by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright April 29, 2009
All Rights Reserved.

            Five-term Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter bolted from the Republican Party April 28, leaving Democrats one vote shy of the 60-vote filibuster-proof majority, giving President Barack Obama an early gift for his 100-day milestone.  A once proud Democrat and strong supporter of President John F. Kennedy, Specter changed parties in 1965 after running as a Republican and winning Philadelphia District Attorney.  Following the Kennedy assassination, Specter served on the Warren Commission, authoring the controversial single-bullet theory used to discredit any notion of a second gunman other than Lee Harvey Oswald.  Specter was a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, fiercely defending the 1991 controversial nomination of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court against sexual harassment allegations from his former law clerk Anita Hill.

            Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ken.) warned of danger to the two-party system.  “The threat to the country presented . . . by this defection really relates to the issues of whether or not in the in the United States of America our people want the majority party to have whatever it wants without restraint, without a check or balance,” said McConnell in a colossal flip-flop from the long-forgotten days when he had no problem when the GOP controlled White House, Senate and House in 2008.  Back then former Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) threatened to invoke the “nuclear” option, threatening to end Democratic filibusters by a simple majority vote, not the 60 now required.  McConnell and his GOP colleagues forget they threw Specter underneath the bus for voting Feb. 13 for Obama’s Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act, pulling the rug out from underneath his GOP friend.

            Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele called Specter’s defection an act an unpardonable betrayal.  “Let’s be honest—Sen. Specter didn’t leave the GOP based on principles of any kind.  He left to further his personal and political interests because he knew that he was going to lose a Republican primary due to his left-wing voting record,” said Steele, showing the kind of nastiness driving voters away from the GOP.  Steele omits he’s leading the charge against Specter in 2010 supporting former Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Phil.).  While some polls show Specter fairing poorly among the GOP base, Arlen expressed misgivings about the GOP’s right-leaning direction.  “As the Republican Party has moved farther to the right, I have found myself increasingly at odds with the Republican philosophy and more in line with the philosophy of the Democratic Party,” said Specter.

            Specter departs from GOP dogma on the abortion issue, considering himself a pro-choice Republican.  Defending Roe v. Wade and supporting a woman’s right to choose has become intolerable to the Republican Party.  Eight years of former President George W. Bush gave religious conservatives control of the Party platform.  Specter couldn’t stomach voting against Obama’s recovery plan, hearing Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke say the plan was necessary for economic recovery.  Specter watched his GOP colleagues support Bush’s bailouts of Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, AIG Insurance and numerous other financial institutions.  When he watched his GOP friends call Obama a “socialist” for doing exactly the same thing he voted his conscience.  When GOP officials threw their support to Toomey, Specter got the message.

            Announcing his Party-switch, Specter spoke candidly about what he thinks of the GOP’s right wing takeover.  Specter admitted that he saw his reelection prospects as dim, considering the strong support for Obama on Nov. 4.  After surviving two bouts of chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Specter is no shrinking violet when it comes to fighting for his survival.  He was less afraid about battling Toomey than cognizant of, since his Feb. 13 vote, his divergence from the current Republican Party.  Specter identified with former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), who sacrificed his GOP career opposing the Iraq War.  Over Bush’s presidency, Specter voted with the White House over 60% of the time.  He couldn’t, in clear conscience, oppose a woman’s right to choose abortion or scientific funding for stem cell research, something opposed by today’s Republican Party.

             Voted one of the 10 best senators in 2006, the GOP lost a brilliant legal mind and voice of moderation.  When RNC Chairman Michael Steele argued publicly about whether he or conservative radio icon Rush Limbaugh ran the Republican Party, it displayed the GOP’s current ideological war.  “Ultimately, we’re heading to having the smallest political tent in history, the way events have been unfolding,” said moderate Sen.. Olympia Snow (R-Maine).  “If the Republican Party fully intends to become a majority party in the future, it must move from the far right back toward the middle,” echoing Specter’s rationale for jumping ship.  Welcoming Specter’s return to the Democratic Party, Barack praised the 79-year-old statesman for his independence and balanced views.  If and when Al Franken wins his senate seat in Minnesota, Barack will have an unending green light.

 About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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