erynthered Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 He supports embryonic stem cell research. He's not a strict anti-abortionist. Voted against Constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Etc. He votes with the Rep. party 2/3 of the time, which is not that much for a party member. He's also against "Gay marrage" but for "Civil Unions" Thats a hot topic for you my friend, right? My bet is that he'll be voting diferently on many of the issues he's voted for in the past. Though we'll have to wait and see. Hell may well end up on dancing with the stars, doing the twist! Nice point, Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted April 28, 2009 Author Share Posted April 28, 2009 So he switched to the party he agrees LESS with? John Adams hit the nail on the head. The best chance for him to remain in the Senate is to run as a Democrat in 2010 as there are apparently deep beliefs that he'd never beat Pat Toomey in the primary. If he goes to the Democrats, he goes unopposed with the full backing of the White House and gets to keep the job he's had for the past 3 decades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erynthered Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 John Adams hit the nail on the head. The best chance for him to remain in the Senate is to run as a Democrat in 2010 as there are apparently deep beliefs that he'd never beat Pat Toomey in the primary. If he goes to the Democrats, he goes unopposed with the full backing of the White House and gets to keep the job he's had for the past 3 decades. So its not about his core principles or beliefs. Or for that matter his constituents that have backed him for the last 30 years. Naa, If I lived in PA and had voted for him in the past I wouldn't be pissed. Nice work Arlin. Money and Power....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Adams Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 So its not about his core principles or beliefs. Or for that matter his constituents that have backed him for the last 30 years. Naa, If I lived in PA and had voted for him in the past I wouldn't be pissed. Nice work Arlin. Money and Power....... I think you have it wrong. It's because he votes against party 33% of the time, ie that he sticks to his beliefs, that he's so vulnerable to Republican attack. And it's because of those core beliefs that he wins the statewide election so easily, ie, because so many Dems and independents support him. He's always struggled with the Repub primary. This year, the writing was on the wall. The Alabama part of PA was not going to let Arlen win the Repub primary. With this move, he should easily win another term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Adams Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 He's also against "Gay marrage" but for "Civil Unions" Thats a hot topic for you my friend, right? Gay marriage gets me pissed off but it's low on my national priority scale. The number of pols who actually say* they favor gay marriage is tiny even though something like 75% of people under 40 favor it. The tide will turn on this issue eventually--and already is. Just have to wait for old idiots to die. *I believe the number that could give a sh-- or support it is much higher but they are a bunch of pandering losers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erynthered Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 I think you have it wrong. It's because he votes against party 33% of the time, ie that he sticks to his beliefs, that he's so vulnerable to Republican attack. Well, I see it from the opposite side, like Tom said. He's switching to a party that he voted against nearly 70% of the time. If he does that while in the Democrat party over the next two years, do you think he'll be on any choice committees or get the funding that he would need for re-election if he still votes against the Dems? Hell, maybe even obama stopping in PA to Campaign for him? I dont think so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erynthered Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Gay marriage gets me pissed off but it's low on my national priority scale. The number of pols who actually say* they favor gay marriage is tiny even though something like 75% of people under 40 favor it. The tide will turn on this issue eventually--and already is. Just have to wait for old idiots to die. *I believe the number that could give a sh-- or support it is much higher but they are a bunch of pandering losers. I agree with you, the number will eventually change for support. You know my position on this issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramius Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 I agree with you, the number will eventually change for support. You know my position on this issue. Doggie style? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erynthered Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Doggie style? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Christ!!! BASTARD!! Nice one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 John Adams hit the nail on the head. The best chance for him to remain in the Senate is to run as a Democrat in 2010 as there are apparently deep beliefs that he'd never beat Pat Toomey in the primary. If he goes to the Democrats, he goes unopposed with the full backing of the White House and gets to keep the job he's had for the past 3 decades. That's exactly it. I just think it was a bad move for the Republicans to badmouth him and to virtually put him in a corner. It made him do this way before he had to and will bite them in the ass in a few ways over the next year or so. Politics isn't at all about serving the public, it's about winning, and surviving, and hoping you can maybe serve the public along the way. It's that way for all of them and pretty much 100% of all politicians actually believe they are the best person for the job. So they think that whatever they need to do to win actually helps the public because they themselves will be in charge. That's what public service means to them. Now it's a lot harder for the Republicans to get their way and I think it was a bad mistake. I am not a big fan of David Frum but I think he got this right: "The Specter defection is too severe a catastrophe to qualify as a "wake-up call." His defection is the thing we needed the wake-up call to warn us against! For a long time, the loudest and most powerful voices in the conservative world have told us that people like Specter aren't real Republicans -- that they don't belong in the party. Now he's gone, and with him the last Republican leverage within any of the elected branches of government. For years, many in the conservative world have wished for an ideologically purer GOP. Their wish has been granted. Happy?