Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania said on Tuesday he would switch to the Democratic party, presenting Democrats with a possible 60th vote and the power to break Senate filibusters as they try to advance the Obama administration’s new agenda.
“I’m not prepared to have my 29-year record in the United States Senate decided by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate, not prepared to have that record decided by that jury,” Mr. Specter declared in a rather defiant tone at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
The decision by Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania to switch parties potentially presents Democrats with a 60th vote and the power to break Senate filibusters.
This is a pretty big deal because it gives the Democrats a potentially filibuster-proof majority in the near future - pending the (inevitable) result of the Minnesota court battles.
Some of the reaction from Republicans has been predictably cold toward Specter:
Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, did not mince words about the senator, saying Mr. Specter “didn’t leave the G.O.P. based on principles of any kind. He left to further his personal political interests because he knew that he was going to lose a Republican primary due to his left-wing voting record. Republicans look forward to beating Senator Specter in 2010, assuming the Democrats don’t do it first.”
Here's the Fox News headline:
FAIR AND BALANCED! YEAH!
Other Republicans - like Lindsey Graham from SC - have focused more on the fact that this is indicative of the big problems facing the Republican Party.
This rumor had been floating around months ago during the election season, but I honestly did not expect it to happen. Pretty shocking and, as far as a first reaction, pretty pleasing. This in no way guarantees that Specter will be re-elected in 2010 but does probably improve the chances for the advancement of the Democratic agenda from here on out.
The GOP can't play it too hard or they'll alienate other liberal Republicans like Snowe. Then again, I think Steele is too stupid to realize this.
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) said she “didn’t see it coming.”
“It is obviously a surprise,” she said. “Certainly what you hear on the national level on the Republican Party, you haven't certainly heard warm encouraging words about how they view moderates. Either you're with us or you’re against us.”
Looks like Obama's paradigm shift is coming to fruition. He's probably got more clout than any president since LBJ and a national crisis which allows him to make fundamental changes.
I must be the only one who doesn't see why this is a big deal. I guess if you look at it by the numbers it seems like it would be. "OMG 60 Ds filibuster-proof" and all those media buzzwords. The fact is, though, that Specter is such a liberal Republican it's a wonder why he was even in the Republican party at all. I also can't imagine everything is going to be like "okay guys we're all Ds so we're voting this way".
It isn't a surprise, he was snubbed, and in the same way that Libermann reacted when he was snubbed, Specter is turning the tables.
Specter will not lose reelection. But unfortunately all those people that said that he was really a Democrat in Republican's clothing will be saying "I told you so."
they have a filibuster proof majority, but it's not like there aren't conservative democrats (landriu, nelson) who wouldn't necessarily autovote democrats for everything
On April 29 2009 05:12 Excalibur_Z wrote: I must be the only one who doesn't see why this is a big deal. I guess if you look at it by the numbers it seems like it would be. "OMG 60 Ds filibuster-proof" and all those media buzzwords. The fact is, though, that Specter is such a liberal Republican it's a wonder why he was even in the Republican party at all. I also can't imagine everything is going to be like "okay guys we're all Ds so we're voting this way".
it's not a big deal when you're looking at how it will effect his personal voting record
how it affects the republican party in the view of the american public and how republicans react to that will, i think, be a big deal.
people have been saying "this wasn't a philosophical move, this was a political move" as if the two are mutually exclusive. no. his philosophy hasn't made some huge shift - the republican party (especially the pa. GOP)'s philosophy HAS shifted.
as long as specter views himself as a moderate, the current pa. gop will not elect him. the pa gop experienced a massive exodus/growth of pa. democrats in 08 and is further to the right than it has been in several election cycles at least.
EPT![[image loading]](http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/04/28/us/28specter2-480.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/9168/042809partypooper.jpg)
