Party Switching

This past week’s readings have suggested that a polarized nation does exist, just not in the way we might have thought. Fiorina and company claim that it is not so much the American voters that are polarized, but the American elites. Many Americans do not pay attention to politics until the presidential elections come up, but political elites and activists are zealous about their party and its policies, which makes them more polarized. However, the recent party switch by Arlen Specter is kind of contradictory. If political elites are so polarized, how can they just switch parties and abandon their ideology at the drop of a hat?

It all comes down to the “politics.” Beginning his campaign for re-election, it became clear that Specter had a very slim chance of defeating Pat Toomey. Throughout this semester, we have talked a lot about Congress and their failure to vote with their party because it might jeopardize their re-election. Specter saw that the Republicans were not going to save his career so he decided to try to save it himself, by switching to the Democratic Party. This move could help support the idea that the Republican Party is starting to collapse. Specter voiced that his ideals and position on policy were not so much in line with the Republicans anymore as they were with the Democrats. He may just be saying this to avoid speculation and he may mean it. If he does mean it, it could show that support for the Republican Party and their ideology is starting to dwindle, as this past election has illustrated.

I think this shift would surprise Fiorina. The main theme of his argument is that political elites and activists are very polarized and true to their parties. Specter’s switch turns his arguments completely upside down. Aldrich, however, would not be as surprised. He argues that parties aren’t so important and candidates tend to choose the party that will get them elected. Aldrich talks about switching parties on pages 188-189 and suggests that if another party possesses a more viable route to winning, a candidate could abandon their current party. He states that, “as the other party becomes more viable…the challenger might switch,” and this is exactly what Specter did (189).