Still Waiting For Democrat Arlen Specter

I have seen absolutely no change in the voting record of Arlen Specter to this point to indicate he will transmorgrify into some mainstream liberal, despite past practice among party switchers. But even if he did move his positions to the left, I can understand why senior Democrats would wince at the extreme gift of seniority bestowed upon him. Some of this is sour grapes on the part of Senators, but the rules of the chamber indicate that years of service to the party equal expanded power, and Specter spent close to 30 years opposing them, only to leapfrog them at the flip of a switch. And that's not likely to hold, because it's not Harry Reid's decision to make.

Under his deal with Reid, Specter would jump ahead of all but a few Democrats when it comes time to dole out committee chairmanships and assignments.

“That’s his deal and not the caucus’s,” the senior lawmaker said of Reid’s agreement with Specter.

The lawmaker requested anonymity because the issue of Specter’s seniority is “a sensitive subject.” The lawmaker said it would be OK if Specter joined his panel as long as he “sat at the end of the dais” with junior members.

Since Reid and Specter announced their deal, Senate insiders have speculated that Specter could bump Harkin after the election from his chairmanship of the powerful Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services subcommittee or return to be chairman of Judiciary if the current chairman, Leahy, takes over the gavel at Appropriations. Specter was chairman of Judiciary in the 109th Congress when Republicans controlled the chamber, and ushered through the confirmations of Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito.

But the senior Democratic lawmaker disputed these scenarios: “That can’t happen. Seniority is decided by the caucus.”

That's good, in a way, since Specter has until the re-organization of committees in 2010 to show some loyalty to the party and prove his worth to the caucus. Which is why there also needs to be the threat of a primary challenge to allow constituents to make their own decision about who they want to represent them. Accountability Now PAC, the new progressive organization dedicated to electing better Democrats, sent along this release:

Accountability Now PAC announced today that it opposed efforts by elites to deny Pennsylvania Democrats their right to choose a candidate for U.S. Senate. Powerbrokers claim to have promised Senator Arlen Specter a “clear field” in next spring’s Democratic Primary for U.S. Senate.

"We believe that primaries play a critical role in empowering voters, and we oppose ongoing efforts to deny Pennsylvania Democrats their right to choose who represents them in the Senate," said Jane Hamsher, founder of Firedoglake.com and co-founder of Accountability Now. “Senator Specter certainly deserves a fair hearing from Democrats, but Pennsylvania Democrats have the right to hear from alternative voices who may be closer to their views on critical issues.”

“Elites believe that primaries are messy,” said Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com and co-founder of Accountability Now. "Accountability Now believes that nothing focuses the mind of a politician on listening to citizens better than a primary."

"Accountability Now PAC is not prejudging the Pennsylvania Democratic primary," said Accountability Now's new Executive Director, Jeff Hauser. "We will follow closely voices from Pennsylvania about how well Senator Specter is serving their state, and take our cues accordingly. Ultimately, it is the Democrats of Pennsylvania who should choose their Senate nominee, not the DC Establishment.”

If Democrat Arlen Specter wants to make his case that he would be the most effective representative for Pennsylvania Democrats, so be it. But the voters ought to have a choice.

...the next few months are going to prove that 60 votes isn't a magic panacea and that Democratic Senate leaders will find all kinds of ways to make even more excuses for why they can't make progress. The bottom line is that there's one person to blame if the progress doesn't happen, and his name is Harry Reid.

...Reid is now backpedaling furiously on the seniority deal. Good.

Still A Working Conservative Majority On Some Issues

The proposed cram-down provisions that would allow bankruptcy judges to modify terms of primary residences, the way they can on secondary residences and yachts and all kinds of other assets, are a perfectly sensible way to give homeowners who might otherwise be out of the street after foreclosure a modicum of leverage in the process, freeing up lenders to perform loan modifications on their properties. In the end, nobody is served by millions more homes on the market and millions more homeless. But the banksters don't want to do it. They have spent millions lobbying against it because they would rather pretend that they have larger assets than they do. Perversely, a loan that will go unpaid means more to them than a modified loan that would get paid. So they are desperately trying to add loopholes and conditions and restrictions.

And because we have this group of "New Democrats" who basically parrot whatever corporate lobbyists tell them, it is a successful gambit.

House Democratic leaders have abruptly canceled votes on legislation to let bankruptcy judges reduce the principal and interest rate on mortgages for debt-strapped homeowners.

The measure, backed by President Barack Obama, is the most controversial part of a broader housing package that was expected to pass on Thursday.

It hit a snag after a group of moderates expressed concerns in a closed-door meeting of House Democrats about how the bill would affect homeowners who are still struggling to make their mortgage payments.

The banking industry has lobbied hard against the measure, mounting a successful multimillion-dollar effort last year to kill it. The House is debating the measure and leaders hope to reschedule votes for next week.

It's just revolting. The concern of "moderates" is simply a lie. Homeowners who are struggling to make payments would benefit from having their lender be more inclined to give them a lower payment. After all, we practically own the banks at this point. The least they could do is act in the interest of the majority of Americans. It's not like they'll be hurting for cash, given what is coming out about the Geithner plans for essentially unlimited refills.

This is a structural problem, where incumbents well-heeled with campaign cash have more to fear from industry and multinationals than their own constituents. A new progressive group called Accountability Now is seeking to change that dynamic.

Some of the most prominent names in progressive politics launched a major new organization on Thursday dedicated to pinpointing and aiding primary challenges against incumbent Democrats who are viewed as acting against their constituents' interests.

Accountability Now PAC will officially be based in Washington D.C., though its influence is designed to be felt in congressional districts across the country. The group will adopt an aggressive approach to pushing the Democratic Party in a progressive direction; it will actively target, raise funds, poll and campaign for primary challengers to members who are either ethically or politically out-of-touch with their voters. The goal, officials with the organization say, is to start with 25 potential races and dwindle it down to eight or 10; ultimately spending hundreds of thousands on elections that usually wouldn't be touched.

This will be looked at with an eye toward district realities. There are too many members of Congress representing deep-blue districts who equivocate to powerful special interests. There needs to be a countervailing force, and Accountability Now can become that.

The New York Times has more, although they kind of botch the story. This is a good development for the progressive movement.