Arlen Specter: It's about time you admitted your true allegiance

Well, the inevitable happened today. Sen. Arlen Specter came out and said he was going to change over to the Democrat Party. Is this news? He has been in their camp for years. He has voted with them more than he has voted with his own party. The Democrats could rely on his vote more often than some in their own party. So no, this is not really news, as this is something we have known anyway.

Sen. Specter knew that this is what he needed to do in order to be re-elected next year. Basically, all of the polls had him running behind Pat Toomey for the Republican nomination. And given his recent voting record, he knew he had no chance of catching up to Toomey. So, instead of going through the Republican primary having a debate on ideas, he chose to take the cowardly way out.

He does not want to have the debate, because he knows he will lose on the issues. He has lost touch with those who voted for him and put him in office. He has been in the Senate for several terms, and what does he have to show for it? Nothing. How has he represented those of us in his state who have voted for him in the past? Only according to his own interests and not on the interests of those who voted for him.

Does he have a good chance of winning the Democrat primary? Yes, he does. Does he have a good chance of winning a general election? Yes, he does. Pennsylvania has a high liberal population in and around Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Since most of these people are Democrats, they would not have been able to vote for him in the primary, which is why he would have lost.

I am happy to see him go. He does not stand for anything that the Republican base (i.e. Conservatives) stands for. He has thrown us under the bus too many times. After George Bush and Rick Santorum stuck their necks out to support him in 2004, he basically stabbed them in the back. For him, it is all about notoriety, re-election, and a legacy (that he is still searching for). It has nothing to do with principles and doing what is right.

* I am amused listening to and reading the commentary of the media and other politicians.
President Obama was glad to see him join the party and promises to campaign for him.
* Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said that “Sen. Specter did not leave the Republican Party. The party left Sen. Specter.”
* I have read message boards where people said that this is another nail in the coffin of the Republican Party.
* Some have said that the Republican Party has no business saying it is a ‘big tent’ party after running Specter out.
* Others have derided the party for ‘caving in’ to the right-wing of the party.
* Moderates have applauded him for standing up to the right-wingers.
* Sen. Specter has said that the Republicans are no longer the Party of Reagan that he belonged to in the 80’s.

Let me see if I can answer these.
* Is it any surprise that President Obama would campaign for him? My question is this: Is this even a news story?
* Why would one of the most liberal Democrat senators make such a stupid statement? Specter was never on board with his core constituents in the party. He was always a loose cannon. He has been testing the Democrat waters for a long time.
* This is not a nail in the coffin for the Republicans. Rather, this is what needed to happen in order for them to have a recrudescence in the political world. In fact, there are several other senators and congressman that I would like to see go along with Specter. Conservatism wins when it is on the ballot. We need look no further than Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984, as well as the congressional elections of 1994. When conservatism runs, it wins.
* Where is it written that the Republican Party must be a big tent? When did someone ever say that the Democrat Party needs to have a big tent? The left wingers would not allow conservatives or Bible-believers or pro-national security types to be in their party (and I have no idea why those people would want to take part in the Democrat Party). In order to have a big tent, you must compromise on core principles. This is not something that you can do and survive.
* These people that are labeled as right-wingers are the core constituents in the party. We are the normal, ordinary people that go to work every day and pay our taxes (on time). We love America and the freedom we have as Americans. We cherish the rights granted to Americans under the Constitution. We are not embarrassed by the greatness and power of America. We love God (we actually believe in Him). We are not a group that is going to hurt America, as this administration would like to think.
* What are moderates? They are people who are too gutless to take a tough stand on anything. They would rather see what decision the majority makes, and then they will side with the majority. Who cares what moderates think? I certainly do not. I want people on my side who are principled, not like the chaff, driven with the wind and tossed to and fro.
* The problem with the party is that we are no longer a party that embraces the ideals of Ronald Reagan. We do need to be careful not to worship the man, but stand up for the ideals and principles that he held dear. The problem with the Republican Party is that we got rid of those principles and ideals and started to cater to people like Specter. That is why we are not a strong party right now. We let people like Specter in charge and they ran the party into the ground. So it is not the ‘right-wingers’ that hurt the party. It is the wishy-washy people like Specter that hurt the party.

I say ‘Good riddance. Don’t let the door hit you where the good Lord split you.’ Once we regain our footing and stand firm on the conservative principles that the party once stood for, then we will become a great party again.