July 10, 2006
WRTA.com
 Brown
Shoes Diary
High On Specter
It was a masterful interview. Jason High
on WRTA's Two-Way Radio program had the chance to discuss issues with the
senior U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, Arlen Specter. Jason never challenged
Mr. Specter, never was confrontational, and never was disrespectful. He took
the High road. Yet, he elicited from Mr. Specter in less than 10 minutes much
that is loathsome about this Senator.
First, Jason let Specter relate why he's in our area--mainly to inspect some
plant in Ebensburg that is making wind blades for alternative sources of
energy. Let's see, Specter has been in office for 26 years and it occurs to
him now that windpower is the answer to America's energy needs. Obviously,
the market (everyone who works for a living) doesn't think so because wind
energy has not been able to make any profits whatsoever, while it has been
draining the public coffers with subsidies approved of by the likes of
Specter. If this were the Midwest, I'm sure Senator Specter would be the
champion of ethanol, another heavily subsidized boondoggle.
Later in the interview, Jason brought up that immigration is one of the top
issues of the current Pennsylvania senate race, where Specter is backing Rick
Santorum over Bob Casey. Jason mentioned that Specter's position on
immigration tracks Casey's, not Santorum's. Very nice point, Jason. In
reply, Specter said the current Senate bill has strong enforcement procedures
in it. Oh, really? That's news to anybody who has read the bill, including
those in the House of Representatives who will not sign onto it because it's
short on border protection and long on amnesty for lawbreakers. Specter has
even been holding hearings to establish the absolute necessity of these
lawbreakers to America's economic health, giving liberal NYC mayor Bloomberg a
soapbox to promote that view. Now, I can well believe that illegal aliens add
value to our economy, although maybe not, but to think they are essential is a
bit beyond the ridiculous. And, of course, even if the Senate bill were tough
on defending our borders, the short-term effect would be to encourage more
crossing so that the new illegals get here before the border is defended and
so they can get an early start on receiving amnesty. Senator Specter, that
comment on the strong enforcement mechanisms of the senate bill was
laugh-out-loud funny--except that law-breaking is not a laughing matter.
Towards the end of the interview, Jason asked the Senator if he would be
running for re-election in 2010. That really wasn't a relevant question given
that the election is four years away and there are many more pressing issues
to discuss of relevance today, but it still was an evocative question.
Specter said so long as he is healthy enough, he would be running and he's
next in line for chairman of the appropriations committee. What he was
saying, and quite clearly, is that he will be able to bring a lot of federal
pork to Pennsylvania when he chairs the appropriations committee. Maybe there
never was a time when elected officials actually put the good of the country
ahead of their own constituencies as they swear to do in upholding the U.S.
Constitution, but at least there was a time when they weren't so crass and
arrogant in saying they'll violate that oath. Our senior Senator has been on
an ego trip for a long time and it's only getting worse.
With a rather innocent sounding interview and a mild-mannered approach, Jason
High was able to make clear just how power-obsessed this man is. There was,
however, one note of humor I found particularly entertaining: Jason pointed
out how interesting it would be if Senator Specter would have to run against
Pat Toomey again in 2010. Specter's response was the laughable dribble you
get from a doofus politician about how wonderful a country it is, and anybody
can run for office, yada yada yada. But I have to believe that the Senator's
heart-rate quickened and I'm sure his blood pressure spiked upon the mention
of the name, Toomey. Nice job, Jason! Superb interview!
The opinions and ideas expressed in this essay are those of John D
McGinnis and should not be considered representative of WRTA.com, any
institution with which McGinnis is associated, or anyone else. He can be
contacted at john@wrta.com.
Contact John D McGinnis
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