[spitvenom]

Senator Arlen Specter is jumping ship to the mighty D. Do you care? Are you upset? Thoughts...

Breaking: Arlen Specter to switch to Democratic party | Philadelphia Inquirer | 04/28/2009

[tomder55]

He faces a primary challenge he can't win from Pat Toomey (Club for Growth) if he remains a Republican.

[ETWolverine]

You mean he's finally going to admitt what he's been all along?

Believe me, this is no big loss for the Reps. Speculum was voting like a Dem all along.

However, he's going to lose his reelection bid even more badly now, which is good. And this just might bump PA over to the Republicans on Toomey's coattails, and as a backlash against Speculum.

[spitvenom]

I know many Dems that already vote for him Now he is going to get the rest just for that D next to his name.

[tomder55]

What this means is the Dems will have a fillibuster proof majority when Frankenstein gets sworn in. They will not need to break rules and tradition with phony reconciliation procedures.

[tomder55]

Here is the key part of his statement a few minutes ago.

On this state of the record, I am unwilling to have my twenty-nine year Senate record judged by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate. I have not represented the Republican Party. I have represented the people of Pennsylvania. http://politicspa.com/Specter%20Switches.htm?ref=fp1

[ETWolverine]

Here is the key part of his statement a few minutes ago.

On this state of the record, I am unwilling to have my twenty-nine year Senate record judged by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate. I have not represented the Republican Party. I have represented the people of Pennsylvania.

Well, he's certainly right about that. He hasn't represented the Republican Party.

Elliot

[speechlesstx]

What took him so long? Tom's right, this is about his primary job of getting re-elected.

[tomder55]

I bet Cornyn feels like an A$$ going out on a limb and endorsing Specter over Toomey .
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the...get-behin.html

I wonder what changes Specter will make to his ever shifting position on card checks now that he is in the party where unions rule.http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.ht...e-ebebd6844328


Does this mean the Republicans get to ex~Specter~ate ?

[ETWolverine]

Tom,

From Speculum's statement:

My change in party affiliation does not mean that I will be a party-line voter any more for the Democrats that I have been for the Republicans. 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.

Like Ripley, I have to ask: "Believe it, or not?"

[tomder55]

Yeah... if you believe what he says. The fact is that he will face a Dem primary challenge from the left if he doesn't drift even further in that direction.

He was pressured to make his flip on card check and thought he would get his a$$ kissed by the Republicans in exchange.

When he got at best luke warm support from them he decided to make his move. The only way he'll get the Democrat endorsement for his seat is if he votes with the administration in lock step.

[ETWolverine]

The only way he'll get the Democrat endorsement for his seat is if he votes with the administration in lock step.

Even then he might not. From the perspective of a hard-core lib, why vote for an erzats dem when you can have the real thing? And Speculum is pretty much going to be an ersatz dem the same way he was an ersatz rep.

Elliot

[earl237]

Seems pretty opportunistic to change now. He even admitted he is switching because he can't win the Rep primary. At least the GOP still has some good moderates like Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, and Kay Hutchinson.

[speechlesstx]

Specter is just a coward looking out for Specter. Ace of Spades made a good point, that even that evil Phil Gramm did the honorable thing and resigned his seat and ran for re-election as a Republican. Specter just jumped ship because he was losing.

[excon]

Hello:

Wow! Bummer, Dudes. You just went from being pretty damn irrelevant, to totally damn irrelevant. The Dems can have their way with you. Fairly too, according to tom.

Here comes card check, single payer health care, green energy policy, and a revolution in education. This must your worst nightmare. Poor righty's.

excon

[speechlesstx]

Hello:

Wow! Bummer, Dudes. You just went from being pretty damn irrelevant, to totally damn irrelevant. The Dems can have their way with you. Fairly too, according to tom.

Here comes card check, single payer health care, green energy policy, and a revolution in education. This must your worst nightmare. Poor righty's.

excon

I take it you're now OK with one party rule... otherwise known as tyranny.

[inthebox]

Hello:

Wow! Bummer, Dudes. You just went from being pretty damn irrelevant, to totally damn irrelevant. The Dems can have their way with you. Fairly too, according to tom.

Here comes card check, single payer health care, green energy policy, and a revolution in education. This must your worst nightmare. Poor righty's.

excon

Now the Dems can take full responsibility [?] and not blame Rush or the GOP, when their policies fail the American people.

Here comes more jobs going overseas or businesses going bankrupt because of union demands. Here comes rationed healthcare with longer waits. Here comes higher energy prices. Here is to another generation that is taught propaganda and the party line and not taught how to critically think; so much for tolerance for the diversity of ideas.

I can't wait for this socialistic utiopia to come to fruition :rolleyes:




G&P

[excon]

I take it you're now ok with one party rule...otherwise known as tyranny.

Hello again, Steve:

No, Steve. It's called WINNING an election.

excon

[tomder55]

The GOP still has some good moderates like Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, and Kay Hutchinson

I'm looking forward to the day that Snowe job and Collins are primaried out also. Why do they even pretend to be Republican ? Both of them along with Specter were the Republicans who voted for the biggest increase in spending in US History. He is somehow labeled moderate because he insisted that in return for his vote ,the bucket list remain below $790 billion?? To him that represented an achievement! If that's moderate then the Dems can have them .

His whole political career has been an example of this type of ship jumping for political expediency. He ran for Philly DA in 1965 as a so called "Kennedy Democrat " .But he switched parties to make his run from Dem to Republic. He came into the Senate on the coat-tails of Reagan and has spent his nearly 30 years there undermining the Reagan conservative philosophy.

As Rasmussen reported yesterday ;The disconnect between D.C. Republicans and Republicans throughout the country has been growing for nearly 20 years.

It's time for grass roots Republicans to reclaim the party if the party has any chance of survival .What good is the so called "big tent " when there is no room in it for the base ?

[speechlesstx]

Hello again, Steve:

No, Steve. It's called WINNING an election.

excon

At the rate Obama is going the "revolution" is is in more than education. Government ownership in banks and automakers, government health care, "mandatory" volunteerism... sounds more like tyranny to me.