By now you've all seen the news: Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania is switching parties from Republican to Democrat. There'll be lots of cheering from our side because it gets the Democrats close to the 60-vote filibuster-blocking threshold in the Senate once Norm Coleman finally gives up in Minnesota.
Pardon me if my applause is muted. Specter is doing this because he sees the way the political winds in Pennsylvania are blowing; he figures he's got a better chance of winning re-election in 2010 as a Democrat. He was facing a nasty primary challenge if he remained a Republican and was trailing badly to his challenger.
He's not a progressive Democrat; he's a slightly-less right-wing Republican than the rest of the national party he belonged to before this morning's news. I suspect he'll end up voting with Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska and the other Democratic Senators who infuriate the liberal ones more often than not.
I hope I'm wrong.
Posted by Linkmeister at April 28, 2009 09:13 AM | TrackBackDon't hold your breath. This is solely about getting re-elected next year.
Specter has already stated that he won't support EFCA, which is really the only issue on the table right now where his vote might affect the outcome. And he's a serial party-changer, having switched from D to R to run for District Attorney in Philadelphia back in the mid-60s. That said, in those days Philadelphia Republicans were probably more liberal than Philadelphia Democrats ... and they were certainly more honest.
Posted by: N in Seattle at April 28, 2009 12:08 PMMy first thought exactly. Most likely, he'll wind up with the blue dogs and I'll have to visit the dentist more often to repair damage to my teeth as I grind them into my gums. (sigh)
Posted by: Illanoy Gal at April 28, 2009 12:54 PMGov. Pawlenty insists that this will have no effect on the Coleman/Franken debacle. Whether he's bluffing or stubborn, I don't yet know.
Posted by: Juli Thompson at April 29, 2009 05:54 AM