Well that didn't take long...DNC sent me an email to Welcome Arlen

[AllentownJake]

This is big.

Senator Arlen Specter has just switched from the Republican Party. He's now a Democrat.

A Republican for 43 years, Senator Specter has chosen to leave a party that he says has moved far to the right and join Senate Democrats as they work with President Obama to turn our economy and our country around.

We're thrilled to welcome Senator Specter to the Democratic Party -- please click here to welcome him with a note of your own.

The Senator's decision is the latest indication that the GOP is increasingly out of touch and has nothing new to offer. How can we expect Republicans to provide any new leaders when they can't even keep one of their own?

Senator Specter courageously supported the President's economic recovery package. He set politics aside to create solutions to America's problems, and decided that "no" just isn't good enough for the challenges we face.

I commend him for his decision to join the Democratic Party today.

Join me in welcoming Senator Specter as he joins President Obama and Senate Democrats to create jobs and put the country back on the right track:


Thank you for your support,

Governor Tim Kaine
Chairman
=============================================================================================================

Wonder if just PA residents got this.

[msongs]

1. let's give the opportunist a hand...and all the real Pa dems shutup ok? nt

[AllentownJake]

3. I'm a real PA dem

I'm happy. Pat Toomey will never be my Senator.

[NYC_SKP]

2. I love it. I love it because the Republicans hate it. More will follow, this is good news.

I know there are doubters...there are always doubters.

Rachel just nailed it.

Links to my own threads:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8375204&mesg_id=8375204

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8375978&mesg_id=8375978



:patriot:

[seaglass]

4. Presto Chango. Yesterday a Republican, today a Democrat. It's magic!

I am thankful I am not from PA - I would never mark my ballot for a Republican and that is what he is.

[NYC_SKP]

5. He was only a marginal Republican. Shades of gray. See this 538 article today:

"What kind of Democrat will Arlen Specter Be?"
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/04/what-kind-of-democrat-will-arlen.html

"I then looked up DW-NOMINATE data for each of these party switchers. DW-NOMINATE is a liberal-conservative classification which has conveniently assigned scores to each Congressman in each Congress from the 18th Century onward. DW-NOMINATE scores generally run from -1 for an extremely liberal Congressman to +1 for an extremely conservative one (although ratings slightly greater than 1 or less than -1 are possible under exceptional circumstances). The ratings for a select group of Senators in the 110th Congress follow below."



Maybe Snowe is next.