We would have also accepted "Not Shots: Part Deux"


On principle alone, I'm happy to see the Republican Party (as it 'stands' today) lose as many people as possible, even if the rats are the first to jump off the sinking ship. The 2 party system has had it's time in the sun, and we need to see viable alternate parties develop.

I personally think Fox News is creating a 3rd party in America, splitting up the Republicans into "New Coke" (Palinites/Jindalites) and "Coke Classic" (Any Republican over the age of 60, pretty much). Glenn Beck seems to be the poster child of the movement, which makes me wonder if he's angling for something bigger & brighter than the lights of the Fox News Studios.....I'm keeping my eye on this whole "9/12 Movment" thing.

It's either a cult, a subtle move to create a new political party/bloc, or proof that a fair portion of Americans are dumber than a bag of hair.

You don't need a special program to be a good person!

eh, it's a nice "fuck you" to the GOP. in terms of knocking the hardline right-wingers out of power, this is a bigger blow than Specter simply retiring would have been. in the long term, getting the hardline right-wingers out of power is more important than any individual vote in the Senate, especially given that the Dems don't really need Specter's vote on most issues.

but yeah, as soon as it stops being politically expedient to parade him around in front of the cameras, get him the hell out of there.

Specter was actually quite straight-forward about the fact that he knew he was going to lose the Republican primary and so decided to switch to Democrat. He basically said exactly that when announcing the move. Sen. Specter is unprincipled in a really unique way for a politician, in that he doesn't pander so much as he just does whatever helps out his career, without any major attempt at concealing it or dressing it up as something nicer. He also does it in refreshingly novel ways, like standing up to the Bush administration once or twice when they were really being dicks because it made him look good back home (rather than just mechanically towing the party line). Plus he's best buddies with Joe Biden. Talk about comic relief.

The Dems are clearly in this for the filibuster-proof majority, and given the willingness of Republican Senators to cooperate, I can't really blame them. That said, the PA Dems are looking around and considering possible challengers during the primary. I don't really believe the Democratic party will lend all that much support to Specter if it looks like an actual Democrat is in play. But then it will come down to nuanced guessing games about which candidate will do best against which candidate in the general election.

In short, this is why Congressional politics are a laugh.

I really want the Dems to back whoever runs against him in the primary. That would be hilarious.

Man, I can't wait until Starbucks and Wal-Mart run the nation. I mean, the politics won't be much different, but at least the halftime show during Election Day will kick ass.

All they need from him is every single Cloture vote. That should have been the deal. Give us cloture, then vote as you will in exchange for no primary challenger and a sweet committee chairmanship.

But no Ried is a loser who can;t stand up for himself that much.

i'm looking forward to the full-body lattes.

Yeesssss. I aspire to the position of CEO of Starbucks!

I wonder if they'll waterboard using full cream instead of water?

Sign me up for some torture!

There's a combination of political calculation and principle involved here. Specter has always been independent in his votes, and will continue to be so. The voting base he's relied on all these years switched their registration to Democrat in order to vote for Obama, and he's just following their lead. Honestly, he'll at least be a better Democrat than Ben Nelson. I don't expect anyone to be a "loyal Democrat." I don't always agree with the Democratic party either. I think Specter will be a useful ally on a few critical votes. Plus, the threat of a primary challenge will probably move him further to the left.

Not even remotely a Democrat.

yes.

Just watching MSNBC: Apparently, the question asked was about there now being no Jewish Senators in the Republican Party, and he made the remark as either a joke or with his head up his ass. Not an excuse. Just some context.

Specter's political career is basically finished. He was too moderate for the GOP primary voters in PA (what's left of them, anyway). He barely won over Toomey last election - Toomey got within a shocking 17,000 votes of winning that one - and he would have lost the primary to Toomey for sure in 2010.

Nevermind that Toomey would have lost the general election against pretty much any Democrat that could fog a mirror...

Now Specter has spoiled that by jumping ship. He's far too Republican for the Dem voters in PA, who generally resent the hell out of Specter supporting Bush hardline SCOTUS nominees, among other legislative Hindenburgs. PA dems will not vote for Specter unless he does a total 180 and practically votes straight-ticket with the administration right up to the 2010 election.

Since that's probably not going to happen, I think the administration will use him in an effort to get healthcare passed, then let him twist in the wind come election time in favor of a genuine democrat who can actually win elections.

There's no shortage of candidates.

It's hard to underestimate how much (and how many) PA dem voters dislike Specter, and if he continues to thumb his nose at top administration priorities these voters will turn out just to vote against him, in favor of any other Dem on the ticket with any kind of name recognition.