Hall Of Shame
The Informed Speculation Hall of Shame is hereby dedicated on February 13, 2009, with three initial members:
Arlen Specter**
Susan Collins
Olympia Snowe
These three inductees are so honored because they chose to vote for the Obama stimulus bill. This is not, in and of itself, a bad thing. A stimulus is probably needed under the current economic climate, and a large one at that. I also have no problem with bipartisan gestures.
However, this stimulus bill contained a poison pill: protectionism. If there are any principles left in the Republican Party, surely one of these is that free trade is worth fighting for. By abandoning this fundamental bedrock principle of conservatism, the three senators singled out here for opprobrium have essentially thrown sound economic principles under the train of expediency.
My only regret is that I do not live in a state that will allow me to vote against them, but I will certainly do my part, small as it may be, to ensure that they are defeated soundly in the next election.
*UPDATE 03/24/09 7:15 p.m.: Arlen Specter is hereby absolved of his sins and granted a full Speculational pardon for doing the nation of the great service of killing “card check”. I take it all back and will gladly support his continued presence in the Senate. Hip-hip-hooray!…
**UPDATE 09/15/09 11:52 p.m: Specter is back in the hall after a blatant flip-flop now that he’s switched parties…
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