Specter (D) PA ?

[kentuck]

The (D) behind his name changes everything. Or does it?

The good Senator from Pennsylvania did not switch Parties because of ideology. He is still a Republican and has the potential to thwart the Democratic agenda. The only difference is that he will be inside the tent pissing.

He is admirable for his courage in fighting cancer and never giving up. He has acted in heroic fashion. He has long been a supporter of better health care. His vote on health care reform may be the critical vote for this long-sought coverage?

The reason Arlen Specter left his Party was because his Party left him. His Party was going to support his primary opponent in the next election. This was a slap in the face to Senator Specter. That is why he became a Democrat. Let's keep that (D) in perspective.

[saltpoint]

1. In exchange for what I'm guessing is considerable support from the

White House for the Senate nomination, I think we can expect some serious blue loyalty from Specter on the floor of the Senate.

The Republicans are the ones who took the hit here. They're left with a far-right wacko nominee, Toomey, while Obama and Biden have solidifed support for their agenda.

[stray cat]

2. He beats almost all dems on investments in public health infrastructure and medical research

[PRETZEL]

3. The Repups supported Toomey the last time,

that caused Specter to drain his coffers in the primary. He won in 2004 because of his reputation. Seniority does have it's benefits.

Senator Specter is indeed correct when he says that a major factor was the fact that there was a defection from the party last year of the moderates. He knows full well that those same moderates will be needed again if he's going to be re-elected. He also knows that he won't be able to run as an independant if he chooses to run in the Republican primary because of Pennsylvania's "sore loser" laws. (Thanks to Tweety for pointing this out to us.)

So, in reality, this is at it's core, Specter's only chance to remain in the Senate. But, at the same time, he also knows that the price he has to pay is steep. Campaign support from the Democratic Party will come from his voting record. Rest assured, Congressman Sestak will be keeping a close eye on that record.

Personally, I don't foresee Sen. Specter becoming anything other than what he has always been.

[Lugnut]

4. He didn't have much of a choice.

On Rachel Maddow's show last week Gov Rendell stated that 2.5 million registered Republicans defected to the Democratic party in PA within the past year. Those are pretty lopsided numbers and I know Sen Specter can do the math. He wants his Senate seat and he's willing to do whatever he can to keep it. This was no epiphany moment for the Senator.