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Adams Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Well, I see it from the opposite side, like Tom said. He's switching to a party that he voted against nearly 70% of the time. If he does that while in the Democrat party over the next two years, do you think he'll be on any choice committees or get the funding that he would need for re-election if he still votes against the Dems? Hell, maybe even obama stopping in PA to Campaign for him? I dont think so. He voted against the Rep party line 33% of the time but often, the Dems and Repubs agree and therefore he probably will still be against the Dems 1/3 of the time. (The odds of me caring enough to figure out how often he voted against the Repubs on issues where the Dems and Repubs had opposite stances is nil.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erynthered Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 He voted against the Rep party line 33% of the time but often, the Dems and Repubs agree and therefore he probably will still be against the Dems 1/3 of the time. (The odds of me caring enough to figure out how often he voted against the Repubs on issues where the Dems and Repubs had opposite stances is nil.) Me either. obamas promised to campaign for him already. http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9...;show_article=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 I think you have it wrong. It's because he votes against party 33% of the time, ie that he sticks to his beliefs, that he's so vulnerable to Republican attack. And it's because of those core beliefs that he wins the statewide election so easily, ie, because so many Dems and independents support him. He's always struggled with the Repub primary. This year, the writing was on the wall. The Alabama part of PA was not going to let Arlen win the Repub primary. With this move, he should easily win another term. What is the "Alabama" part of Pennsylvania? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drnykterstein Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Another person telling the republicans they have moved too far to the right. I'm wondering when you guys will start listening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drnykterstein Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 It's not a surprise as the Republican party increasingly continues to become the Dixiepub party and makes it hard for social moderates to have a voice. I'm not sure if you've noticed... but given the conservadems and moderate policies of Obama contrasted against far lefties like pelosi and harry reid.. the democrat party is becoming huge and is start to split spawn off a moderate branch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Another person telling the republicans they have moved too far to the right. I'm wondering when you guys will start listening. Many on this board are not the "too far to the right" Republicans of whom you speak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drnykterstein Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Many on this board are not the "too far to the right" Republicans of whom you speak. also many on this board are to far to the right... and it is Arlen Spector and Colin Powell (among many others) that have stated this too far to the right thing. Not just me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blzrul Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 The [very predictable] GOP reaction to this makes them look even more like idiots. First, it's clear they were blindsided. THEN they start with the attacks. They're just reinforcing the perception that they are totally out of touch with reality and they still don't get that people are sick and tired of attacks. "A complaint is a gift". This defection should serve to warn them of the seriousness of their situation. They may not have been able to prevent it, but they certainly CAN control how they handle it. So far they're blowing it. At least they are consistent. For all it cracks me up as the the passel of nitwits running the GOP continues to self-implode, I wish they'd get their act together. I can remember a time when "Republican" didn't send a shudder up and down my spine and many of them actually seemed like reasonable people. I could even vote for them occasionally. It's unfortunate that most of them have caved to a handful of rightwing extremists. We really don't want to be a one-party country. But, it looks like we're just about there for awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Good riddance to trash (Specter). He should have been kicked out of teh party years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Another person telling the republicans they have moved too far to the right. I'm wondering when you guys will start listening. Many on this board are not the "too far to the right" Republicans of whom you speak. I don't think he meant everyone, just people like... Good riddance to trash (Specter). He should have been kicked out of teh party years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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