Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat

Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat (Full Version)

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ThatDamnedPanda -> Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat (4/28/2009 9:05:34 AM)
Holy shit. CNN is breaking the story right now - Pennsylvania's Senator Arlen Specter has just announced he's switching parties, saying the Republicans no longer represent his values. Looking for a link now....

kittinSol -> RE: Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat (4/28/2009 9:14:18 AM)
So much for the Dark Side being inescapable [8D] . Keep us posted, Panda.

Owner59 -> RE: Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat (4/28/2009 9:20:04 AM)
No way!! No fuck`n way! Ain`t no fucking way! Really? [:D]

ThatDamnedPanda -> RE: Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat (4/28/2009 9:26:55 AM)
Yeah, it's all they're talking about on CNN for the last 10 minutes. They're quoting from his website, but I can't get through to it. The gist of it is, he says the Republican Party has moved so far to the right, they no longer represent his values or the values of his constituents, and if he stays with the party he's no longer electable. The talking heads are wasting no time in pronouncing it the death knell for the Republican Party in the Northeastern United States, and speculating on who will be the next to jump ship. OK, he just spoke briefly to reporters. One of them asked him what he'd like to say to his constituents, and he replied, "I don't have anything I need to say to them. They've already said it to me."

kittinSol -> RE: Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat (4/28/2009 9:28:32 AM)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/28/arlen-specter-switching-p_n_192298.html Now, we just have to wait for whatever's left of the Republicans to character assassinate Specter [:D] . It's only a matter of minutes now.

Owner59 -> RE: Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat (4/28/2009 9:37:31 AM)
"only a matter of minutes" he-he That`s funny. Yup,an instant rising to the top of most hated list. Move over Speaker Pelosi... Step aside Mr. President. There`s a new kid in town...[:D]

ThatDamnedPanda -> RE: Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat (4/28/2009 9:47:37 AM)
Well, let's start kicking around some of the ramifications of this. First of all, when Franken is seated the Dems will have a filibuster-proof majority. For better or worse. I'm not entirely happy about that, but as obstinate and obstructive as the Republicans have been the first few months of the Obama Administration, overall I'd say it's a positive. If nothing else, it will force the Republicans to lighten up and become more genuinely bipartisan and cooperative. And significantly marginalizes that mealy-mouthed dickhead Lieberman. Second, he'll obviously keep all of his committee seats, which means that the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee is now a Democrat. Important implications for judicial appointments, including however many Supreme Court vacancies arise over the next few years. Third - what does this mean for the Republican Party? The message may be even more important than than the act itself. One of the most senior Republican Senators has walked away from his party, saying they're no longer relevant. That's huge. What does this say about the Republican Party, and what does it say about Obama that at least one senior Republican leader now feels comfortable joining his team? That's just a few off the top of my head. Anyone else think of any I missed?

servantforuse -> RE: Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat (4/28/2009 9:48:52 AM)
This is no suprise to anyone. He consistantly votes with the Democrats anyway. He is doing this for personal reasons. He will probably be ousted by a conservative in 2010. He barely won his own primary in the last election.

kittinSol -> RE: Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat (4/28/2009 9:54:01 AM)
I was wrong. It was only a matter of seconds [sm=excuseme.gif] .

servantforuse -> RE: Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat (4/28/2009 9:59:26 AM)
Spector has always been a RINO ( republican in name only ) At least I give him credit for being honest with his constituants for the first time. We don't need him unless he votes the right way..

ThatDamnedPanda -> RE: Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat (4/28/2009 10:00:41 AM)
quote: ? quote: ORIGINAL: servantforuse This is no suprise to anyone. He consistantly votes with the Democrats anyway. He is doing this for personal reasons. He will probably be ousted by a conservative in 2010. He barely won his own primary in the last election. Ah, there's one. Right on schedule. You've got it exactly backwards. The fact that he struggled in the Republican primary was because the party has moved too far to the right, and Pennsylvania Republicans felt he was too moderate. An increasing percentage of them preferred someone more conservative. Pennsylvania voters as a whole felt that Spector was exactly what they wanted, and elected him despite the fact that he was a Republican. Most experts on Pennsylvania politics expect this to make it much easier for him to win in 2010, because the state as a whole is becoming much more Democratic. You can say he's doing it out of self-interest all you like, but the bottom line is, the fact that he feels switching parties gives him a better chance to win speaks volumes about how many Pennsylvania voters are just saying "no" to Republicans now.

Owner59 -> RE: Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat (4/28/2009 10:04:00 AM)
RINO... Him being re-elected multiple time kinda shoots holes through that tripe.lol I`m still pissed at how he savaged Anita Hill,though. He`ll have to apologies specifically for that hatchet job before I support him.

slvemike4u -> RE: Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat (4/28/2009 10:05:01 AM)
"We don't need him unless he votes the right way...." Seems the Republicans are in dissaray ,a two party system actually needs two parties.....this is a tad troubling. Better troubled Republicans work from within the Republican Party than flee it and leave it to the Limbaugh's and Palin's....and servant's.

