Republicans believe in certain things and Democrats believe in certain other things. But, once in office, they both believe in one thing above all else: incumbency.

A case in point is the April 27th Republican U.S. Senate primary in Pennsylvania, between Senator Arlen Specter and U.S. Representative Pat Toomey. Both men are Republicans, but the similarities end right there. Toomey went to Congress to put Washington on a diet. His voting record shows he has kept his word. The National Taxpayers Union ranks him seventh best in the House on taxation and spending issues.

Anti-incumbent Toomey pledged to serve no more than three terms in the House and he’s keeping that pledge, too. Specter, on the other hand, has been in the Senate for the last 24 years. He’s a Republican, but most famous for voting against Reagan’s nomination of Judge Bork for the Supreme Court. If reelected, Specter will take over the Judiciary Committee. The National Journal rates Specter nine points more liberal than conservative on economic issues and three points more liberal on social issues. Meanwhile, Toomey was rated more conservative than liberal on economic issues by 47 points and on social issues by 32 points. Quite a gap. Not to mention that Specter is being funded by many of the same folks, such as George Soros, who are funding the effort to oust President Bush.

Why then is President Bush traveling to Pennsylvania to promote Specter over Toomey? Specter is the incumbent and, in the rulebook of Washington, incumbency comes first.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.