On the Defection of Arlen Specter from the Republican Party...

I, too, would like to weigh in on Specter's decision to switch parties. There's been a lot of emotion churned up by this decision. Like many loyal republicans, I was disappointed and disheartened. Disappointed in that it feels like we, as a party, have been up against the ropes for a while now. This move, while not entirely unexpected, is still a "low blow". I was disheartened because Specter's defection sends a message that you cannot be a "moderate" Republican in Pennsylvania anymore. It would appear that he is not alone. Over 200,000 so-called "moderate" Republicans in Pennsylvania left the party last year because they felt their party no longer represented them. This is NOT a good thing for Republicans; rather, it's a losing proposition. Instead of writing these people off with a "good riddance" attitude, we need to do the opposite. We need to WAKE UP and take this seriously!

There is a reason why only 21% of Americans identify themselves with the Republican Party. The fact is that MOST Americans don't fall into either of the two sides of the political spectrum: extreme left or extreme right. Most people are NOT ideological purists. The reality is that the world isn't black vs. white; right-wing vs. left-wing; good vs. bad. Most people fall somewhere in between or, in other words, they are "moderate". There is a place for ideology. But a political party is not it. Michael Smerconish said today on his radio show that "the purpose of a political party is to WIN". Period. I'd never heard anyone say that before and it makes total sense. Within a party there can be voices of liberalism, conservatism, pro-life, pro-choice, etc. The party that is inclusive of these varying ideologies, and not exclusive, is the party that will dominate elections because it will speak to a MAJORITY of voters. That is, after all, how you win elections. Now you may say that we need to stand for something. We do. Republicans stand for fiscal responsibility, lower taxes, and national security. What good does our Party do in the fight to keep budgets under control, hold governments accountable, and sustain a strong national defense (all issues that a majority of Americans say they support, by the way) if we don't have a seat at the table?

Until we regain that seat at the table...because we certainly do NOT have it now...we have moderate Democrats like Evan Byah, Claire McCaskill and now, Arlen Specter who says he will be a voice for "Centrist Government". You could make the case that the best hope of bringing common sense to the Obama Administration, talk them off the ledge (on the left), is going to come from within. Moderate Democrats will have a greater chance of exerting influence than an increasingly marginalized Republican Party. In fact, having a solid majority will only bring out the dissidents within the Democrat party. Not having Republicans to fight against, they will most certainly turn on themselves. This can be used to our advantage in 2010.

If the Pennsylvania Republican Party wants to keep its seat in the Senate in 2010, we would be wise NOT to run Pat Toomey, the poster boy for the right wing of the Republican Party. If we do so, we will have shown that we have NOT read the tea leaves and have learned NOTHING from the blows we've received in the past six months. Wouldn't it be interesting if the Party put forth someone like Tom Ridge against Specter? Wouldn't THAT be a game-changer? Pat Meehan could possibly fit the bill, but he couldn't do as well in western PA as Ridge could. If we really want to keep this seat, we need a nationally known politically moderate Republican who could reach out to the thousands of disenfranchised moderates in Pennsylvania. As far as getting past the primary, I can see the conservative base supporting Ridge if for no other reason than it gives them the best chance of defeating Specter.

Time will tell. It certainly is an interesting time to be in politics!