This move by Senator Specter does not surprise me.
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Veteran Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter said Tuesday that he switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party.
“I know I’m disappointing many of my colleagues,” he said at a news conference. “The disappointment runs in both directions.
“I’m putting principle at the top of the list,” he added.
When asked how and when he made the decision, Specter said, “the decision has been reached as I have traveled the state [Pennsylvania] in the last several months. Specifically, I got my home poll results last Friday … and consulted with my campaign managers and had a long discussion. … I came to a decision over this past weekend.”
Specter also said that President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would campaign for him as he runs for re-election — now on the Democratic ticket — in the 2010 race.
The Specter party switch would give Democrats a filibuster-proof Senate majority of 60 seats if Al Franken holds his current lead in the disputed Minnesota Senate race.
“Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right,” Specter said in a statement posted by his office on PoliticsPA.com.
“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.”
Specter, a five-term Senate veteran, was greeted by a loud, sustained round of applause by dozens of constituents outside his Washington office shortly after the news broke.
“I don’t have to say anything to them,” a smiling Specter said. “They’ve said it to me
I wonder if Susan Collins from Maine may follow suit.
I wonder if he is deserting a sinking ship. How does he stand on CIR?
I believe he is a proponent of sane CIR.
Apparently it was his way to retain his senate seat. As Republicans move further to the right and continue to bash those who are moderate, calling them Rino and other choice words, more centrists will leave.
Too bad. It appears that Republicans are taking the GOP to extinction.
For some odd reason, I don’t really equate GOP with current Republicans.
You don’t equate the GOP with Republicans? What does that mean, M-H?
It seems like a paradoxical statement. But there’s truth in it also. None of us can say just what the GOP is anymore. If they are really the “party of no,” as in no logic and no facts, only paranoia and bogus reasons to be hateful and dismissive, then it makes sense for someone like Specter to leave. They’ve already started being hateful toward Specter. Actually they already were because he voted for the stimulus package.
But if all the moderates leave the party, then we really won’t have a Republican party anymore, except in the south.
Did you know the same thing is happening in Arizona, where an extremist Minute Man is challenging John McCain in the primary. They are like a swarm of angry wasps and they are stinging their own. Can you imagine if John McCain left the GOP?!!?!
It reminds me of Letiecq and other extremists around here supporting Jeff Frederick while always attacking McCain and people like Marty Nohe, Mike May, and now Wally Covington.
John McCain contemplated leaving the GOP after he lost the primary to Bush, at least that is what Daschle has said in a documentary about John McCain.
I understand Specter would have faced a tough primary race against a popular conservative. He looked at the poll numbers and fled. Where is the integrity in that?
McCain leaving the GOP? That would be horrible. The Democratic Party would lose their pet Republican. His replacement couldn’t be relied upon to cross over in the name of “bi-partisanship.”
If members of the GOP vote the same way as the Democratic Party, why do we need the current crop of GOP? What would be the point? We have a two party system, which means each party should stand for DIFFERENT things. And lately, the GOP has been acting like the Democrats.
One difference is that conservatives will work to replace you if you drop your ideals or vote contrary to the way you campaign. We want our party to reflect certain ideals and then convince others to join, not bend our ideals to convince people to vote our way. That would be dishonest.
If we lose, then, we lose. And it would be because there are more people that don’t want conservatives. Not because our politicians lied to get into office and stay there.
Bye, bye Arlen. Don’t let the door hit you on the butt.
Specter started out as a liberal Democrat, often acted like a liberal Democrat (not always). He’s just “going home”. As a registered Republican, I’m grateful. Now if we could just figure out how to get rid of Juan McAmnesty, maybe Snowe and Collins, we’d be well on our way to getting the Bush-Republicans out of the party, and could move forward. Franken should be seated before too long, and then the whole mess will belong to the Democrats. It won’t be long after that when the putrid stench of the Obama administration’s policies will fill the noses of the population. The final nail in the coffin would be CIR (Amnesty), if the Dems really have the guts to try it.
