Editorial - Specter Paints Pennsylvania Senate Map Blue

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April 28/09

Editorial - Specter Paints Pennsylvania Senate Map Blue

By John McManus

On Tuesday, April 28, 2009, the political party shift in the United States Senate was drastically altered by a United States Senate veteran, who has not only been involved with legislation that has changed America since 1980, but  also a senator that sits on the Appropriations Committee and the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, Judiciary Committee, Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Committee on Environment and Public Works and Special Committee on Aging.

On this day, it may be possible that the Democratic Party will have 60 United States Senators.  Shockwaves are being felt in the halls of Washington and on the 24 news channels.

But for the author, there is more than that.  Senator Specter is my senator and has been since before I was a year old.  Two Democratic senators now represent my home state of Pennsylvania.

For those of you that are regular readers of Global Pundit—if you are not, you should be.   There is a lot of great content here and independent journalism does have a place and a perspective that should be here—you will know that I am a Democrat.  Furthermore, you will also know that I volunteered for the Obama campaign for nine months. 

Having that been said, I have friends and family of all political persuasions:  people who have supported for President Ronald Reagan, George HW and W Bush, Ralph Nader, Al Gore, John Kerry, John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. 

I believe we all must be at the table together to share our views in order to get the best solution for a given problem or issue.

Which brings me back to Senator Specter, who until Tuesday was a Republican.  I have respected his individualism in the Senate and his willingness to cross party lines.  I admired him as he fought and worked while receiving chemotherapy.  There have been issues I have agreed and disagreed with him on, and those stances have changed over the course of my life because ideals that lean Democratic did not occur to me until about age 14.

Like almost all Democrats, I am pleased that Senator Specter has joined the party and furthermore because he is my Senator.  When the senator acknowledged that his philosophy now leans more to the Democratic side, I was proud and believed Senator Specter was brave to make the party move.

But as I am seeing the videos and reading about the news online, there is one major party of this story that I am displeased with.  You can find it in the article “Specter Joins Democrats; Senate Count May Reach 60” by Carl Hulse and Adam Nagourney of the New York Times.

Mr. Specter acknowledged that the surprise decision was driven by his intense desire to win a sixth term next year. It came after he and his political advisers concluded over the weekend that he could not win a Republican primary against a conservative challenger, particularly in light of his vote for the president’s economic stimulus package.
So part of the reason Senator Specter made the switch to join the Democrats is so that he would not lose his place on the ballot as senatorial candidate of the Republican Party in 2010.  The general consensus is that Specter will not have any serious Democratic primary opponents that could unseat him next year.   I understand Senator Specter wants to win another term but I did not expect him to switch parties to do so.

Until at least the midterm elections next year, two Democratic senators will represent my home state. 

 This is a first in my lifetime. 

 Today I received an email from DNC Chairman Tim Kane asking me to welcome Senator Specter.  And I do welcome him.  I understand that Senator Specter does not always fall in step with the views of his party, and I admire him for that.  I do not expect a blanket “YES” vote for Democratic legislation from him but hope that he will continue to make progress in the challenges we have as a state and in his leadership roles both in the United States Senate and on his committees.

~ by John McManus

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