The only thing to fear is the GOP itself

[Atman]

Seem like a victory bonfire here today. In spite of the ever present DUum-sayers, there are a lot of happy DUers, and that is a good thing. There are a lot of happy (or happy-er) Americans.

There are a lot of unhappy Americans, too.

Arlen Specter is an unhappy American. As would most of us, Arlen Specter is looking out for Number 1 -- himself and his family. Most on this board would probably consider looking out for Number 1 a particularly Republican trait, but I'm not talking about Number 1 ahead of every other consideration. Specter sees this, too.

Specter is not unlike Mortimer Duke in the iconic film "Trading Places." He does what he has to do to oil the wheels of his gravy train, life on Capitol Hill. When confronted with epic failure, Duke cried for the legacy of his seat on the NYSE. Specter, too, is looking out for the legacy of his seat, feeling his place in history getting sucked down the soil pipe with that of Cheney and Bush. So he makes the most transparent political leap in political-leaping history, even giving press conferences with obvious underlying tones of "Look, we both know this is all bullshit."

He's an opportunist of the highest order. But isn't that just another Republican trait? Profit from the misery of others?

Par for Specter's course.

When these people are backed into a corner, watch out. Consider what Dick "Dick" Cheney did just to push up the value of Halliburton stock. When bad people are backed into a corner, they become worse people. The GOP is seeing its stock value decline faster than General Motors (ironically enough). Be careful. They're capable of anything when they feel cornered.

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