Arlen Specter switched parties---AGAIN

Specter shift puts Dems near filibuster-proof mark

Specter once proposed limiting effect of party switches

Specter once proposed limiting effect of party switches. Here's the relevant portion of Specter's May 14, 2001 speech, which was unearthed by POLITICO's Eamon Javers: How should these issues be handled by the Senate for the future? I intend to propose a rule change which would preclude a future recurrence of a Senator's change in parties, in mid-session, organizing with the opposition, to cause the upheaval which is now resulting.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0409/Specter_once_proposed_barring_party_switches.html?showall
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Specter condemned Jim Jeffords' party switch in 2001

When the Vermont Republican became an independent, Specter lost a committee chairmanship in the Senate's resulting power shift. An angry Specter proposed a ban on such party switches.

A Democrat in his youth,
Specter joined the Republicans(age 36) in 1966 and was a member until April 28, 2009, when he announced his switch(again) to the Democratic Party.^[5][6] On March 18, 2009, he had said, "To eliminate any doubt, I am a Republican, and I am running for reelection in 2010 as a Republican on the Republican ticket,"(wiki)

Specter's Reason: “Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats,” Mr. Specter said in a statement. “I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans.”

The real reason:
Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter (R) finds himself down 21 points to former Rep. Pat Toomey in a potential 2010 Republican primary, according to a new Rasmussen poll. Specter now has a 42%/55% favorability rating, while Toomey enjoys a 66%/19% rating.

• Toomey 51

• Specter 30

• Someone else 9

• Und 10

The last time either party held 60 Senate seats was in 1978,when the Democrats had 61.

Kliphnote:
It will be interesting if Arlen Specter is allowed to carry his seniority with him. If so, was it because of his promise to change
his vote on some issues?
Time will tell.

"A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money."-- G. Gordon Liddy