Specter to become Democrat

[BonosSaint]

April 28, 2009, 12:13 pm

Specter To Switch Parties
By Carl Hulse
Ryan McFadden/Reading Eagle, via Associated Press Senator Arlen Specter faced a tough primary race against former Representative Pat Toomey.
Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania said on Tuesday he would switch to the Democratic party, potentially 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.

“Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to
become Democrats,” Mr. Specter said in a statement. “I now find my political philosophy more in line
with Democrats than Republicans.”

Mr. Specter, the long-time Republican party maverick, faced a difficult re-election next year, against conservative opponent Pat Toomey, the former Pennsylvania representative.

If Al Franken prevails in his ongoing court case in Minnesota and Mr. Specter begins caucusing with Democrats, Democrats would have 60 votes and the ability to deny Republicans the chance to stall legislation. Mr. Specter was one of only three Republicans to support President Obama’s economic recovery legislation.

Democrat leaders expressed their enthusiasm. President Obama was handed a note from an aide at 10:25 a.m. on Tuesday during his daily economic briefing. The note, according to a senior administration official, said: “Specter is announcing he is changing parties.”

Seven minutes later, Mr. Obama reached Mr. Specter by telephone. In a brief conversation, the president said: “You have my full support,” according to the official who heard the phone call. The president added that we are, “thrilled to have you.”

“We will welcome him with open arms,” said Senator Debbie Stabenow, Democrat of Michigan.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/specter-will-run-as-a-democrat-in-2010/?pagemode=print

(He was facing a potentially tough primary fight. I'm delighted to have him as a democrat. Always liked Specter)

 

[deep]

"I have decided to run for re-election in 2010 in the Democratic primary," said Specter in a statement. "I am ready, willing and anxious to take on all comers and have my candidacy for re-election determined in a general election."

He added: "Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans."

President Obama was informed of Specter's decision at around 10:25 a.m., according to White House officials, and reached out to the senator minutes later to tell him "you have my full support," and we are "thrilled to have you."

This is good news.



Good for him.


The GOP was gunning for him. They would have probably taken him out in the primary and handed his seat over to the Democrats.

This way there will be a moderate serving, that is capable of some compromise.


Add this to the Franken win in Minnesota and it looks like the GOP will not be able prevent Judicial appointments.

 

[Irvine511]

yet another patriot is seduced by socialism.

 

[anitram]

What would Rush do?

Anyway, clearly Specter saw the writing on the wall.

Barring major disasters, he's probably a shoe-in for re-election next year.

 

[deep]

W, the gift that keeps giving.

 

[deep]

What would Rush do?

oxy and viagra

 

[2861U2]

I don't think he gets it. The reason he's been losing in the primary polls is not because he's a Republican. It's because he voted for the stimulus package. Clearly, PA (or at least the Republicans) doesn't want that. And he thinks switching is going to help his re-election? I'm not so sure.

He'll be 80 next year. Time to toss him out anyways.

 

[deep]

I don't think the GOP gets it.

Reading a few blogs. I have seen this written, more or less, dozens of times.

I will donate money to anyone who runs against Arlen Specter, Olympia Snow, and Susan Collins. They are RINOs. Republicans in name only.

A few of them throw in McCain, too.


These Senators will have heavy attacks from pro-life, pro gun, conservative groups in the primaries.
Their States would probably prefer a moderate over a conservative to represent them.

Perhaps Collins and Snow should consider leaving this current Republican Party.
They are no longer welcome in a party that once had plenty of room for moderates.

 

[BVS]

Yeah I don't think the GOP gets it either.

Like I've said before they seem heavily divided these days and no real direction. You have the "we're the real conservative group" that doesn't want stimulus but doesn't have an alternative plan, the religious nuts that say they don't want big government but really do, moderates, and then those spend big on wars but cut taxes group. Some want to kick out the religious nuts, some want to kick out the moderates, and some just want to make sure we kick the Mexicans out.

 

[2861U2]

and some just want to make sure we kick the Mexicans out.

*sigh*

You want to re-think this?

This is from the same guy that uses the word "ignorance" in seemingly every other post about conservatives.

 

[Irvine511]

it does seem inarguable that the GOP is becoming the party of Dixie.

 

[diamond]

Some see this move as heroic, others calculating.

<>

 

[anitram]

Perhaps Collins and Snow should consider leaving this current Republican Party.
They are no longer welcome in a party that once had plenty of room for moderates.

No doubt.

The GOP seems to want to purge all non-purists and then permanently relegate it self to being a southern party drawing a fraction of the vote. As time marches on towards modernity, they are digging in deeper to stay in the past.

Very foolish.

 

[BVS]

*sigh*

You want to re-think this?

This is from the same guy that uses the word "ignorance" in seemingly every other post about conservatives.

It was a tongue in cheek reference to all those that showed up to the tea parties spouting off about immigration.

 

[UberBeaver]

Some see this move as heroic, others calculating.

<>

lol, you could say that about just about anything that happens in politics.






+/-

 

[mobvok]

Arlen Specter is a huge jagoff. Removing any influence by the Republican party will only improve his votes, but securing a pledge by the Pennsylvania Dem party not to primary him means it's going to be harder to actually get a decent voice in the US Senate.

 

[deep]

besides, he was never a legitimate Republican

he is not even a Christian.

 

[Tiger Edge]

Maybe both main parties will split and we will have four to choose from in the future.

What wishful thinking.

