We have won, but it is a narrow win.
So narrow, in fact, that we're relying on the guy Connecticut Democrats and many of us observers rejected in the Democratic primary.
We're relying on Joe Lieberman.
It is for these reasons that we need to give ourselves a safety valve. Arlen Specter is the perfect choice to be our valve.
Let's face it, at 51-49, if Lieberman truly wanted to screw us (and while it would be dumb, I could see it happening out of spite), he would caucus with the Republicans. This would restore the Senate to 50-50, and give the Senate back to the party of Bush.
Lieberman's victory came with heavy Republican support. He may very well feel that he owes them. That is a dangerous situation we cannot afford. We need both houses to shut Bush down and pass real legislation.
In 1994, after the Republicans won the House and Senate, they recruited and brought over Democrats Richard Shelby and Ben Nighthorse Campbell, two senators who had been reelected with the help of Republican voters. Those shifts gave Republicans a safer Senate than they had after the election, a bare two-seat majority.
Today, we are in the same position. Our majority is one seat. By recruiting Specter and convincing him to change parties, it would keep us safe from Lieberman treachery. Specter is 78. He is unlikely to run again for the Senate. With four years left on his dance card, and with the state he represents now solidly, unequivocally blue, he has good incentive to make the jump.
Staying with Republicans means Specter would simply be a powerless senator from a state that has rejected his party across the board. As a Democrat, he could head a Judiciary subcommittee and get to push legislation that matters, not to mention it'd be a great way to get back at Bush for fucking him over the past two years. Furthermore, he's more liberal than Bob Casey, Jr., so he'd fit in ideologically.
I know, I know, he screwed us a lot by caving to the Bushies since 2003. But he has cover now, and political freedom. No likely reelection to worry about, if he does run again, PA is now a blue state, and he'd have power.
I say we do it. Let's urge Harry Reid and the caucus leaders to strike a deal with him and increase our majority. This tenuous time in our history demands we do everything possible to ensure Bush cannot further damage this great nation with his ill-advised actions.