Traitors, Turncoats, True Statesmen?

Jeffords, Lieberman and Spector

He was never one of us! He's an opportunist! He has no principles! After all we did for him, this?

Who am I talking about?

James Jeffords was a Vermont Republican who became an Independent, but caucused with the Dems. (He was replaced after he retired in 2006 by Independent Bernie Sanders.)

Joe Lieberman is a Connecticut Democrat who ran for Vice President as a Dem, lost a Democratic primary, ran as an Independent, won and started going to Republican conventions.

Then there's Arlen Spector. In 2004 he barely won a Republican primary against a very right leaning opponent. Since then 200,000 Pennsylvania Republicans have switched their registration to the Dems. Yesterday he announced he was switching to the Democratic Party. "I am unwilling to have my twenty-nine year Senate record judged by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate."

There's a lot of ire and angst in Republican circles and joy in the Dem camp today. Arlen Spector has gone to the Dark Side!

It seems to me that all three Senators "moved" to where they always were when they realized their party had moved away from them.

I also think that the Dems are happier than the evidence indicates they should be and the Republicans have less to fear than they think. Spector voted to confirm Justices Thomas, Roberts and Alito. He voted for the Iraq war. He favors school vouchers. However he labels himself, he favors stem cell research and same sex marriage. Why would any of that change?