I’ve been involved in politics professionally or as a blogger or as a dedicated follower for most of my life. I had a strong interest in middle school and high school, when I read the New York Times cover to cover every day. I even remember being a depressed six year-old after Michael Dukakis lost to George HW Bush. But in all my time following politics as a professional and as an amateur, this is probably the most craven and despicable thing I’ve ever seen. Senator Arlen Specter has set up a campaign fundraising site hiding as a cancer research fund.

The story was first flagged by Senate Guru and is now being covered by Brian Beutler at Talking Points Memo. Beutler writes:

He’s touting–and raising money from–a website called specterforthecure.com, which he describes as “a bold new initiative to reform our government’s medical research efforts, cut red tape and unstrangle the hope for accelerated cures.”

But the money he’s raising isn’t funding research grants, or advocacy, or treatment for patients who can’t afford it. It’s funding the Senate re-election campaign of one Arlen Specter.

Looking at the site, there’s no question its intent is to have visitors think they are going to contribute to a charitable fund that will help further cancer research.  Only on the donation page does it become clear, albeit buried in five paragraphs of introductory text, that the contribution isn’t for researching cancer, but prolonging Arlen Specter’s political career.

This is the craven act of a monster. It’s abusive, disrespectful, and dishonest. It’s self-indulgent, self-centered, and presumptuous. I may not like Specter’s politics nor feel inclined to welcome him with open arms into the Democratic Party, but this makes me despise him as a person in a way that I’ve previously reserved for only our country’s worst war-mongers and chickenhawks. Simply disgusting.