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Dan Sweeney: From a Purely Political Standpoint, Poaching Specter Is a Cowardly Move.
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com —
... As blogging great Glenn Greenwald has already mentioned over at Salon, "prior to the vote on the Military Commissions Act of 2006, he went to the floor of the Senate and said what the bill 'seeks to do is set back basic rights by some 900 years' and is 'patently unconstitutional on its face.' He then proceeded to vote YES on the bill's passage." (Greenwald's entire piece is a must-read.) ...
What will Democrats do about Arlen Specter?
The Next Right —
... Republican reaction, which ranges from disappointment to blame-storming to "Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out".
But that's not the most interesting story here.
Once everybody gets the Republican reaction story out of their system, we'll turn to a much, much more interesting chapter in this story: How will Democrats react to Democratic Senate candidate Arlen Specter?
Early reaction (Daily Kos, Glenn Greenwald, The New Republic, MyDD, Open Left) suggests Senator Arlen Specter ...
Dittos
Suburban Guerrilla —
What Glenn said:
Arlen Specter is one of the worst, most soul-less, most belief-free individuals in politics. The moment most vividly illustrating what Specter is: prior to the vote on the Military Commissions Act of 2006, he went to the floor of the Senate and said what the bill “seeks to do is set back basic rights by some 900 years” and is “patently unconstitutional on its face.” He then proceeded to vote YES on the bill’s passage.
Yeah, that sums up the World According to Arlen. Good luck with that, ...
alicublog — ... and Glenn Greenwald have pointed out, that Specter isn't much of a get, and will likely take a 2010 nomination that should go to a more progressive candidate. ...
Senator Arlen Specter Switches Parties
The Democratic Daily —
... public opinion. It has become clear to me that the stimulus vote caused a schism which makes our differences irreconcilable. On this state of the record, I am unwilling to have my twenty-nine year Senate record judged by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate. I have not represented the Republican Party. I have represented the people of Pennsylvania.
I have decided to run for re-election in 2010 in the Democratic primary.
Needless to say, everyone is speculating over Specter’s decision, which totally caught the Republican Party off ...
All about Specter
The Reaction —
... in party affiliation does not mean that I will be a party-line voter any more for the Democrats that I have been for the Republicans." No, but he has been a Republican for a long, long time, and he obviously found enough to like in and about the GOP to remain a Republican for that long. He is admittedly more independent than most Republicans, but his claim to bipartisanship here -- actually, his claim to transcendence of partisanship altogether -- rings hollow. (As Glenn Greenwald rightly notes, Specter is hardly the liberal-moderate he is made out to be in the media: "The idea ...
But Now He's *Our* No-Good, Dirty Rotten Bastard
FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right —
One criticism of Arlen Specter I don't quite get, at least coming from liberals, is that his party switch reflects poorly on his character. Glenn Greenwald and Jon Chait, who don't actually agree on all that much, respectively call him "soul-less", and an ...
From a Purely Political Standpoint, Poaching Specter Is a Cowardly Move.
Open Left - Front Page —
... As blogging great Glenn Greenwald has already mentioned over at Salon, "prior to the vote on the Military Commissions Act of 2006, he went to the floor of the Senate and said what the bill 'seeks to do is set back basic rights by some 900 years' and is 'patently unconstitutional on its face.' He then proceeded to vote YES on the bill's passage." (Greenwald's entire piece is a must-read.) ...
Arlen
The Sideshow —
... Glenn Greenwald counts the ways: "(3) Arlen Specter is one of the worst, most soul-less, most belief-free individuals in politics. The moment most vividly illustrating what Specter is: prior to the vote on the Military Commissions Act of 2006, he went to the floor of the Senate and said what the bill "seeks to do is set back basic rights by some 900 years" and is "patently unconstitutional on its face." He then proceeded to vote YES on the bill's passage." ...
Specter's Greatest Hits
Open Left - Front Page —
... quotes than that, but the Internet wasn't very developed back then. Anyway, I can only guess that by not challenging George W. Bush in the same way, Specter approved of his foreign policy.
Also, Specter campaigned on his flat-tax proposal back in 1995, just in case you thought his latest legislation was designed to fend off Toomey. He has been pushing flat-taxes for 15 years.
The ultimate fold: You simply cannot trust Arlen Specter. At all. Here is Specter on standing up for what's right:
Prior to the vote on the Military ...
