Comments on: Political Opportunism Gets Specter’s Vote http://tysonwynn.com/2009/04/28/political-opportunism-gets-specters-vote/ Right-Wing Nutjob, Religious Fanatic & Citizen Journalist Tyson Wynn Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:35:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: RSU Prof http://tysonwynn.com/2009/04/28/political-opportunism-gets-specters-vote/comment-page-1/#comment-5458 RSU Prof Mon, 04 May 2009 20:20:07 +0000 http://tysonwynn.com/?p=1147#comment-5458 Stunning that politicians like Specter tend to adopt careerist perspectives. From my perspective, Sen. Specter's performance on "Meet the Press" this Sunday offers rich testimony to the good senator's fondest wish to have his cake and eat it, too. I would sincerely hope that Specter faces a serious Democratic primary challenger, someone like Joe Sestak (who, as I understand it, is hardly a raving liberal, but who would likely be more liberal than Specter). In short, I agree with you that Specter's loss is not particularly damaging to the GOP. This sort of shifting is a pretty regular feature of our two-party system. In 1980 and 1995 you saw considerable movement of southern conservatives from the Democratic Party, and now NE moderates are increasingly defecting from the GOP. Whether it is advantageous to either party to be "THE liberal" party or "THE conservative" party is another question altogether. Our parties have tended to be of the "catch-all" variety, and I don't think that either party benefits from clasping too ferociously to so slender an electoral reed as ideological pretensions, be they liberal or conservative. I am minded also of David Souter's retirement as an indication of this slow extinction of NE patrician conservatism. Say what you will of Souter, his retirement might a more consequential presage of the end of conservative of a conservative era, and the inauguration of more liberal politics. Feel free to accuse me of wish fulfillment :) Stunning that politicians like Specter tend to adopt careerist perspectives. From my perspective, Sen. Specter’s performance on “Meet the Press” this Sunday offers rich testimony to the good senator’s fondest wish to have his cake and eat it, too. I would sincerely hope that Specter faces a serious Democratic primary challenger, someone like Joe Sestak (who, as I understand it, is hardly a raving liberal, but who would likely be more liberal than Specter).

In short, I agree with you that Specter’s loss is not particularly damaging to the GOP. This sort of shifting is a pretty regular feature of our two-party system. In 1980 and 1995 you saw considerable movement of southern conservatives from the Democratic Party, and now NE moderates are increasingly defecting from the GOP. Whether it is advantageous to either party to be “THE liberal” party or “THE conservative” party is another question altogether. Our parties have tended to be of the “catch-all” variety, and I don’t think that either party benefits from clasping too ferociously to so slender an electoral reed as ideological pretensions, be they liberal or conservative.

I am minded also of David Souter’s retirement as an indication of this slow extinction of NE patrician conservatism. Say what you will of Souter, his retirement might a more consequential presage of the end of conservative of a conservative era, and the inauguration of more liberal politics. Feel free to accuse me of wish fulfillment :)

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