“Hey, suckah! Gimme a ride!”

We’re all familiar with the tale of the scorpion and the frog, n’est-ce pas? Scorpion asks the frog to help him across the river. The frog demurs, fearing that the scorpion will sting him and he’ll die. "Nonsense," replies the scorpion, "if I sting you while we’re crossing the river, we’ll both drown."

Accepting that logic, the frog agrees to give the scorpion a ride on his back. Halfway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog. "What the fuck?!" cries the frog. "Oh, like you didn’t know," the scorpion sneers, as they sink to the bottom. "It’s in my nature."

There has to be something in the pathological makeup of Beltway Democrats, that, like the gullible frog, they keep agreeing to get stung, over and over. And for the second time in two days, stung they got by that old scorpion, Arlen Specter. From the Huffington Post:

It didn’t take long for Sen. Arlen Specter to let his new colleagues in the Democratic Party know that his vote won’t be taken for granted.

A day after abandoning the Republican Party for the Democrats, saying the latter better represented his political philosophy, Specter voted against President Obama’s budget — which he and other Democrats have described as a manifestation of the party’s political philosophy.

Specter was greeted warmly by his new fellow party members on his way into the chamber.

"Welcome," said Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), extending his hand when he saw Specter exit the elevator.

No word on whether Specter bit Levin’s hand or merely ignored it.

Honestly, what the hell did Harry Reid, the Senate’s top invertebrate, think he was getting with Specter? The day after he switched parties and THEN announced that he wouldn’t support Obama’s choice for OLC, Specter cheerfully explained his motives:

Arlen Specter, the longtime Republican senator who switched parties Tuesday, admitted Wednesday the move was driven partly by a desire to keep his seat.

The senator, who has represented Pennsylvania in the upper chamber since 1980, said he was "anxious" to stay in the Senate — and he did not want to face a Republican primary in order to keep his seat next year.

"I was unwilling to subject my 29-year record in the U.S. Senate to the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate," he said. "But I am pleased to run in the primary on the Democratic ticket and am ready, willing and anxious to take on all comers in the general election."

And President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Harry Reid all think that this blatant, craven opportunism is just wonderful for the Democratic Party, so fantastic, in fact, that they’re willing to deny real Democrats a chance to run for the Senate seat.

Well played, suckers. Let me know when those wire transfers from that Nigerian bank finally come through.