Markos Moulitsas of the Daily Kos wrote a piece called “The Specter of defeat” today that pretty much sums up the bleak looking future for Senator Arlen Specter. With polls showing relatively unknown Club for Growth President Pat Toomey beating Specter in a hypothetical match up at 41-27, Specter seems to be searching for conservative credibility anywhere he can.

How desperate is the search? How about introducing legislation for a 20% Flat Tax? That’s right, everyone, after vowing to vote against labor unions last week, he introduces legislation that would make the union worker he vowed to vote against pay the same tax rate as Richard Mellon Scaife. In his defense, he has tried to introduce similar legislation in the past, but the timing seems quite uncanny.

While Arlen Specter should be applauded for his lengthy independent voting record and breaking ranks with his party seemingly on principle, it seems as though now he is ready to play politics to the extent that he wants to remain a Republican. Unfortunately, voting for Obama’s economic agenda is something Toomey won’t let the base forget. He also may have lost his chance to run as an Independent with vowing to go against the Employee Free Choice Act. As the Moulitsas’ piece notes, at this very moment it seems no matter how Specter tries to run in 2010, he seems like he is going to get burned.