This in effect places the U.S. under one-party rule. For those of us that favor limited government, a strong national defense, and personal accountability, this will be a long two years until the next election.
Despite the implications of his leaving, I find it difficult to be upset. Specter was always listed as a moderate by the media, but he could always be counted on for greater spending and higher taxes.
I’m glad for the one-party rule, kelly. The Democrats will own ALL of their disasters completely–they can’t blame obstructionist Republicans, and eventually they won’t be able to play the “blame Bush” card, either.
I wonder “Kelly”,
How did you feel when the Republicans controlled all three branches? I never heard this outcry of terror when Bush came to office with a republican controlled congress?
Where were the republicans during this travesty? The medicare presciption drug care program? I watched most of the coverage on CSPAN, that was appalling, the lobbyists from the drug companies, hanging out, like vultures in the halls of congress. Please, talk about owning your mistakes!
http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/abuses_of_science/medicare-drug-bill.html
I can answer that–the Rx drug program was nothing more than the usual suck-up to a voting bloc. AARP is a huge lobby. Both sides excel at pandering.
I never heard it either, Elena.
I believe Arlen Spector has been a Republican his entire life. He grew up with Bob Dole. They were boyhood friends.
As for my seperation of GOP and Republican…it is a mental thing. I was a moderate Republican for many years or at least that is how I voted. When the radical crew came in, I defected. The Republican Party now makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up…in revulsion. It devours its own. I heard how Marty, Wally and Mike May were talked about. I hear how McCain is talked about.
Obama was not my first choice. No one has heard me trash mouth him.
I would like to see a normal mainstream party evolve. I would like to see the fringe lunatics from both sides just take their party and run.
There is room to tweak the medicare rx program. Has anyone attempted to do so? Noooooooo.
Keep talking, Slowpoke. If they crown you official spokesperson for the Republican party, you’ll shave them down to 12 percent of the U.S. population instead of the current 21 percent.
Why on earth do you want our choice to be between right wing extremists in one party, and EVERYBODY else in the other party? Specter and McCain are not extreme enough to be Republicans? What? McCain was your standard bearer only a few months ago. Specter was one of your most powerful Senators? What is happening to you, Slowpoke?
(It’s not that I don’t enjoy keeping track of your descent into madness. But watch out Republicans if your Slowpoke thinking continues to infect the leadership.)
Right wing extremists vs. Everybody Else.
Hmmmm.
Of course we are going to choose the Everybody Else party!!! After what Bush and his neocon extremists did to our country for 8 years, it will be a long time before a majority of Americans would rather have right wing extremists than a big tent Democratic party that includes everyone to the left of Rush Limbaugh (at least 80 percent of the public).
Is there someone who can talk some sense into these people? AWC? Where are you?
@Moon-howler
I think you are right that both parties are moving away from the center. Bush brought about such incredible hatred from the left, and McCain was easily the weakest candidate in a bunch of not-so-great candidates (I have to admit, I DID like Huckabee), and the moderates believed what the mainstream media told them about Obama, so we got as far left radical as it gets. With any luck, the backlash will be even stronger when it comes…and maybe somewhere far down the road we’ll get back to moderation, if there’s any nation left.
@ShellyB
I’m sorry the Clozapine hasn’t been helpful for you. McCain wasn’t MY standard-bearer…..not even close. I didn’t think any of the Republican candidates were worth much (save my above comment about Huck). Of course, you’re the one who thinks Tancredo was a serious candidate. You and Mackie….what a pair!
Slow, you know, I like Huckabee as a person also. I could just never vote for him. He is far too conservative for my tastes. Probably of all the Republican candidates, He was the most decent human being.
