Arlen Specter
"I come to bury the man, not to praise him."
I realize that there were moments qhen Arlen showed courage and did us a favor,like voting for healthcare. Yes he got us that magical 60 that was supposed to change a lot.
However, I need to face facts.
First off, he only came to us when he was being drummed out. We cannot emphasize enough, the GOP purge is one of the most brutal and vicious in history. Charlie Crist and others were NOT center left, but willing agents and outright sycophants of the right, who were still discarded. No, there are not the executions of the Stalinist purge, but that is only because the Kochs do not want to pay the expense (YET.)
So, does this mean we dismiss the Snowes and Specters and Crists? Sadly, we cannot, as we need all the firepower we can get. In Florida, I do NOT want to see Alex Sink or her Hubby do another half-arsed election so she can bow to Rick Scott again. If I have my choice between Crost and Rick Scott, I will vote for Crist, because I learned that Florida is so backwards they elected Marco Rubio over Kendrick meek for senator.
However, let's recognize some facts,and lay some ground rules based ON those facts.
One, the democratic party is compromised by former center-right types. From former Republicans like Arianna Huffington to Hillary to utter pigs like Rahm Emmanuel and Andrew Coumo that never deserved the title "Democrat." Yes, we are all working together to keep Mitt out, but after that, we need to draw lines in the sand, as to who we are.
Yes, converted Republican need to be deprogrammed. They do need to bear our brand, even if it means we have to get out the branding irons and make them swear blood oaths. We need to tell them something along these lines:
"If you do not carry the party line, you can hit up people like Lynn Rothschild to make some Americans United third party scheme. We will heal you, we will bring you in, and your consituents will actually thank you 20 years down the line, but repeat after me: the right wing was WRONG. "
"Do you solemnly swear that women's rights, LGBT rights, the right to a GOOD PUBLIC EDUCATION, the right to medical care, and clean air and water, are NOT TO BE COMPROMISED, no matter how good the deal the enemy offers?
OK, you are a Democrat now, happy days are here again.
