Arlen Specter to switch parties, giving Dems filibuster proof majority

[Sage 703]

Wow - huge news.  Guess we are guaranteed dramatic action on health care, energy, education and immigration this year, now that the GOP can't filibuster anything....



http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/specter-to-switch-parties.html?wprss=thefix


Specter To Switch Parties

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."

Specter as a Democrat would also fundamentally alter the 2010 calculus in Pennsylvania as he was expected to face a difficult primary challenge next year from former Rep. Pat Toomey. The only announced Democrat in the race is former National Constitution Center head Joe Torsella although several other candidates are looking at the race.

The precariousness of Specter's political position -- a Republican in a Democratic-leaning state -- was on display earlier this year when he was one of three GOP Senators to back President Barack Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus plan. That vote was strongly condemned by conservative Republicans and Toomey used that vote as the launching pad for his candidacy.

Because of the shrinking Republican vote in the state, Specter was seen as a dead man walking politically in the primary with polling showing him trailing Toomey by ten or more points. The bar for Specter to run as an independent was also extremely high due to the rules governing such a third party candidacy.

That left a Democratic candidacy as Specter's best option if he wanted to remain in the Senate beyond 2010.

[Sage 703]

PS: lol@manimtired

[sonickteam2]

ROFLMAO @ manimtired

[azaghal1981]

Holy shit.

[manimtired]

he'll be deeply missed by conservatives..

thanks for the link though 703...without you we wouldnt know whats going on in the world. LOL!

[Venerable Bede]

well, i don't know about "filibuster proof" on some issues. . .card check is still likely done for this year, thank god.  you still have "wobbly" southern and midwestern democrats that need to go along with some of this stuff- for example, whatever climate change bill that comes out, if at all this year, will have some significantly watered down language on emissions reduction and permits in order to not kill off coal states.

i don't blame specter for leaving, i just wish it wasn't so overtly justified so he could be re-elected.

[walkonby]

whether this means anything to the voting of votable votes . . . it sure is a structural crumble to the republican bridge we had spanning our nation for so long.  goodbye reagan brick road.

young republicans are "losing it."

[vansmack]

whatever climate change bill that comes out, if at all this year, will have some significantly watered down language on emissions reduction and permits in order to not kill off coal states.

I thought "clean-coal" was going to save us?  Whatever will we do now?

[Venerable Bede]

whatever climate change bill that comes out, if at all this year, will have some significantly watered down language on emissions reduction and permits in order to not kill off coal states.

I thought "clean-coal" was going to save us?  Whatever will we do now?

more nuclear. . . .if we insist on thinking carbon is an issue, there's no way this country will be able to meet any emissions reduction goals and meet our expected increase in electricity usage without new nuclear plants.

but to answer the question you are implying about coal- clean coal is a worthwhile research activity.  states that have extremely low electricity costs are primarily due to the abundance of coal (or hydro, but that's looked down upon too, despite it being a clean and renewable resource), either in the state or nearby, keeping transportation costs low.  if congress insists on shutting those plants down and replacing them with something else, a) that's gonna take a long time, b) if that "something else" is natural gas, where are we gonna get that from, c) whatever that answer is, is going to significantly increase electricity costs in those states, and d) renewables cannot meet expected load growth or supply baseload power (no matter what the ferc chairman says), unless there are significant storage facilities constructed (if those are battery powered, good luck competing for all the lithium with electric vehicle manufacturers).  EPA enforcement has practically eliminated the ability of coal plants from installing upgrades due to new source review standards, so utilities that have coal power plants have no real incentive to install scrubbing devices without triggering new EPA oversight- in other words, in an effort to clean up coal plants, EPA has actually created an incentive to not clean up coal plants.

[vansmack]

So you're saying we've got a chance?

[sweetcell]

i don't blame specter for leaving, i just wish it wasn't so overtly justified so he could be re-elected.

a politician doing whatever it takes to be re-elected?

i'm shocked.

[Venerable Bede]

i don't blame specter for leaving, i just wish it wasn't so overtly justified so he could be re-elected.

a politician doing whatever it takes to be re-elected?

i'm shocked.

especially after whatever dear leader did to get the nomination, you shouldn't be so shocked anymore.

anyway, i had a higher opinion of arlen specter is all i'm saying. . .if anything, i would have loved to see lieberman, specter, snowe, collins and ben nelson all jump ship together and become The Independents.  bernie sanders not included.

[sonickteam2]

Al Gore told me there was no such thing as clean coal.

[hutch]

It must really suck being  a republican right now....having most of the country think - correctly- that you ran the country into the ground..

Not surprising people are jumping ship..

[sweetcell]

especially after whatever dear leader did to get the nomination, you shouldn't be so shocked anymore.

what are you referring to?  i don't want to start a fight (and to be honest, i'll probably dismiss your gripe as sour grapes), i'm just curious what your complaint is of obama's nomination campaign. 

i would have loved to see lieberman, specter, snowe, collins and ben nelson all jump ship together and become The Independents. 

agreed - THAT would have been amazing.