THE decision on the part of Pennsylvania senator Arlen Specter is not only a major blow to the Republican Party in the short term as the Democrats secure a filibuster-proof majoirty in the Senate but it is a major marker in the party's growing irrelevance. Specter is one of the longest-serving members of the Senate, having represented Pennsylvania for some years. He has been a highly respected Senator, revered by both parties as the fair-minded chief of the senate judiciary committee during the Bush Administration's assault on the rule of law in the US. He was clearly uneasy with the political games he was forced to play in order to display party loyalty in the face of increasingly apparent travesties of justice on the part of Bush and his people. Specter's switch in parties comes as many Republicans have begun to lose faith in the direction of the party. During the Bush years, the party lurched further and further to the right as it sold itself out for votes of religious extremists that make up a relatively small part of the populace. The party's social policies have been tied to the extremists in a search for votes. The quick reversal by Barack Obama of many of the Bush Administration's political and social policies is clear evidence of the Republicans' out-of-step nature at this point in American history. With the loss of Arlen Specter, the Republicans have lost an authoritative presence on the national stage. At the moment, the loudest Republican voice is that of former vice president Dick Cheney who, in the face of growing popular disgust, continues to make statements aimed at bolstering his administration's broken reputation and denigrating the still young Obama government. Cheney's recent statements are signs of a political party grasping for whatever straws it can find to save face and guarantee votes in the future. Arlen Specter's defection is proof of the futility of that request and a sign that the world will have to deal with a Democratic US for the foreseeable future. __
