Political progress mandates a shift to moderate policy
Andrew Kindiger
Issue date: 4/30/09 Section: Opinions
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., has decided to jump on the progressive bandwagon and move past the political gimmicks of the Republican Party to make Congress more efficient.
Sen. Specter was quoted in the New York Times saying, "The Republican Party has moved far to the right. I now find my political philosophy more in line with democrats than republicans." He made the switch so that democrats would have 60 votes in the Senate so that filibusters could be easily broken.
Some skeptics have raised concerns about what kind of democrat Specter will be. Even liberals might believe that he will be too much of a conservative democrat. However, moving toward more moderate thinking is something our nation can benefit from. Take, for example, President Obama's first 100 days in office: ABC polls articulate his approval rating at 69 percent, and the Huffington Post even commented that the only major issue the public is dissatisfied with is his immigration policy. Of course he has a long way to go, but compared to former President Bush's approval rating when he left office, President Obama is getting off on the right track - especially considering that he has to amend the mistakes of the previous administration.
However, the argument could be made that President Obama is not holding up to the political ideals of his campaign. During the race to the White House, Obama proclaimed himself to be somewhat of an international icon, assuring the public he was going to make great strides with the global issues concerning the United States. But after he was elected, France, Germany and Britain were the only countries cheering him on - countries that the U.S. already has good relations with for years. Vice President Joe Biden actually has more experience with international policy than President Obama, a key reason for his appointment to the vice presidency.
The point I'm trying to make is that even though President Obama is off to a great start, he is not going to be the liberal salvation some democrats might have hoped for. He is even moving in a direction that would suggest his actions are of a moderate inclination.
Sen. Specter was quoted in the New York Times saying, "The Republican Party has moved far to the right. I now find my political philosophy more in line with democrats than republicans." He made the switch so that democrats would have 60 votes in the Senate so that filibusters could be easily broken.
Some skeptics have raised concerns about what kind of democrat Specter will be. Even liberals might believe that he will be too much of a conservative democrat. However, moving toward more moderate thinking is something our nation can benefit from. Take, for example, President Obama's first 100 days in office: ABC polls articulate his approval rating at 69 percent, and the Huffington Post even commented that the only major issue the public is dissatisfied with is his immigration policy. Of course he has a long way to go, but compared to former President Bush's approval rating when he left office, President Obama is getting off on the right track - especially considering that he has to amend the mistakes of the previous administration.
However, the argument could be made that President Obama is not holding up to the political ideals of his campaign. During the race to the White House, Obama proclaimed himself to be somewhat of an international icon, assuring the public he was going to make great strides with the global issues concerning the United States. But after he was elected, France, Germany and Britain were the only countries cheering him on - countries that the U.S. already has good relations with for years. Vice President Joe Biden actually has more experience with international policy than President Obama, a key reason for his appointment to the vice presidency.
The point I'm trying to make is that even though President Obama is off to a great start, he is not going to be the liberal salvation some democrats might have hoped for. He is even moving in a direction that would suggest his actions are of a moderate inclination.
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Jon Deering
posted 4/30/09 @ 1:59 PM CST
For what it's worth, I'll preface this comment by saying that I voted for Obama, but that I've also been disappointed in some of his "moderate" compromises. (Continued…)
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