As I mentioned in an earlier post, U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, newly minted Democrat, paid us a visit at the York Daily Record this afternoon.
He hung around for about 45 minutes and discussed a lot of different stuff. But much of the conversation -- prepare for a major shocker here -- centered on his announcement last week that he's shifting his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat.
One of our photographers got it on video. He's editing it tonight, and I hope to be able to post it here tomorrow.
A lot of what Specter said was a reiteration of stuff he said in newspaper interviews last week and on "Meet the Press" Sunday. (If you didn't get a chance to watch that, you can see it online here.)
A couple of moments really stood out for me.
Specter's not the most demonstrative guy on this planet, and touchy-feely emoting has never been his style. Still, I thought I picked up on a trace of genuine hurt as he talked about how his decades in the Senate seemed to count for nothing when the Republican backlash started against his vote for the federal stimulus package.
He was asked how he'd respond to Republicans who campaigned for him recently and now feel betrayed. Specter indicated that he feels somewhat betrayed himself.
"There's a little reciprocity in the disappointment," Specter said.
I also found it interesting how he waxed nostalgic for the Reagan era. A lot of Republicans I know tend to eulogize the Reagan presidency as a time when bedrock conservatism ruled unquestioned.
Specter, however, said that's when he was among a sizable group of moderate Republicans, all of whom felt at home within the GOP. These days, Specter said, the national Republican Party simply doesn't tolerate that kind of moderate outlook.
I asked him where he thought the Republican Party had gone wrong. He said it was when the Club for Growth, a national and deeply conservative political action committee, became so influential.
The Club for Growth supported Pat Toomey, the conservative former congressman who came close to defeating Specter in the Republican primary four years ago. But Specter said it's not just him.
"The Club for Growth has started a systematic raid on moderates," Specter said.
Hey Tom - the York County Campaign for Liberty is meeting this Thursday, May 7th, from 7-9 p.m. at the Hampton Inn in Shrewsbury. Feel free to stop by.
Thanks for the invite.
I've got some bad news and some good news. The bad news is that I'm taking a long weekend and will be out of town on Thursday. (It's my Mom's birthday. Gotta do what I can to stay in the will. I've been on thin ice lately.)
The good news is that if you're going to attend, I'd welcome an account of the meeting to post on the blog. If you'd like, you could send it to my e-mail: tjoyce@ydr.com.
Mandatory disclaimer: I reserve the right to trim, but you have my reassurance that I won't do any strategic editing to alter the meaning of what you write.
You'd be better off writing short, anyway, because that goes over better on blogs. Just a quick synopis of what the group's about and what went on at the meeting.
How about it?