Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Sen. Specter switches parties
Senator Arlen Specter (? - PA) announced today that he intends to switch parties and caucus with Democrats in the Senate.
President Obama "reached Specter by phone and told him 'you have my full support' and that the Democratic Party is 'thrilled to have you.'"
Assuming that the Minnesota seat goes to Al Franken, as seems likely, the Democrats will have 60 seats in the Senate, which is a filibuster-proof majority.
This is a matter of political survival for Specter, who would struggle to defeat Pat Toomey in the Republican primary next year, notwithstanding the fact that Specter has a sizable war chest. I am guessing that he had discussions with Democrats who were considering running for the seat, and that perhaps the serious candidates have agreed to stand down in the face of White House support for Specter, allowing Specter to have a very inexpensive primary race. Obama's language seems to support this theory, and it is not hard to speculate on Rahm Emanuel's fingerprints on this switch ("the POTUS will campaign for you if you switch now; Reid will treat you well"). This sets up a Specter vs. Toomey general election in 2010 that will be closely watched all over the country. President Obama won PA fairly convincingly last November, and Toomey will have to run a very effective campaign to win in the key suburbs of Philadelphia, which are trending less conservative as compared to the platform Toomey ran on last time he was a candidate.
Arlen Specter is a survivor. But I can't help thinking that the honorable thing to do here -- rather than switching parties at the end of your career, in a naked attempt to have one more go at it -- would have been to retire.
UPDATE: It is more likely that Vice President Biden, and not Rahm Emanuel, helped to broker the deal. Biden and Specter are good friends, and used to ride on the train together to and from Union Station in D.C. (the Wilmington, DE stop is the next stop southbound on the Amtrak line from 30th Street Station in Philly). In the early 1990s, I was on that train roughly once per week, and would see them together, usually on the northbound leg.
UPDATE #2: Liar, liar, pants on fire. Notice the date. Things can change so quickly in three weeks.
20 Comments:
By 
Christopher Chambers, at
Tue Apr 28, 01:33:00 PM:
Spin spin spin.
Here's the word some of Biden's folk here in DC: he's also sick of the looney contingent which has hijacked discourse in his party--the last month of venom, 1860-like babble from certain groups and governors, more craziness from certain folk on TV and radio clinching it. Or maybe he reads THawk and decided that was the last straw? LOL
Oh, and yeah, he's a survivor. Perhaps the lesson won't be lost on y'all.
By 
, at
Tue Apr 28, 01:45:00 PM:
Chambers ... so he's going with the looney contingent that hijacked discourse on the Left?
At face value, it's not good to see the Dems moving toward supermajority, but maybe we need that. Let your boy have full control, complete f*ck things up, and then let the chips fall where they may. It took Carter to get Reagan. In the meantime, we taxpayers might need to take a holiday, and just chill out for a few years. Maybe work to get fired, collect a check for awhile, and get us some of that 'hope and change'.
As for Texas, which you've directly or indirectly referenced twice today, I'm not that up on it. My understanding, though, is that their Constitution enables them to decide whether to be in or out, and if so, then it's not so lunatic to express frustration with DC. Texans live on the front line of a war on illegals, drugs and violence, with little or no support from Obama, or Bush before him. I can well imagine they're fed up with that.
Spector's just another whore in DC ... he wants more time, and to keep that fat war chest, which innures to HIM if he doesn't spend it. We all knew he was more Dem than GOP anyway. I hope he loses in a landslide.
By GreenmanTim, at
Tue Apr 28, 01:52:00 PM:
The man is also facing a recurrance of advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma. Impending mortality can alter your priorities. What time remains to him is his to do with as he sees fit.
By , at
Tue Apr 28, 02:02:00 PM:
It's sad. The guy can't let go of the trappings of power. He's on a pure ego trip without any overriding cause to champion.
As I get older I would like to think that a graceful retirement is one of those well played moments in life. Clinging to a lost importance is very sad.
By Escort81, at
Tue Apr 28, 02:08:00 PM:
GT - I agree it is his call, and his illnesses have been difficult to deal with. What does it say about him as a man that he would rather run again under a different party, and not spend his remaining time with his family? To me, it says that politics are his entire life. Does he really believe that there are no other centrist politicians in PA that can serve capably as a Senator, and succeed him? Can't he mentor someone to do that, or is that outside of the politician's creed?
By , at
Tue Apr 28, 02:10:00 PM:
It's pure political opportunism. Political pundits have been saying that while he was going to lose in the GOP primary, he should easily win the general. Since he can win the Democrat primary it must have been an easy call. In any event I have a hard time getting worried about the loss of this very uncertain vote. The GOP's salvation lies outside of these established politicos anyway.
By the way, Obama's shockingly low approval numbers from the recent Gallup survey are an indication of how little value his "full support" might be worth to Spectre, err Spector.
