Posted on 04/28/2009 9:59:57 AM PDT by GreatDaggar
At 10:25 am, in the Oval Office for his Economic Daily Briefing, President Obama was handed a note.
“Specter is announcing he is changing parties," it read, a reference to Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Penn.
Seven minutes later the president was on the phone with Specter.
“You have my full support," the president said, adding that he was "thrilled to have you.”
"Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right," Specter said today in a statement. "Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans. When I supported the stimulus package, I knew that it would not be popular with the Republican Party. But, I saw the stimulus as necessary to lessen the risk of a far more serious recession than we are now experiencing."
There's some pragmatic politics at place here as well. Facing a grueling primary challenge against former Rep. Pat Toomey, R-Penn. -- who almost defeated Specter in the GOP primary in 2004 -- Specter could well have lost to Toomey this time. In a Quinnipiac poll last month among registered Pennsylvania Republicans, Specter trailed Toomey 27-41 percent. That poll showed that Specter had a 29 percent favorability rating among Republicans, compared with 60 percent among Democrats.
"I deeply regret that I will be disappointing many friends and supporters," Specter said, announcing that he is running for re-election in 2010 as a Democrat. "I can understand their disappointment. I am also disappointed that so many in the Party I have worked for for more than four decades do not want me to be their candidate. It is very painful on both sides."
Last month, the irrepressible Gov. Ed Rendell told a Pennsylvania cable channel that he, Sen. Bob Casey, D-Penn., and Vice President Biden from neighboring Delaware have all been lobbying Specter to switch.
"We've tried," said Rendell. "Myself, Senator Casey, Vice President Biden have tried to talk him into it, but he's bound and determined to stay a Republican," Rendell said. "He doesn't want to see Republican moderates banished from the earth."
Asked what would happen if Specter ran as a Democrat, Rendell said, "he'd be unopposed" in the primary and "he'd win 60-65 percent of the vote in the general election."
Wrong, the GOP is far to the left of what I signed on for.
The only reason that he is changing is that he knows Toomey will whip his butt big time. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
What a whore.
I am tired of hearing the Specter story on the news as if it is such a big deal, WE conservatives are happy about it because he was never one of us in the first place. He is a self-centered loser LIBERAL that is only doing this for HIMSELF because Toomey would beat his ass and good in the primary. Let him go, good riddance! By 2010 the people will see that the RATS are the “party of their wallets being empty” from paying taxes up the ass and he will be defeated as will many others. Now lets get rid of Snow and the rest of the clowns parading as fake republicans. Bye Specter, YOU SUCK!
Eeeewwwww!!!!
May they all burn in hell.
A bunch of American-loathing socialist atheists.
They’ll get along just fine with spector.
“...OK where are they?”
Watch and see. They discover their ability to support Republicans when Democrats get things screwed up. The last time we experienced it was in 1994, when Clinton’s numbers were tanking, and people were getting depressed. We got a Republican Congress and a majority of Republican states. 0’s policies and ideology will outweigh the full press defense 0 is getting from the media when people are scared and feeling the effects, just like it happened with Carter.
nothing
this is just the thing you say — “right-wingers are SOOOO Fringe” that the news media, dims and drones will lap up
and then all the dem hacks on TV will talk about how the GOP is such a right-wing fringe nazi party and should become more like socialists and use Benedict Arlen’s quotes like this
What does everyone think the the results of Election 2010 will be?
We will have Senator Toomey.
Any other predictions?
Paging Cornyn, Steele and the RNC: what say you now?
Mr. President, we are also thrilled that you have him.
No. By 2010, swine flu may have killed half of the prospective candidates, especially old guys like Specter, Kenney, Biden, Pelosi, Reid, etc.
“What does everyone think the the results of Election 2010 will be?”
I don’t know what everyone thinks. I think we could get back the Senate and improve our standing in the House, providing the Republican Party gets its act together, and quits trying to be Democrat lite. A lot depends on when the consequences of 0’s Statism start setting in. We have hyper inflation, high fuel prices and higher unemployment rates on the way. A few shortages to slap down the superfluous optimism and hope the media is selling will do a lot to boost Republican chances.
This is just proof that the republicans AND democrats of the beltway see the political parties as nothing more than playground cliques whose purpose is nothing more than a petty popularity contest.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.