Emma,
Emma,
I watched the vote unfold on CSPAN for two days. It was very disconcerting. The AARP wanted SOMETHING to happen and there was no alternative that was being pushed by the majority ruling republicans. The Democrats wanted to implement the same program as the VA, bargaining drug prices down directly with the drug companies. Instead, the Republicans pushed this money pit very confusing progarm. They also made buying drugs outside the country illegal (i.e. the seniors that were getting their medications from Canada).
M-H,
I agree, they should completely revisit that nightmare!
Slowpoke.
I’m trying to help you and you’re shooting yourself in the face again and again. By marginalizing yourself to this degree, you are making it less likely anyone will listen to you on this blog (racist moniker or no).
If crazed extremists like you, Greg Letiecq, and Corey Stewart win this culture war within the Republican party, you can bet America will remain a center-left nation for generations. We just don’t want the brand of intolerance and extremism you are offering.
And to make your meltdown even worse, all your screaming and whining and attacking your own only reminds us why we don’t want the party of extremism. Obama and the center left nation will be able to write you off, probably forever until there is a reality-based moderate Republican party.
So have fun in the wilderness. I’m sure you’ll send us many a postcard.
Correcting myself here. Spector did say he was a Democrat until 1965. He apparently has not been a Republican his entire life.
How about that Republican pet Dem, Joe Lieberman? Who thinks he might just cross over?
On AARP and medication:
“AARP also wants policy makers to focus on how to bring drug prices down as Congress prepares legislation to reshape the nation’s costly health care system.
The group said that prices manufacturers charged for the most widely used brand name drugs rose 8.7 percent in 2008, higher than in years past. The general inflation rate in 2008 was 3.8 percent.
“Just about everybody in today’s economy is feeling some economic pressures and it does not help that the drugs you take to keep healthy are much more expensive than last year,” said AARP’s public policy director, John Rother. “I think this makes the case for health reform.”
The drug lobby group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America dismissed AARP’s report as “one-sided,” criticizing its focus on selected brand-name medicines.
“Unfortunately, AARP distorts the true, overall picture in hopes of dramatizing its report and deflecting attention from the millions of dollars it earns each year from its insurance businesses,” PhRMA’s senior vice president, Ken Johnson, said in a statement.”
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/04/15/aarp_prescription_drug_prices_up/
I wonder who will prevail. How strong is AARP compared to Big Pharm?
@Moon-howler
The thing that ruined Huckabee for me was his stance on illegal immigration. Now if I had to do it over again, I wouldn’t have let that stop me from voting for him in the primary (it was too late by then, anyway). The only “too conservative” thing I heard out of him was maybe a bit too religious?? Is that what you mean by too conservative? The guy is fast on his feet, gotta give him that! He doesn’t require a teleprompter for EVERY word!
@ShellyB
Somewhere (in heaven, probably), Jerry Garcia is smiling at you!!
Slow, almost everything about him is too conservative for me. Pick a topic. But that doesn’t have to mean I hate him. I think he is sort of neat. As for the religious part, he is an ordained minister so I guess religion comes with the territory.
He might need a teleprompter if he had gotten to be president. And if Obama were just an ex candidate hosting on Fox News, he might not need one. I never noticed he was at a loss for words.
Slow,
I was wondering if you were considering apologizing for blaming the Lansdowne attacks on “illegals” before there was any shred of information at all on the case. Now, I guess they have identified a couple of home grown killers?
I apologize Slowpoke. I wasn’t trying to rub it in. The writing is on the wall. You didn’t need me to tell you. Sorry I’ve gotten you so upset, resorting to drug references, and turning to Mike Huckabee and all that.
I’ll have to look that up..I hadn’t seen that they arrested anyone in the Lansdowne thing. I’ll get back to you on that one, I promise. Meanwhile, you can tell me why we’re letting swine flue into our country. Why we couldn’t protect ourselves from fun-time south-of-the-border diseases even if we wanted to.
Shelly, I hope your hallucinations get better…I can’t imagine what it must be like to go through life so out of touch with reality.
