From my USA Today column:

Compare and contrast two men: former congressmen Jack Kemp, one of the architects of the Reagan Revolution, who passed away this weekend at the age of 73; and Arlen Specter, the senator of Pennsylvania who switched parties to stay alive politically for another term. Specter is famous for believing whatever he needs to “believe” to get elected. Dour, Dickensian and mercenary, he is regarded by observers across the aisle as a relentless partisan for the Party of Specter. Kemp, meanwhile, was a man of ideas and relentless, unflagging optimism, beloved on both sides of the aisle. For Kemp, the bigger the pile of manure, the more likely there was a Christmas pony somewhere. With Specter, spreading manure is always its own reward.
Kemp’s death should be cause for deep reflection about what the Republican Party is about. Specter’s defection is much less significant. Yes, we can appreciate that a rat is telling us something important when it flees a sinking ship, but we don’t have to admire the rat.