Eat Or Be Eaten

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Today's Republican party. The only exception is that there is no well-spoken serial killer in the scene. The party is digging forks into their own succulent gray goo. MMMMmmm tastes like chicken hawk.

As they chase Arlen Specter out of the Big Half Empty Tent, they don't even realize that they brought this on themselves. Specter, like the state of Pennsylvania, was once reliably Reagan-Republican. Over the past 15 years, the party has pushed forward their ever-more radicalized agenda by marginalizing more and more of their former base. As the Bush doctrine stated, you're either with us or against us. There's no room for moderation. 1980's Reagan Republican, Senator Arlen Specter, is now deemed a left wing loony. Specter is not the beginning or end, either. He's the big news today, because as he exits the tent, he's taking one of the main poles with him. He explained it quite succinctly in his answer to a reporter's question about his decision to switch parties.


"The Republicans didn't rally to Wayne Gilchrest in Maryland, who was beaten by the Club for Growth and the far right and [the Club's candidate then] lost the general election. Republicans didn't rally to the banner of Joe Schwartz of Michigan and he was beaten by a conservative and the Club for Growth and they lost the general election ... And had Lincoln Chafee been elected in 2006, the Republicans would have controlled the Senate in 2007 and 2008 and I would have been chairman of the [Judiciary] committee and President Bush nominated 13 circuit judges. They were all left on the table for President Obama. And President Bush nominated 21 district court judges and they were all left on the table for President Obama. Now take the social conservatives in America and how they prize circuit judges. And for people who are Republicans to sit by and allow them to continue to dominate the party, after they beat Chafee, cost us Republican control of the Senate and lost us 34 federal judges, there oughta be a rebellion. There oughta be an uprising. So thanks for asking me the question about what are the Republicans like here."

Oh there IS an uprising in the Republican party, but it's a polar opposite of what Specter meant. While he's suggesting that reasonable people take back the party, the remaining party faithful are throwing tea bags on the ground and threatening to secede Texas and turn it into a socially conservative holy land.

Embarrassing moron.

In contrast, when reasonable people have an uprising, do you know what it looks like? It looks like the Pennsylvania elections of 2008, where about 200,000 former Republicans registered as Democrats to vote in the presidential primary. Of course, some of those people did so to try to prolong and thus weaken the Democratic Party's primary victor. Right wing cheerleaders insisted that most of them switched for this reason ... but who won PA in the general election*?

So good riddance to Specter! Yeah go on! And while you're at it, take McCain with you, as Rush Limbaugh said today. Come to think of it, take Maine's Senator, Susan Collins - she (like 70% of the country's voters) is PRO CHOICE! All you intellectuals can pound sand too. Boo! Pretty soon, the Republican Party will be back to it's old glorious self-righteous self. Except instead of a Big Tent, it will be a handful of sideshow freaks.



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* That would be not McCain.