And as an act of faith, the first thing Arlen Specter did to demonstrate his proclaimed values was... change parties.
Think about that for a moment.
Why should any person who claims to not be defined by party affiliation, even care enough to so grandiosely publicize that he or she is switching parties?
And wouldn't a person supposedly not defined by a party, in keeping with his or her principles, choose NOT to belong to any party at all?
All Specter is proving is that America has scarce few real leaders. What America does have is an excessive amount of damned fools who aren't shy about their willingness to be yanked around by their noses by whatever "the party" tells them. And Arlen Specter is one of 'em.
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Specter's comment is that the GOP has shifted since he joined, and he's decided to switch to a party that is more in-line with his beliefs. Or should he stick with the GOP even if their beliefs are no longer in-line with Specter (or worse, should Specter change his beliefs to be in line with his party 'cause his party affiliation trumps?)
Actually, same goes for Lieberman and others who have changed affiliation, I don't see it as being wishy-washy, contrarily I see it as holding your own beliefs above those of your party.
It is actually a bit surprising to me that with all of the turmoil of the last 10 years that we haven't had any movement towards a change in the 2-party system. Bring back the Whigs! ;)
Exactly Chris. He just wants to be re-elected and sees the tide swinging in the Democrats' favor. Totally opportunistic on his part. I wish we could have term limits and pay decreases for Congressmen. We'd start to see who'd really want to serve their country in that manner.
Ok on further thinking, let's discuss what were Specter's options. Our two dear political parties are both really the (unholy?) union of a number of individuals with disparate and often conflicting ideals and interests. Could Specter have stuck it out? Possibly. But as Eric said, he's more interested in saving his own skin (or to be positive, continuing to do his civic duty of representing the good folks of PA) than fighting a bloody primary with a contender from his own party.
But politics is like sausage, and Specter probably makes some awesome sausage. (Can you tell it's near lunchtime for me? ;)
If I'm not mistaken, I thought Lieberman went to the 'unaffiliated' column. I would've thought more of Spector had he done that. As to Spector's sausage making ability: I'm sure he's delivered his share of pork. :-)
But, CK-Left... I have to ask.. Is the West coast truly the 'best' coast? :-)
"What America does have is an excessive amount of damned fools who aren't shy about their willingness to be yanked around by their noses by whatever "the party" tells them."
Does that include the Libertarian Party ?
Ahhhhh... the Libertarian Party is so disorganized, that nobody follows nobody.
Seriously.
The biggest problem they and all the other "third parties" face is ballot access. The game is rigged to favor the Democrats and Republicans to the exclusion of all other would-be contenders. So as it is now, the Libertarians (and the other parties) are forced to spend most of their time and resources just trying to stay on the ballot.
You don't have to take my word for it. Many Libertarian Party members have told me the same thing over the years.
I still don't put my faith in any political party. But I do believe that people not only have the right to participate in the party of their choice, but that it should be a level playing field for all parties.
Let me be even more candid: the Democrat and Republian parties, for the most part, have a tendency to attract either 1. Those Willing To Exploit Others, and 2. Those Willing To Be Exploited. And in their own ways, each of those kinds of people are that way because they want to feel a measure of power, however big or small.
For however messed-up the Libertarians are, its members do, with little exception, think for themselves.
Pat Toomey was beating him by 28 points in the GOP primary. Specter is the poster child for what is wrong with our political system.
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