From “Haggis” to “Scrapple”–It’s Still Offal
With Arlen Specter coming over from the other side, I’m gonna try calling him "Scrapple" for a while, instead of "Scottish Haggis." It’s still offal–but it’s our offal now.
Like pretty much every Democrat outside of the incumbency protection racket in DC–particularly those who have long friendships with Haggis Scrapple–I’m utterly skeptical that Scrapple’s switch to the Democratic Party is going to work out all that well for us. He has already promised not to vote for EFCA. He really is unreliable–in the sense that his votes rarely match his stated values. And I’m dubious that those who encouraged this flip really thought through what it means for legislating effectively.
On that point, you really must read Kagro’s two posts on what’s going to happen organizationally:
There are a million aspects of that worth examining. But here’s one for process nuts. Check out the Senate Judiciary Committee Rules:
IV. BRINGING A MATTER TO A VOTE
The Chairman shall entertain a non-debatable motion to bring a matter before the Committee to a vote. If there is objection to bring the matter to a vote without further debate, a roll call vote of the Committee shall be taken, and debate shall be terminated if the motion to bring the matter to a vote without further debate passes with ten votes in the affirmative, one of which must be cast by the minority.
In other words, Scrapple’s flip just created a ginormous bottleneck right in the middle of the Judiciary Committee, behind which every judge, every new reform of the judicial system, and Obama’s lingering appointments to DOJ may be stuck.
Though Kagro has a short-term solution.
Memo to GOP: Seat Franken or we’ll keep Specter’s committee seats
That’s the bottom line.
Seat Al Franken and give him his committee assignments now, or we’ll block a new organizing resolution that would let you reassign Specter’s previously Republican committee seats to one of your own.
Until a new organizing resolution is adopted, Specter’s committee seats (Appropriations, Judiciary, Veterans’ Affairs, Environment & Public Works, Special Aging) are locked in. He’ll be caucusing and (sometimes, anyway) voting as a Democrat, but will be occupying Republican seats.
Democrats should demand Republican agreement to seat Franken and give him his committee assignments now, or they’ll just block a new organizing resolution until he arrives, and change it as they see fit later on. After all, with 60 Democrats (once Franken is finally seated), they can give themselves any ratios they want, whether they opt to remain true to the 60/40 split in the Senate or not, since there won’t be enough votes to filibuster an unfair organizing resolution.
Of course, the chances of Harry Reid playing that kind of hardball are … not good.
Though this brings me to my second glimmer of hope with the Scrapple flip. Harry Reid no longer has his favorite excuse about needing a filibuster-proof majority to get things done. Ben Nelson can no longer hide his votes to sink Democratic priorities behind narrow margins. In an ideal world, this would make it a lot harder for Harry Reid not to enforce party discipline on priority items. From this point foward, every legislative failure is Harry Reid’s legislative failure.
And, as AL says, the promise of a Democratic primary (albeit one the incumbency protection racket has implied they’ll back Scrapple in) will push Scrapple to the left, rather than the scary right the way he has been going.
Finally, Scrapple should read these warnings from a party-switcher we gladly welcomed, John Cole:
I’m still waiting on my Soros check and forty virgins, so don’t get too excited, Arlen. Oh, and by the way, wingnuts- how is that Republican purity treating you? Is the GOP small enough to drown in a bathtub yet? Going to love hearing how a loyal foot soldier for three decades in the GOP wasn’t “conservative enough.”
Like Scrapple’s constituent Atrios, I take some solace in the news that "Republicans in the Senate are visibly in agony right now."
We put Scrapple on committees as a Dem and expect him to act the way we’d like a “more-and-better” Dem to act??? Meanwhile, the Rs put a farther right person on in place of Scrapple? This makes sense? (Yeah; I suppose it does in a way, but it’s like getting the wrong size shoe for Christmas; not what you wanted, and you can’t get comfortable, either.)
I’m still anxiously waiting to hear what happens to his seniority. Did anyone get bumped to achieve this?
No.
Or I should say, not yet.
From The Hill:
Never mind.
