Specter's Slow Move To The Left Begins?

Specter's Slow Move To The Left Begins?

When Arlen Specter became a Democrat nearly three weeks ago, everyone in Washington was extremely "surprised," but nobody was really all that surprised. Specter had been taking a beating from the right for, among other things, supporting the stimulus bill. He had lost the confidence of many in his party and, to ward off attackers, he was tacking steadily to the right to protect himself from a primary challenge he nonetheless seemed poised to lose.

So he became a Democrat. The move made sense as a matter of both Senate and electoral politics. Specter fits in just as well among the significant ranks of conservative Senate Democrats as he does among the ever-shrinking ranks of moderate Republicans, and his move into the majority renews what had been his dwindling hopes of re-election.
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Yesterday he announced that he and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) are nearing a compromise on EFCA. And yesterday, his staff confirmed to me that he is no longer dead set against Johnsen.

Of course, that doesn't mean he's become a poster child for Born Again Liberalism. There are only a few ways of amending EFCA that don't involve heaving labor off the train, and we don't yet know what Harkin will have to sacrifice to bring Specter on board. Likewise, even if Specter decides not to support a Johnsen filibuster, he could still vote against her confirmation.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/05/specters-slow-move-to-the-left.php?ref=fpjr2

any committee chairmanships and probably will be challenged by a democrat in the primary.

...we'll work to unseat you. :)

so any move to the left he makes, however small it might be, is welcome. I still don't expect him to ever be a true Democrat but if he can help the Democrats even just a little then I think that is a good thing.

Senator Grandstand is about one thing and one thing only: Senator Grandstand. As a Republican, he often made public pronouncements about his principled opposition to some bit of Bush administation law-breaking or other. But when the votes were counted, hey presto! there was Specter, safely ensconced in the most extreme Republican position. Every now and then, he would cast an actual vote against some particularly corrupt bit of legislation, but on the crucial cloture vote, he'd vote to cut off debate and send the bill to the floor so he could case a meaningless vote against it.

Specter will pull the same crap on the other side of the aisle. He'll make noises designed to soothe Democratic leadership, but when the vote comes, he'll be there to keep the debate going or to table the bill or do something else to kill it under the guise of bipartisanship or some other such nonsense.

Specter is a snake in the grass and NOT to be trusted.

Tell the truth about the JFK assassination. Do that, and I'll believe you really give a shit about doing the right thing. Because that reality would likely lead to the permanent downfall of the bastards who have controlled the Repukelican party since 1952.

And will revote next congressional session pending his voting record, etc.