Posted by
Billy on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 8:44:17 PM
A political analyst in Pennsylvania says five-term Senator Arlen Specter's decision to join the Democratic Party was a "crass political calculation" in an effort to give him a shot at winning re-election next year.
Specter announced yesterday that he is leaving the Republican Party, saying it had moved too far to the right. "I am unwilling to have my 29-year Senate record judged by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate," he stated. "I don't have to say anything to them. They said it to me." (
View news video report)
Lowman Henry, chairman and CEO of the Pennsylvania-based
Lincoln Institute, says with decisions like that being made by GOP leaders, it is no wonder the Republican Party is in the minority in both Houses of Congress. (
Specter's switch self-serving, not principled )
"I think all three of them [Bush, Santorum, and Cornyn] should be hanging their heads in shame for having backed Senator Specter against Pat Toomey, who is the type of center-right candidate who espouses the core principles of the party -- the principles that Ronald Reagan won on, the principles that Newt Gingrich won on with the 'Contract with America,' and the type of principles that if we can get back to we can win again," says Henry.
The Lincoln Institute chairman says it is not that the Republican Party in Pennsylvania has become more conservative, but that Specter "has grown more liberal.
(Yes some in the GOP should be hanging their heads in shame. As I wrote in a post yesterday too many leaders backed Specter just because GOP was in front of his name. His heart and values left the GOP along time ago.)