May 3, 2009

1884 cartoon in "Puck" magazine ridicules New York Mayor James Blaine tattooed with scandals. The cartoon is a parody of "Phryne BeforeThe Aeropagus" -- a 1861 painting by French artist Jean-Leon Gerome.

Specter Turns Mugwump

Sen.  Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania has become a genuine “mugwump” by bolting the Republican Party and crossing the Senate aisle to become a Democrat.  He had been a Republican since 1965.

The switcheroo gives Democrat majority leader Harry Reid a filibuster-proof chamber of 60 votes to carry out President Obama’s liberal agenda.

Specter was forthright about his motive – saying the prospects of his reelection, as a Republican, were “bleak.”

We can speculate that his prospects are as iffy as ever.  Reid writes in his book “The Good Fight” last year: “Specter is always with us when we don’t need him.”

According to “The Hill” -- daily newspaper of Capitol affairs – Specter and Reid had unkind words for each other two years ago after Reid referred to the 49 Senate Republicans then as “puppets” of President Bush.

Sen.  Specter rose from his Senate seat to accuse Reid of violating a Senate rule against personal attacks, and to question Reid’s fitness for Senate leadership.

WHO NEEDS ENEMIES?

Specter has a mixed bag of support for liberal legislation.  On his first vote as a Democrat, Specter voted against the budget proposal geared to Obama goals.

With friends like that, who needs enemies?

In a recent survey, the Washington Post found that Specter scored a respectable 65 percent support for conservative legislation.

He voted with Republicans on most military-related bills during the Bush administration.

Specter also voted for conservative judges AFTER he had voted against Robert Bork in 1987 for the Supreme Court in a blatant, liberal smear campaign.

However, Specter voted for Clarence Thomas, a Black man, in 1991 as the latter was blatantly smeared by liberal Senators.

More recently, Specter helped guide President George W. Bush’s Supreme Court nominees --John Roberts and Samuel Alito -- through the liberal, Democrat confirmation committees.

SPECTER’S VOTES

The Hill newspaper points out that Sen.  Specter supports the death penalty and opposes gun control.  This month he also opposed the Democrat budget -- and the “Employee Free Choice Act” sought by labor leaders.

Just two weeks ago, Sen.  Specter tartly criticized the Democrat agenda during an interview by the Pennsylvania Morning Call:

“If we lose my seat, they have 60 Democrats in the Senate.  They will pass card-check, and you will have the Obama tax increases.  They will carry out his big spending plans.

“So, the 41st Republican -- whose name is Arlen Specter – is vital to stopping tax increases, passage of card-check, and the Obama big-spending plans.”

POLITICAL CHAMELEON

Those were soothing sentiments for Republicans at that moment.  However, Specter is a political chameleon that can change spots in a twinkling to match surroundings.

Specter dutifully trotted up to the White House to make nice with President Obama.  The latter welcomed the senator aboard and termed him “one tough hombre” not expected to agree with all presidential decisions.

A White House aide said, "Specter’s past conservatism is a fair question to ask, but he has now publicly committed to running in a Democrat primary in 2010. "

MOVING HIS DESK

Thus, on Wednesday, Senator Specter talked for 20 minutes with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid regarding committee assignments.

In the meantime, Specter’s official desk in the Senate chamber was unscrewed from the Republican right side of the aisle and reattached to the Democrat left side.

No teary goodbyes from the right.

No huzzahs from the left.

There but for the grace of voters go all senators.

The House Republican Campaign Committee mounted a fund-raising campaign called "Good Riddance."

Specter’s first vote in the Senate as a Democrat was against Obama’s budget –“too authoritarian in rules for a health-care debate later this year.”

MUGWUMP

There is much drama in the role of mugwumps for politics.

The most famous “mugwump” was the presidential election of 1884 when James G. Blaine, mayor of New York City -- was the Republican presidential candidate.

The Democrat candidate back then – ultimately successful -- was Grover Cleveland of Ohio.  His success was attributed to the cross-over of Republicans disenchanted by Blaine scandals.  Those were publicized in “Puck” – a widely circulated humor magazine at that time.

The word “mugwump” is Algonquin Indian -- meaning “Big Chief.” A flippant definition attributed is: “Your mug on one side of the fence, and your wump on the other.”

It does seem that too many mugwumps get elected.

The solution – as my Grandpa Williams used to say – is to vote early and often.

By Lindsey Wilger Williams, retired newspaper publisher and syndicated columnist