Political Snapshot: Arlen Specter Switches Parties
April 28, 2009 1 Comment
This is a new feature on TruPolitics.net. Political Snapshots offer a brief, concise summary of a current issue. Each Snapshot has a representation of the left and right perspective, as well as the TruPolitics take on the issue.
Senator Arlen Specter announced Tuesday that he would be switching parties for the upcoming 2010 primary elections. Specter, who has served nearly three decades in the Senate as a Republican, has suffered greatly in conservative circles from his decision to support the stimulus.
Right: Republicans will be happy that Senator Specter is switching parties, as his strong ties to unions, support of President Obama’s stimulus, and liberal spending record depart sharply from party lines. They will be upset, however, that Specter has betrayed them, ignoring his 2004 promise not to switch parties, and throwing away the decades of support the Republicans have given him.
Left: Democrats will welcome one of the Senate’s most senior members to their ranks. Specter has great power and influence in the Senate halls, especially as the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee and an influencial presence on the Appropriations Committee. This switch now gives the Democrats a legitimate chance to capture the Pennsylvania seat that has been held for three decades by Republicans.
TruPolitics.net: Specter’s decision can, in many ways, be seen as his final betrayal of the Republican Party in a long run of departures from conservatism. His tenure as Senator has been largely ineffective, filled with earmark-laden legislative proposals, recently culminating in misguided and politically expedient support of the Obama Stimulus. For decades, he has been a Republican in name alone. This departure clears the way for Pat Toomey, a true conservative, to regain the seat for the party. Significantly, a recent poll showed Toomey with a massive 21 point lead on Specter in the PA Republican primary. Specter’s switch is clearly driven by personal political aspirations–he saw the door quickly closing, and he made a desperate move.
Great overview of this incredibly incendiary issue. I did find that he actually gave an interview March 17th “The Hill”, in which he swore he would never change parties.
“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.”