Arlen Specter is Switching Parties!
 

Well, that changes things.

Not surprising. There was no way he was going to beat Toomey in the Republican primary.

edit: Apparently Specter is going back to the the Democrats. He was a Dem before switching to the GOP in 1965, the last time it was politically convenient for him to change parties.

A poll showing Toomey up by 21 points just came out on Friday...

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/publ...senate_primary

Not surprising at all.

Senators retire?

No, I actually was referring to retirement. Senators seem to die in office far more than other elected officials.

Yeah... politics is a cynical game, but this move is very cynical. If his poll numbers were up on Toomey, he'd never have switched.

I do wonder how quickly he's going to be labeled a DINO (Dem In Name Only)... oh wait, I think I've already seen some.

From your linked statement:

Unlike Senator Jeffords' switch which changed party control, I will not be an automatic 60th vote for cloture. For example, my position on Employees Free Choice (Card Check) will not change.

There was nothing wrong with Ramo's statement. Specter switched on card-check to appeal to Republicans. Now he's saying he won't abandon that position.

Becoming an independant would have been a smarter move.

Y'know, with the way the GOP is heading, it's becoming even more of a regional, religionist party whose bloviating public pronouncements prove odious to the plurality of the populace, and unwelcome to the majority.

Arlen Specter leaving, well, that leaves just Collins and Snowe in the northeast?

Interesting development.

You are assuming that the Dems in his district will wholeheartedly accept him after decades of being a willing member of the GOP, and that independants won't look at his hypocritical 180 in disgust

State, not district.

Obama and Reid endorsed him. Rendell was openly getting courting Specter, and the only Dem currently in the race has never been elected (and is a Rendell aide, so would likely step aside if asked). I don't see Specter losing the primary, although I hope he doesn't get a free ride. And indies aren't attached to party labels, that's why their indies.

Specter had been in secret talks with Senate Democratic leaders for months, according to Senate sources, but his final move to become a Democrat came after a recent poll showed him badly losing a Pennsylvania Republican primary next year.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0409/21798.html

I'm disappointed in that I was hoping the moderates in the Republican Party would actually put up a ****ing fight. In this low time, when is a better chance? Tell them they messed up and now we're going to take the party back. Bah... bunch of wusses.

IMHO, he's not changing parties to become a Democrat. He's doing it so that he's no longer a Republican. We didn't win him; the Republican'ts lost him.

There's no room for moderation in the Republican't Party. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...s/neeschud.gif

http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...milies/lol.gif

Best joke in this thread yet!

Oh, and this means no more filibustering in the Senate, yes?

It's theoretically a fillibuster-proof majority, but in practice, it might not be the case, because there are also plenty of 'Blue Dog' Democrats who may or may not be disposed to the matter being fillibustered.

And, of course, Specter neatly slides over to the Blue Dog caucus.

So, where does this leave the GOP nationally? It seems that they continue to marginalize themselves, making them a smaller non-entity by the week.

Of course, the same could be said of the Dems, circa 2002. Does that mean that the GOP's only hope is a spectacular giant cluster**** fiasco from Obama, a la Dubya?