On Mon, 04 May 2009 23:35:47 GMT, "Tom Littleton" wrote:

well, your original point seemed to be 'was Arlen slipping' by thinking this
would be a good talking point during a campaign. My response was 'no, he was
sharp as a tack, given his constituency'. Frankly, I couldn't be bothered to
look up which Senators and Representatives have been supportive of, or a
hindrance to, dollars allotted to healthcare and health sciences research. I
do suspect, that if one added it up, one might find far more Dem names on
the supportive side than Repubs, but that is only a guess.
Still, his interviews today seem to me as valid, saying that the GOP ought
to view his party switch as a wake-up call. Only a guess again, but I
suspect they won't get that message.........yet.
Tom


I wasn't trying to make a point, I was asking to see what you knew about it all.
His response could be taken, and indeed has been taken, as "the GOP could have
saved Jack Kemp (or as some have taken it, the GOP killed him), but it didn't so
I switched parties..." Even bringing up such a thing in such a forum
(basically, a Jack Kemp informal memorial session) was strange, but it came
across pretty strange as well since he was in the senior ranks of the GOP for
the last 8 years. I have no idea what it has led to in PA, but outside of PA,
he sounds like a nut with all the "and THAT is THE reason I switched" on a wide
variety of un-related topics, when just about everyone knows the biggest reason
he switched because it was his only real chance of get re-elected.

I guess it just shows even decent pols, once they've tasted it, will do just
about anything to keep themselves in it - Biden and the Veep-ship, McCain and
Bush, Specter and all this shtick.

Would he be in any real danger - moreso than he is - if he had just said, "look,
sure, mainly I'm switching to get re-elected, but it's a lot easier given the
way the GOP appears to be headed..." and then stuck to it and shut up? I guess
what I'm asking is that if he has fairly broad support in the voters overall,
why all the bull****?

TC,
R