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But Specter is pro-choice and pro-stem-cell; a cancer survivor, he's been a big supporter of the National Institutes of Health; he also supported the stimulus as well as the various bailouts that came up for votes before he started sucking up to the right. In today's hyperpartisan Congress, he can legitimately claim to be a moderate. And as he pointed out in his statements, GOP moderates have been fleeing the party; in 2008, more than 200,000 Pennsylvania Republicans switched their registration. "As the Republican Party has moved further and further to the right, I have found myself increasingly at odds with the Republican philosophy and more in line with the philosophy of the Democratic Party," Specter said Tuesday.
The timing is certainly convenient — and there was something pathetic about his reminder that "my seniority is very important to continue to bring important projects vital to Pennsylvania's economy" — but Specter is basically right. The GOP is shrinking — down to 20% of the country, in a new New York Times poll — and its holdouts are increasingly hard-core. They don't like government. They do like Rush Limbaugh. They care more about the purity of their principles than the size of their tent. They always thought Specter was a RINO — a Republican in Name Only — and now they have proof.
The Democrats, of course, are celebrating; not only does Specter strengthen their claim to a center-left consensus, his move also strengthens their power. Once Al Franken wins his court case in Minnesota, they'll have 60 Senators, and a freer hand to ram through President Obama's agenda. "If there's a Democrat in my place," Specter said earlier this month, "they'll be able to do whatever they want." But that might not be true now that the crotchety Specter is that Democrat. At his press conference, he went out of his way to insist that he would not be "an automatic 60th vote" and that his new position on card check would not change. Specter is still looking ahead to a rematch with Toomey, this time on general-election turf, and he wants to send a message that he'll do what he thinks is right for Pennsylvanians no matter which party he's in.
Today, though, he sent a message that he'll do what he thinks is right for Arlen Specter.