Specter is an Ass. No, Really.

Yesterday's announcement that Arlen Specter was switching to the Democratic Party after serving close to thirty years as a Republican Senator was a real shocker. I mean, I never saw that coming. But the real kicker was the RNC's response to the switch. When asked if Specter gave them a heads up, Michael Steele emphatically said, "No, not at all." and followed up with "At least give me a call, or give the party leadership a call and let us know, 'This is what I'm thinking.'"

Well as if Michael Steele didn't have enough to worry about with the Coleman-Franken legal dogfight, and the upstate New York House seat upset, now he's dealing with defections to the other party. Specter's party switch is only the 13th ever in history.

While Republicans are obviously and rightly miffed, I'm shocked that Democrats are rejoicing over Specter's switch to the Democratic Party. They seem to think that with Specter and potentially Franken added to our side that we'll have the magic number 60. I've got news for you, buddy: Specter is stil Specter. Having Specter on board is like carrying a mule on your back. Sure, you HAVE the mule, but it isn't doing you any good on your back. Likewise, the mere fact that there are 60 professed Democrats in the Senate doesn't mean a damn thing if the 60th Senator is going to disagree with the party on big things like health care reform, dialing down the troop numbers in Iraq and Afghanistan, and environmental issues.

The Republican Party is in severe crisis mode. At risk of becoming as relevant and enduring as the Whigs, they are latching onto anything buzzworthy or trendy in the hopes that it will make them less anachronistic. When Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's historic candidacies were making headlines and grabbing attention worldwide, John McCain was merely another "old white guy" running for President, yet again. When Obama and Clinton were actively courting the young vote and the women's vote, McCain's campaign was yet again, lagging behind in generating the appropriate buzz for the candidate. Only after they realized that "Gee, this women's issues business translates into actual votes!" did they quickly bring Sarah Palin on board in the hopes of stealing away any votes that Obama had alienated with his second in command pick, Joe Biden.

Then with the ground breaking Obama candidacy, making him the first ever African American to head a major ticket, and then his subsequent historic win, Republicans again, had to play catch up and seem somewhat relevant to a new generation of Americans. Steele's election as RNC chairman was an effective "Me too!" from the Republicans. After all, the Republican Party until that point had no African Americans in any significant leadership positions, and with the Democrats holding the highest office in the U.S. under the leadership of an African American man, well, it wouldn't be wise to buck the trend, now, would it? And therein lies the problem with the Republicans. They see these things as trends that will at some point, drop off the radar, and the political landscape will eventually return to a more familiar WASP-y backdrop for them to continue their exclusive party agenda.

Specter's defection to the Democratic Party is another "Me too!" It's cool to be a Democrat now, so why not join in on the foray? At least it will guarantee him another Senate term come 2010. Make no mistake about it, Specter did not claim to be newly embracing Democratic ideology. He said point blank in his statement to the press, that he "found that the prospects for winning a Republican primary are bleak."
Not willing to be another has been like Tom Delay, or Trent Lott, Specter "decided to be a candidate for reelction in 2010 in the Democratic primary."



It's just sad that the Republicans have moved so far right, as to alienate moderate, long time Republicans. As Specter said in his address, "As the Republican Party has moved farther and farther to the right, I have found myself increasingly at odds with the philosophy of the Republican Party." Maine Senator Olympia Snowe said that Specter's switch was devastating to the party. Yet fools like Limbaugh and Steele are saying "good riddance" and to "take McCain with you."

At a time when the Republican Party needs to be more and more inclusive to make themselves more relevant to a new generation of politically aware Americans, Limbaugh and Steele are further alienating their own peers and shutting out all constructive criticism from within their own party. Case in point, Miss Meghan McCain. Now I don't agree with her ideologically, but at least she is trying to resuscitate the party with what clout she has. Props to her.

With Specter now a "Dem" (really, I can't do it. I can't call him a Democrat) and Democrats finding themselves one step closer to an artificially inflated magic 60, I hope that history will be kind to the Obama administration. With "Dems" like Specter and Lieberman, who needs Republicans?