Why Arlen Specter's Health Care Defection is Still Kind of Depressing

By Chris Bowers, Open Left
Posted on June 26, 2009, Printed on December 4, 2009
http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/http://www.openleft.com/140938/

In a validation of the progressive primary challenge strategy, Arlen Specter today reversed his position on a public health care option.

Here was Arlen Specter on May 3rd when he was up by 40 points in his primary campaign against Joe Sestak:

MR. GREGORY:  Let me--I just want to turn, then, to the issue of health care. You would not support a public plan?

SEN. SPECTER:  That's what I said...

MR. GREGORY:  OK.

SEN. SPECTER:  ...and that's what I meant.

Specter meant it so much that now, seven weeks later, with his lead over Joe Sestak reduced to 20 points (see polling trends here), that he has completely reversed his position:

Speaking moments ago to a large and animated crowd of union organizers and health reform advocates in a brewing house just North of the Capitol, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) said he supports a public insurance option.

"Schumer has it right about having a public component," Specter said.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has taken a lead role on negotiations over the public option in the Senate Finance Committee, and earlier this year proposed a compromise: the committee's health care bill should include a public plan, he said, but one that competes on a level playing field with other insurers.

Specter's flip-flop simply must be the result of the increasing pressure he is feeling from Sestak. As such, progressive activists should be happy that our strategy of pressuring Democrats through primaries is validated, right? After all, this is a pretty clear example of a success for that strategy. However, I'm finding myself depressed by this success. I got the "make them do it" blues, and here is why  The concept of making Democrats vote for more progressive legislation through primary challenges is predicted on the notion that we are dealing with people who are fundamentally self-centered, power hungry, and morally flexible. We believe primaries can pressure certain members of Congress into changing their minds on important votes because some members of Congress care more about keeping their job than about the legislation they pass. In other words, we are banking on members of Congress being power-hungry and immoral.   When we actually succeed in flipping votes on important issues through primary challenges, we should pat ourselves on the back for developing a successful political strategy. However, it is also very depressing because it verifies that the members of Congress who flipped their votes are, as I said above, self-centered, power hungry, and morally flexible. In addition to verifying that we have a successful political strategy, it also verifies that we are dealing with people who care more about acquiring personal power than about the impact their decisions have on real people. So yeah, its great that a primary has forced Specter to flip his position on the public option. However, I also find it very depressing that a man who has represented me in the Senate for the past twelve years (I moved to Pennsylvania in 1997) seems to care more about maintaining personal power than about the people he represents. He only did the right thing because he is worried about losing his job.

People in Congress could change their mind based on comprehensive polling analysis showing more than 60% support for the public option nationwide. That would be an example of responsive governance, and perfectly fine by me. However, Specter and other conservative Democrats would have come out in support of a public option long ago if they cared about public opinion. Members of Congress could change their mind based on convincing policy arguments and research analysis. That would be fine with me, too. However, one would think that, after being in Congress for 29 years, a member of Congress already has a pretty strong grasp of the public policy that s/he supports. Rapid flip-flops would be extremely rare, especially on a major issue like health care. Instead, it seems like members of Congress only change their minds on key legislation when they are pushed to do so by corporate lobbyists (see six Democrats on EFCA), or when they actually face primary challenges (see 2007 Iraq voting). That is reallydepressing. And just because we have figured out a strategy that can flip votes based on this immoral behavior from certain members of Congress doesn't really make me feel any better about the overall political dynamic in America. It just tells a sad tale about who runs the country, and about the prospects for long-term progressive success. In 19 out of 20 cases, we aren't going to be able to mount a serious primary challenge against wayward Democrats. These campaigns are very hard to come by. Further, in 19 out of 20 cases, wayward Democrats will talk to dozens of corporate lobbyists, be awash in corporate PAC money, but won't listen to us. Far more often than not, we are going to be outgunned by corproate interests. Opportunities like Specter are the exception to the rule. Senators like Mary Landrieu and Blanche Lincoln caving on everything is the rule. As such, I am finding myself increasingly depressed by the "make them do it" dynamic. These days, I am far more inclined to work to remove from Congress anyone who needs to be made to do the right thing, or to form a Progressive Block that forces the Democratic leadership to the pressuring of the wayward Democrats. I grow weary of making power-hungry, immoral people do the right thing by threatening their jobs.

Chris Bowers was a full-time editor at MyDD from May 2004 until June 2007. Some of his projects have included the creation of the Liberal Blog Advertising Network, the first scientifically random poll of progressive netroots activists, the Use It Or Lose It campaign, the nation's most accurate forecast of Democratic house pickups in 2006, and the 2006 Googlebomb the Elections campaign.

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