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2009-04-28 Home Front: Politix
Specter makes it official, becomes a Democrat
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Veteran Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party on Tuesday, Sen. Harry Reid said. Sen. Arlen Specter was expected to face a tough primary challenge in 2010.

The Specter party switch would give Democrats a filibuster-proof Senate majority of 60 seats if Al Franken holds his current lead in the disputed Minnesota Senate race.

Specter, a five-term Senate veteran, was expected to face a very tough primary challenge in 2010 from former Rep. Pat Toomey, who nearly defeated Specter in the Pennsylvania GOP Senate primary in 2004.

A Quinnipiac University survey of registered Pennsylvania voters released last month showed Specter trailing the more conservative Toomey in a hypothetical primary matchup, 41 to 27 percent.

A separate Franklin & Marshall survey showed Specter leading Toomey 33 to 18 percent. Another 42 percent, however, were undecided. More than half of the Republicans polled in the Franklin & Marshall survey said they would prefer to see someone new in the Senate.

Numerous Republicans are angry with Specter over his recent vote in support of President Obama's $787 billion stimulus plan.

Specter, one of only three GOP senators to vote for the measure, has been part of a dwindling group of GOP moderates from the northeastern part of the country.
Posted by GolfBravoUSMC 2009-04-28 12:49|| || Front Page|| [11137 views ]  Top

#1 Good riddance.
Posted by Hellfish 2009-04-28 12:59||   2009-04-28 12:59|| Front Page Top

#2 He is a crass, chicken shit eastern seaboard pol who has never been even close to a true conservative but rather a blood-sucking liberal idiot. How we ever got Roberts and Alito on the court without this jerk screwing it up is beyond me.
Posted by Jack is Back!">Jack is Back!  2009-04-28 12:59||   2009-04-28 12:59|| Front Page Top

#3 Toomey announced April 15 that he would challenge Specter. It took only two weeks for Specter to quit. There are a good six possible dems he will face in the d primary
Posted by lord garth 2009-04-28 13:01||   2009-04-28 13:01|| Front Page Top

#4 The last gasp of this POS fighting for his political life.
Posted by GolfBravoUSMC 2009-04-28 13:06||   2009-04-28 13:06|| Front Page Top

#5 Strikes me as vastly much less of a story than all the initial reactions indicate.

1 - the election is in Nov. 2010 - a long way off.

2 - he's 80 and not in prime health. Not to be morbid, but how will be able to run? Sure, he can look to Sen. Byrd, but really?

3 - will he survive the Dem. primary? Probably, given his ties to Rendell and Biden and whatever deal is made, but how will it alter his voting patterns?

4 - It sure clears the way for Toomey's campaign. If anything, it will be less about issues than atmosphere, and much of that will be out of Arlen's control.

5 - Does this make Sen. Nelson or Tester an R vote on certain issues? How about other upper midwestern D senators? Do the democrats really want to emphasize the complete control the 60th vote ostensibly gives them? Be careful what you wish for.

6 - The 200,000 vote change in registration is a canard - those were Rush's operation chaos votes.

Again - a whole lot less here than meets the eye. He'll likely win re-election, but this time at what cost to the democrats? I suspect we'll see very little press on this after, say, tomorrow mornings network shows.
Posted by Phineth the Anonymous8743 2009-04-28 13:12||   2009-04-28 13:12|| Front Page Top

#6 So the POS finally outed himself.

Unfortunately, the r*t-b*st*rd can do a lot of damage until Toomey hands him his head on 11.02.10......
Posted by Uncle Phester 2009-04-28 13:12||   2009-04-28 13:12|| Front Page Top

#7 I hated him when I was a Democrat, and now as a Republican. I hated him when he was a Republican and now as a Democrat.

Consistency is important! {8^P
Posted by Parabellum 2009-04-28 13:18|| http://sidemeat.wordpress.com/]">[http://sidemeat.wordpress.com/]  2009-04-28 13:18|| Front Page Top

#8 Changing parties is nothing new for Spector:

"In 1965, Specter ran for District Attorney, on the Republican ticket as a registered Democrat. He handily beat incumbent Jim Crumlish, and subsequently changed his registration to Republican."

Posted by GolfBravoUSMC 2009-04-28 13:23||   2009-04-28 13:23|| Front Page Top

#9 Phineth the Anonymous8743 makes very good points, however, this forecloses Rendell moving into the Senate when he is termed out as Governor in 2010. It will be interesting to see if there is a donk primary or if they fix is in. And interesting to see what Rendell gets if he doesn't run.

The key in 2010 will be the Philly suburbs. This race will probably end up a referendum on Bambi. At least Toomey will not have to waste resources dethroning Lord Specter.
Posted by Nimble Spemble 2009-04-28 13:39||   2009-04-28 13:39|| Front Page Top

#10 March 17, 2009

“I’m staying a Republican because I think I have a more important role to play there,” he said. “I think the United States very desperately needs a two-party system. … And I’m afraid that we’re becoming a one-party system, with Republicans becoming just a regional party.”
Posted by Beavis 2009-04-28 14:02||   2009-04-28 14:02|| Front Page Top

#11 He was just on FoxNews. He looks like crap.

