Specter Embraces Public Option
Learning to love big government.
Brian Beutler reports that at yesterday’s health care rally, Arlen Specter (D-PA) embraced the public plan that he’d opposed just a few months ago:
Speaking moments ago to a large and animated crowd of union organizers and health reform advocates in a brewing house just North of the Capitol, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) said he supports a public insurance option.
“Schumer has it right about having a public component,” Specter said.
I wrote a little while ago for The Daily Beast about the beneficial impact of primary campaigns on a political movement’s efficacy. And I think you can see that in the Specter-Sestak competition in Pennsylvania. Thus far, Joe Sestak hasn’t picked up much steam. But that’s okay, you just need a situation in which Specter is determined not to give Sestak an opening to set up a positive dynamic.
13 Responses to “Specter Embraces Public Option”
Register
RSSLogin
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog RollAbout Matt YglesiasContact Me
Donate
June 26th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Remember a few weeks back when I castigated you for celebrating Specter’s getting on the Big-D team by supporting Pelosi in her accusations against the CIA? (Probably not.) I thought it was incredibly venal, small-time shit to be happy about Specter being on ‘our’ team on. I wanted to see him come over to the right side on some things that might actually make a difference to anyone, anywhere apart from the Pelosi family. Well, this would be that type of thing.
June 26th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Obama did a jedi mind trick on Spector. “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.”
“These aren’t the droids we’re looking for.”
Matt often complains about how constipated Congress is – rightly so – and this is one of the ways you can change it.
June 26th, 2009 at 11:18 am
You know what, I don’t care if Specter is an opportunistic hack. That’s one vote for a good plan.
I castigated you for celebrating Specter’s getting on the Big-D team by supporting Pelosi in her accusations against the CIA
Because the “right side” is the CIA, who tortured people to death and keeps lying to Congress, and not Pelosi, the most liberal of our leaders (though that’s not saying much) who is asking for a Truth Commission?
June 26th, 2009 at 11:29 am
Consider that Specter left the Republican party over a primary challenge from the right, and is now tacking left because of a primary challenge from the left. It’s eery how “opportunistic hackery” actually resembles “doing whatever is necessary to retain the votes needed to stay in office” resembles “being responsive to popular will and democratic processes.”
Score one for our dysfunctional system. Nobody will be out on the streets throwing rocks at Specter over this.
June 26th, 2009 at 11:33 am
Sestak’s deficit seems to have gone from 40% to 20% and he’s not even in the race yet. That’s steamy enough for Specter, I imagine.
June 26th, 2009 at 11:40 am
True mark. Specter was the only Republican senator who was semi-decent during some of the hearings during the various Bush scandals. I wonder how much of his flip-flopping lately is opportunistic hackery, and how much was caused by the extreme shift to the right of the GOP during his time in office.
June 26th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Congrats to Pat Toomey and the Pennsylvania Republican Party for delivering another vote for the public option! Heckuva job, guys!
June 26th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
At Daily Kos, Markos and I argued this point since 2004. Good to see you finally noticed.
June 26th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
SPECTRE coming out publicly in favor of the public option is a pretty good indicator that the public option is dead.
June 26th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
I’m not saying Sestak isn’t serving the role Matt describes, but it should be noted that the general election is also driving Specter’s behavior. In other words, he is going to need enthusiastic support from Obama Democrats to secure victory in both the primary and the general, which is why he is (as many of us predicted) finding ways not to thwart Obama regardless of what he might have said in the past on any given issue back when he was a Republican.
June 26th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
This definitely is worth some votes in Democratic primary.
What is rather mysterious to me is this: why Toomey asked me for money several times by mail? Because I am on lists of contributors of Obama and Democratic legislative campaign in PA?
Perhaps he mailed to all inhabitants of “red counties”.
June 26th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
@9: I see two other interpretations. The first is the one advanced here, that he wanted to cover his left flank; regardless of what Specter thinks the public option’s chances of passage are, being for it benefits him more in a D primary than being against it. (Assuming he assumes the R candidate in the general will be a wingnut, he probably assesses the primary as his main obstacle to reelection. He’s probably right, too.)
The other possibility is just the opposite of your theory: Specter expects the public option *will* pass, and would rather be on the bus than under it.
June 27th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Because the “right side” is the CIA, who tortured people to death and keeps lying to Congress, and not Pelosi, the most liberal of our leaders (though that’s not saying much) who is asking for a Truth Commission?
Uh, nope.