# Sen. Arlen Specter (PA) to become a Democrat **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 28, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627 "2009-04-28T16:09:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627/61 "2009-04-28T19:15:12Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Before people get all chortlesome, remember that calling himself a Democrat, even caucusing with the Democrats, doesn’t mean he’s going to vote like a Democrat. He’s a natural Blue Dog if he’s anything (well, whatever the Blue Dogs in the Senate call themselves…the Bhaybees?). True, but now he no longer has to throw the rabid-right-wingers a bone every once in awhile to secure his primary vote. Instead those same bones will have to be thrown to the left. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627/62 "2009-04-28T19:15:43Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > But great news for the Palin-Bachmann campaign! Jeezus, it’d be like a zombie Thelma and Louise, except they’d be holding hands while driving the country off the cliff. Oh… _Spoiler Alert_! ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627/63 "2009-04-28T19:32:10Z")
I had a totally different kind of movie in mind. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627/64 "2009-04-28T19:34:33Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Why, he and [Donald Rumsfled](http://tallteacher.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/rumsfeld-hussein.jpg)out to be pilloried! But Rumsfeld is squeezing his hand really, really hard. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627/65 "2009-04-28T19:51:54Z")
> [@42fish](#): > > Won’t that conflict with our plans for making this a Muslim nation and imposing Sharia law? He said war on _GOD_, not _ALLAH_, remember? (Because Allah is a FALSE god, duh!) 😉 > [@Mr.Moto](#): > > [That one’s easy.](http://www.middleeastopinion.com/history-&-policy/sites/default/files/images/us-policy/280specter_asadREUTERS.jpg) This is a whoosh, right? Isn’t that Felipe, Prince of Asturias? 😕 (If it is a whoosh, never mind!) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627/66 "2009-04-28T19:55:39Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > He said war on _GOD_, not _ALLAH_, remember? (Because Allah is a FALSE god, duh!) > > 😉 > > This is a whoosh, right? Isn’t that Felipe, Prince of Asturias? 😕 (If it is a whoosh, never mind!) Just a bit of a joke - but the other guy in the picture was Bashar al-Assad. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627/67 "2009-04-28T20:05:59Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Oh, my…[looks like Specter got a little added incentive to switch, courtesy of our beloved governor, Fast Eddie](http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/labor/pa-gov-rendell-promised-specter-hed-be-unopposed-in-dem-primary/). > > Sorry, Ed. Believe it, if Specter remains opposed to EFCA, he WILL have a labor-backed primary opponent. You’re a lame duck, remember? [Joe Torsella says he won’t drop out.](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/04/28/specter-to-face-a-democratic-primary/) I’m sure he’ll be looking at the polls in the next few weeks, though. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627/68 "2009-04-28T20:26:09Z")
Politics is about fighting your way to the top of the pile . It takes time and money. Some poor Pa. Dem has been working his way up the ladder for a long time. Now he has a powerful incumbent with lots of TV time at the top of the pile. Too bad for him. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627/69 "2009-04-28T20:26:46Z")
> [@](#): > > "While we were disappointed by Senator Specter’s decision to switch parties, he’s very candid to acknowledge that this is nothing more, nothing less than political self-preservation. [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/politics\_nation/2009/04/cornyn\_confident\_gop\_will\_rega.html](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/politics_nation/2009/04/cornyn_confident_gop_will_rega.html) On the GOP’s prospects for 2010: > [@](#): > > "I can tell you that in 2010 we are working very hard to make sure that we have the kind of candidates across the country on a national scale that > will allow the Republican Party to regain our status as a national party ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627/70 "2009-04-28T20:49:12Z")
> [@](#): > > Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele ripped Specter, calling him a Republican in name only who was out of step with the rest of the party because of his “left-wing voting record.” News flash, Mike-- Specter isn’t a Republican in name any more, either. That’s the kind of criticism you level on a guy _before_ he officially decides to change party, not _after_. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627/71 "2009-04-28T21:28:22Z")
I wonder what kind of amazing blowjob Joe Lieberman is getting from the Republicans right now. I bet Joe Lieberman is Republican before Al Franken is seated. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627/72 "2009-04-28T21:30:02Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I wonder what kind of amazing blowjob Joe Lieberman is getting from the Republicans right now. Aside from blowjobs they appear to have nothing to offer. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627/73 "2009-04-28T21:50:33Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I wonder what kind of amazing blowjob Joe Lieberman is getting from the Republicans right now. They’re Republicans. That means they have to lure him into a restroom first. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627/74 "2009-04-28T21:53:06Z")
Voting record aside, this is a wonderful humiliation for the GOP, which have descending into a bickering pile of extremists. Their agenda while in power was to lean further and further to the right, alienating everyone except the crazies. Now that tactic has come back to bite them in the ass. Even when a GOP with 30 years of experience leaves, they don’t have the courtesy to at least acknowledge the shift in beliefs, preferring to tar and feather him like some kind of traitor and put out yet more pointless and ignorant talking points about it being bad for the country. Good riddance to that. The GOP has to moderate their beliefs and tell their right-wing extremist base to get a clue and live in reality instead of fighting for their archaic beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627/75 "2009-04-28T21:58:31Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Chortlesome. Warm glow all over. A pony. Not a big pony, not a very pretty pony, but still, a pony. I like ponies. That Barry, he’s a sly one…😃 ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627/76 "2009-04-28T22:13:00Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I wonder what kind of amazing blowjob Joe Lieberman is getting from the Republicans right now… It’d need to be a very, _very_ good blowjob (most likely done in conjunction with rimming and nipple massage). 😛 Lieberman knows damn well he’s not going to get reelected in CT with an R after his name. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627/77 "2009-04-28T22:38:49Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I wonder what kind of amazing blowjob Joe Lieberman is getting from the Republicans right now. Unless it’s one that comes with committee chairman positions, the Republicans have got nothing. Which would be a neat trick since the Republicans are in the Senate minority now and are likely to stay that way for the forseeable future. What are they going to offer him? A warm smile? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627/78 "2009-04-28T22:42:26Z")
> [@42fish](#): > > Won’t that conflict with our plans for making this a Muslim nation and imposing Sharia law? Now, now! The Democratic Party is a big tent! We have room for atheists, jihadists – anybody who accepts the core principle of hating America! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627/79 "2009-04-28T22:48:51Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Voting record aside, this is a wonderful humiliation for the GOP, which have descending into a bickering pile of extremists. Their agenda while in power was to lean further and further to the right, alienating everyone except the crazies. Now that tactic has come back to bite them in the ass. > > Even when a GOP with 30 years of experience leaves, they don’t have the courtesy to at least acknowledge the shift in beliefs . . . They also appear to be perfectly oblivious to (or, worse, in denial of) the fact that, even while the GOP has lurched right, [the **public** has inched left.](http://people-press.org/report/312/trends-in-political-values-and-core-attitudes-1987-2007) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2009, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627/80 "2009-04-28T22:49:51Z")
> [@Maeglin](#): > > I am vaguely concerned that this move will accelerate the Democratic party’s self-destruction in the legislature. :dubious: Mmm-hmm. How does that work, exactly? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sen-arlen-specter-pa-to-become-a-democrat/494627.md?page=5)