Crash and Burn, Pennsylvania-Style

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I lived for over 13 years in NW PA, arriving there just a few months removed from a highly-contested U.S. Senate election in which Arlen Specter narrowly beat a Democrat lady who was still incensed about his rough treatment of Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings (one of his few shining moments in Congress, IMHO).  I lived there, then, during his two most recent Senate runs, prior to this year, and though I was a registered Republican for a good bit of that time, and though I have never voted for a Democrat in my life and have the full expectation that I never will, Arlen Specter was elected both of those times without receiving my vote.

Then last year, of course, the man I call “Arlen the Wonder Senator” switched parties, declaring in a moment of candor—and of unbridled selfish political ambition—“My change in party will allow me to be re- elected”.  This proved as well to be a moment of political chutzpah, one that was played over and over again in Keystone State commercials by his relatively-unknown leftist opponent, Representative Joe Sestak.  And so it was that this hubris, in part, proved to be his undoing, as Arlen the Wonder Senator, who in my estimation is the poster child for everything that is wrong with Washington, D.C., saw his rather inglorious political career end on a cold, rainy May evening in Pennsylvania.

And I, for one, simply couldn’t be happier.

6 Comments

  1. Mark Merritt on May 19, 2010 at 10:51 pm

    I rarely get too excited about the demise of this or that person’s political career because the new guy never seems to be much better – but today I AM ELATED!

  2. Graham on May 22, 2010 at 11:21 am

    If you didn’t vote for Mr Specter, what did you do? Abstain? Constitution Party?

    • Byron on May 23, 2010 at 3:32 pm

      Never abstain. I voted for a lady named Peg Luksik, who was either just independent or Constitution or something, the first time around, and she may have run the second, though I don’t remember, but there was somebody on the ballot who was acceptable, neither Republican nor Democrat.

  3. Mark Merritt on May 23, 2010 at 12:11 am

    I didn’t vote for Mr. Arlen Turncoat. I’ll leave it at that 🙂

  4. Derlin on May 23, 2010 at 4:41 pm

    Peg Luksik ran as a Republican in the primary this time around, though she lost by a wide margin to Pat Toomey.

    • Byron on May 23, 2010 at 9:16 pm

      I actually saw that. She’s a fine lady; I wonder why she challenged Toomey? He’s top-notch…

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