The Specter of Political Opportunism
In light of Senator Arlen Specter's party switch today, I thought it was relevant to post (below) a Letter to the Editor I had published in the Pittsburgh Business Times three years ago to the day.
I consider myself a moderate and have always had great respect for moderates. Although Specter has defined himself as a centrist throughout his political career, charges of opportunism and insincerity have always cast doubt on his motives. Today's move will no doubt add fuel to that fire.
Friday, April 28, 2006
Letters
Strategy needed, not sound bites
Business Times
In the past several days the drumbeat has begun again.
Several congressmen, including our own Sen. Arlen Specter, have reinvigorated their intimations of price gouging by the oil companies and have re-floated the possibility of windfall profits tax legislation as a remedy.
Well, here's a news bulletin for Specter and his colleagues—the reason we find ourselves in this serious predicament is because of the dangerous incompetence of Congress, not the misdeeds of oil companies.
A very rudimentary understanding of economics and market dynamics is all one needs o understand that oil prices are driven by basic forces of supply and demand, as well as the risk/supply perceptions and projections of global commodity traders.
Why would the folly of windfall profits tax legislation even be considered for an industry whose return on capital is typically at or below the average of all S&P 500 companies? Is there not anybody in Congress who has the intellectual honesty to recognize the distinction between a raw-dollar and percentage-based return?
If Specter wants to be constructive, let me suggest that he put together a coalition of his colleagues to immediately begin work on bipartisan, comprehensive energy policy legislation.
Has this country ever faced a more serious, yet eminently solvable challenge? Our national and economic security, as well as our capacity to be an engine for freedom and growth across the globe, depends on our ability to achieve a considerable measure of energy independence. It should be a national embarrassment that countries like France and Brazil are out in front of us in securing their energy interdependence.
The tools to make it happen are at our disposal. Why not craft a five- to ten-year plan that extricates us from the uncertainty and instability associated with our current addiction to foreign oil? And, we can do it without jeopardizing the environment. Bipartisan leadership and its concomitant give and take is all that's necessary. Is that possible anymore?
We can spread our bets across many current and emerging technologies, and then move more disproportionately over time to the ones that prove most effective. Ethanol, biodiesel, hydrogen fuel cells, clean coal, solar, wind, nuclear, increased refining capacity, drilling in ANWAR and elsewhere, conservation and more rigorous CAFE standards are some of the elements that can form the foundation of a prudent and effective policy.
So, Sen. Specter, I implore you to stop the sound bite politics, dig in your heels and be a force for substantive and meaningful reform, not something that is a Band-Aid at best and does nothing to address the long-term problem.
A sensible energy independence policy would catalyze innovation and economic vitality for decades to come.
The domestic and worldwide benefits would be enormous.
Chuck Dietrick I Presto
I consider myself a moderate and have always had great respect for moderates. Although Specter has defined himself as a centrist throughout his political career, charges of opportunism and insincerity have always cast doubt on his motives. Today's move will no doubt add fuel to that fire.
Friday, April 28, 2006
Letters
Strategy needed, not sound bites
Business Times
In the past several days the drumbeat has begun again.
Several congressmen, including our own Sen. Arlen Specter, have reinvigorated their intimations of price gouging by the oil companies and have re-floated the possibility of windfall profits tax legislation as a remedy.
Well, here's a news bulletin for Specter and his colleagues—the reason we find ourselves in this serious predicament is because of the dangerous incompetence of Congress, not the misdeeds of oil companies.
A very rudimentary understanding of economics and market dynamics is all one needs o understand that oil prices are driven by basic forces of supply and demand, as well as the risk/supply perceptions and projections of global commodity traders.
Why would the folly of windfall profits tax legislation even be considered for an industry whose return on capital is typically at or below the average of all S&P 500 companies? Is there not anybody in Congress who has the intellectual honesty to recognize the distinction between a raw-dollar and percentage-based return?
If Specter wants to be constructive, let me suggest that he put together a coalition of his colleagues to immediately begin work on bipartisan, comprehensive energy policy legislation.
