. He will do whatever is necessary to stay in office and preserve his personal fiefdom – even abandon his principles and betray his friends. The ultimate goal of the Professional Politician is to get elected, enrich them selves on the public dole and never – ever leave. Senator Arlen Specter just gave all of us a textbook example of political expediency and then tried to convince us that he did it out of principle. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

Nice try Senator Dinosaur, now go home and retire on the gold-plated lifetime pension you helped create for you and your Beltway Homies. You have served for too long. Your fortune is made and you are almost eighty years old. It's time to retire gracefully and make way for someone else to serve - preferably someone who knows our officials are elected to 'serve' the people - not the other way around.