Apr 04 2009
Screw the GOP, Senator! They Don’t Deserve You!
There’s been some talk on the political grapevine that Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) might pull a Joe Lieberman (sort of) and run as an independent in 2010 because of the distinct possibility that he will lose the GOP primary to any one of the conservatives who have vowed to challenge him, including former Congressman and Club for Growth president Pat Toomey.
Many conservatives in the Keystone State are fed up with Sen. Specter because of what they see as his treasonous acts – namely, his support for Democratic initiatives such as the recent $787 billion spending bill. Specter says he is a Republican, but has not ruled out the possibility that he may decide not to take his chances against a conservative challenger and instead put himself on the ballot as an independent. This would be a prudent move. It could be dangerous for the five-term incumbent to compete in a primary full of wild-eyed, pitchfork-wielding Right-wingeres. Forget about losing; Specter might not make it out alive.
In case you’re wondering why the senator doesn’t just do what Lieberman did three years ago and plan for a third-party run in the event of a defeat in the primary, it’s because he can’t. Unlike Connecticut, Pennsylvania state law prohibits a person from running as an independent after he or she has lost a primary election.
I think the good senator should dump the GOP and go the indie route. Screw the Republicans. They don’t deserve to have someone like Specter run under their banner. If the GOP wants to become a party of extreme Right-wing nutjobs, that’s their business. Specter, who began his political career as a Democrat, was ALWAYS an independent at heart. If Toomey or any other conservative wins the Republican primary, that person will likely lose in the general election anyway.
Make no mistake about it: Specter’s the one, no matter what label he runs under.