Has this country ever faced a more serious, yet eminently solvable challenge? Our national and economic security, as well as our capacity to be an engine for freedom and growth across the globe, depends on our ability to achieve a considerable measure of energy independence. It should be a national embarrassment that countries like France and Brazil are out in front of us in securing their energy interdependence.
The tools to make it happen are at our disposal. Why not craft a five- to ten-year plan that extricates us from the uncertainty and instability associated with our current addiction to foreign oil? And, we can do it without jeopardizing the environment. Bipartisan leadership and its concomitant give and take is all that's necessary. Is that possible anymore?
We can spread our bets across many current and emerging technologies, and then move more disproportionately over time to the ones that prove most effective. Ethanol, biodiesel, hydrogen fuel cells, clean coal, solar, wind, nuclear, increased refining capacity, drilling in ANWAR and elsewhere, conservation and more rigorous CAFE standards are some of the elements that can form the foundation of a prudent and effective policy.
So, Sen. Specter, I implore you to stop the sound bite politics, dig in your heels and be a force for substantive and meaningful reform, not something that is a Band-Aid at best and does nothing to address the long-term problem.
A sensible energy independence policy would catalyze innovation and economic vitality for decades to come.
The domestic and worldwide benefits would be enormous.
Chuck Dietrick I Presto
I guess I have been laboring under the misconception that our elected officials should represent the views of their constituents not just his/her own. Specter has crossed the line as he abandons all the conservatives who voted for him in the last election to position himself for his own gain.....re-election. In positioning himself for his own gain he has aided the liberals by giving them a super majority as he will surely bow to the pressures of his new party.
There ought to be a law!
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One of the things I found particularly curious was Specter's statement that he switched parties because the GOP has moved to the extreme right. We must have been living in different universes the past eight years. Other than his prosecution of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Bush could not have been much more liberal (as a Republican). Currently, the Republicans are ostensibly just trying to get back to their roots of limited government, fiscal discipline, values, and strong defense. Their virtual abandonment of those principles is why so many walked away from them in the last two elections. If Specter still claims to be supportive of those tenets, then he's apparently bolted for less noble reasons.
I'm not offended by politicians who don't necessarily reflect the views of their constituents. This is a representative, rather than pure, democracy. They are supposed to make judgments based on their "supposed" broader and deeper understanding of issues and the ramifications of various decision. Of course, they should be accountable for those decisions at the ballot box. Specter is clearly afraid to face the jury.
I am put off, though, by pols who are intellectually dishonest and switch positions with the political winds. Specter has a rich history of equivocation. His 180 degree turn on the card check issue (elimination of secret ballot for unionization elections) is the latest example.
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I find it amazing his MAJOR reason for leaving was not that the party had gone right on him, but that he could not get elected in the Republican party. At least he could have used the old "the party has left me" approach as the primary reason. Not Arlen. He didn't try to use the principled approach as his real reason. He abandoned principles many years ago.
The crazy part to me is that he could be so straight forward with his narcissism and the press did not call him on it. Does anyone remember what happened to Lieberman in the press when he switched to Independent? He was savaged by the press.
It is not surprising how the media spins his change. Almost every major media outlet had some version of, "this could be the end of the Republican party", and "they must move to the center". Did anyone notice that it was Arlen Specter leaving?? He was never a Republican. He was a Specterican. Sure, he voted with the Reps on many occasions, but on many of the major issues of our time, he has been predictably unreliable.
Lastly, I am enjoying the backtracking Harry Reid is doing with his seniority. How great is that?! As the saying goes - If you sleep with dogs, don't be surprised when you wake up with fleas. Arlen is getting his just rewards. He'll be itching for some time thanks to his friends the Dems. So much for using seniority as a reason for re-election.
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Chuck: Bravo!!!!
This guy is a chump! He believes he belongs to a class of elitists and has sold his soul to retain his position. I don't think you will ever see him step up to do the things you have so articulated in your Op Ed piece.
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