© Janet Crain
Click here to view all recent Sarah Palin in 2012 posts
6 years ago
Showing posts with label Arlen specter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arlen specter. Show all posts
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Specter the Defector: Flip-flopping Like a Ten Pound Bass
"The one consistency in the history of Arlen Specter has been his willingness to do whatever will best protect and advance the career of Arlen Specter."
It's been more than four decades since Arlen Specter, senator from Pennsylvania, earned the nickname "Specter the Defector." With his decision this week to leave the Republican Party, he confirmed that it is indeed an accurate description of his political character.Thursday, April 30, 2009
I was a kid reporter for the New York Times back in 1965, when Specter's flip-flopping first attracted attention, and the report I filed recounts the circumstances that led to his unflattering nickname. Specter, then a Democrat, had been an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia, and he harbored an ambition to run against his lackluster boss, James Crumlish. The Democratic bosses of Philadelphia were not encouraging Specter because, as one of them told me, "We don't want another young Tom Dewey," the reform-minded New York prosecutor who launched himself into the governorship and two presidential nominations by sending a string of prominent officeholders of both parties off to jail.
So Specter, with the encouragement of such prominent Pennsylvania Republicans as Sen. Hugh Scott and Gov. William Scranton, said he would run against Crumlish on the GOP ticket. To hedge his bets, and to help himself gain Democratic votes, he waited until he won the race to change his party registration.
Click here to view all recent Sarah Palin in 2012 posts
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Is Statesmenship Dead?
According to The Hill, Specter said this only about 6 weeks ago:
"I am staying a Republican because I think I have an important role, a more important role, to play there. The United States very desperately needs a two-party system. That's the basis of politics in America. I'm afraid we are becoming a one-party system, with Republicans becoming just a regional party with so little representation of the Northeast or in the middle Atlantic. I think as a governmental matter, it is very important to have a check and balance. That's a very important principle in the operation of our government. In the constitution on Separation of powers."
So what has happened in the few weeks since then? Is the country less in need of a two-party system? Is it OK for the Republican party to be only a regional party, leaving out the Northeast? Do we not care about checks and balances? Are the Constitution's precepts no longer important?
No, it was none of that (according to Specter himself). He said that he could see he was going to lose in the Republican primary, so it was in his interest to switch parties. He will not let the Republican primary voters determine his legacy.
"I am staying a Republican because I think I have an important role, a more important role, to play there. The United States very desperately needs a two-party system. That's the basis of politics in America. I'm afraid we are becoming a one-party system, with Republicans becoming just a regional party with so little representation of the Northeast or in the middle Atlantic. I think as a governmental matter, it is very important to have a check and balance. That's a very important principle in the operation of our government. In the constitution on Separation of powers."
So what has happened in the few weeks since then? Is the country less in need of a two-party system? Is it OK for the Republican party to be only a regional party, leaving out the Northeast? Do we not care about checks and balances? Are the Constitution's precepts no longer important?
No, it was none of that (according to Specter himself). He said that he could see he was going to lose in the Republican primary, so it was in his interest to switch parties. He will not let the Republican primary voters determine his legacy.
© Janet Crain
Click here to view all recent Sarah Palin in 2012 posts
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
OMG!!! Good Bye and Good Riddance!!!
Specter blows a kiss goodbye!!!
I guess the "embarrassing" Tea Parties were just too much for Specter.
Arlen Specter is leaving the Republican Party. Will run for re-election as a Democrat. One more RINO bites the dust!!!
Don't let the screen door hit you in the ...................
Specter's statement: "Not defined" by party
Statement by Sen. Arlen Specter:I have been a Republican since 1966. I have been working extremely hard for the Party, for its candidates and for the ideals of a Republican Party whose tent is big enough to welcome diverse points of view. While I have been comfortable being a Republican, my Party has not defined who I am. I have taken each issue one at a time and have exercised independent judgment to do what I thought was best for Pennsylvania and the nation.
Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. 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.
When I supported the stimulus package, I knew that it would not be popular with the Republican Party. But I saw the stimulus as necessary to lessen the risk of a far more serious recession than we are now experiencing.
~ Arlen Specter
© Janet Crain
Click here to view all recent Sarah Palin in 2012 posts
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