IT is disheartening and disconcerting, at the very least, that here we are today — almost exactly eight years after Senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party — witnessing the departure of my good friend and fellow moderate Republican, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, for the Democratic Party. And the announcement of his switch was all the more painful because I believe it didn’t have to be this way.Sane, no? Reasonable?
[snip]There is no plausible scenario under which Republicans can grow into a majority while shrinking our ideological confines and continuing to retract into a regional party. Ideological purity is not the ticket back to the promised land of governing majorities — indeed, it was when we began to emphasize social issues to the detriment of some of our basic tenets as a party that we encountered an electoral backlash.
It is for this reason that we should heed the words of President Ronald Reagan, who urged, “We should emphasize the things that unite us and make these the only ‘litmus test’ of what constitutes a Republican: our belief in restraining government spending, pro-growth policies, tax reduction, sound national defense, and maximum individual liberty.” He continued, “As to the other issues that draw on the deep springs of morality and emotion, let us decide that we can disagree among ourselves as Republicans and tolerate the disagreement.”
I couldn’t agree more. We can’t continue to fold our philosophical tent into an umbrella under which only a select few are worthy to stand. Rather, we should view an expansion of diversity within the party as a triumph that will broaden our appeal. That is the political road map we must follow to victory.
So how do the mouth-breathers at Fox Nation choose to link to it?
Hat tip Washington Monthly.
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Mr. Specter switched because he couldn't win a GOP primary in PA. Don't you think he'd have more power as a potential R swing vote rather than a rank and file D? It isn't clear to me that Mr. Specter will win the D primary either. Would you want Old Unreliable as your Democratic Senator? I thought not.
ReplyDeleteThis certainly robs Ms. Snowe of considerable influence. Assuming the tax cheat Franken wins MN, the Ds no longer need Ms. Snowe's vote. I can see why she'd be unhappy with Mr. Specter's switch.
Just to go on record, I agree with her analysis in the last three paragraphs you quoted.
Sorry for the double comment, but just ran across Jake Tapper's observations about Mr. Specter's April comments. Ya gotta love this...
ReplyDeleteSo the 41st Republican, whose name is Arlen Specter is vital to stopping tax increases, passage of card check, and the Obama big spending plans.He was asked if he'd considered running as independent or Democrat. You can tell by the response he'd long pondered the way the R party had changed over time.
"I am a Republican and I am going to run on the Republican ticket in the Republican primary," he said.
There is a buch of other stuff which the Ds will surely love as well.
Thanks for providing this helpful information.
ReplyDeleteOlympia Jean Snowe is an American businessperson and lawmaker. Snowe, an individual from the Republican Party, turned out to be broadly known for her capacity to impact the result of close votes, including whether to end delays.