Monday, May 4, 2009
Specter: Switch should be 'wake-up call' to GOP
It’s been a pretty exciting week in party politics. Republican Senator Arlen Specter has switched parties. He is now a member of the Democratic Party. In this article, he claims the Republicans have changed quite a bit since his election in 1980. He hopes his switch is seen as a “wake up call” for the Republican Party, which has become increasingly conservative as time goes on.
Arlen Specter
The recent party switch by Senator Arlen Specter can say many things about the state of the party system in the United States, but among those, it most importantly says that the party system may actually be more flexible instead of consisting of solid, party bases.
Fiorina would point to this event and say that this shift may be due to sorting. Fiorina explains sorting as “those who affiliate with a party today are more likely to affiliate with the ideologically “correct” party than they were in earlier periods,” (61).This is what may actually be causing the partisan polarization he tries to manage in his book. In Fiorina’s diagram on sorting (immediately following p78), before the switch Arlen Specter would be diagramed as a blue marble with an R in the center (a liberal Republican). But after the switch, he would now be “properly sorted”, and become a blue marble with a D in the center. He is now affiliated with the ideologically “correct” party.
Aldrich might see the same event and take a more dismal view on it. In his discussion of the collapse of the Whigs, he stated that members left the party because it was no longer in their interests to remain. Aldrich would contend that Arlen Specter has left the Republican Party because it no longer suits his best interests. In the article for my link post this week, Specter even said the party has changed a lot since he was elected in 1980. The increasingly more conservative ideology of the GOP is no longer attractive to Specter and his re-election hopes. Parties after all are a group of people trying to win elective office and Specter doesn’t see that happening for him in the Republican camp.
It may be difficult, especially with Fiorina’s convincing argument for the increased polarization of elites, to imagine Specter’s switch is actually possible. The GOP is no longer serving Specter’s interests. His hope for re-election was not viable as a Republican. Ignoring re-election hopes, Specter’s ideological beliefs are now more “in tune” with the Democrats because the Republicans are becoming increasing conservative. Yes, there may be increased polarization among elites, but things are necessarily “set in stone” as some think.
Morris P. Fiorina, Samuel J. Abrams, and Jeremy C. Pope Culture War?: The Myth of a Polarized America
John H. Aldrich Why Parties? The Origin and Transformation of Political Parties in America
Fiorina would point to this event and say that this shift may be due to sorting. Fiorina explains sorting as “those who affiliate with a party today are more likely to affiliate with the ideologically “correct” party than they were in earlier periods,” (61).This is what may actually be causing the partisan polarization he tries to manage in his book. In Fiorina’s diagram on sorting (immediately following p78), before the switch Arlen Specter would be diagramed as a blue marble with an R in the center (a liberal Republican). But after the switch, he would now be “properly sorted”, and become a blue marble with a D in the center. He is now affiliated with the ideologically “correct” party.
Aldrich might see the same event and take a more dismal view on it. In his discussion of the collapse of the Whigs, he stated that members left the party because it was no longer in their interests to remain. Aldrich would contend that Arlen Specter has left the Republican Party because it no longer suits his best interests. In the article for my link post this week, Specter even said the party has changed a lot since he was elected in 1980. The increasingly more conservative ideology of the GOP is no longer attractive to Specter and his re-election hopes. Parties after all are a group of people trying to win elective office and Specter doesn’t see that happening for him in the Republican camp.
It may be difficult, especially with Fiorina’s convincing argument for the increased polarization of elites, to imagine Specter’s switch is actually possible. The GOP is no longer serving Specter’s interests. His hope for re-election was not viable as a Republican. Ignoring re-election hopes, Specter’s ideological beliefs are now more “in tune” with the Democrats because the Republicans are becoming increasing conservative. Yes, there may be increased polarization among elites, but things are necessarily “set in stone” as some think.
Morris P. Fiorina, Samuel J. Abrams, and Jeremy C. Pope Culture War?: The Myth of a Polarized America
John H. Aldrich Why Parties? The Origin and Transformation of Political Parties in America
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