They wouldn’t dare let him bump Whitehouse from SJC … Don’t make me come down there …
Whitehouse has moved up in seniority on SJC. Below him are Klobuchar and Kaufman.
Here’s a list of senate seniority.
Specter is junior to Inouye (Approp), Leahy (SJC), Baucus (Finance), Levin (Armed Services), and Dodd (Banking–though Dodd is endangered). But he’s senior to Bingaman (Energy), Kerry (Foreign Relations), Harkins (Ag), Jello Jey (Commerce), Conrad (Budget), Holy Joe (Homeland Security), Kohl (Aging), Akaka (VA), DiFi (Intell), Dorgan (Indian Affairs), Boxer (Environment).
Of those COmmittees he sits on he’d become senior on Aging, VA, and Environment, though still be junior on SJC and Approp. He has previously served on Intell, I think. Inouye is up for reelection in 2010–if he decided to retire or anything, then Specter would be senior among those on Approp who isn’t already busy or semi-retired (Byrd).
I’d feel better if you referred to every one of these distinguished statesmen and stateswomen by their food names.
It’s really all too bad for PA – they had a shot at getting a decent Dem out of their primary and watching Spectre and the nutcase implode and ending up with a real shot at something new and better.
Yep
Methinks that Ms. Hamsher & Friends will primary Haggis/Scrapple/Tripe … esp. if he votes agin EFCA.
I would not worry too much about Scrapple winning a Dem primary. I think he’s toast and knows he’s toast, but wants to be a bit more relevant during his final two years in office.
The MSM is promoting this as a huge win for the Dems. Not one person that I have heard has pointed out how Scrapple can cause problems now being on the inside. Why should we trust this guy? His voting record speaks for itself as Glen Greenwald has pointed
As LBJ said about whether to fire the intimidating J. Edgar Hoover, “I’d rather have him inside the tent pissing out rather than the reverse”.
With Scrapple,I think the Unions in Pa. are the ones that got the offal.
It is hard to get anything positive out of the Democratic Party in PA. Five years ago our Democratic governor help keep a progressive Democrat out of the race to help Specter. We’re a machine state.
So who did Rendel keep out of that race? Are there contenders to go up against turncoat Scrapple?
Golly. I hadn’t exactly been blistering my hand clapping over this one —Ben Nelson was precisely who I thought of, as in o goody, another one— but that bottleneck thing will cause me to put it down altogether.
Even though I did let out an uncharitable guffaw at some gop squirming I heard earlier today.
I don’t suppose there’s any way Reid could be pressured to force the trade?
Keep in mind that Kennedy may be tenuous.
That was diplomatically phrased. On the other hand, he’s kind of immortal in the sense of having achieved so much — and in a sense, by maintaining his good humor and courage and being legislatively productive, been a model for others to emulate. Immortal, in that sense.
But oh, how I’m going off to wallow shortly and watch as much of this as I can spot on my Internet machine’s video feeds:
I swear, Lady Karma probably still has some things up her sleeve for Arlen Specter and the rest of us, and now Specter can pull some dirt if he desires. But on a level of cosmic justice, it’s just a pleasure to watch the panic in the GOP — and Specter’s statement about how nuts the GOP has become is pure gold.
I’m t going to shamelessly, glutonessly, moronically wallow in this little twist of cosmic karma the rest of the evening.
I actually wonder if maybe teh
Haggiser Scapple won’t stay wishy washy until 2010, but then be pretty decent once reelected?Ah, forgot about Teddy. Technically, Dodd would be the senior Senator if Kennedy wasn’t around.
Minor typo: scray should be scary?
With that out of the way, I’d like to make a point about the Congressional Democrats and Scrapple.
Folks should not believe this is some grand “strategy” by Harry “Hit Me Again!” Reid™ and the Congressional Democrats.
Democrats don’t do strategy!
Instead, see this as merely a tactical accomplishment.
When viewed from Harry “Hit Me Again!” Reid™ and the Congressional Democrats’ perspective, this is all about a tactical accomplishment to win today’s news cycle. This is what they keep score on.
