The Specter Of Hypocrisy

Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter officially confirmed today what anyone with a brain has always known; he's not a Republican. After decades of voting like a Democrat, Specter finalized his decades-long defection by making it official. Good riddance. Specter represents everything that is wrong with the Republican Party. Party support of him and others of his ilk are why people like me are not party members and do not make general campaign contributions. Why would I want my money to go to help elect people like Specter, Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, George Voinovich et al?

You'll read a lot about Specter's official defection, with lots of Benedict Arnold references. but in reality, Specter has not betrayed anything or anyone. On issues that matter most to true conservatives - big government, spending and taxes, judicial appointments - he has always shown himself to be much more in tune with liberals than conservatives. He has done a lot of despicable things in his career, but one incident stands out the most. In 2004, locked in a tight primary with Pat Toomey, Specter appealed to a then popular President Bush for help. In the first of many moves that would anger conservatives, Bush acquiesced, and his considerable cache helped carry Specter to a narrow, two percentage-point victory.

How did Specter thank him? The day after his 2004 re-election, with conservatives basking in gains in both houses, he came out and stated that the President had better not try to appoint any ultra conservatives (liberal-speak for judges who actually obey the Constitution) to the Supreme Court. What an arrogant, ungrateful, pandering bastard.

Facing certain defeat by Toomey in next year's primary, Specter read the tea leaves, and threw in his lot with the Democrats. He could have simply run as an independent, as did Joe Liebermann, but knowing that he would at best, finish second to the Democrat candidate in a three-way race, he made his journey towards the dark side complete. Rather than thirty pieces of silver, his reward will be a nice juicy committee chairmanship, and an opposition-free path through the (Democrat) primary.

This cowardly act just goes to show what a miserable piece of garbage he is. He's not doing this for noble reasons of conscience. He's doing this simply because he can not stand the thought of not being in power. That, my friends is the epitome of all that is wrong with American politicians in general.