The March 3 issue of Penn Current, student newspaper at the University of Pennsylvania, has this interview with former Republican U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, who switched parties in 2009 and ran for re-election as a Democrat. He was defeated in the 2010 Democratic primary. Scroll down to the question that begins, “In your final floor statement in the Senate, you said ‘partisan gridlock’…” Specter’s response complains that the Democratic and Republican Parties are too extreme.
To support his statement, he mentions that Joe Lieberman was defeated in a Democratic primary in 2006, and that in 2010, he could not have won a Republican primary, that Senator Bob Bennett of Utah could not win a Republican primary, and that Lisa Murkowski could not win a Republican primary. But he doesn’t mention the fact that Lieberman and Murkowski had the courage to run in the general election without the nomination of either major party, and they both were re-elected. Many political observers felt that Specter could have been re-elected in 2010 if he had run for re-election as an independent, but he was not willing to attempt that. Thanks to Political Wire for the link. UPDATE: in 2012, U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe, Republican from Maine, is up for re-election. This Public Policy Poll released March 9 shows that she would have an easier time getting re-elected as an independent than she would winning a Republican primary.
Any complaint from Specter about the ANTI-Democracy gerrymander math in the U.S.A. Senate — with its many below average small States — with the resulting extremist Donkeys and Elephants from such small States with their provincial *thinking* ???
Perhaps the current tsxes/borrowing being about 40 percent of the GDP has more than a bit to do with the extremist robot party hacks in the gerrymander Congress and State legislatures.
P.R. and App.V. — before the gerrymander MONSTERS start Civil WAR II with their party hack extremist laws.
See the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act >>> 1861-1865 Civil WAR I >>> about 620,000 DEAD Americans on both sides.
This interview has sour grapes splattered all over it. “Benedict Arlen,” of course, began his career as a Democrat, then became a Republican, then switched back to the Democrats when it became expedient. If he now truly thinks both major parties are “too extreme,” he– at the tender age of 81– should either find himself another party or become an independent.
Specter narrowly won his first Senate term in 1980. Ironically, if not for Ronald Reagan’s coattails, he likely would have lost that race (as he had already lost several statewide races).
Maine, of course, has elected several independent governors.
I’m not a big fan of Arlen Spector by any means. However, I agree with the post that he might have won re-election in 2010 if he had ran as an Independent. I wish he had – even if he had won.
Sadly, on the super wealthy can run for the big offices like Governor or Senator. But common people in small political jurisdictions, have an even chance to run and win offices such as county commissioners, school board members, even mayor or sheriffs.
We need more of the common people to set the example and run as independents. Once a base of independents are established throughout the nation, it will give courage to others and with the means to run for higher offices such as the legislature, even Congressional seats.
We could see a “political electoral” revolution in this natiion which is long overdue
#3: If Specter had run as an independent in 2010, he would have split the liberal vote with the Democratic nominee, which would have helped the Republican nominee, Pat Toomey, to win.
Toomey, to be sure, defeated the Democrat anyway.