Wow. I gotta say I didn’t see this coming.
Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter will switch his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat and announced today that he will run in 2010 as a Democrat, according to a statement he released this morning.
Specter’s decision would give Democrats a 60 seat filibuster proof majority in the Senate assuming Democrat Al Franken is eventually sworn in as the next Senator from Minnesota. (Former Sen. Norm Coleman is appealing Franken’s victory in the state Supreme Court.)
“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.”
Once Franken is finally seated, we have a 60-vote filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Now…can we replace Harry Reid with Jim Webb and keep the caucus in line and get some things done?
Credit where it is due – I got here first because I got Claire’s tweet on my phone. Thanks Claire! I give you hell when I think you deserve it, which is a much greater percentage of the time than either one of us would prefer, so I am obligated to acknowledge when you manage to make me happy.
Specter keeps his job in the Senate as a swing vote. He won’t lose a Democratic primary with his friend Ed Rendell as governor, and he’ll probably beat the wingnut Pat Toomey in the general election with Democratic support.
Hmm. I wonder if he’ll rechange his position on the Employee Free Choice Act. Nope.
even if he had beaten Specter in the primary. And it pains me to see us wind up with a Democrat who is really half Republican, but then again, what if Toomey had won the whole shebang. A bird in the hand….
At least now, once Franken’s in, we can pass card check.
Senator John McCain’s (r) Twitter posts about the big news of the day:
Yes, yes, we’ll stay tuned.
Specter is going to vote in favor of the “Employee Free Choice Act”, but they are going to alter it for him. The Washington Post didn’t say how.
Having Specter aboard can’t hurt. Before I get too excited about this, I want to see how he votes. It will allow us to avoid being filibustered in some instances but he could end up being a second Joe Lieberman.
Rush said this morning that this was good news. “A smaller and more focused base” would be the result said Limbaugh. If the GOP keeps following Rush’s lead by 2012 they’ll be able to hold the GOP convention in Rush’s recording booth.