Now Hiring Democrats!

Here’s an interesting twist: after serving five terms as a Republican Senator for Pennsylvania, Senator Arlen Specter has decided, about a week ago, to join the Democratic Party. He flat out stated that his reasons are “political”. Specter’s primary reason for aligning with the new kids in charge is mostly because he will face some tough competition during the primary election for the Republican ticket. Additionally, he’s voted in alignment with the Democrats, at least from what I’ve researched, since the beginning of the Obama Administration.

Eh… I don’t know about this guy.

On the one hand, I want to give him a break. People change, even people who are significantly older and arguably set in their ways. I’m not saying this is true of Senator Specter, but that it’s a consideration that I had. I was a bit skeptical about his sudden change in policy. But perhaps it isn’t he that is changing, rather it is the Republican Party that has changed, a change that doesn’t sit well with him. Or perhaps there is the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” philosophy. And I suppose if we were normally talking about quantity, it would matter, but from a qualitative standpoint, I would think that immediately deciding to vote for Arlen Specter in 2010 as a representative of the Democratic Party is a rookie move. He has already displayed his lack of loyalty for the sake of his job. He has already told the Democrats that just because he’s a Democrat, doesn’t mean he will always vote with the Democrats. That is not to say that this is wrong, however, the implications are not exactly specified and to me, that makes me a bit uncomfortable. It could mean, for instance, that he could be a Democrat and vote for things that we DO NOT want. Additionally, his seniority has diminished the competition in the primary election. Think about all of the candidates that wanted to run against Senator Specter, or even Tom Ridge, with the prospect of actually beating him? Now that President Obama has embraced him with open arms, I wonder if the Democrats will display a break in loyalty as well, by arguing this decision? Pretty ironic. Hm. Who is to say, even, that this is the master plan? To create a divide among Democrats in one of the most consistently crucial swing states in electoral votes? “Hm” again. Only time will tell.