Senator Specter announces he will change parties
David Lightman and William Douglas
Issue date: 4/30/09 Section: Nation and World
WASHINGTON (MCT) - Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter said Tuesday that he intended to become a Democrat, inching President Barack Obama's party to within a whisker of the 60-vote majority it needs to cut off extended debate and advance his key initiatives.
Specter, who's been a Republican since 1966 and a senator since 1981, said he'd seek re-election next year as a Democrat.
"While I have been comfortable being a Republican, my party has not defined who I am. I have taken each issue one at a time and have exercised independent judgment to do what I thought was best for Pennsylvania and the nation," the 79-year-old senator said in a statement posted on his re-election Web site.
His switch has a broader meaning: Should Al Franken win the Minnesota U.S. Senate race - and he's close - Democrats would have the votes needed to limit debate.
While having 60 votes still would be no guarantee of success - a handful of Democratic moderates often have been reluctant to join efforts to increase spending or back major carbon-emission reduction legislation - it would dramatically improve the party's - and Obama's - chances of winning major victories in the months ahead.
The Senate is expected Wednesday to pass a $3.5 trillion 2010 budget outline that includes provisions for overhauling the nation's health care system. While it's expected to have a provision allowing debate to be cut off with 51 votes, Obama and Democratic leaders would rather not use that rule, preferring to attract a bigger, broader consensus.
The Specter announcement comes as former Rep. Pat Toomey mounts a potentially strong primary challenge.
Specter most recently incurred Republican wrath when he was one of three Republican senators to back Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus plan. Those three votes were crucial to stopping unlimited debate.
Specter took a longer view Tuesday in explaining his switch.
"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. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans," he wrote.
Specter, who's been a Republican since 1966 and a senator since 1981, said he'd seek re-election next year as a Democrat.
"While I have been comfortable being a Republican, my party has not defined who I am. I have taken each issue one at a time and have exercised independent judgment to do what I thought was best for Pennsylvania and the nation," the 79-year-old senator said in a statement posted on his re-election Web site.
His switch has a broader meaning: Should Al Franken win the Minnesota U.S. Senate race - and he's close - Democrats would have the votes needed to limit debate.
While having 60 votes still would be no guarantee of success - a handful of Democratic moderates often have been reluctant to join efforts to increase spending or back major carbon-emission reduction legislation - it would dramatically improve the party's - and Obama's - chances of winning major victories in the months ahead.
The Senate is expected Wednesday to pass a $3.5 trillion 2010 budget outline that includes provisions for overhauling the nation's health care system. While it's expected to have a provision allowing debate to be cut off with 51 votes, Obama and Democratic leaders would rather not use that rule, preferring to attract a bigger, broader consensus.
The Specter announcement comes as former Rep. Pat Toomey mounts a potentially strong primary challenge.
Specter most recently incurred Republican wrath when he was one of three Republican senators to back Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus plan. Those three votes were crucial to stopping unlimited debate.
Specter took a longer view Tuesday in explaining his switch.
"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. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans," he wrote.
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