Originally Posted by ENstig8or' post='862628' date='Apr 29 2009, 04:53 AM

That's it. It is not about integrity or any other grand reason. Specter was being challenged by Pat Toomey in the PA Rep. primary. He was well behind Toomey in the polls and according to the so-called experts, he had no chance of making up that deficit. Faced with the fact that he would lose the primary and become unseated, he switched to the Dems. Arlen is for Arlen period. Frankly, I find this utterly disgusting. I don't care what political party someone is affiliated with, I have a problem when they switch while in office. The votes that were cast for him were cast because of the political views he espoused in the past. Basically when a politician does that, he or she is telling the voters who put them in office, I don't care what your opinion is, I'm going in a different direction. Politicians are supposed to represent the will of the people and these flip flops clearly don't. I can honestly say, I will never vote for any politician who switches parties while in office, whether they belong to the party I lean to or not. To me it's akin to fraud. :thumbsdown:

Originally Posted by sdg1871' post='862386' date='Apr 28 2009, 08:12 PM

Senator Specter did not leave the Republican Party -- the Republican Party left him. The Republican Party of Specter's youth had room for moderates -- leaders like Jacob Javitz, John Chafe and Nelson Rockefeller. Now it is entirely dominated by conversatives. Senator's Specter's middle of the road views are in synch with Pennsylvania voters and I believe he'll handily win re-election as a Democrat. But, having pro-choice views and having supported the President's Stimulus Package, he was not going to win the Republican primary, just as Senator Lieberman's stands on national security issues made him a pariah in the Democratic Party and led to his loss in the Democratic primary.

Specter is not perfect but I think overall, he's given decades of good service to the United States. Most Americans' political views are much closer to his views than the extremes in either political party.

Specter is an independent thinker so if I were the Senate Dems, I would not bank on his vote 100% of the time. I think he'll vote with the Dems when he thinks that they are right and with the Republicans when he thinks that they are right.

Now, how about those awesome E60's??

Originally Posted by sdg1871' post='862386' date='Apr 28 2009, 08:12 PM

Senator Specter did not leave the Republican Party -- the Republican Party left him. The Republican Party of Specter's youth had room for moderates -- leaders like Jacob Javitz, John Chafe and Nelson Rockefeller. Now it is entirely dominated by conversatives. Senator's Specter's middle of the road views are in synch with Pennsylvania voters and I believe he'll handily win re-election as a Democrat. But, having pro-choice views and having supported the President's Stimulus Package, he was not going to win the Republican primary, just as Senator Lieberman's stands on national security issues made him a pariah in the Democratic Party and led to his loss in the Democratic primary.

Specter is not perfect but I think overall, he's given decades of good service to the United States. Most Americans' political views are much closer to his views than the extremes in either political party.

Specter is an independent thinker so if I were the Senate Dems, I would not bank on his vote 100% of the time. I think he'll vote with the Dems when he thinks that they are right and with the Republicans when he thinks that they are right.

Now, how about those awesome E60's??

Originally Posted by ENstig8or' post='862628' date='Apr 29 2009, 03:53 AM

That's it. It is not about integrity or any other grand reason. Specter was being challenged by Pat Toomey in the PA Rep. primary. He was well behind Toomey in the polls and according to the so-called experts, he had no chance of making up that deficit. Faced with the fact that he would lose the primary and become unseated, he switched to the Dems. Arlen is for Arlen period. Frankly, I find this utterly disgusting. I don't care what political party someone is affiliated with, I have a problem when they switch while in office. The votes that were cast for him were cast because of the political views he espoused in the past. Basically when a politician does that, he or she is telling the voters who put them in office, I don't care what your opinion is, I'm going in a different direction. Politicians are supposed to represent the will of the people and these flip flops clearly don't. I can honestly say, I will never vote for any politician who switches parties while in office, whether they belong to the party I lean to or not. To me it's akin to fraud. :thumbsdown:

Originally Posted by flyingpuck' post='862811' date='Apr 29 2009, 12:12 PM