By , at
Tue Apr 28, 03:40:00 PM:
Escort81, no, Specter is a sad case. He truly has no life outside his political career, and very few friends besides Joe Biden.
I knew a couple of PA pols who dreaded the election season visits they would get from Arlen. He visited each county at least once a term, and all the pols barely tolerated him. Arlen has always looked out for Arlen, and principles had little to do with it.
I really wish for his own sake he could retire, but something in his makeup needs that constant slogging, and a sense that he is the dogged survivor. He probably wouldn't survive retirement.
Dems, welcome your new pal.
By , at
Tue Apr 28, 04:59:00 PM:
By , at
Tue Apr 28, 05:13:00 PM:
Survivor hell. He's a vain, sick, grasping old man without a particle of grace in his carcass. This Senate-seat-for-life mentality that makes political hacks into permanent grandees is part of the problem not part of the solution.
By , at
Tue Apr 28, 05:46:00 PM:
JT writes, It took Carter to get Reagan.
And it took Bush to get Obama!
By davod, at
Tue Apr 28, 06:13:00 PM:
The guy is also a fool.
Obama will not support him in the Democratic primary.
By , at
Tue Apr 28, 06:16:00 PM:
Syd ... and Clinton, to get Bush.
One can't help but wonder if we have enough buyer's remorse by mid-term to change the faces in DC. All those hope and change idiots who'll have figured out that there's no hope for anything coming to them from this administration. Only more social programs to redress the perceived unfairness of those who've worked to achieve some wealth having some, by robbing from the 'rich' (herein defined as making more than 50K) to give to the poor (everyone else).
By , at
Tue Apr 28, 06:32:00 PM:
Well, the GOP now tops Dmeocrats on the Rasmussen "generic congressional ballot", for just the second time in the five years of polling (the first time was in one poll last month). The GOP could use lots of new blood at the top, in my own humble opinion, but the Republican porkers in DC at least claim to understand the concept of reducing spending, and that fact alone makes them better than the Democrats. End of story.
By , at
Tue Apr 28, 06:46:00 PM:
Senator Specter has also announced completion of his long deferred sexual reorientation too. "Coming out of the transgender closet" henceforth Senator Specter will be known as Senator Arlene Spector. "Maleness has become too small and cramped an identity for me," announced the Senator. "American masculinity is not what it was 29 years ago when I first came to the Senate. Over the years I've become a lot more in touch with my feminine side."
By JPMcT, at
Tue Apr 28, 07:45:00 PM:
With RINOs like Specter and Snowe, the looming threat of a "filibuster-proof" majority was never really that much of a concern for me. The likelihood of the Republicans voting in a block was pretty close to zero.
Now, of course, we have Specter showing his true colors, with a hearty "good riddance" from the Republican party.
The mainstream media was quick to call the Stimulus Bill "bipartisan" when the three Rinos supported it. It's almost as if they EXPECTED trouble from the independent voters and needed that Republican imprimatur on the bill.
Well, boys, Specter is ALL YOURS now. Not only that, I actually HOPE you get your "filibuster-proof" majority. I hope you get it in time for all the tax hikes, cap and trade, military cuts, open borders and all the other fantastical abortions the Democrats will foist upon our society over the next couple of years before the next election.
Because now, YOU WILL OWN IT!!!
Talk about a blessing in disguise!
By , at
Tue Apr 28, 07:54:00 PM:
Best of luck, Arlo. I swear I'll try as hard as I can to tell the difference.
By kreiz1, at
Wed Apr 29, 02:55:00 AM:
Specter's principled switcheroo is evidenced by his inability to support the GOP presidential candidate in 2008, right?
Uh, never mind.
At least Lieberman, a man of no small ego himself, stood against his party by supporting McCain/
By , at
Wed Apr 29, 07:37:00 AM:
Anon at 10 pm says, "By the way, Obama's shockingly low approval numbers from the recent Gallup survey are an indication of how little value his "full support" might be worth to Spectre, err Spector."Um...Anon, you may want to check your facts, or update your news aggregator. Obama's rating exceeds CLinton's and Bush's,and is up in Eisenhower terrority (not charted by the WSJ but you can look it up). More telling is the number of folks who call themselves a Republican: a stunning 21%! Helllloooo???
Keep up the good work, guys. Better yet keep doing what you're doing. LOL
By , at
Wed Apr 29, 07:53:00 AM:
Now, of course, we have Specter showing his true colors, with a hearty "good riddance" from the Republican party.Specter was a Democrat before he was a Republican. Did any of you bade him a "good riddance" when he joined your party?
By JPMcT, at
Wed Apr 29, 05:28:00 PM:
I don't think Specter ever had too many ideological supporters in the Republican Party. I doubt many Democrats with any class would support him much as well.
Fortunately for Specter, Democrats with class are rare birds.
