Self-preservation and political principle

The GOP has been up in arms about the defection of Arlen Specter to the Democrats, saying the 28-year Senate veteran’s embrace of the majority party was a move of self-preservation and political expediency and not one of principle.

As if anyone thought otherwise.

What I find striking about this argument is not the venom directed at Specter — that’s pretty standard in the political world — but that the GOP seems to be acknowledging its own irrelevence. In arguing that Specter switched because he couldn’t win re-election next year as a Republican, isn’t the party also saying that the Republican brand has little value — at least in Pennsylvania?

Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet