Honor among thieves
While campaigning for Democratic primary, Specter says,
Asked by a moderator why liberal activists should trust him as a former Republican, Specter said, "I have a record of candor and honesty." He dismissed a study done by blogger and statistician Nate Silver that showed his Democratic party-line votes have increased dramatically since the Sestak challenge emerged.
I think I actually agree with him. In a strange way, Specter has been relatively honest. Not with impeccable integrity, since he can be said to have betrayed his constituents' trust by switching party mid-term, but even when he was jumping the ship, he was relatively candid about his reason: He's doing it for ... political technicality, i.e. he can't survive the Republican primary in the re-election bid.
On this state of the record, I am unwilling to have my twenty-nine year Senate record judged by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate.
Also, I think Specter's town hall has been one of the more ... respectable ones. I haven't heard of any union thuggery at his town hall that has taken place elsewhere, and although he must have done something to make this man so angry, he respectfully listened through the whole rant and didn't try to denigrate the man afterwards.
Maybe this just reflects the declining standards for our congressmen (wonder why some call them "congresscritters"?), but I think Specter's ... own code of ethics is above the median in the Congress.