@TWINAD
OK, Twinad, I read the article. I’m going to need to know a little more about the “unnamed 18 year old” and the “unnamed 17 year old” before I cough up the apology. Also, I’d like to know which street gang we’re talking about, here. Prove that the two unnamed individuals are “home-grown” as you say, and that it’s not a hispanic street gang, and I’ll serve you up a real nice apology!
Response to Elena, #12: The Republicans never had a filibuster-proof majority. Remember all those filibusters by the Democrats when the Republicans controlled Congress and the Presidency (eg judicial appointments)? Democrats’ power will be virtually unchecked.
Also, I do not feel the need to defend the prescription drug bill. Trying to buy off constituencies with massive spending is what got the Republicans in trouble in the first place. I would like see it repealed altogether. Specter was a key catalyst for a lot of that spending.
Slow,
I am wondering, what do we do about the catholic school girls who visited Mexico and brought back the swine flu? do you think we should deport them?
Oh, my bad, they are still Americans so I guess it would be unfair to villify them.
Kelly,
When Clinton was in power, the majority rule Republicans simply refused to allow this judical nominees out of committee.
Reference to #33, Elena: Please TRY TO FOCUS so you can get the point. My reference to judicial appointments was to show how Democrats were able to exert power, even when Republicans controlled both chambers and the presidency under Bush. With a filibuster-proof Senate for the Democrats, Republicans will not be able to return the favor. Obama could appoint Bill Ayers as a judge and the Republicans could not stop it.
My replies to you are an attempt to make you understand “the outcry of terror” regarding the Democrats’ unchecked power.
Kelly, there wouldn’t be a need for panic about “unchecked power” if the Republican party had demonstrated an ability to lead this country at some point over the past 16 years.
Their behavior during the Clinton years was horrible, and their governing under Bush was a catastrophe. We are simply reacting to the choices we have been offered.
The Republicans were all powerful, and “unchecked” after 9/11 because Cheney and Bush expertly exploited an American tragedy for partisan gain. They took “we the people” out of the equation by corrupting the media and lying to us through the media. And then we got to see the full bloom of right wing extremist governing. All their ideas were put to the test. And look where it got us.
Those pundits and entertainers who are telling you to panic now, they are the ones who lied to you in the past. Remember WMD’s in Iraq? Saddam responsible for 9/11? Trickle down economics? Deregulation? Global warming is a hoax. Oil tycoons didn’t write the energy policy? Remember all those lies? Well now those same liars are telling you to “revolt” out of panic.
Take a breath and ask yourself if it’s really worth it to keep following these people’s advice?
There are too many followers in your party who have been trained to hate for so long, now they are hating their own. When will they run out of hate and turn to another idea?
“We the people” will be the check on Democratic power if and when Republicans can no longer do so. In that sense you are right to be vigilant. But there is no need to panic or to hate (not saying you are, but please don’t for your own health and the good of the nation).
@kelly
Word to the wise, being rude does not make you more correct. re: “Reference to #33, Elena: Please TRY TO FOCUS so you can get the point.”
Specter candidly acknowledged that this was a matter of political self-interest and primary election calculus. He is angry at the Club for Growth, not Senate Republicans. But let this serve as a wake up call for Republicans who want to win general elections as opposed to primaries. Specter is the kind of leader the GOP should be courting, not crucifying.
M-H: It is amazing to me what you choose to focus on. I can see that you view yourself as the moderator of fair, courteous debate, but you lack credibility, given your unequal application.
I took the time to respond to Elena’s question (#12) and she responded with something completely irrelevant. I simply called her on it. Nothing rude about that compared to “propoganda is eating your brain” and “you are a mouthpiece of the right wing”.
You also seem to have something against labels when they are “leftist” and “apologist”, but not when they are “right-wing extremist” .
I understand that the majority of posters are left-wing, which is what makes this blog interesting. But if you want me to pay attention to your little admonitions, I suggest you be a little more even-handed.