Spit.
Posted by Fester Gluse8182 2009-04-28 14:03||   2009-04-28 14:03|| Front Page Top

#12 .Specter retires. Toomey vs Rendell. The machine candidate wins by 3 points. You heard it here first.
Posted by Fred 2009-04-28 14:06||   2009-04-28 14:06|| Front Page Top

#13 He's been through chemo. I was 10 feet away from him at a presentation in Harrisburg. He looked terrible there, too. And he sounded like he was 79. But I didn't doubt he would run in 2010. He's still got the fire in the belly.
Posted by Nimble Spemble 2009-04-28 14:08||   2009-04-28 14:08|| Front Page Top

#14 If he was going to retire in 2010, why switch parties now and p.o. all your trunk buddies? He said he would not be a reliable cloture vote on card check and potentially other matters, so he's not going to be a lock step donk anymore than he was a party line trunk.

He knew he would not win the trunk primary and got out before it was apparent to everybody. It may end up Rendell Toomey, but that will be after a donk primary fight or a serious decline in Spector's health.
Posted by Nimble Spemble 2009-04-28 14:15||   2009-04-28 14:15|| Front Page Top

#15 The latter, from what I've heard.
Posted by Fred 2009-04-28 14:19||   2009-04-28 14:19|| Front Page Top

#16 A couple of things:

First, Frum is dead wrong - WRONG! - in that this confirms conservatism is dead. Rather, it heralds the opposite. Specter was a liberal opportunist who cared only for himself and his cushy Senate seat. He rode in on Reagan's coat tails, and now that the tea leaves have turned against him, he jumps ship. Principles? Not so much. Good riddance. Steele's comments were on the money.

Second: He got played by Team Obama. They wooed him bigtime and he took the bait. Come election day, you won't see his name anywhere unless he runs as Independant.

Cue the Wayne Newton!
Posted by Rex Mundi 2009-04-28 14:25||   2009-04-28 14:25|| Front Page Top

#17 one more reason for term limits. What an egotistical asshole this guy is. I heard him once on howard stern, no grasp of the constitution or simply does not care. Prolly hangs out w/Kennedy on off time. I wish him well wrt cancer but other then that he's a douchebag and another example of what's wrong w/our country.
Posted by Andy Ulusoque aka Broadhead6 2009-04-28 14:32||   2009-04-28 14:32|| Front Page Top

#18 Politicos are pretty much ALL lying scum, remember they are politicians not actual value producers
Posted by Harriman 2009-04-28 14:44||   2009-04-28 14:44|| Front Page Top

#19 He is quoted as saying, "I cannot win inPpennesylvania as a Republican". Sound like the only thing he is really intersted in is winning.
Posted by Deacon Blues 2009-04-28 15:44||   2009-04-28 15:44|| Front Page Top

#20 I'm reminded of Dorothy Parker's famous quip.

"How can they tell?"
Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2009-04-28 16:18||   2009-04-28 16:18|| Front Page Top

#21 1. Jim Jeffords jumped ship right *after* his reelection. Snarlin Specter is doing this right before he's up in 2010.

2. The 2010 Senate race in PA has already started, with both Toomey and Specter running expensive TV ads.

3. Specter probably cut a deal with Cornyn over card check. That would explain Cornyn's letter asking R's to line up behind Specter over Toomey.

4. Specter read the tea leaves and realized he was DOA as a Republican in 2010, even with the support of the NRSC.

5. In an act of desperation, he cuts a deal with the Dems who are desperate for a 60th vote in the Senate.

Conclusions:

- No way Specter would be doing this if he didn't plan on staying in the Senate.

- No way the Republican party should be getting involved in primaries. Ever. They didn't used to. The change has been for the worse.

- "Big Tent" Republicans should be reminded of this story, constantly. A big tent is great, but it must be a tent full of elephants, not RINOs. Bring any sort of elephant you like, and welcome them. But keep the other beasts out. Especially don't feed them.

On a personal note, I stopped giving to the R party when they supported Lincoln Chafee in his primary. Never regretted it. Now I give directly to candidates and that's it.
Posted by Iblis 2009-04-28 16:34||   2009-04-28 16:34|| Front Page Top

#22 Anyone notice how quickly the Air Force One NYC fly-by was superseded by Arlen's outcoming?
Posted by Besoeker 2009-04-28 16:58||   2009-04-28 16:58|| Front Page Top

#23 See ya, you RINO bastard.
Posted by DarthVader 2009-04-28 16:59||   2009-04-28 16:59|| Front Page Top

#24 ...who above all else desire power.
Posted by Procopius2k 2009-04-28 17:43||   2009-04-28 17:43|| Front Page Top

#25 I concur w/Harriman. I often feel the need to take a shower after hearing the avg pol talk. Feels like someone has dumped a few gallons of raw sewage on me.

Congress has become the land of non-representing representatives.
Posted by Andy Ulusoque aka Broadhead6 2009-04-28 17:49||   2009-04-28 17:49|| Front Page Top

#26 who above all else desire power

Sounds like a politician to me
Posted by sludge 2009-04-28 17:51||   2009-04-28 17:51|| Front Page Top

#27 The Democrats are welcome to him. Someone remarked that he is the most useless defector since Xur in the movie The Last Starfighter.
Posted by Anonymoose 2009-04-28 20:17||   2009-04-28 20:17|| Front Page Top

#28 I have no use for Specter, but the Republican Party did kind of force his hand on this switch when they (or at least somebody big - DeMint?) endorsed Toomey over him for the primary the other day.
Posted by Glenmore">Glenmore  2009-04-28 20:27||   2009-04-28 20:27|| Front Page Top

#29 Some wag somewhere on the internet said he'd heard Specter changed parties, but the found out Specter was still a Democrat.

He pretty much nailed it. :-(
Posted by Barbara Skolaut">Barbara Skolaut  2009-04-28 21:04||   2009-04-28 21:04|| Front Page Top

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