Specter May Vote Romney, Depends Which Romney Shows Up

Arlen Specter, the former Senator from Pennsylvania, may not be much of a Rick Santorum fan, despite having Santorum’s endorsement during Specter’s presidential run. But that doesn’t mean he’ll necessarily be giving his vote to Mitt Romney, or President Barack Obama. No, the former Republican turned Democrat says he ‘might” consider supporting Romney, but it depends “which Romney” ends up with the nomination.

“I’m going to wait to see which Romney it is,” Specter told The Hill, saying he approved of Romney’s support of health care access in Massachusetts.

He approves less of the president, whom he said was “too ambitious” after his 2008 win, and states that he disagrees with him over the expanding tax breaks for the wealthy and sending more troops into Afghanistan. “I want to see what Obama does. I was against his Afghanistan policy. I opposed sending 30,000 additional troops there. I think he made a terrible mistake in extending the tax cuts. He did that on his own. I opposed that strenuously. He did that while I was in the Senate in 2010. I think his economic policies have not been strong, so I want to wait and see what happens.”

Of course, none of these issues that he has with Obama would have been different under a Republican president, and the one piece of legislation Specter seems happy about with Romney — expanded healthcare access, is the one the former Massachusetts governor is most running away from. Which leads a person to wonder if Specter’s issue with Obama is less about his policies and more about his refusal to help him in his 2010 senate bid.

Is Specter really waiting for the “real” Mitt, or is he just having a moment of sour grapes?

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Chad A.

9:17PM PDT on Mar 25, 2012

Let us hope that Specter sticks to the Democrats, who generally match his politics these days.

March 25
send a green star

Jan N.

8:10PM PDT on Mar 24, 2012

That's always the question, isn't it? Which Romney are you voting for? And the answer is...which way is the wind blowing?

March 24
send a green star

Linda T.

2:07PM PDT on Mar 24, 2012

Oh last I heard Specture was a democrate, lol. That did'bt work out well for him so now he's an ex - turncoat.

Audrey L.

11:50AM PDT on Mar 24, 2012

Spector is as big a flip flopper as Romney, two peas in a pod, and who really cares, he changes his mind as often as he changes his shirt.

Bill E.

9:26AM PDT on Mar 24, 2012

Specter was opposed to extending tax breaks for the wealthy, but what do you think that Romney will do? Romney would like to make tax breaks for our very richest permanent.

Evelyn Mc M.

9:09AM PDT on Mar 24, 2012

There are TWO Romneys? OMG, women having to fight ANOTHER Republican?

ROLF P.

8:57AM PDT on Mar 24, 2012

Spector is a turncoat, he is only interested in himself and just as incompetent as the rest of them in Washington. When are the French Revolutionaries coming?

Joan E.

8:00AM PDT on Mar 24, 2012

No one has any way of knowing which Romney will show up, because there's no there there. Moderates can't trust him to be moderate just because he seemed to be once. He was because he had to be to win votes in MA. All the promises he made to them, he shook the Etch-a-Sketch and made the opposite promises to the paranoid/anti-woman right. Conservatives can't trust him and women can't trust him to look out fot their interests because his word is worth nothing.

Past Member .

5:22AM PDT on Mar 24, 2012

Sounds to me like Arlen Specter is really a wolf in sheep clothing. He might have pretended to move to the Democratic party, but only a GOP would be fruity enough to vote for Romney.

John M.

Thank you for the article...