Holy crap. Specter To Switch Parties – The Caucus Blog – NYTimes.com
Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania said on Tuesday he would switch to the Democratic party, 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.
In a statement issued about noon as the Capitol was digesting the stunning turn of events, Mr. Specter said he had concluded that his party had moved too far to the right, a fact demonstrated by the migration of 200,000 Pennsylvania Republicans to the Democratic Party.
“I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans,” Mr. Specter said, acknowledging that his decision was certain to disappoint colleagues and supporters.
The 60th vote comes in, I believe, if/when Franken gets the Minnesota seat. That will increase pressure to find a way to seat Franken, and pressure on the GOP to block it no matter the cost (or decency).
Specter’s one of those guys I’ve run hot and cold on. Sometimes he’s been a surprisingly moderate hero; other times, he’s pissed me off. It’s worth noting that, while his caucusing with Dems is a party-line good sign, the GOP has shown a lot more party discipline than the Dems. This will make passing Obama legislation much easier, in theory, but it’s not a slam dunk by any means.
The news shocked Senate Republicans, who had been hanging on to their ability to block legislation by a thread. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, called an emergency meeting of party leaders who had no forewarning of Mr. Specter’s plans.
The GOP party line on this (so to speak) is that Specter is doing this for his own political gain.
Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona and a man with his own history of breaking with his party, expressed regret and said he had no indication that Mr. Specter would change parties. But Mr. McCain said he understood the reason for Mr. Specter’s shift: “It’s pretty obvious the polls show him well behind his primary opponent.”
Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, did not mince words about the senator, saying Mr. Specter “didn’t leave the G.O.P. based on principles of any kind. He left to further his personal political interests because he knew that he was going to lose a Republican primary due to his left-wing voting record. Republicans look forward to beating Senator Specter in 2010, assuming the Democrats don’t do it first.”
(The Fox News summary, not surprisingly echoes this: “Republican voters had sent Arlen Specter to the Senate five times, but faced with the prospect of a strong challenge from conservative Pat Toomey in the GOP primary and the state trending Democratic, Specter jumped ship.”)
But the GOP may only have itself to blame here, and this may not be the last defection.
Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, who also supported the Obama administration’s economic stimulus legislation, said Mr. Specter’s decision reflected the increasingly inhospitable climate in the Republican party for moderates.
“On the national level of the Republican Party, we haven’t certainly heard warm, encouraging words about how they view moderates, either you are with us or against us,” Ms. Snowe said. She said national Republican leaders were not grasping that “political diversity makes a party stronger and ultimately we are heading to having the smallest political tent in history for any political party the way things are unfolding.”
Interesting times.
I think this is symptomatic of the Republicans still using a majority mind set when in the minority. While they should be courting and their moderate members to keep them in the fold, instead they’re threatening them directly by introducing primary challengers.
Just plain nuts!