Ahem, Waiter, This Is Not What I Ordered

Imagine going to a restaurant one day. You eat there often and like the steak. Every time you go there you order steak and today is no exception. However, instead of a robust, tasty, juicy, tender steak, the waiter calls an audible and brings the tofu and vegetarian platter. He explains that the chef decided that he does not care for steak anymore and this has less fat. You have no choice, the dinner is completely unpalatable to you, but you are forced to eat it anyway. How disgusting!

This is precisely what Arlen Spectre did to a very large number of people. He presented himself as a Republican, part of the majority, called upon and received the support of President Bush to get reelected, and has now switched to the Democratic Party.

Had he done this in 2002 or so, Spectre could present this as a matter of conscience. At this point it looks like nothing more than sheer opportunism. Believe me, he will end up in a position of power in the Senate eventually, after the passage of an appropriate amount of time.

In his last go round, he faced a very difficult primary opponent. Perhaps he fears the infamy of losing a primary as an incumbent. In any case, he now faces the strong possibility of losing in the general. The formidible party network that got him elected will now be used against him.

Changing parties in midterm is fundamentally dishonest. Spectre has to live with his newly won reputation as a turncoat. Best of luck with that.