Specter the Defector

Arlen Specter is a traitor.

Leaving the Republican Party is not necessarily wrong for him, but what is wrong is for him to join the Democrats. Specter says that the GOP has moved sharply to the right over the past few years. This is not true. The GOP has remained pretty steady and true to its principles.

It is better argued that the Democrats have lurched strongly to the left. This surge to the left by the Democrats merely gives the appearance that the Republicans have moved to the right.

Just look at the Republican nominee for President in 2008. They do not come more moderate than Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. McCain consistantly works with even the most liberal Democrats in the U.S. Senate such as Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., as well as even more moderates in the senate like Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn. Can the same be said of President Obama when he was Illinois junior senator? No.

And speaking of Lieberman, Specter should have followed the tack as Lieberman. If Specter was not renominated by the Pennsylvania Republican Party, he should then do what Lieberman did when he was not nominated by the Connecticut Democratic Party: run as an independent.

If you did get elected as an independent, perhaps then moderate Sen. Specter could join with moderate Sen. Lieberman. Perhaps these two moderate, middle-of-the-road, long-term senators could form the backbone of a new and viable third party in American politics.

This third party may then be able to address the vast moderate majority of Americans. The majority of Americans, those who may lean left but cringe at ridiculous and hateful statements from places like MoveOn.org, thedailykos.com, and The Huffington Post; and those who lean right but have similar cringes after distasteful statements from clubforgrowth.org.

Sen. Specter, one of your colleagues said it best: "This was simply noting more, nothing less than political self-preservation," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

Specter could have been a statesman, instead, he's nothing more than another politician.