Arlen Specter – Whose Side Are You On?
May 20th 2010 20:27
In the end, Senator Arlen Specter’s political genius became his political albatross. Not only was Specter a loathed incumbent entering into Tuesday’s primary, but he had effectively alienated both Democrats and Republicans. In the current political climate, that is a difficult feat to accomplish because alienating one party will usually endear a candidate to the other.
Specters ultimate loss was huge considering he had successfully weathered over thirty years of political elections and battles. The message we are learning from this is the voters not just turning against established incumbents; they are also calling out the candidates to be true to their parties and policies. This was an expectation that Specter could not meet and in the end, he seemed to care about one thing – Arlen Specter.
The big question facing Specter was, "Whose side are you on?" He tried to take advantage of the question by championing his independent thinking and voting power, but that was not the answer the parties were looking for. This worked for Joe Lieberman because he had the trust of the American people and his decision to become independent was more representative of the Lieberman that people knew and respected whether they agreed with him or not. The same could not be said of Specter.
Rep. Joe Sestak, the Democratic primary winner put out an ad that said, "Arlen Specter switched parties to save one job: His, not yours.” This message worked quite well in a state where memories of Specter’s party switch are still fresh and many areas have been devastated by high unemployment levels. Evidently Specter’s party switch was still fresh in his own mind when he misspoke at a Democratic event, "I thank the Allegheny Republican Committee for endorsing me. It's a great pleasure to be endorsed by the Allegheny County Republicans."
Could it be that in the end, Spector was still trying to answer the question in his own mind, "Whose side are you on?" He did not help himself when he reminded everyone of his ability to bring home the bacon and use his influence to benfit the people in his state. The last thing that the voters are seeking is candidates who will “bring home the bacon.” The days of riding the “success of the pork barrel train” are long over, but Specter was so out of touch he actually thought one of his greatest liabilities was an asset. Geoff Garin, a Democratic pollster said, "Being able to bring the bacon home doesn't work. I don't think this is a year about being able to work this system. It's about changing the system."
Specters ultimate loss was huge considering he had successfully weathered over thirty years of political elections and battles. The message we are learning from this is the voters not just turning against established incumbents; they are also calling out the candidates to be true to their parties and policies. This was an expectation that Specter could not meet and in the end, he seemed to care about one thing – Arlen Specter.
The big question facing Specter was, "Whose side are you on?" He tried to take advantage of the question by championing his independent thinking and voting power, but that was not the answer the parties were looking for. This worked for Joe Lieberman because he had the trust of the American people and his decision to become independent was more representative of the Lieberman that people knew and respected whether they agreed with him or not. The same could not be said of Specter.
Rep. Joe Sestak, the Democratic primary winner put out an ad that said, "Arlen Specter switched parties to save one job: His, not yours.” This message worked quite well in a state where memories of Specter’s party switch are still fresh and many areas have been devastated by high unemployment levels. Evidently Specter’s party switch was still fresh in his own mind when he misspoke at a Democratic event, "I thank the Allegheny Republican Committee for endorsing me. It's a great pleasure to be endorsed by the Allegheny County Republicans."
Could it be that in the end, Spector was still trying to answer the question in his own mind, "Whose side are you on?" He did not help himself when he reminded everyone of his ability to bring home the bacon and use his influence to benfit the people in his state. The last thing that the voters are seeking is candidates who will “bring home the bacon.” The days of riding the “success of the pork barrel train” are long over, but Specter was so out of touch he actually thought one of his greatest liabilities was an asset. Geoff Garin, a Democratic pollster said, "Being able to bring the bacon home doesn't work. I don't think this is a year about being able to work this system. It's about changing the system."
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