Blogs For Victory

Our Congressional GOP is just not picking up on what is happening:

After losing Arlen Specter to the Democrats, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell moved quickly to gauge the level of discontent of one of his caucus’ few remaining moderates.

McConnell sat down privately with Sen. Olympia J. Snowe of Maine on Wednesday and let her vent about what she thinks is going wrong with the Grand Old Party.

It was a one-on-one follow-up to a New York Times essay in which Snowe contended the party didn’t need to lose Specter.

After the meeting, Snowe had nothing but good things to say about McConnell, R-Ky., and focused her criticism on other wings of the party.

“My concern is that it’s hard for the leader and others who work here to try to create a more inclusive message that could well be overshadowed or neutralized by the national party,” Snowe said Thursday. “It’s been a painful lesson, but hopefully we will learn from it and build on it.”

A McConnell spokesman said the leader met often with Specter and cultivates relationships on the floor and in office meetings.

“He tends his garden,” spokesman Don Stewart said.

Maine’s two senators, Snowe and Susan Collins , are among the Republicans most likely to vote with Democrats on policies such as energy, entitlements and social issues such as support for abortion rights.

Snowe, Collins and Specter were pivotal to passage of the economic stimulus (PL 111-5), as the only three Republicans in Congress who voted in favor of the bill.

And that last bit is the important part – it wasn’t that we conservatives didn’t like the way Specter, Collins and Snowe are pro-choice but the fact that they can’t even adhere to the very basic GOP principle of low spending even when its a defining issue like Obama’s spendulus package. This wasn’t just some run-of-the-mill spending issue – this was the moment when we switched from GOP governing ideas to Democrat governing ideas. And that is fine – the Democrats won and thus they get to set the agenda…but there was no need for GOPers to join in; let the Democrats take full responsibility with no “bi-partisan” cover. Specter, Collins and Snowe just wanted to be part of the team – the team of whomever is most powerful in DC…and right now its the tax and spend liberalism set which is most powerful, and Specter, Collins and Snowe didn’t want to be uncool and lose out on a possible White House invite or two.

Let no one try to sell us on the Donk talking point that we lost Specter because we’re pro-life, or in favor of winning the war, or what have you…Specter had been with us for years while we were exactly that; he only left because he knew he was toast in the GOP and for Specter the most important thing is that Specter remain at the public trough and continue to be part of the powerful in DC. Specter just turned yellow, plain and simple – courage would have required Specter to either try to win the GOP primary, or switch to Independent and try to win a three-way contest…Specter took the chicken**** path and joined the Democrats, who really don’t care what you believe as long as you’ll vote as you’re told. Specter will now be a good servant to his new masters.

It is time for Senator Snowe to choose – she is welcome in the party just so long as she adheres to core GOP principle: limited government, low taxes, strong defense, etc. But if she feels that her personal political ambitions trump the needs of the GOP, then she must leave…and the sooner the better so we can lay the ground for a GOPer to run for her seat. Its time for Senator McConnell to start listening to the regular folks – we won’t want Snowe in the party if the cost of keeping her means allowing Democrats to gain allegedly GOP cover for their foolish, socialist plans for America. No rancor – heck, not even mild disappointment. Snowe is who she is and she’s perfectly within her right to believe and act as she wishes…but the GOP is a party of principle, and if you can’t adhere to the basics, then its better to get out.