Sunday, May 3, 2009

New Republic Editorial

The NOT far-left New Republic's editors make some good points in an editorial posted this weekend for the May 20 edition -- the site alternately headlines it "The Runaway" and "Not So Fast, Arlen! You Need To Earn Your Spot In The Democratic Party":

...with Obama already vowing to campaign and fund-raise for him, it wouldn't be unreasonable for Specter to assume he can vote in ways that displease Democratic voters (and even the White House) on critical issues like health care since, at the end of the day, he has the ultimate political trump card: the support of Obama, whose approval rating in Pennsylvania is almost ten points higher than Specter's.
That is why it's essential that Specter not run unopposed in the Democratic primary.


It's also crucial that, once the primary battle begins, Obama makes sure the intensity of his support for Specter's candidacy is closely tied to the intensity of Specter's support for Obama's agenda. ... There's no reason Obama shouldn't make Specter swing left to secure his. It's one thing for Obama to endorse Specter's candidacy; it's another thing for him to record commercials and robo-calls, hold fund-raisers, and show up at campaign events for Specter. He should only do the latter if Specter comes through for him.


Hear, hear!

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