what’s to the right of right?

“america is a broad river, and arlen specter is sitting on the left bank.”

that’s the message delivered by the newly anointed congress, eager to unite the country and heal its divisions.

specter, as you know, recently was vilified by “angry conservatives” for suggesting that “…strongly anti-abortion judicial nominees might be rejected in the senate.”

specter has been in the senate a long time. he’s probably forgotten more about good-faith public service than his new colleagues will ever know. like his sterling work on the warren commission, for example, or his kindness toward anita hill.

but how could he forget that bush and several other like-minded folk were swept into office just four days ago? and that the premise for their coronations was “moral values”?

specter is a smart man. probably a good listener, too. he no doubt heard bush say, "i'll reach out to the people who share our goals."

could anyone be more gracious? think of the effort required to reach people who share your goals. and how does specter repay the president’s pure-hearted benevolence? by implying that he, specter, does not share those goals. tsk. tsk. such towering ingratitude.

specter also must’ve heard bush say, "i earned capital, political capital in the campaign and now i intend to spend it. it is my style."

specter knows that it is bush’s style to spend political capital (and all other kinds of capital) whether he’s earned it or not. and now he has a whole bunch of right-minded folk in both houses of congress to help him spend it.

yet specter has the impudence to offer suggestions as to the shopping list? what nerve.

well. he can just forget about that judiciary committee chairmanship he had his eye on.

“the concerned women of america planned a news conference critical of mr. specter on saturday in pennsylvania, and michael schwartz, the group's vice president for government relations, said his organization would continue to press the case against the lawmaker.

"it is clear to me that with this statement and his past record of performance, senator specter has disqualified himself from any right to be considered as chairman of the judiciary committee,'' mr. schwartz said.

[sidebar: is it at all interesting that a leader and spokesperson for a republican women’s group is a guy?, nah, probably not.]

“a message distributed electronically by the family research council urged its supporters to call senate leaders and committee members to lobby against mr. specter. ‘he has a history of pandering to the aggressive abortion lobby, and a specter chairmanship would be disastrous,’ the group said.”

in case anybody else has forgotten, there’s a right and a left in this country. there is also a right and a wrong. clearly arlen specter has run afoul of the right in both cases.

let this be a lesson to him and anyone else who does not share the goals of the new majority.