60 Seats: Arlen Specter Switches Parties

Quote from Specter (4.00 / 3)

"My change in party affiliation does not mean that I will be a party-line voter any more for the Democrats that I have been for the Republicans. Unlike Senator Jeffords' switch which changed party control, I will not be an automatic 60th vote for cloture. For example, my position on Employees Free Choice (Card Check) will not change"

If I was Reid/Schumer/Menendez, I would go to Specter and say the following; if you want us to clear the primary, you're going to vote for cloture when we ask you.

I don't care how Arlen votes on bills, I just want him to vote for cloture.  He can make a strong, compelling argument that these bills deserve to have an up or down vote and he refuses to be an obstructionist to the majority, even if he doesn't agree with them.

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by: BingChester @ Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 16:30:51 PM UTC

word (4.00 / 2)

up.

TODAY is day one. It always is.

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by: phillip anderson @ Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 16:32:21 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I would bet that the offer to clear the primary (4.00 / 1)

was made already to get the initial switch.

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by: wmlawman @ Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 18:34:35 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

That seems to be the case (4.00 / 2)

from the news reports.

Unfortunately, Snarlin' Arlen is now on record saying he WON'T vote for cloture even after this switch.  I actually hate this move.  We actually made it harder for ourselves in Pennsylvania over the next 6 years.  If we rejected Arlen, he'd be stuck in a losing primary and we'd destroy Toomey in a general.  This looks like a bad deal.

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by: BingChester @ Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 18:49:34 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

But we have the ability now to dangle it over his head. (4.00 / 1)

Any time he says he's not going to play ball, all we have to do is say "Well, maybe our offer to clear the primary is no longer good."

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by: Adama @ Wed Apr 29, 2009 at 00:10:24 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Shameless Specter (0.00 / 1)

Specter occupies a place just one rung higher on the Ladder of Shame than Lieberman.  But I'll welcome him to our Party, if for no other reason to enjoy the writhing and gnashing of teeth on the Right over his switcheroo.

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by: global yokel @ Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 17:20:56 PM UTC

Who gets hurt? (4.00 / 1)

I believe Ed Rendell is term-limited.  If he had chosen to run for Senate, he probably would have beaten whoever won the Republican primary.  Now, Rendell loses that option.

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by: Dan Jacoby @ Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 17:59:52 PM UTC

Never head any indication Rendell was (4.00 / 1)

going to run for Senator.

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by: wmlawman @ Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 18:34:02 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Ugh. (4.00 / 3)

In two years we're going to regret that this happened. Mark my words.

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by: Amherst Guy @ Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 18:02:33 PM UTC

Well... (4.00 / 2)

This is the best news for the Scranton-Syracuse passenger train project all year.  Not to look at the glass as half full, but, may the stimulus bucks flow along the train tracks in my general direction!

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by: robinia @ Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 18:14:09 PM UTC

That would be nice (4.00 / 1)

But I'm not sure how Specter switching to the Democratic caucus changes anything.  I would think he'd support that type of project; after all, he voted for the stimulus bill.

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by: BingChester @ Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 18:50:35 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Not so fast (4.00 / 2)

59 1/10 seats.

Arlen Spector is not a Democrat just because he says so. Our party does not exist just so save his political career.

Arlen Spector has to walk, talk, act... and vote... like a Democrat in order to claim he is a Democrat.

We'll save what remains of his political life but only if he gives us something real and substantial in return.

This guy has been a Bush/Cheney enabler for the last 8 years. And this...

"I will not be an automatic 60th vote for cloture. For example, my position on Employees Free Choice (Card Check) will not change"

Ain't good enough.

People talk about primarying Kirsten Gillibrand but welcome Arlen Spector with open arms?

WTF?

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by: Andrew C. White @ Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 19:02:34 PM UTC

Re: Not so fast (4.00 / 1)

People talk about primarying Kirsten Gillibrand but welcome Arlen Spector with open arms?

I look at it this way: He's our problem now.

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by: cliffweathers @ Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 19:06:36 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

And a BIG Frickin (4.00 / 1)

problem he is.

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by: Andrew C. White @ Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 19:11:03 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

AMEN (4.00 / 2)

This is not good news.  Let's not pretend that 60 "Democrats" in the Senate means a filibuster-proof majority.  Until Specter puts his money where his mouth is, the only winner here is Arlen Specter.

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by: BingChester @ Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 19:17:41 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Umm... (4.00 / 1)

Which is why I think there is likely to be infrastructure spending in his state (as per train, above).  He'll be in the same general power-spot that Espada is in the NY Senate.

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by: robinia @ Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 21:24:17 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

But again (4.00 / 1)

I don't think it changes the numbers because Specter would've voted for it anyway.  How does his membership in the caucus make cloture on increased infrastructure spending anymore more likely than what would have been a cross-party vote for cloture on the same issue?

