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Broadening the Specter Spectrum
Hey Rob, got your e-mail today soliciting opinions on the Arlen Specter switcheroo.
Great to hear from you buddy!
There is so much out there on this subject, I didn’t think it would make much sense to throw in my two cents. However, after checking in Thursday, I was surprised to discover so little had been sent into Op Ed News. Therefore, I thought maybe I would offer up a couple of points of view which you won’t get anywhere else. These points go towards stimulating this particular discussion and correcting at least some of the gross mis-apprehensions which are so common today in “political” discourse.
The first is the refusal to understand the seminal nature of the Reagan Revolution in American society. We continue to employ the nomenclature of a previous era to describe events in our polity. For instance, we are told that Mr. Specter bolted the “Republican” party. While this is technically true (They do still call themselves Republicans), the Reagan Revolution represents the ascendancy of Conservatism over Republicanism.
This process, although almost complete, is still going on. Arlen Specter was a Republican, not a Conservative. He is being consistent, while those that masquerade as Republicans represent the real change.
Once we accept these historical facts, hopefully we can maintain a consciousness that will make us less susceptible to superficial canards. For instance, there is the question of how comfortable the “convert” will be among his new “Democratic” caucus members. Will the ideological sparks fly?
Among those that do appreciate that conservatives have taken over the Republican Party,
there still remain limitations, specifically among those that picture themselves as progressive, liberal, or leftist. The mistake they make is to imagine that this gross rightward shift in American politics was limited to the Republican Party. There is a reason that the United States has the most right-wing politics among advanced post-industrial societies- and that is because the Reagan Revolution shifted the entire political spectrum, not just the Right. The right is more rightwing than ever, but what used to be center-left is now center-right. There is virtually no authentic left-wing in America. Both Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama, are essentially center-right. This is why the Dems are suddenly winning elections, and winning in formerly Republican districts. While space and subject do not allow for a proper discussion of why this is, let it suffice that Arlen Specter will have no problems fitting in with this type of “Democrat”.
My second point is smaller, and more human. It requires heart, not brains, to understand;
use of imagination, rather than intellect.
Arlen Specter has been a prominent Republican in PA for many decades, and a Senator since 1980. For all those years he ran against Democrats, defeating them one after another. Year in and year out, they made the good fight and lost. Among these dedicated partisan loyalists we may assume with some certainty that there are those that supported Mr. Obama in his recent campaigning there, as well as the Clinton’s both in present and past campaigns. I’m sure the good researchers among us could supply us with copious examples of those parties with arms around Mr. Specter’s opponents. What of them? What is their reward? Of that multitude of party loyalists, from the ranks of Pennsylvania Democrats, from a population distinguished by its earnest and upright citizenry, is there not one more worthy of Obama’s approbation than Arlen Specter? Any, within whose breast might arise a well-earned personal ambition founded upon a sense of just reward?
What lessons do we learn from this spectacle- lessons that may inform us of the pitfalls of partisanship- and its reward? In this scene, does the drama stir noble thoughts, or crush them under the leaden image of power pressing principle?
I will leave it to your readers, Rob, to figure out how those Dems must feel today.
May Day, 09