The viewpoint of Harry “Hit Me Again!” Reid™ and the Congressional Democrats’ perspective is to win today’s battle (a tactic) and worry about tomorrow’s battle, tomorrow. Strategies need not apply.
Or another way to see Harry “Hit Me Again!” Reid™ and the Congressional Democrats’ perspective, is to imagine when you yourself were a teenage out on a date and you were trying to get your partner (boy, girl, or other) into bed. Yup, trying to score!
If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll admit you’d promise your partner anything in the heat of the moment to make that score happen.
You know! Stuff like “Because I love you!”, “I’ll always respect you!”, and my favorite, “We’ll always be together!”
These are just like the “promises” Harry “Hit Me Again!” Reid™ and the Congressional Democrats made to Scrapple.
Promise Scrapple anything if he’ll get into bed with you tonight (money, support during the Pennsylvania Democratic Primary, etc.).
And I’m sure if you’re honest with yourselves, you all will remember how many of those promises you made somehow fell by the wayside the morning after.
Democrats. Tactics. Promises.
But don’t put your hopes in strategy/marriage.
THanks.
heh, again with the Scrapple references. And this time it’s about PA too… well done!
At the very least, Scrapple did vote to confirm Sebelius this afternoon. Would he have done that if he were still angling for the R primary?
Totally OT, but something that bugged me from one of EW’s posts yesterday.
There was a “curiosity” that bugged me in EW’s post yesterday of “Did Condi Really Not Know Defense Was Sleeping with the Spooks on Torture?“.
EW quoted from Yoo’s prepared testimony for last year’s House Judiciary Committee:
(My Bold)
The NSC legal advisor at that time was John Bellinger. And yet, as EW noted:
The “curiosity” that bugs me is that Bybee One memo is addressed as a response to Alberto Gonzales as White House Counsel.
Nowhere is there a response to John Bellinger, Legal Adviser to the National Security Council who, as John Yoo wrote was “the NSC legal advisor [who] asked OLC for an opinion on the meaning of the anti-torture statute.”
It may simply be that Bush/Cheney WH bureaucratic policy was to have all OLC opinions requested by WH staff be addressed back to Alberto Gonzales as White House Counsel.
Or it may have been due to the reported harrassment that Bellinger constantly received:
In any event, a “curiosity” I find interesting.
And incidentally, to continue with MD’s OT, I’ve figured out why Condi compartmented out Defense. Richard Myers, who counted as a NSC member, but who wanted to keep Geneva Conventions around.
The idea that Myers (and the rest of the Joint Chiefs) would be part of the rationale to bypass the DoD sounds eminently reasonable.
I’m still of the opinion that during her tenure as National Security Advisor, Condi ended up being more or less, just a figurehead for whatever came out of the NSC.
The real powers were PapaDick Cheney and the Don of the DoD Rumsfeld and their plotting minions.
Also likely was PapaDick Cheney bypassing the “official” NSC at every chance available with his own “shadow” NSC which would have been most of the time.
So easy to overlook Hadley.
HEY
you said “Scottish Haggis” was “NON-NEGOTIABLE” ???
now you’re callin him offal, er, uhm, “Scrapple” ???
do I even want to know what “Scrapple” is ???
and do you realize how long it’s gonna take to type arlen
“magic bullet”,“Scottish Haggis”, “Scrapple”make up my mind, MUSE
an remember to thinks of teh chilrunns …
(wink)
Scrapple is haggis without the magic sheep stomach.
Pennsylvania Dutch. Comes in bricks. You slice it and fry it up like bacon.
I was with you on the whole Scrapple thing, right up until you compared it to bacon. There are many terms one could use to describe Specter, “Sizzlin’” isn’t one of them.
Might I suggest Lutefisk instead? ; )
Hej, hej, hej, vad a:r det med lutefisk?
A very bland, harmless, gelatinous form of protein in a somewhat metallic-tasting white sauce. Now, surstro:mming, fermented in the can so that both ends bulge and you have to open it underwater in a full sink, then pray it doesn’t kill you — that’s more the speed.
