You can take the Arlen out of the party, but you can’t take the sonuvabitch out of Arlen. Republicans are still licking their wounds after Specter left them behind like an annoying prom date, but they might have cracked a small smile after hearing he voted against Obama’s budget. No matter where he goes he will always be a thorn. The question now is, how will the GOP cope with one less Senate seat and one more step toward ideological purity?
After Specter’s switch (some call it a bait-and-switch) on Tuesday, both parties are charged with emotion. Republicans have resorted to finger-pointing and “told-you-so” accusations. Some blame right-wing groups like the Club for Growth, whose president, Pat Toomney, challenged and narrowly lost to Specter 6 years ago. Others blame the Republican party’s quest for ideological purity. Senators like Orrin Hatch and Lindsey Graham are calling the GOP’s self-inflicted purge a “losing” strategy.
And who’s one to argue? The Republican party is still in shock, and when in shock people do illogical things, like turn losing an election into losing future elections. (According to David Brooks, a couple more will do the trick.) A few other blame Specter himself. Karl Rove, the Brain to Bush’s Pinky, blamed Specter for not having used the last 6 years to “cement himself” against people like Toomney. This would make sense, if the reality of just being the Republican on the ballot didn’t make you the long shot in a Blue state like Pennsylvania. Rove assumes being the most Republican (i.e. conservative) man on the ballot guarantees a welcome outcome. The Republican brand is tainted; the morale is hyperventilating; the GOP is running around praying for a miracle.
Democrats couldn’t be anymore full of themselves. The party that was swirled around like bad coffee 6 years ago is now skipping along into their offices while whistling Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten.” Obama and Biden are jockeying for who should take credit for Specter’s move, but they do it with an ear to ear grin.
If only it were so easy. Another Democratic seat in the Senate (potentially two more if Franken ever gets seated)would make many believe Congress will become a rubber stamp for Obama’s proposals. Hardly. Organizing Democrats to do anything is like herding cats–political cats, with their own egos and agendas to look after. Historically, a one-party Congress and White House duo never lives up to its potential. Even when George Bush had the three-branch power play he failed to push through big policy proposals like immigration reform, the privatization of Social Security, and simplifying the tax code. During Jimmy Carter’s presidency, even though he had 74 Democrats in the Senate and 67% of the House, the relationship between Congress and the Presidency soon became acrimonious and ineffective. This may be a blessing for Obama’s most ambitious projects, but only if he has learned from the mistakes of his predecessors.
Republicans need to start rethinking their mission statement. Specter doesn’t reflect Republican sentiment, but independent/moderate America’s sentiment. Independents and moderates flocked to Obama throughout his primary and national campaign. They weren’t attracted by his policy on this and that thing, but on his overall outlook on the challenges ahead. His liberal pragmatism made him the safest choice. Many Republicans think the only way to fight Obama and the Democrats is to reflect the polar opposite, and that is why they are currently nothing more than the contrarian party. Saying “No!” to everything becomes annoying very quickly–just ask any parent of a 6 year-old.
If not recoil and assume a fetal position, what should the Republicans do now that they face political irrelevance? They need to answer one simple question: Who can be a Republican? Will they be a “big tent” party, or a monastery of conservative ideologues? From the chatter going on between the heavyweights, it appears these are the only two options they are considering. Moderate Republicans like Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins(R-ME), Governors like Arnold Schwarzenegger (CA) and Charlie Chris (FL), and others who want to be faithful to the party without being surrounded by watered down rank-and-file or hard-liners are being pushed away by the decision makers. They are one nudge away from pulling a Specter and securing their sanity and political viability with a D after their name. Don’t they get it yet?
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Tags: arlen specter · democrats · gop · obama1 Comment
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