Specter joins the Dems

[Max2147]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

Wow Christian Conservative take over...

What ever happened to the zionist puppet masters?

I didn't mean it in a sinister way. Conservative Christians are the Republicans' main supporters right now. When people said that the Republicans needed somebody who would energize "the base," that's who they were talking about. It's why Mitt Romney, who has very strong conservative credentials on economic matters, never stood a chance in the GOP race, and why Sarah Palin, whose idea of fiscal conservatism is putting a jet on sale on eBay (where nobody bought it) became the darling of the party. The Bush Administration was one of the least fiscally conservative of all time, yet they won two terms thanks to "the base."

Look at the issues that are at the center of the Republican Party these days - they're all the moral issues that are most important to the conservative Christians. People on this board might like to think it's all about guns and national defense, but it's not. There's room for gun control supporters in the GOP, but there's not room for pro-choicers anymore.

[Max2147]

Some very interesting comments from both sides of the aisle: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...042802261.html

Some snippets...

William Cohen (R): "At this moment, many Americans are struggling with the same decision that Arlen just confronted. Polls show that Republican self-identification has dropped significantly -- though, unlike Arlen, many of those leaving the Republican Party have not yet made the jump to the Democratic side. The ranks of independents is growing -- which means that while many Americans are frustrated with the GOP's failure to practice fiscal discipline and its intolerance of social moderation, they are not quite willing to sign up with the other side."

Lincoln Chafee (R): "After the election, it was reported that some Republicans were happy to be free of the "wobbly-kneed Republicans." Happy in their 41-seat minority! I assume that Sen. Specter told the right-wing fundraising juggernaut, "If you fund my primary opponent, I'll switch parties." The likely response? "Don't let the door hit you on the way out." That attitude signals the demise of the Republican Party as a viable national party. The ramifications of the collapse are especially acute in states such as Rhode Island, where presently there is no alternative to the Democratic Party. Everybody here agrees that that is not good for a healthy democracy."

Thomas Davis III (R): "To end this cycle Republicans must do two things. First, we must focus on the broad principles that made our party strong: limited government, free trade, free markets and a strong defense. That's it. Believe anything else you want, but don't make those beliefs a litmus test for admission. Litmus tests are fine for a private club, but they're no formula for a successful political coalition."

Ed Rodgers (R): "Notice to Republicans: Arlen Specter changing parties is good for the Democrats and President Obama and bad for us. If you think otherwise, put down the Ann Coulter book and go get some fresh air. There's always a delusional element within the GOP that thinks if we lose badly enough the Democrats will gain so much power they will implement all their crazy plans, the people will revolt and purest Republicans will then be swept back into power. Even if this were true, it doesn't take into account the damage done while our opponents are in control."

Jim Leach (R): "The Republican Party was founded as a party of individual rights and individual initiative. It led the fight to end slavery, give women the right to vote, expand national parks and break up corporate monopolies. Today the party is more movement-oriented: pro-life, pro-gun, pro-tax cut and anti-U.N., with recent pandering in Texas and Alaska to irrational secessionist anger. Arlen Specter didn't fit. He's not the only one. Many traditional Republicans respect movement values but do not support efforts to impose them on society as a whole. They are instinctively pragmatic rather than ideological, tolerant rather than supportive of state regulation of values. They can vote for Democrats when given compelling choices, but for a variety of reasons they aren't comfortable with either modern conservatism or old-fashioned liberalism."

Mary Beth Cahill (D): "One of the most remarkable occurrences of this 2008 election cycle is the decline in self-identified Republicans in state after state. If the voters are leaving the party, can the politicians be far behind?"

[Max2147]

More evidence that moderates who disagree with Christian conservatives are no longer welcome in the GOP: http://www.sltrib.com/ci_12248321

The Michigan GOP cancelled an event for Utah's Republican governor Jon Huntsman Jr. because he supports Civil Unions.

[Zachstar]

I cant believe what hubhub this is causing.

He does not support many so called dem causes including the EFCA. At best he MIGHT vote yes in a few areas he would vote no before but that is it.

Yet people are breaking out the champagne like dems have won.. WHat?

Has the EFCA been passed?

Are we out of Iraq?

Do we have a serious future for NASA?

That's just a random pick of the thousands of issues the party and congress has to tackle in 4 years. If anyone thinks this switch makes it tons easier needs to get an edumacation in politics.

[August]

The article itself is spot on:

This switch is a function of personal survival and will make clearer the profound difference between the Democratic Party of big government, big bureaucracy, high taxes and big unions and the Republican Party of lower taxes, less bureaucracy and small business, with its emphasis on the work ethic, civil society and local control back home.When congressional Republicans forgot that their party was the party of taxpayers and government reformers, they lost control in 2006. When they accepted the Bush big-spending plans of 2008, they further lost ground.

When Sen. Specter voted for a $787 billion big-spending bill no elected official had even read, he widened the gap between himself and the tax-paying small-government conservatives who are the base of the Republican Party.


It is clear that Specter concluded he would lose the coming Republican primary, and he admits in his statement on switching parties that the vote for the $787 billion spending bill was the final straw.

This is what people mean when they say "not Republican enough".

[Max2147]

If you're defining "Republican" strictly by fiscal conservatism, then Bill Clinton was a much better Republican than George W. Bush.

The Republican Party today is all about social issues - the three G's (God, Gays, Guns). It's more the party of Jerry Falwell than the party of Dwight Eisenhower.