Specter (D) hasn’t changed

The sky is not falling. Calm down! Arlen Specter, with his announcement that he is now a democrat, hasn’t changed at all. He is still the quintesential Pennsylvannia Republican. He still believes in everything he’s believed in for 30+ years. He hasn’t changed; you have!

My disapproval of the neoconservatives dates back, far beyond the mainstream. That said, I’ve hated congress since I was a kid. Partisonship has always seemed to be the default position of the doomed, and yet those same naysayers ditch ideology at its slightest inconveniance. 

Arlen Specter is one of the few members of congress who has always retained my respect. Though I’ve often disagreed with him, I’ve never questioned his integrity or his committment to his own ideals, regardless of party, platform, or politic. I’ve watched him grill government officials and powerful individuals from his committee hearings, switch party line depending on the issues. I’ve seen him plant his values in the sand like an anchor on the beach. he’s got what is missing from the rest of congress, an understanding that “compromise” means getting things done, instead of selling out.

We’ve had our disagreements. Most recently I wanted to throw a very heavy copy of a constitutional law book at him when he was interviewed on NPR on the torture issue. His belief that the Bush administration strayed from the moral right hasn;t shaken his opinion that, legally, there are no grounds for indictments. I disagree, but I couldn’t help but listen as he dispassionately argued the letter of the law while bashing the decisions of our last president. This cool headed objectivity is why this man has been able to switch parties twice and still remain one of the most respected senators in DC.

So what happened? Just like the democrats in the Bush years, the Republicans have retreated into ideology when it doesn’t matter because they are destined to lose. In other words, as long as Obama keeps coming up with ideas and the democrats in congress keep passing them (with the help of moderates like Specter) then there is no reason, in their mind, to compromise or cooperate. As a result, real discussion on some very complex issues are primarily happening inside the democratic party while the republicans are finding themselves throwing teaparties (more on that later). That means that moderates who actually want to accomplish things without giving in to partisanship are left on the left of a righter right wing (I can hear my English teachers reading that sentence and groaning).

Republicans would be unwise to turn their backs on the likes of Specter. If moderates in both parties checked our last president, we’d probably still have a republican in the white house.