Not Too Much of a Surprise

Arlen Specter switches parties.

Of course he’s doing it for his survival as a U.S. Senator. Pat Toomey is too close to unseating him in the Republican primary in 2010. So, instead, he’ll give the Republican nomination to Toomey and run against him as a Democrat.

He’s been more Democrat than Republican for years, so I guess this is him finally telling the truth about his ideology.

He’ll be stepping on a lot of toes with this too. With his nearly 36 years in the Senate, he might take over a chairmanship or two. Displacing the current holders of those positions.

And what about the Democrats that were going to run in the Democrat primary? Will they still want to challenge Specter as a seated Democrat Senator? Will they quietly drop away so as not to interfere? Will they be happy about it?

Note to all Republicans who switched to Democrat to vote in the Pennsylvania Democrat Presidential Primary. Get thee to the county clerk’s office or League of Women’s Voters, or the DMV or wherever one needs to go to switch registered parties. Get there and switch back to Republican.

Of course, one could stay a registered Democrat through the primaries of 2010 just so you could vote for whichever Democrat will actually mount a primary challenge and make him lose that!

Hot Air has more.

Update: Arlen Specter just said that the right has moved further to the right. Mr. Specter: The right hasn’t moved. The left has. That makes it seem as though the right is further to right, but it’s just a matter of perspective.