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The problem with ‘The Real Arlen Specter’

Arlen Specter is doing a good job of controlling the political conversation now. But what will happen when his opponents’ commercials begin blanketing the airwaves in the run-up to the primary? Democrat Joe Sestak and Republican Pat Toomey will certainly put Specter’s trustworthiness on the line. They will run hard-hitting ads questioning his integrity, like the one above. Specter will be called to task to explain his record.

Can Specter pull off a victory if the conversation is about Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill? Specter is going to have to address these votes and these moments at some point, but every minute he talks about his past, he loses control over what he needs the conversation to be about—his promised bright future as a Democratic Party darling.

I almost want to believe in him.  Here he is at 79 years old, having beaten back a host of political opponents over the course of his 29 years representing Pennsylvania in the United States Senate and survived a dramatic bout with Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2005 that he was treated for a second time for as recently as July 2008. Coincidence isn’t quite causation, yet its not hard to believe that these near-death experiences may have jolted the Senator into deep introspection about his legacy. Perhaps President Obama’s election really has changed the way he thinks about his duties to the citizens of his state and his country.

I’d like to believe this narrative—but Specter is going to need to really convince us what is reasonable about his naked reversals on so many fundamental issues in such a short period of time. He may not get an unsympathetic ear if he can convincingly speak from his heart.

This may be Arlen Specter’s most difficult political test. How he explains his evolution from the positions that motivated his votes on issues like those listed below may determine whether he is he able to win the primary against Joe Sestak and the general election against Pat Toomey.

One thing Specter can’t do is ignore them. His opponents will flood the media markets with negative ads like this one to remind Democrats why Arlen Specter was their opponent for three decades. Then, even if he can beat back Sestak’s primary challenge, he will need to distract a majority of Pennsylvanians’ attention from the guaranteed barrage of negative attacks Toomey will launch on television and other media in the run up to the general election—an assault that will almost certainly be well-funded by a very pissed off—and still wealthy—national GOP base eager to exact their pound of flesh from this turncoat.

If Joe Sestak is able to make this narrative about “The Real Arlen Specter,” the senator must prepare a rejoinder sufficient to gain the accord of progressives like me.

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FROM “THE REAL ARLEN SPECTER” WEBSITE:

10.  The Real Arlen Specter worked to make sure companies benefit from closing down factories in the United States, voting for tax loopholes for companies who ship jobs overseas [S 1637, 5/5/04]

9.  The Real Arlen Specter joined his Republican colleagues in voting for the largest education cut in history, which would have cut one third of education spending over seven years [H Con Res 178, 06/13/96]

8.  The Real Arlen Specter has supported many of the most reactionary judges the Republican Party could find, including voting for Justices Thomas and Alito.

7. The Real Arlen Specter still defends his vote to make Sarah Palin a heartbeat away from the Presidency, saying she and McCain were “the better choice.”

6. The Real Arlen Specter voted to privatize Social Security to put retired workers and retirement security itself at risk based on the volatility of the market. [Vote #56, 4/1/1998]

5.  The Real Arlen Specter voted against extending the assault weapons ban, putting these dangerous weapons back on our streets [Vote #24, 3/2/04]

4. The Real Arlen Specter has voted numerous times to cut billions of dollars from Medicare and Medicaid, once voting to cut Medicare by $270 billion and Medicaid by $182 billion in a single bill [HR 2491, 10/28/95, Vote #556]

3. The Real Arlen Specter voted against the Climate Stewardship Act, landmark legislation to fight global warming and limit greenhouse gases [S139, 10/30/03]

2.  The Real Arlen Specter helped create this recession by voting for the Bush tax cuts for the richest of the rich—53% of which went to the top 1% of earners—at the expense of fully funding SCHIP for children, Medicare for seniors, and other necessary programs

1.  The Real Arlen Specter voted for the authorization of the use of force against Iraq [HJRes 114, 10/11/02, Vote # 237], starting the War in Iraq, which is still going on six years after President Bush declared, “Mission Accomplished.”

November 7, 2009 at 6:18 pm

--Adam Schwartzbaum

Tags: Arlen Specter

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