He switched on principle

I should be so quick to shove Arlen out the door. After all, he switched parties based on principle, right? If you consider "it's all about Arlen" a principle then you would be correct.....

In his 1970 book "From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor," advertising legend Jerry Della Femina tells the story of trying to see Philadelphia District Attorney Arlen Specter:

"'Are you crazy?' his people said. 'Nobody gets to meet Arlen Spector [misspelling in original]. We can't even see him.' 'All right,' I said, 'what's Arlen Specter for?' 'Arlen Specter is for getting elected.' 'All right,' I said. 'What is Arlen Specter against?' 'Arlen Spector is against losing.'"

That more or less sums up the Pennsylvania Senator's announcement yesterday that he will quit the GOP and seek re-election next year as a Democrat. "I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans," said Mr. Specter. And perhaps he does, to the extent Mr. Specter has a philosophy.

But it's also true that the 79-year-old finds himself trailing former Congressman Pat Toomey, his GOP primary opponent for 2010, by 21 points in the latest polls. By running as a Democrat, he will avoid a tough fight for the nomination and increase his chances of winning in his home state, which has been trending Democratic in recent elections. Mr. Specter no doubt cut a deal to avoid any serious Democratic challenge, and he joins a Senate majority that is now within grasp of a filibuster-proof 60 seats.

One bitter irony is that, while Mr. Specter has long styled himself as a "moderate," his defection means that it will be that much more difficult for Republicans to moderate the most liberal Washington agenda since the 1960s (see above). Mr. Specter said yesterday he'll continue to oppose union card-check legislation, having already flipped from his vote in the previous Congress. But on health care, taxes, spending and most other things, he's likely to be a reliable vote for Democratic priorities.

As far as I'm concerned elections have consequences. The libs have all the power, none of the excuses, when they do to the country what they've done to all of our once great cities, I'll be there to say I told you so.

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