From
The Politico:
Republican Senate leaders Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Jon Kyl of Arizona are in an emergency meeting in the Capitol right now discussing the party switch, which would be a devastating blow to a party barely hanging on to a 41-vote minority in the Senate. Specter has long been a moderate Republican and a thorn in his party's side, but his move to switch parties is a surprising maneuver. Specter trails badly in GOP primary polls and he may have a better chance to win as a Democrat in his home state.
Poor guys. The minority party in the Senate just got minority-ier.
What Glenn Greenwald saidThe idea that Specter is a "liberal" Republican or even a "moderate" reflects how far to the Right both the GOP and our overall political spectrum has shifted.
ReplyDeleteConsider Specter’s most significant votes over the last eight years, ones cast in favor of such definitive right-wing measures as: the war on Iraq, the Military Commissions Act, Patriot Act renewal, confirmation of virtually every controversial Bush appointee, retroactive telecom immunity, warrantless eavesdropping expansions, and Bush tax cuts (several times). Time and again during the Bush era, Specter stood with Republicans on the most controversial and consequential issues.Anybody who thinks Specter would have switched parties if he wasn't trailing Pat Toomey so badly in the Republican primary polls, I have some beachfront property in Arizona for sale.
Basically all that Specter has done is gone from RINO to DINO.