Reid's Specter Deal: Dem Senators Not Pleased

The Hill:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) deal to allow Sen. Arlen Specter to retain his seniority after he switches to the Democratic Conference has not been received well by senior senators in the party.

Several Democrats are furious with Reid for agreeing to let Specter (Pa.) keep the seniority accrued over more than 28 years as a Republican senator. That could allow him to leap past senior Democrats on powerful panels -- including the Appropriations and Judiciary committees.

Read the whole story: The Hill

Comments

[abouttime]

The deal by Reid to allow Sen. Arlen Specter to retain his seniority after he switches to the Democratic Conference is similiar to that of Leiberman's retention to his commitees to the Democratic Party (Even though he is NOT a Democrat).
Seems the Democratic Party is NOT democratic, but rather dictatorial and is run by a cabal of "insiders". I, for one, deplore the spectacle of deals made in the darkness of secrecy - void of principles paramount to a People's Party!
Accountability has been talked about - alot - so has change. But when change happens at the top of a coorupt system, it is time for he people to demand accountability and change.
We shall!

[Banjoplayer]

Specter knew his back was against on this one and boy did Arlen win on this one.

My feelings are that if a Murphy or Sestak (both of whom I am very impressed with and are true Democrats) run against Specter in a primary, Obama and Biden should stay out and let the chips fall.

This deal better be worth it.

[Okieborn]

I am a long time democrat who has always respected Sen Specter !!!!
The Democratic Party should be proud for this great addition !!!!

[SEQUOIABISON]

This switch to the Democratic party on the eve of Specters re-election bid, is hurting our chances to elect a real Democrat to the Senate in 2010. I say ignore his phony political maneuvering and select a Real liberal progressive democrat to run in the PA primaries.

It would be nice to have another Democrat in the Senate who wholeheartedly supports the president, instead of a newly converted republican slightly to the left of Dick Cheney and has to be wined, dined and begged for support.

[eljefejeff]

i hear ya, but nate silver at fivethirtyeight.com demonstrated that republicans in congress who switch parties have usually accrued more liberal voting records after the switch, for whatever reason, vice versa for dems who become republicans. in other words, the fact that he is a rebublican has held him back from voting more liberal in the past but now he'll feel pressure from the dems. it probably won't make a big difference.

[abouttime]

Pressure from the cabal who runs the Democratic Party?
How is that different?

[madisonhack]

His vote is his vote, but he better not support a Republican filibuster. I think Specter's days in the Senate are numbered, anyway.

[nomobull]

me too

[GwenElle]

Elsewhere on this site, Robert Creamer gives an interesting analysis of the leadership qualities of President Obama. Being a right-brained person myself, the analysis was good input to the left-brain. Creamer put into words what was intuited about the President. Now if Mr. Creamer would do me the same favor regarding Harry Reid!!

I just don't get what this guy brings to the table. It is difficult to imagine being any less impressed with a *leader* than I am with Reid.

Arlen Specter reminds me of what I loathe about politics and politicians. The next edition of Webster's should show a picture of Arlen next to the definition for opportunist. Right-brained folk will grasp that completely! I am not *feeling* Specter as a democrat or as a principled man. In his announcement, he admitted his self-serving opportunism; so there isn't any reason that democratic voters should expect much from him in terms of democratic ideals (whatever that is).

As for Sen. Barbara Mikulski's remark ("I won't be happy if I don't get to chair something because of Arlen Specter"), though I understand the sentiment, she manages to sound at once like a petulant child and a petty, self-serving politician. Granting Specter seniority is a violation of principles that most anyone can understand. Principles must be front and center . . . not Mikulski's personal happiness.
But then, we are talking politics here . . . the antithesis of principled.

Specter-Re­id-Mikulsk­i, a deeply gratifying merging of political ideals!

[Manx]

Senate Democrats should turn on Harry Reid and replace him once and for all. He is useless.

[Rjchinook]

PLEASE BFD!

[KansasWrangler]

I think the senior Democrats are right to be angry over this. Frankly, there is still the prospect that he won't be back in 2011. He could even be defeated in the Democratic primary if someone emerges that inspires the electorate.

[RobZero]

Lets see how he votes and then decide if he deserves any sort of Democratic seniority. If he won't play nice he shouldn't be on the team.

[Dogger]

That's sensible.

I wouldn't necessarily enforce party discipline when he votes on passing a bill, but I would cut his nuts off the first time he votes for a Republican filibuster.

[Binckeslaw]

Letting Specter control legislative agenda as a committee chair is absurd. Americans elected Democrats so that the Democrats could control the flow of bills. The idiot Democratic leadership is giving away its prerogatives that come with being in the majority to a Republican who jumped ship because he wasn't radical enough for the radical right fringe elements of his party. This transgression is not foregivable. Democratic politicians have sabotaged success too many times.

[blues101]

I tend to think (would like to), that given that our president is so smart, such a strategist, and always one step or more ahead - that somehow this crazy stuff makes sense in some way and will work the way the president intends it to. As much as i don't trust that sleazy turncoat lieberman twin and never have. As a Pennsylvanian, i understand the switch for specter's survival - not much else he could do to keep his seat. But i'm thinking that as crazy as it all sounds from my perspective, the president must know that this is the best thing. I just wish i knew the reasoning behind the backing of a fence-sitting turncoat. But that's me.

[TremoluxMan]

They should have Specter by the short hairs and tell him which way to vote on key bills. If he doesn't like that, he can take his chances for re-election on his own. You want to play, you got to pay.

[Daniboy]

Obama, Biden, and Rendal have spoken-the voters of Penn will be able to vote for Specter or the Repub candidate-Dem democracy at work!

[Daniboy]

The deal is made-no Dem will run against Specter-the Party, not the people, has made the decision. Long live the Dem Machine!

[joselopez]

Sometimes Democrats are too stupid for words. If Spector is twenty points behind Twoomey (not sure of spelling), let him loose the primary. It basically guarantees a more moderate to liberal Democrat to win the seat in the general election.