ThatDamnedPanda -> RE: Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat (4/28/2009 10:08:37 AM)
Interesting. He's standing in the middle of a crowd of his Pennsylvania constituents outside his office right now, and they're uniformly grinning from ear to ear and applauding him enthusiastically. These are Pennsylvania voters who came to Washington this morning to visit their Republican Senator, and they're all cheering the fact that he's becoming a Democrat. What does that say?

ThatDamnedPanda -> RE: Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat (4/28/2009 10:13:18 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: slvemike4u "We don't need him unless he votes the right way...." Seems the Republicans are in dissaray ,a two party system actually needs two parties.....this is a tad troubling. Better troubled Republicans work from within the Republican Party than flee it and leave it to the Limbaugh's and Palin's....and servant's. Yeah, but if there's nobody left but Limbaugh and Palin and the inmates who support them, the Republican Party will cease to be a serious voice in the political debate. But there'll still be a strong need for a more conservative presence to balance out the Dems, so a new party will quickly form itself to fill that need. And it will be led by the sane, intelligent escapees from the old Republican Party. Everybody wins.

snappykappy -> RE: Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat (4/28/2009 10:15:22 AM)
being that he is now a democrat what does this do to his status if he heads any committee and would his rank now be behind al franken time wise or do they just transfer his past time as a republican

MrRodgers -> RE: Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat (4/28/2009 10:20:41 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: slvemike4u "We don't need him unless he votes the right way...." Seems the Republicans are in dissaray ,a two party system actually needs two parties.....this is a tad troubling. Better troubled Republicans work from within the Republican Party than flee it and leave it to the Limbaugh's and Palin's....and servant's. That's exactly why he is leaving. It is the Palins, the Limbaughs and some repub politicians who can't leave out the vitriol and habitual need for character assassination. When the pres. of the RNC has to kiss their ass...you know they are in trouble and way too much baggage for one repub senator to carry away. This is why Buckley Jr., Colin Powell and many more repubs...supported Obama. Real conservatives are pissed at some of the party powerful for supporting way too much of Bushes ops and spending. They won't go democrat and don't like Obama, leaving them on a political island.

slvemike4u -> RE: Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat (4/28/2009 10:23:38 AM)
Not really Panda,the years it would take for a fledgling party to gain traction and adherents would be years of one party rule.Not in any way a good thing IMO,a countervailing force is what keeps us from slipping too left...or too right.Much better the Republicans,the party of Lincoln excise their demons(religious right ,neoconservatives) and rejoin the fray as a opposition party with ideas of its own.

thishereboi -> RE: Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat (4/28/2009 10:25:00 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: MrRodgers That's exactly why he is leaving. It is the Palins, the Limbaughs and some repub politicians who can't leave out the vitriol and habitual need for character assassination. When the pres. of the RNC has to kiss their ass...you know they are in trouble and way too much baggage for one repub senator to carry away. Well if he thinks there aren't liberals who are just as bad, he is in for a rude awakening. However, as pointed out in previous posts, he probibly has a better chance of winning the reelection so it was a wise move.

ThatDamnedPanda -> RE: Sen. Arlen Specter Switches Parties - Becomes Democrat (4/28/2009 10:44:46 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: slvemike4u Not really Panda,the years it would take for a fledgling party to gain traction and adherents would be years of one party rule.Not in any way a good thing IMO,a countervailing force is what keeps us from slipping too left...or too right.Much better the Republicans,the party of Lincoln excise their demons(religious right ,neoconservatives) and rejoin the fray as a opposition party with ideas of its own. There are tens of millions of adherents just waiting for such a party to emerge so they can jump on board. You see it every day; Republicans all over the country are just screaming for sane, genuinely conservative leadership. It's not like a startup business. The people who would be leading the party are already in power, with a lot of political experience. The infrastructure, the expertise, the methodologies, the contact lists, the donors, and most importantly the tens of millions of voters desperate for leadership that represents their moderate conservative interests - everything is already there, all of those things. It's just a matter of a sufficient number of them coming together and saying, "OK, we're a new party." Only 1 out of 5 voters in this country right now identify themselves as Republicans. The number of conservative voters who have rejected the party is probably greater than the number of conservatives who still embrace the party, and every one of those disenfranchised conservatives is just crying for a new party to identify with. There's no reason at all it would take years for the new party to solidify. Heck, on a statewide level here in Minnesota, the Independence Party literally came out of nowhere in just a matter of 2 or 3 months to win the governor's seat in 1998. In the summer of 98, most people didn't even realize a party by that name existed; in November, they were in the Governor's mansion. And even if it did take years, how long do you think it would take for the moderate Republicans to exterminate the Palins and the Limbaughs? I think forming a fresh new party would take a lot less time, and a lot less bitter infighting and partisan thermonuclear war, than trying to take their party back from the lunatic fringe who've seized control of it.

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