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by: BingChester @ Wed Apr 29, 2009 at 02:44:17 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Not about votes (4.00 / 1)

I'm not writing about voting here.  I mean the distribution of funds already allocated.  And, it is not about what he does, it is about what the Obama administration and his fellow congressional Dems (for earmarks or other "targeted" funds in future spending bills) do to keep him moving leftward.  Money flows to his state will be used as a tool, just watch.  Not so bad, though, as PA is rustbelt/mining disaster central, and could really use the help.

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by: robinia @ Wed Apr 29, 2009 at 12:09:57 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

It won't make much of a difference yet (4.00 / 1)

Specter votes for his ideals, not his party. Republicans often complained how he voted to liberal, and you'll see Democrats complain that he votes to conservative. He'll disappoint us a lot, but I'm glad he'll disappoint us as a Democrat and not as a Republican.

Also, this magic number is not all its cracked up to be. You still have a few Dems, like Bayh that may side with the Republicans against cloture and some Republicans, like Snowe that will join us to override a possible fillibuster.

I am hoping, however, that Snowe will switch parties. My understanding is that she's contemplated doing this already, and I think that she's more progressive than Specter.  

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by: cliffweathers @ Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 19:04:20 PM UTC

Bayh, and (4.00 / 1)

both Nelsons, Lincoln, Pryor, Baucus, Landrieu, Carper, etc., depending on the issue.

Sixty Democrats does not guarantee cloture, while 60 better Democrats would.

We also probably would have gotten a better Democrat from PA next year.

Now we won't.

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by: devtob @ Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 19:46:26 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Good news all around (4.00 / 2)

Any member of the Senate or House who no longer finds the Republican party a viable option should be cheered. Leaving a marginal party to participate in a national party should be of no surprise to anyone.
Republicans in the northeast are a dying breed. Notce the demise of Pataki, Guiliani, Sununu, Chafee, Tedisco, Bruno...the list goes on and on.
Here's hoping that Senator Snowe will follow Spector's lead and alight where she belongs. Who knows, maybe even crazy Collins will bolt the Republicans? (although she would probably go Independent to keep her fellow milque toast, Joe Loserman, company).
A great day for the Democratic party and another step away from the disaster that was the Republican party.

Tax the Church.

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by: furiousdee @ Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 19:36:31 PM UTC

I may be mistaken... (4.00 / 2)

...but House members rarely switch parties since they're often back in campaign mode ten months after the election. It's hard to fundraise when you're taking grabbing checks from American Legioners one day and Unitarians the next.  

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by: cliffweathers @ Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 19:47:34 PM UTC

Arlen Specter (4.00 / 1)

Votes his conscience whenever he cares about an issue.

What that means is that no future votes are going to be affected by today's events, unless they are votes on things that are meaningless to Specter (example: H.R. 1595: To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3245 Latta Road in Rochester, New York, as the "Brian K. Schramm Post Office Building")

What it does is make the democrats shoulder more blame for anything that goes wrong.

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by: Amherst Guy @ Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 21:32:35 PM UTC

Naming Post Offices (4.00 / 1)

To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3245 Latta Road in Rochester, New York, as the "Brian K. Schramm Post Office Building"

The first thing I would do with a supermajority is to get rid of memorializing resolutions altogether.  

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by: cliffweathers @ Tue Apr 28, 2009 at 21:55:05 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Specter (4.00 / 1)

Sometimes party loyalty asks too much -JFK.

It is a SERIOUS GOP MISTAKE to drive out its moderates.  

I for one welcome Senator Specter; I feel we are still in his debt for his derailment of Robert Bork.  

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by: learnedhand @ Wed Apr 29, 2009 at 08:34:35 AM UTC

It's interesting you mention Bork (4.00 / 4)

I vividly remember that, after Specter courageously stood up and said he couldn't support confirming Bork to the Supreme Court, he cravenly caved the next time around and carried ALL the Republican water to heave Clarence Thomas over the finish line. Specter was the one who was the point man on Anita Hill, for instance. I was a constituent at the time, and I had a sense that he had been told by the leadership that, after his defection on Bork, he would have to do whatever they told him now or never see another federal dime in PA. I will never, ever trust Arlen Specter or consider him a real Democrat.

That being said, I am happy about this switch. The media line on Specter is always that he is a reasonable, thoughtful, principled public servant. His abandoning the the GOP, even if we all know it's just to save his own skin, sends the meta message that reasonable people do not feel welcome in the Republican party. That's a winning narrative in the long run for us.

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by: Historical Pessimist @ Wed Apr 29, 2009 at 12:37:02 PM UTC

[ Parent ]