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A Specter of Change
Author: BobR
Date: 04/29/2009 12:28:20
The huge news yesterday (in case you were under a rock) was that PA Republican Senator Arlen Specter changed his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat. The change has an enormous symbolic impact, but how much change will it make in the actual passing of legislation? Likely not very much.
The symbolic impact revolves around the number "60" which is the magic number of votes required to bust a filibuster. This makes a lot of assumptions: It assumes that:
Some of Specter's previous votes may have been different (and along Democratic lines) if he hadn't been pressured to toe the Republican party line. So we might see some small changes. However, considering that he used to be a Democrat shows that he really has no party loyalty and will latch on to whatever keeps him in office. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but the Democrats should be realistic about this. His voting patterns will likely not change very much.
What's actually more interesting than Specter's party swap is the brouhaha it is causing. The Republican party leadership has shifted into high hyperbole:
Considering 2001-2007, maybe not.
Republican party media outlet FAUX News is expectedly bitter about it as well, spitting out the sour grapes:
Specter in turn had a few choice words for them:
Perhaps it's the magic number 60, or perhaps it's the fact that he's such a senior member in the Senate, but the hubbub and celebrations seem a little over the top. Party-switching seems to be a way of life in politics.
Consider too that Specter is 79, and a Hodgkin's Disease survivor. He probably only has one more term left in him anyway, and still needs to fight off any challenger in the 2010 primary. So I guess this gives one Senator the freedom to vote how he wants instead of kowtowing to the Republican party for the next 2 years.
I'd say that's not earth-shattering change... more of an ephemeral specter of change...
The symbolic impact revolves around the number "60" which is the magic number of votes required to bust a filibuster. This makes a lot of assumptions: It assumes that:
- Suddenly Specter is going to vote the Democratic party line,
- All Democrats are going to vote along party lines,
- No Republicans will vote for or have voted in favor of Democratic party-sponsored legislation.
Some of Specter's previous votes may have been different (and along Democratic lines) if he hadn't been pressured to toe the Republican party line. So we might see some small changes. However, considering that he used to be a Democrat shows that he really has no party loyalty and will latch on to whatever keeps him in office. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but the Democrats should be realistic about this. His voting patterns will likely not change very much.
What's actually more interesting than Specter's party swap is the brouhaha it is causing. The Republican party leadership has shifted into high hyperbole:
Not long after Specter met privately with Republican senators to explain his decision, the party's leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell, said the switch posed a "threat to the country." The issue, he said, "really relates to ... whether or not in the United States of America our people want the majority party to have whatever it wants, without restraint, without a check or balance."
Considering 2001-2007, maybe not.
Republican party media outlet FAUX News is expectedly bitter about it as well, spitting out the sour grapes:Get the Flash Player to see this player.
Specter in turn had a few choice words for them:
"They don't make any bones about their willingness to lose the general election if they can purify the party. I don't understand it, but that's what they said," he added.
Perhaps it's the magic number 60, or perhaps it's the fact that he's such a senior member in the Senate, but the hubbub and celebrations seem a little over the top. Party-switching seems to be a way of life in politics.
Consider too that Specter is 79, and a Hodgkin's Disease survivor. He probably only has one more term left in him anyway, and still needs to fight off any challenger in the 2010 primary. So I guess this gives one Senator the freedom to vote how he wants instead of kowtowing to the Republican party for the next 2 years.
I'd say that's not earth-shattering change... more of an ephemeral specter of change...
