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Specter or Sestak: What’s a good Democrat to do?

On my walk home from law school recently, I got into an animated discussion with a fellow political junkie about the state of the Senate primary in Pennsylvania. Our conversation got down to the same basic question that has been hanging over me for some time now: Who should a “good Democrat” like me support in this heated primary battle?

On the one hand, I’m no great fan of Arlen Specter. While impressed by his political poise and staying power, I put little trust in a man who turned Democrat simply because it was the most convenient way to supposedly avoid a primary challenge and retain a Senate seat. Specter is famously shifty, seeming to change positions with the slightest blow of the political winds. True, he has lately been quite supportive of the key parts of the President’s agenda, but who is to say that once in office, he won’t resort to his same old ways, standing in the way of important pieces of progressive legislation? There seems to be little reason to trust Specter, making it difficult for me to back his nomination.

On the other hand, we have Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) saying all the right things that progressives like me want to hear, standing up to the Democratic party leadership and urging them to move quickly on pivotal issues like health care reform. Yet Sestak is also a bit of an unknown quantity himself—sophomore term congressman not widely recognized by voters across the state. His candidacy raises several questions in my mind—first, can he be trusted? Sure, he’s tacking left now, but it’s easy for him to do that when running against a moderate establishment-type like Specter. Once elected, there’s no guarantee he won’t swerve right on some or many issues, and he doesn’t have a long track record of votes for us to well gauge whether or not that is a possibility.

Moreover, Sestak might have a harder time winning in November than Specter, in a state where a moderate with big name ID and a long history of representing its citizens probably has a better shot at beating Toomey than a “far-left” unknown like Sestak. If it’s a choice between nominating Sestak and losing the seat to Toomey, or nominating Specter and keeping the seat in the D column, it becomes pretty clear who I would have to support.

At this stage, I think its too early to decide what a good Democrat like me should do. A lot of time is left before the primary for these men to make their case, and a great deal of the President’s legislative agenda is yet to be enacted. Perhaps once the big decisive battles over issues like health care and energy are over in the Senate, I will have a clearer idea of who deserves my support in this heated political battle.

September 1, 2009 at 11:40 am

--Adam Schwartzbaum

Tags: Arlen Specter, Pat Toomey

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