 

[diamond]

lol, you could say that about just about anything that happens in politics.






+/-

No no..most here view it as heroic or courageous.



What man he is.


<>

 

[BVS]

Do you think if you keep saying that that it will come true?

 

[diamond]

^

what a man he is

<>

 

[BoMac]

Having seen the writing on the wall, I think it was a very calculating move on Specter's part. That being said, I would have actually been happy about the move had he publicly stated that the defection to the Dems was based purely on principle. Since he has not, I think he's no better than any of the other whores politicians.

 

[diamond]

Noooo..it's principle.
Arlen has always been a man of unmovable principle.

<>

 

[Bluer White]

Having seen the writing on the wall, I think it was a very calculating move on Specter's part. That being said, I would have actually been happy about the move had he publicly stated that the defection to the Dems was based purely on principle. Since he has not, I think he's no better than any of the other whores politicians.

Yes.

It was a simple choice between getting embarrassed in the Republican primary, or having a popular president save his ass.

Anything to keep his seat. Specter said as much himself.

 

[yolland]

We Didn’t Have to Lose Arlen Specter

By OLYMPIA SNOWE
New York Times, April 28


It is disheartening and disconcerting, at the very least, that here we are today—almost exactly eight years after Senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party—witnessing the departure of my good friend and fellow moderate Republican, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, for the Democratic Party. And the announcement of his switch was all the more painful because I believe it didn’t have to be this way.

When Senator Jeffords became an independent in 2001, I said it was a sad day for the Republicans, but it would be even sadder if we failed to confront and learn from the devaluation of diversity within the party that contributed to his defection. I also noted that we were far from the heady days of 1998, when Republicans were envisioning the possibility of a filibuster-proof 60-vote margin. (Recall that in the 2000 election, most pundits were shocked when Republicans lost five seats, resulting in a 50-50 Senate.) I could have hardly imagined then that, in 2009, we would fondly reminisce about the time when we were disappointed to fall short of 60 votes in the Senate. Regrettably, we failed to learn the lessons of Jim Jeffords’s defection in 2001. To the contrary, we overreached in interpreting the results of the presidential election of 2004 as a mandate for the party. This resulted in the disastrous elections of 2006 and 2008, which combined for a total loss of 51 Republicans in the House and 13 in the Senate—with a corresponding shift of the Congressional majority and the White House to the Democrats.

It was as though beginning with Senator Jeffords’s decision, Republicans turned a blind eye to the iceberg under the surface, failing to undertake the re-evaluation of our inclusiveness as a party that could have forestalled many of the losses we have suffered. It is true that being a Republican moderate sometimes feels like being a cast member of “Survivor”—you are presented with multiple challenges, and you often get the distinct feeling that you’re no longer welcome in the tribe. But it is truly a dangerous signal that a Republican senator of nearly three decades no longer felt able to remain in the party. Senator Specter indicated that his decision was based on the political situation in Pennsylvania, where he faced a tough primary battle. In my view, the political environment that has made it inhospitable for a moderate Republican in Pennsylvania is a microcosm of a deeper, more pervasive problem that places our party in jeopardy nationwide.

I have said that, without question, we cannot prevail as a party without conservatives. But it is equally certain we cannot prevail in the future without moderates.

In that same vein, I am reminded of a briefing by a prominent Republican pollster after the 2004 election. He was asked what voter groups Republicans might be able to win over. He responded: women in general, married women with children, Hispanics, the middle class in general, and independents. How well have we done as a party with these groups? Unfortunately, the answer is obvious from the results of the last two elections. We should be reaching out to these segments of our population—not de facto ceding them to the opposing party.

There is no plausible scenario under which Republicans can grow into a majority while shrinking our ideological confines and continuing to retract into a regional party. Ideological purity is not the ticket back to the promised land of governing majorities—indeed, it was when we began to emphasize social issues to the detriment of some of our basic tenets as a party that we encountered an electoral backlash. It is for this reason that we should heed the words of President Ronald Reagan, who urged, “We should emphasize the things that unite us and make these the only ‘litmus test’ of what constitutes a Republican: our belief in restraining government spending, pro-growth policies, tax reduction, sound national defense, and maximum individual liberty.” He continued, “As to the other issues that draw on the deep springs of morality and emotion, let us decide that we can disagree among ourselves as Republicans and tolerate the disagreement.”

I couldn’t agree more. We can’t continue to fold our philosophical tent into an umbrella under which only a select few are worthy to stand. Rather, we should view an expansion of diversity within the party as a triumph that will broaden our appeal. That is the political road map we must follow to victory.


Olympia Snowe is a Republican senator from Maine.

 

[diamond]

Maybe a 3rd party is in the works?



<>

 

[UberBeaver]

Maybe a 3rd party is in the works?



<>

I fucking hope so. Sign me up! I don't care if we worship cows and raise taxes on marsupials, we need a 3rd party to keep those other two parties of lemmings in check.

 

[AlexHamilton]

I don't think he gets it. The reason he's been losing in the primary polls is not because he's a Republican. It's because he voted for the stimulus package. Clearly, PA (or at least the Republicans) doesn't want that. And he thinks switching is going to help his re-election? I'm not so sure.

He was going to face a challenge from the right and the left. This move means he'll only be challenged from the right and have the full force of the Democratic party behind him.

 

[mikal]

i hope God is ok...

 

[BVS]

and have the full force of the Democratic party behind him.

Yeah, I don't know if I would go that far...