Scrapple was one of the cultural hurdles in coming to eastern PA. Shoo-fly pie was the other, if I remember correctly, but I’m not sure we ever _did_ have a good shoo-fly pie, as it seemed to be produced exclusively for tourists.
I defer to your superior Scandinavian culinary expertise ; ) It was the dried fish soaked in lye, reconstituted into a gelatinous, nondescript, form that presents a spit-or-swallow dilemma that seemed an apt food reference for Specter, but I’ll concede that fermented taste treat you describe sounds a lot worse ; )
By the way, my family thoroughly enjoyed the Shoo-fly pie we bought during a vacation in PA long long ago. This tourist would happily eat one again…
So would I. It would remind me of that trip with my Dad, who can’t travel any more. Night, all.
Hey… I remember that…
How can Specter be elected as a Republican and then change his party in the middle of his term? Doesn’t this (sort of a ‘bait and switch’ thing) somehow cheat the people who voted for him? Why doesn’t he have to wait until the end of his term to make the change? And how productive/efficient can it be to be changing committee leadership/structures in mid-stream? Do they do this kind of thing often? Sorry to distract you with my stupidity. But I hang around here hoping to be better informed. Thanks for your patience.
The short answer is that anything goes.
The longer answer? Well, you asked for it. *g*
1. Cheat the people who voted for him? Depends on how you count them. Scrapple got this in his 2004 re-election bid:
And here’s some of the actual the 2004 Pennsylvania Senate Exit Polls. which show for Specter:
We’ll have to see where Conservatives and Democrats each move to for Specter’s 2010 effort. The Conservatives will likely go with the Repug candidate, and the Democrats likely with Spector unless he gets beat in the Democratic primary.
2. Why doesn’t he have to wait until the end of his term to make the change?
Because there are no rules that require this.
3. And how productive/efficient can it be to be changing committee leadership/structures in mid-stream? Do they do this kind of thing often?
They don’t do this often, and we’ve yet to see how this is going to be handled. Given the Repugs kneejerk obstructionism, my bet is that Repug Minority Leader McConnell will continue to give Democrat Majority Leader Harry “Hit Me Again!” Reid™ a hard time.
Harry “Hit Me Again!” Reid™ is such a good punching bag.
OT — From The Public Record via Large Orange Beelzebub:
Excellent catch!
Here’s the letter.
Just watched Keith Olberman and Chris Matthews is claiming that the Democratic Senate candidacy was pretty much his for the taking????? I lived in Pa; worked at the Capitol; yes; Chris Matthews has family in Pa — but he was only getting that candidacy in his own booze binge. Even Mark Leibovich’s piece in the New Yorker journalist talked of trying to get a comment from Rendell about Matthews to no avail. Then Matthews blathered on against Specter basically running him over with a bus; then put it into reverse to make sure he was road kill. Matthews brother ran with Lynne Swan in 2006 against Rendell. Rendell is a real smoozer, but not good with names and maybe Matthews is hard of hearing from yelling so loud when he talks; he was obviously confused.
Thanks for the helpful information.
>>2. Why doesn’t he have to wait until the end of his term to make the change?
>>Because there are no rules that require this.
Seems to me like there should be. I mean, to advertise yourself as one thing and then reveal that you are really something different after the election is deceptive. But then, we are talking about politicians.
Exactly! *g*
Or as the President’s National Security Advisor Jeffrey Pelt character put it in the Red October movie:
Well… yes and no.
He probably didn’t figure that he ran as a wingnut, foam-at-the-mouth obstructionist who obsesses on gay marriage or agrees with Michelle Malkin and whatever insults are dripping out of Bachmann’s mouth on any given day.
Arguably — not a sure thing, but arguably — there’s a case to be made that he’s feeling that to run as a wingnut mouth-foamer is more deceptive than to toss in the towel on today’s GOP and declare himself a Dem.
Either way, I’m relishing my wallow this evening.
And I actually respect the fact that he frankly said that he looked at his poll numbers, and that he also didn’t want his entire reputation decided by people on one extreme end of the spectrum.
Damn, it’s about time that someone said it.
