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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sully- who wrote (71524)	4/29/2009 4:11:09 PM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 90947

Senator Snowe Laments Senator Specter's Party Switch Veronique de Rugy The Corner Sen. Olympia Snowe has an op-ed in the New York Times today where she laments losing her friend Sen. Arlen Specter to the Democrats. She writes: <<< It is disheartening and disconcerting, at the very least, that here we are today — almost exactly eight years after Senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party — witnessing the departure of my good friend and fellow moderate Republican, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, for the Democratic Party. And the announcement of his switch was all the more painful because I believe it didn’t have to be this way. >>> She blames it on the Republican party, which has become, she thinks, a mean-spirited, small-minded conservative party that doesn’t like different ideas. <<< It is true that being a Republican moderate sometimes feels like being a cast member of “Survivor” — you are presented with multiple challenges, and you often get the distinct feeling that you’re no longer welcome in the tribe. >>> Later she writes: <<< It is for this reason that we should heed the words of President Ronald Reagan, who urged, “We should emphasize the things that unite us and make these the only ‘litmus test’ of what constitutes a Republican: our belief in restraining government spending, pro-growth policies, tax reduction, sound national defense, and maximum individual liberty.” He continued, “As to the other issues that draw on the deep springs of morality and emotion, let us decide that we can disagree among ourselves as Republicans and tolerate the disagreement. >>> But while she wants the Republican party to be accepting of her positions on the other issues, she seems to forget that often she doesn’t even pass the “litmus test” of core economic issues. She, like Specter, voted for the stimulus bill package. I don't understand well all the consequences of Specter's defection to the other side, but it seems to me that no matter how painful it might be, that's probably what the Republican party needs. corner.nationalreview.com