[speedgibson] Speed Gibson: Moderately Corrupt

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Posted by Speed Gibson:
Moderately Corrupt
http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1241114657.shtml


   I normally avoid national news, as we have so many excellent blogs
   that more than cover these issues. I'll make an exception for U.S.
   Senator Arlen Specter's party switch.
   Have you ever noticed that GOP moderates over time almost always edge
   ever to the left, almost never to the right? I added the weasel word
   "almost" just in case, but I can't think of any such exceptions. Norm
   Coleman perhaps, though I think he is an exception only in that he
   hasn't moved appreciably either direction - to his credit.
   Have you ever noticed that GOP moderates pick some of the worst times
   to "demonstrate" their moderation? Specter was particularly good at
   this, even to the point of absurdity. Remember his invoking of
   Scottish law to avoid saying yea or nay on the impeachment trial of
   President Clinton? Remember the "gang of 14" and other shenanigans
   pulled by U.S. Senator John McCain, our standard bearer in 2008?
   Remember the "Health Impact Fee" of Prime Minister Pawlenty in 2005?
   Specter's defection did not come cheap according to some grumbling
   fellow Democratic Senators. He keeps much of his seniority and will no
   doubt receive considerable campaign cash, certainly much more than a
   dissatisfied GOP base was going to contribute. Which makes me wonder,
   are moderates almost by definition the most corrupt among us? If you
   have no overall guiding moral code that pulls you in either direction,
   what else decides the issue for you? Money? Power? Press coverage?
   Invitations to swanky affairs? Epitaphs?
   President Obama is about as wrong as he can be on economic issues, but
   the man is also very consistent with his stated hard Left philosophy.
   President Reagan was equally consistent with his stated Conservative
   beliefs. What guided Arlen Specter all these years? I think
   re-election is a fair answer, and all the trappings that come with it.
   Pennsylvania Democrats might want to cautious supporting a man like
   Arlen Specter. I remember the DFL State Senate happily embracing the
   defection of Dean Johnson, making him the Majority Leader only to see
   his repeated lying cost him his seat.