BTW: It prompted me to think back on how bizarre it was when Trent Lott suddenly, on a moment’s notice, dropped out of the Senate. I’m still waiting for an indictment to be announced for that guy — mostly because the notion of Lott walking away from the Majority Leader position seems too weird to be credible.
Okay, ya got me
that DOES sound like arlen specter (explains the squareheadedness too)
when do we put the fork in him ???
Actually a year or so ago you described growing what’s probably red chard in your garden. If scrapple is actually a lot like bacon, it would go well with your chard whenever the chard is ready to pick and cook.
Myself, I stick to the bacon: fry it up, put in the chard, a little sugar and a zip of vinegar.
Even Arlen would think scrapple’s a good thing if he could eat it like that…
Cheeses could also be considered in our political smorgasbord. (I seem to be behind in Wallace and Grommets.)
In addition to the title cheese of the article, there’s a promising-sounding French cheese mentioned.
Pardon me, but here’s an O/T that may be promising.
“UAW union may take over Chrysler
Chrysler may give union 55% stake instead of $10.6bn to provide healthcare after Obama administration piles pressure on carmaker”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/busi…..d-by-union
http://tinyurl.com/dbfxqq
Let’s not forget that two Super Bowls ago, Arlen knew right from wrong when he symbolically chose the Giants over the Cheats!
I’ve thought of Arlen as an Eclectic Republican, a Gooper with a soft-spot for the Rule of Law. In fact, I feel like he’s been Loyal to Bush on everything – so long as the issue or act hasn’t been deemed ‘Illegal,’ no matter how egregious.
Specter, like so many Goopers, gives his ‘team’ the hugest possible benefit of the doubt: as long as you don’t get caught breaking the Law, you’re ‘good.’
However, when push comes to shove, would Haggis choose Party Loyalty over the Rule of Law?
I don’t think so.
And, I think that’s the signifigance of Scrapple’s switch. It isn’t that he’s suddenly become a Democrat – rather it’s that he’s Choosing the Rule of Law over Loyalty to the Republican Party, the Party of Bush, when that Party and its Leader are Clearly Implicated in Illegal Activities.
So, I’m giving Arlen credit for being a Principled Person of the Conservative Persuasion – who is Courageous Enough to Reject his Un-Principled and Immoral Leader, and his Sychophants, when that Leader violates the Rule of Law and the Laws of Human Decency.
Now, if only Snowe and Collins would join him, then perhaps More Conservatives – conflicted between Loyalty and Conscience – will come over to the side of the Rule of Law, and help US set this Country Right, again.
I fully expect to get let down by Haggis – that cat can’t change his stripes, he’ll never be as liberal as we are – but I do also fully expect that Arlen will Support the Enforcement of the Rule of Law now that Bush’s Criminal Activities are being exposed.
If he can stay true to his Principles and Support the Rule of Law – no matter whether as a Loyal-up-to-a-Point Republican or as an Accountable-for-your-Actions Democrat – then I predict he’ll win re-election in a landslide.
Just my take, but IMO if he felt he had any chance at all of winning the Repo primary, or perhaps even if Penn wasn’t an anti-sore loser state such that he had a realistic chance of pulling off a Droopy Dog, he’d find a way to reconcile selling his mother’s corpse to get re-elected.
I think he already sold his mother’s corpse to buy the Magic Bullet theory.
LD – I’m way out on a limb on this one…
EW’s right – the guy’s voting rarely matches his stated values, and he’s already declared he’s going to screw US on EFCA – just like he did when he failed to call for Gonzo’s resignation in the SJC.
And, on top of that, I should give full disclosure and say that I was giving Hayden the benefit of the doubt until just recently, too, so my optics on these guys’ characters seems to be off.
Still, I think Specter will be treated well by history, and the electorate, if it’s clear that – when the chips were down on the Rule of Law, Specter made the right choice, even if it was belated.
Once Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Gonzo, Addington, Haynes, etc are rung-up for the War Crimes they stand accused of by the ICRC – specifically Torture – imvho, there’ll be no saving what’s left of the Loyal Republican Party then.
Both Reid and Obama are going to regret this.
