Jobs, health care, energy, deficits, Afghanistan, the general war on terror – all these are things that Congress should be working on. Indeed, Democrats are endlessly telling us that whatever priority they have cooked up, must be passed right now! But when the Senate is actually scheduled to be in session – purportedly addressing your concerns – they are delaying official business to let Arlen Specter raise money for his re-election campaign?

Reid announced Friday that the Senate would hold no votes after 3 p.m. Tuesday. His office later said that the scheduling decision was meant to accommodate a long-planned fundraiser that President Obama is headlining in Philadelphia to benefit Specter’s campaign.

The move could delay efforts to finish work on the fiscal 2010 transportation spending bill, which the Senate began considering Thursday…

Event organizers hope to raise $2.5 million for Pennsylvania Senate Victory 2010, a joint fundraising committee that will share proceeds with Specter’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which is backing Specter over Sestak.

If the Senate schedule is so inconvenient for Specter and Reid, why don’t they quit? Congress took an August recess during which Specter traveled all around the State. The Senate is typically not in session on Mondays, and takes frequent days off. Would it have been so difficult for Specter to schedule a fundraiser at a time that allows him to do his work – the work that his fundraising is intended to allow to continue?

Further, I can only hope that this decision by Reid gets attention back at home. His constituents seem increasingly unlikely too return him to the Senate, and given his misplaced priorities it’s not hard to see why.