Now you’re just being silly!! There’s the natural order of things and then there’s what happens along our southern border. I don’t understand how they can say “US not closing Mexican Border” with a straight face! We couldn’t “shut it down” if we wanted to! No matter how many e.coli parties we import, we still don’t get it! In that, we deserve what we get. The flu has spread to all other nations the same way, from travelers, but then we have this OTHER little problem, don’t we?
Kelly,
Being rude was unnessary and shows your unwillingness to debate with civility. Bush had unchecked power! No committee was willing to push investigations until Katrina, and then Tom Davis was brave enough to do it, and you see what happened him by his Repubican cohorts.
Hi ShellyB, you said “The Republicans were all powerful, and “unchecked” after 9/11 because Cheney and Bush expertly exploited an American tragedy for partisan gain.”
It’s kind of ironic that the Obama administration is using the economic crisis for partisan gain isn’t it, this is their own 9/11. Remember this little quote from several in the Obama administration “never waste a good crisis”? How do you think the one sided spending bill got passed with nobody even reading it?
Obama is taking all of the tactics you apparently hated and is running with them full steam. With Obama and the Dems running with the GOP game plan my inner Nostradamus tells me that they are going to find themselves on the outs in two to four years and will end up to be just like how the GOP is now.
As for “Arlen Specter, the newest Democrat”, this is just a desperate move by a desperate man.
THERE’S SOMETHING TO BE SAID FOR TERM LIMITS!!
Some of those oldies can’t stand the idea of not being in the “Club of 100” for the rest of their lives. And that in spite of the incredible pensions and other benefits.
Former senator Warner had the good grace to step down when he knew his health wouldn’t let him a full participant. Senator Hagel of Nebraska often disagreed with his party (GOP) and decided to resign. I believe he would have liked to stay, and I wish he had stayed, because he was one of the few who’d give a balanced look at what was at hand and what was good for the country and voted accordingly.
Actually, I would have LOVED to have him as President!
Kelly, it should not amaze you that as an administrator on this blog, moderator, as you chose to call it, I am going to insist that you talk respectfully to Alanna, Elena and me.
Let me be blunt: Save the rudeness for other blogs. I am sorry you do not care for my demeanor. No one is holding you captive here.
M-H,
I don’t mind “kellys” rudeness. I actually think its interesting, this polar opposite view of reality. I am wondering, where was “she” when the Republicans wanted to change the ability to fillibuster and John McCain, along with Arlen Specter, and 4 other republicans took the risk and intervene. THAT is called bipartisanship. Wasn’t it the “gang of 12”, 6 republicans and 6 democrats.
I agree Punchak, Senator Hagel is sorely missed.
hello,
Yes, I guess Arlen Specter could have followed Chuck Hagel’s example and just not run again. Is the Republican party “healthy” with only extreme conservatives in power?
Hi Slow,
I am not being silly. Listen to the scientific experts, the flu was brought in by people traveling, closing the border will do nothing. It’s here already.
No, Elena, I think the Rep. party is getting unhealthy because those in the middle are being pushed out. I wish the middlemen would stay, but I guess the climate for some of them gets unbearable and they aren’t willing to take the pressure, yet they aren’t willing to go over to the other party – yet.
I just think the extremely conservative wing of the GOP is shooting themselves in the foot every time they threaten who they see as a moderate.
Obama was not everyone’s favorite Democrat. Yet, once the die was cast, after a week or 2, almost everyone came around behind the one chosen. I just didn’t see that with the R’s. Perhaps I was just looking at the Prince William area.
I thought the Democrats were bad about pigeon-holing themselves. They can’t old a candle to what the Republicans are doing.
As for Arlen Spector–It was actually a pretty smart move if he wanted to stay a senator. Just out of curiosity, why is Joe Libermann still the pet Democrat in Independent clothing of the Republicans?