Now they wholly own whatever happens the next two years at a minimum, and probably four; just as much as the GOP wholly owns 2002-2006. It’s pretty clear they don’t have good control over their own caucus. But nobody is going to have any interest in that kind of excuse.
They better learn how to crack the whip.
They’d have to replace Reid first. (He can’t get out of a wet paper bag, either.)
I don’t know that Reid and Obama will regret this. I figure we surely will.
“Magic Bullet” gives Reid and Obama an edge, all right, but it’s not necessarily an edge we will like. Reid and Obama want us to “move forward” and not look “backward” at such things as torture that have been done in our name in the so-called WOT. Which way will “Magic Bullet” trend? He helped moved us forward once before, leaving us with many questions about what happened that dark day in Dallas.
“Magic Bullet” will support universal, single-payor health care? EFCA? And so on. Do Reid and Obama? I think they’ve found what they want.
I’d love to be proven wrong.
I heard that some repuglitards want their party to vote TO CHANGE THE NAME OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
which I think is mighty PRESUMPTUOUS of them
but I’m willing to let them call us the Socialist Democratic Party
if they’re willing to swap the elephant logo for a Wile E Coyote logo
look at michele bachman, she’s jumping up and down on the catapult
mike steele keeps drawing fake tunnels on cliffs, and getting run over by Obama’s Democratic FREIGHT TRAINS coming out of steele’s fake tunnels
eric cantor is spreading “Magic” bird seed, and if you look toward where Putin rears his head, you can see princess pandora palin strapping on the rocket roller skates
and lushbo limpballs is handing out rube goldberg re-election plans like he was ACME Supply or something
the only thing missing is the “YIKES” sign, and the wave goodbye
so what do you repuglitards say
do we have a deal, comrade coyote ???
(BEEP BEEP)
Hmmm. My take on all of this is: (1) Welcome to the Democratic Party, Arlen! And (2) where can I donate to his primary challenger?
That being said, here’s a possibility that no one’s brought up yet: I know that most Senators won’t simply leave office gracefully, Specter is even sleazier than average for that body, but is there any chance that the guy just wants to retire? He’s 79, he’s been doing this for 30 years, and he’s had two rounds of cancer in the last few years. He doesn’t appear to be obscenely wealthy (unless his wife has money–anyone know?), so he may just want to leave the Senate, spend a few years making millions for his family on the lobbying circuit, and then enjoy his retirement. If that’s the case, he may just be doing this as an ego trip. He may have cut a deal with the Dems to clear the field for him, so that he can win the Dem nom and keep his seat. He could stay in the Senate until 2011 or so and then resign, and the Dem governor would appoint a replacement. In exchange, the Dems get his vote now, and they get a big PR victory. Arlen gets to resign on his own terms in a few years, and he doesn’t have to listen to Pat Toomey go on the radio with Rush Limbaugh and chortle about how Specter is afraid to face him in a primary fight.
Am I the only one around here who thinks that Arlen has had enough of being bullied by the GOP? Personally, I’m rooting for him to do a little subtle ‘payback’ for their demands that he knuckle under or they’d take Judiciary away from him, and knuckle under on some of the DoJ stuff.
It’s a fantasy, and I don’t believe it myself, but I sure wish that Arlen had some documents or evidence stored away to leak out, or to bring up in a hearing. It’s too much to hope that he evens a few scores, but look at what the absolute contempt the BushCheney crowd showed for the Senate.
I realize he’ll never hand Bush, Cheney, Addington, Feith, or the rest of them their asses on a platter. But it’s a nice little fantasy while I wallow in the news. Here’s hoping that he didn’t miss the stark fact that Leahy received anthrax, and that Arlen would like to help get to the bottom of that mess.
This life, these concepts are in sharp contrast to all the BS we try to juggle, navigate and unravel every day.
http://www.americablog.com/200…..pitol.html
My apologies for being so O/T.
I love that speech.
Thank you for saying that. She was an amazing woman and it makes me so proud she is being honored, particularly in these days.
