’)
Arlen Specter may have to leave the Republican Party to stay politically viable. The Pennsylvania Republican Senator faces a primary challenge from conservative former congressman Pat Toomey. While Republicans in the Keystone State have moved to the right, 150,000 to 200,000 centrist Republicans have switched allegiances to the Democratic Party. But, unlike the way things work in Connecticut, by law, Specter can’t run in a Republican primary and then become an independent if he loses. Thus, there is speculation that Specter could abandon the GOP sooner rather than later. Specter was a Democrat until 1965 when he ran for district attorney in Philadelphia as a Republican.
As Republicans move further to the right, one has to wonder if they are marginalizing themselves even more than they have during the last couple of election cycles. They seem not to hear the loud message the electorate is sending. Their policies have failed. The country is in a shambles. The new president has his work cut out for him rescuing this nation from ill-conceived wars and economic deregulation that has Americans in a deep funk. Do conservatives think they can gain more credibility and the trust of the nation by moving further to the right?
