That makes 59--

Without Franken.

Healthcare coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's see if Arlen changes his mind on card check.

(link...)

"I will not be an automatic 60th vote for cloture. For example, my position on Employees Free Choice (Card Check) will not change."

He says he won't be an automatic 60th vote on cloture or supporter of EFCA. But I bet he changes on that. Can he really fend off a Democratic challenger in PA by opposing EFCA? Doubtful. PA is a union state - especially the Dems.

As for cloture, he won't be as reliable as, say, Dick Durbin. But he'll be no harder than Lieberman or Ben Nelson - which requires minimal work.

Rush will be yelling for Specter's obit as soon as the public announcement is made..
Sorry to say that but it's true..
The repubs will consider him a traitor...

I still don't feel Specter is a dem though..He's just doing this to keep his seat in the Senate...

So says comedian Limbaugh.

Brian A.
I'd rather be cycling.

Thanks Club For Growth and Toomey.

Sounds like good news for McCain and the GOP!

But seriously, I hear that Specter's committee seats may be held and not released to Republicans until they talk turkey about Franken. After all, that stalling stuff can go two ways.

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."

Of course Specter did this mostly for self-preservation; he was in serious danger of losing the Republican primary to that nut Pat Toomey (which kind of tells you who's left in the Pennsylvania Republican party).

But I also think he's probably tired of trying to be a voice of, if not reason, at least non-crazy, in the R party.

Like, Bean, I'm not a big far of Arlen's. But I'll take another D in the Senate however I can get it. And frankly, I think Specter is to the left of Ben Nelson.

Supposedly he was having trouble over his vote on the card check for unions and had recently switched from supporting that to keep his seat. he's always seemed more in line with Dems to me.

I think it makes more of a symbolic difference than a practical one

But in politics where perception is often, if not mostly, reality, it's really what matters.

The NRCC responds:

Today, Senator Arlen Specter switched his party affiliation to the Democrat Party. I hope you will join me in saying “Good Riddance.”

Don’t give Democrats a blank check, support the NRCC

While today’s party switch underscores how well Specter will fit in with his new Democrat colleagues, this act of political self-interest comes at a very serious cost. If Democrats succeed in stealing the election in Minnesota they will have a filibuster proof majority in the Senate. This would amount to a blank check for Democrats to continue spending trillions of your tax dollars with ZERO accountability.

This supposedly was a concern for Specter when last month he stated:

"I am staying a Republican because I think I have an important role, a more important role, to play there. The United States very desperately needs a two-party system. That's the basis of politics in America. I'm afraid we are becoming a one-party system... I think as a governmental matter, it is very important to have a check and balance." - Sen. Arlen Specter, 3/17/09

But like his principles, I guess this no longer applies.

Don’t give Democrats a blank check, support the NRCC

Now, your support for House Republicans matters more than ever. Since taking power in 2007, Democrats have worsened the culture in Washington, while strapping this country with trillions in new debt and crushing tax hikes on all Americans.

Remember, it was the House Republicans who stood in unison to oppose the so-called “stimulus” and the budget.

Don’t give Democrats a blank check, support the NRCC

Now more than ever, it is important to elect principled, fiscally responsible Republicans. Help us send Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Arlen Specter a message by supporting the NRCC as we work to elect Republicans like you and me.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Guy Harrison, Executive Director

P.S. Americans deserve Representatives who put principles first. Please support the NRCC as we work to rid Washington of self-interested Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and turncoats like Arlen Specter.

"crushing tax hikes on all Americans."

Huh? Sounds like they need better accountants.

OK - you have all the power to proceed with CHANGE now. Lead, move-on, be progressive. It's your ballgame now so what becomes of our country is in your hands.

Don't fuck-up

Wow, that was rich. They have the nerve to talk accuse Dems of stealing elections and getting a filibuster proof majority. Wasn't very long ago the GOP ran congress as if it had a filibuster majority and they actually got away with it most of the time. And while many in the party were even so arrogant as to call for rule changes to eliminate the filibuster for extra special votes like lifetime judicial appointments. The nuclear option (or newkular). How'd that 1000 years of dominance work out for them? Checks and balances my ass.

How could The Party not have seen this, if they endorsed unseating a senior Senator with a fringe extremist? How'd THAT work out for them?

Well, thanks, RedDog, if you're being sincere. True checks and balances are what brought us from Duhbya'a 90% approvals to this point today (but with SO much collateral damage to the world). It's true that if Dems fuck up bad enough, we see today what could happen to them too.

However, I can't help but remind the state of the country (and world) Dems have inherited. It's pretty damn bleak, and the minority party is digging in further to use the filibuster every inch of the way to prevent us from effecting the CHANGE that you state is in Dem hands. If only.

Something else that's rich, Mitch McConnell is saying this switch is a 'threat to the country'.

Toodlums, you obviously don't know a real threat to the country when one bites your backside.

Visit us at:

The Home

Mitch McConnell is saying this switch is a 'threat to the country'.

It's all they've got left to take a stand on, and they don't even have much of it left, thanks to Pres. Obama's deft use of the Spec Ops forces against the Somalia pirates.

Good riddance. I haven't liked this guy since he voted against Bork .. and I honestly think I was the only 11 year old following that particular nomination. Keep the confidence up, overreach is nice to witness.

2010 promises to be sweet.

2010 promises to be sweet.

I hope you have some sugar around because if you want sweet you'll need it.

Hornback weighs in:

Political Opportunist Turncoat, Backstabbing Thug or Judas Iscariot?

I think the real break with the GOP came with Pres. Bush's restrictions on the use of embryonic stem cells in research.

With Specter it was personal because of his cancer. With people like
Sen. Hatch, who also opposed the Bush restrictions, it was practical.

They saw Bush's position as being the political one, because they felt he was doing it to placate the evangelical wing of the GOP. And according to David Kuo, who wrote Tempting Faith, Bush was the one playing politics.