OT — US to start going after Afghanistan poppy fields in order to deny Taliban the crop income. This strikes me as very ballsy, given all the whispering since, oh, approximately forever about covert USG involvement in opium and heroin trafficking. On the other, incredibly cynical, hand — if indeed a hand may be said to be cynical — maybe this is just taking a competitor out…
FWIW, Bybee issues a statement:
” . . . he continued to believe the memos represented “a good faith analysis of the law” that properly defined the thin line between harsh treatment and torture.”
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_…..ck_check=1
http://tinyurl.com/co8tku
I see Rahm’s fingerprints all over this.
Rahm wants to move the Dem party “to the center.” Adding Scrapple to it increases the dead weight along the @ Lieberman, Bad Nelson, Bayh locus.
If I were a union member in PA, I’d be MIGHTY pissed. So in 2010 I’m going to get to choose between a complete idiot [Republican] and a venal, half-assed, narcissistic, self-serving idiot [Scrapple], neither of whom supports the EFCA or other important issues.
Thanks a lot Obama, Rahm, Reid, et al.
I’m not one, but two ewheelonyms behind the curve here. Why “Scottish Haggis” and why “Scrapple”?
See phred’s history for Scottish Haggis @ 23 on this thread (two back).
“Haggis,” afaik is ew’s, it goes back to Spector’s vote on the Clinton impeachment. He cited Scottish law to defend his position.
thanks for that
Mauimom – There are lots of reasons for Republicans to cross-over to the Dem side right now, including recognizing a sinking ship and wanting to get re-elected.
However, I really don’t think that’s what’s at work here. I see Obama rallying the Dems and All Right-Minded, Freedom-Loving Republicans around the Rule of Law.
Obama wouldn’t have the success he has had at 100 days – unless his Appeal was to a Principle far greater than any partisan ideology. Obama says that the Nation is in Peril, and it’s time for US, all of US, to Rally-Back at the Rule of Law.
Bush’s Neocon Ideology has So Badly separated from the facts of Our Circumstances that Anyone who continues to Support it could rightly be called Delusional. Bush even had Wall Street ‘cook the books’ to make ‘appearances’ match the Neocon ‘Infallibility’ Story-line.
Choosing the Neocon Fantasy, or the Pragmatic Reality of the Challenges Staring US in the Face? The Deciderer, the Unitary Executive, or the Rule of Law?
That’s Obama’s call to US and All Right-Minded, Freedom-Loving Republicans.
The looming problem for the Republicans is that their Neocon Ideology demands Total Loyalty to an Authority Figure, Bush, and, when Bush gets ‘tagged’ by Independent Agencies like the ICRC as a Monster – his Supporters, by Implication, as Just As Depraved in their Lack of Judgment as the Monster they Enabled.
What will be more amazing than Specter’s Switch, imvho, will be watching the Blindly Loyal stay with Bush all the way to the bitter end…
The next jump…
Shep of Fox News to MSNBC….
What Kind of Democrat Will Specter Be?
By The Editors
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nyt…..pecter-be/
So Scrapple opposes the nomination of Dawn Johnson…what a prize he will be (cough).
Are there any Dem contenders in Pennsylvania that could take him on? I am with Mary the voters in Pennsylvania were going to have an opportunity to vote for a real Dem not a Republican who just betrayed his party for his own benefit.
Specters voting record
http://www.votesmart.org/votin…..n_id=53340
this is an interesting interview with Specter
http://www.infowars.com/arlen-…..triot-act/
So how will Scrapple switching effect Obama’s Judicial nominees?
The New Nattering Nabobs of Negativism Are Gunning For Obama’s Judicial Nominees: A Republican Strategy That We Must All Hope Fails
By JOHN W. DEAN
Friday, April 17, 2009
There is a high-stakes game for the future of the federal judiciary currently underway, albeit, at this time, still quietly being played out behind-the-scenes. Over a month ago, the New York Times revealed the then-imminent selection by the Obama Administration of “a small stream of nominees to the federal appeals courts” throughout the nation. The story even floated a few names of potential nominees. But little has happened since then.
