Just a Specter of His Former Self

BREAKING NEWS (as of a few hours ago anyway): Arlen Specter, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, has abandoned the Republican party and is now a Democrat! 

Well, that was a shock,.. or not, depending on who you listen to regarding the announcement.  One thing is certain, this changes everything... I think.  Or was it that nothing has really changed?  I don't know.

Senator Specter has long been accused of being a RINO (Republican in Name Only).  My guess s that the true change is that he is now a DINO (Democrat yada yada yada).  Well, in this day and age, DINO's are more powerful than RINO's, so I guess it could be a good career move for him.  Besides, it wasn't looking like hw was going to win the nomination in the Republican primary this time around, so he may have had little choice.  Switch parties or lose his seat.  Granted, that could still happen, but I think he has a good chance of being re-elected as a Democrat.We'll all find that out next year together.

Will this mean we will see a brand new Arlen Specter?  Can somene who has been a Republican for so long really change?  I say no to the first question.  I don't know about the second one.  I think people in this country need to stop thinking that Republican or Democrat labels tell you all you need to know about a person.  I'm a Democrat but I don't agree with every plank in their platform.  Specter has been a Republican for years, but often voted at odds with the majority of his party.  For quite a while now it has been obvious that Specter is not a "party player" for the Republicans.  I'm sure the same will be true now that he is a Democrat.

While I haven't always agreed with Specter, I have respected him.  Yes, I've even voted for him.  Yes, I will likely do so again.  Welcome to the party Arlen, you should have come around sooner!

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A bitter Pennsylvanian

It's so obvious that Obama is out of touch with the common man here in Pennsylvania, he has no idea what we've gone through.  Prices of gas and food are rising, taxes are always going up, many people are losing their jobs and there aren't many new ones coming here.  Beyond that, some of the area's biggest employers went through bankruptcy and backed out of their promised pension plans so now thousands of employees don't have the retirement they were expecting.  How dare he say we're bitter?  Come on!  We're ecstatic, wouldn't you be?

No, this isn't true for everyone in Pennsylvania, but it is a part of life here.  Yes there are bitter Pennsylvanians.  That isn't an insult or a threat, it's a fact.  Is he saying that we've given up or that we don't deserve better?  No, just the opposite, he is offering us hope that this will change.  Don't buy into the criticism.  Obama isn't out of touch, he seems to understand us better than most politicians on the national level.  He's financed his entire campaign with donations from people like you and me, not by accepting huge donations from corporations or lobbyists.  He wants a chance to serve US, the people of this nation, not just the corporations who can make him and his friends wealthy.  Let's give him that chance.

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End the insanity

This post is directed mainly at my fellow Pennsylvanians and other states yet to vote in this year's Democratic party primaries.

Only one more week for those of us here in Pennsylvania and then the spotlight will move on.  So, have you made up your mind?  Are you voting for Hillary?  Obama?  Someone else entirely?  Well, here's the deal.  Vote for Obama so we can end this insanity.  Face it, Hillary simply cannot win unless she convinces superdelegates to vote against the will of the majority of the people in the Democratic party.  That is her only hope at this point.  And what will that accomplish?  The most divided Democratic party we've seen in a very long time.  I honestly cannot believe she would have even the slightest hope of winning the general election. Why?  Read on.

First of all, Hillary winning the primary in this manner would be even worse than Bush's victories in 2000 and 2008.  Remember the scandals during those years?  Gore won the popular vote, what really happened in Florida and then Ohio?  Did Bush really win?  Now imagine if Bush had only won if delegates from states that had gone Democrat switched and voted for him.  THIS IS WHAT HILLARY IS COUNTING ON FOR HER VICTORY!  No, superdelegates don't have to vote along with the general populace, but if they are going to override the popular vote, we truly have lost control of our own government.  So, after the Democrats were fired up by the results of the last two elections, all we have learned is to copy the behavior?  That is sad.

Second, we know that the Democrats usually have support of minority groups.  What effect do you think it will have on that support if a small group of people override the decision of the public and hand the nomination to Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama?  Come on people.  One of Hillary's biggest arguments is that she is the more electable.  If this is the way she wins that simply won't be true.  And again, this is the ONLY way she COULD win!

Hillary is simply leading a divisive campaign at this point.  It is serving no purpose other than lowering the chances of electing a Democrat this fall.  We need to finally realize this and unite as a party behind Barack Obama.  He has earned this support by running a superior campaign.  Don't allow this to go on any longer, let's come together as a party and send the message that it is time for Hillary to end her run.  Vote for Obama on Tuesday!

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Contribute!

I believe in Barack Obama.   I think he is the one candidate that it is truly possible will bring the change we need to Washington.  Because of this, I am shouting from every place that I can about him.  I am asking that you give your support to this man, that you go to his website and DONATE!  Give him as much or as little as you can comfortably afford.  He has shown that a campaign can be run without smearing the mud that most candidates do.  He has shown that a campaign can be run without accepting contributions from PACs and lobbyists.  He has shown that a candidate CAN still be elected with the support of the people of this country.  Give him that support and let him show us what he can accomplish as our next President!

Visit Barack's website now!

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