Thus far, there has been no stream of nominees; indeed, barely a trickle. No one keeps score better than the Alliance for Justice, which reports three Obama nominees so far: Gerald Lynch for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Andre Davis for the Fourth Circuit, and David Hamilton for the Seventh Circuit.
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20090417.html
Even Specter can see that the Republican Brand will be:
– Depraved
– Immoral
– Criminal
– Bankrupt
– Complicit
after May 28th, when more Abuse Photos from Abu Ghraib get released.
Bush and his Neocon Lawyers said it was Legal, and built-up an Infrastructure, served by Loyalists, to Support it – and they did everything they could to keep it Secret and Out of Sight.
And, now – The Reality of the Goopers’ Blindly Held Beliefs will be On Display – the Results of Unquestioningly Following the Sadistic Bush – and it’s going to be a real horror show…
The Right Thing to Do here has long since been Crystal Clear – Reject Torture and All of Its Supporters! – the Only Resistance left within the Republican Party now is Pride.
So, the Goopers have One Month left before the Karmic humbler of Bush’s Pride – Bush’s Shame – is brought before them…and US.
so why was Liebermann defined as a “traitor” when he jumped ship and worked hard for McCain..and now Specter jumps and what is he being called by the Dems
I don’t know if this is right, or not, but I can give you what it looks like to me.
Lieberman is a Neocon. Specter is a Conservative.
The difference between them appears to be that Joe is an Ends-Justify-the-Means guy, and Arlen is a Rule of Law guy.
That makes Joe a Traitor at heart, and Arlen One of US at heart.
If Specter is a “rule of law” guy which I just do not see. Why not support holding those responsible for the false pre-war intelligence, torture, outing Plame, undermining the DOJ, illegal wiretapping, etc ect ACCOUNTABLE?
Nah Specter is no “rule of law” guy like Feingold he is one of the Republicans more concerned about lies under oath having to do with bj’s than really serious crimes
If Specter were a rule of law guy he’d have voted against the Military Commissions Act after the habeas amendment was defeated. End of story.
(And I will never, ever forgive any of the cowardly Dems who voted for it, either. I’m looking at you, Sens. Stabenow and Menendez. )
These mixed metaphors, Haggis & Scrapple, need be squeezed out of the way to welcome Senator Sphincter.
Specter is sure a Public Relations King. His jump from the sinking Republican ship is dominating Obama’s 100 day mark.
What do you say about someone who jumps from a sinking ship watching his alleged friends going down?
Why is this being spun as a great thing by the Dems and the MSm?
(1) Welcome to the Democratic Party, Arlen! And (2) where can I donate to his primary challenger?
Right here. (Actually, a promise to donate; we can’t actually collect money for a non-candidate, but we can show any real Democrat considering that race that we’ll have his/her back.)
The more I think about this, the madder I get. I have had it with these m*f* snakes on this m*f* plane.
We have got to demonstrate that we’re not going to allow this kind of backroom deal to be forced on us. Specter can do what he wants, but no one can guarantee him a free primary. No one.
I keep thinking about RI. Chaffee wasn’t a bad guy, but the result of Chaffee having to go through that primary was that we as a nation, and RI as a State, ended up with Whitehouse. Talk about a huge benefit.
That’s the possiblity they want to take off the table.
The Poor Man speaks for me: Breaking: Malibu Stacy Has a New Hat!
Exactly. Great example of what’s at stake here.
I can’t speak for Pennsylvania Dems, but I have a hard time believing they’d rather have Specter than a real Dem, and the actions of the ”leadership” are an effort to deny them a real Democrat.
I think this thread is about run out, but if EW (or anyone else) comes back, here’s maybe why I’m more lenient about Specter than many here might be: At min 04:56 on this video clip, he talks about more money for NIH and health research: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21…..1#30478191
I share Specter’s view that it’s a national scandal more money has not been directed to basic medical research. It’s shameful.
I missed the whole Clarence Thomas nomination brouhaha (and also Bork) because I was busy with other things, so I don’t have that in my memory logs. But if Specter can move medical research funding forward, then that’s long overdue and yet one more indictment of the science-denying, tax-cuts for rich people obsessions of the corporatist GOP.