I’m sure Faux News will be chockablock with folks ascribing to Specter every possible venal motivation for his switch.
I also see a fair amount of opportunism in it. But there is a message which the Republicans will make a point of missing and dismissing as they rhetorically tar and feather old Arlen.
It is becoming more an more marginalized because its ideological extremism, blended with Rovian cynicism has left a bitter taste in the mouth of the American electorate. That’s why they are in a death spiral.

“The only reason he’s doing this is that he knows he can’t win in the Republican primary and has a better chance running against the other Democrats in their primary”
the only reason? not true. he says:

“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.”

200K in pennsylvania! in colorado, nearly 180K republicans dropped their republican label, 60K to become democrats and 120K to become “unaffiliated”.
this is what i have been saying for years. conservatives (especially social conservatives driven by the rabid, radical, religious reich) have taken the party away from moderate, sensible republicans. i’m glad that rather than quit politics altogether like many of his moderate colleagues did, he will continue fighting for the people on his principles. meanwhile, social conservatives will continue to make the republican party as irrelevant as the other fascist political groups.
watch yourself, specter. republicans have already thrown you under the bus. now that you’ve turned your back on the party, you’ve exposed the body part where they most like to stick their knives.

Obama To Specter: We Are Thrilled To Have You
10:25 AM while in the Oval Office receiving his Economic Daily Briefing.
The president was handed a note, the aide said, that read: “Specter is announcing he is changing parties.”
Seven minutes later, President Obama reached Specter to tell him, according to the aide, “You have my full support” and that we are “thrilled to have you.”
The White House released a photo Tuesday of the president on the phone with Specter.
VP Biden, Sen. Bob Casey, and Governor Rendell have been reaching out to Specter.

the radical right minority who believe (as michele does) that the switch was out of political self-preservation don’t understand where most of the united states (left, middle, and moderate right) are. here’s the view from another moderate republican:

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), a fellow moderate, didn’t seem surprised. On the national level, she says, “you haven’t certainly heard warm encouraging words of how [the GOP] views moderates. Either you are with us or against us.”

“Ultimately we’re heading to having the smallest political tent in history they way things are unfolding,” Snowe said. “We should have learned from the 2006 election, which I was a party of. I happened to win with 74 percent of the vote in a blue-collar state, but no one asked me, ‘How did you do it?’ Seems to me that would have been the first question that would have come from the Republican Party to find out so we could avoid further losses.”

Another less rino.

And another less Republican vote when it is really needed. You folks just don’t learn. Politics is about numbers. It is not about being right or wrong. It is about numbers, numbers of votes because if you do not have the vote being right is not going to do you a bit of good.

Not always, Charles Cosimano. But when it comes down to guns instead of votes, I’d prefer to be somewhere else.

MzEllen, welcome to the world of the minority. Enjoy it, as I believe you will be here a while.

“Either you are with us or against us.” – supposedly started by Reagan.
Sen. Snowe is correct. Democrats do not always vote as a block.
The Republicans are destroying themselves. Having people apologize to Limbaugh??? How stupid when he has approval rating in the low 20s.
What ideas do the Republicans have? Lowering taxes for the wealthy and make speeches in their states taking credit for things in the Recovery Act – while failing to say they voted against it.
Specter is smart – having Obama backing him in a state that likes Obama will be a benefit. In a state with popular Gov. Rendell.
Where is Obama giving his Wednesday speech? Missouri – a state he lost by 4,500 votes.
Republicans are poised to lose more seats in the near future. Kit Bond’s (R-Mo) seat is one that could possibly go Democrat.
Expect to continue seeing Obama out in the states.
Michele and MzEllen are in the minority with 73% of Americans liking Obama.

“It is about numbers, numbers of votes because if you do not have the vote being right is not going to do you a bit of good.”
and not having the votes and being wrong? man, the republicans are thoroughly screwed. it’s easy to understand why they are demoralized.

Michele and MzEllen are in the minority with 73% of Americans liking Obama.
At the moment.
Being in the minority does not mean that we are wrong. Only that we are in the minority and open to personal attacks and false accusations from who feel free to attack those who disagree with them politically (and for Julie, to ridicule those who disagree with them theologically).
I am no longer surprised by the hatred coming from the left toward the right. Why would I want to be you?

@Mzellen squawked “Being in the minority does not mean that we are wrong.”
Nor does it mean you are right.
@Mzellen clucked “I am no longer surprised by the hatred coming from the left toward the right. ”
I am not surprised that you want to be a martyr, but you have mistaken mockery for hatred.

Obama is having a Town Hall Meeting today at 11:20 AM Eastern – 10:20 Missouri time.
Arnold Missouri is a working class St. Louis suburb and is home to auto and construction workers. Many of whom are facing layoffs or pay cuts.
“Arlen Specter: Now a Democrat!” Conservative Rod Dreher said, “boy, are the Republicans screwed.”

a good analysis would show that the radical right (religious social conservatives and the warmongering neoconservatives) are too radical for americans. the radical right holds its ideology high and if one does not agree with and fit within that ideology then they’re not welcome. instead, we outsiders are immoral, weak, and wrong in their minds. there is no compromise.
for religious social conservatives, this eliminates homosexuals, many single women, pro-choice supporters, pro-arab groups, any others that they consider non-christians (including catholics and mormons). they wish to impose their narrow moral beliefs upon everyone else in the country.
for neocons, this eliminates moderates, anyone who is critical of israel, anyone who believes that diplomacy works. they consider speaking to our enemies a weakness. they label anyone who disagrees as unamerican and unpatriotic. they believe that torture can be justified and they defend war for war’s sake.
then of course, the republican party continues to shun racial minority groups.
being so extreme and so exclusive, the radical right (aka republican party) has shown people that there’s just no room for the average american. we each wonder, which group will they choose to persecute next?

I am not surprised that you want to be a martyr, but you have mistaken mockery for hatred.
Bingo…so it would be seriously nice if the liberals stopped equating blogging about Democrats as “mean spirited” and “hateful”.
Really. Unless this is yet another example of your double standard.

Frankly, I have found both right and left to be quite free with over-the-top self-righteous accusations and hateful insults.
They’re both pots calling the kettles, black.
The true minority often seems to be those few souls who don’t find it truthful or helpful to tar “the other side” with broad brush slurs or slanders.
I clearly disagree with much of what Michelle writes. But I don’t consider her hateful (at least no more than most bloggers, and less than a great many). I object to her tendency to so easily blithely categorize supporters of President Obama as a bunch of kool-aid drinking drones. But I also suspect that this is at least partly a rhetorical device meant to provoke “discussion.” A typical blogger tactic. Gotta keep things stirred up.
I may be wrong. But even if she really does believe that, I bear her and those who share that viewpoint no malice, because to do so would be self-righteous. (I will, however continue to reject the caricature.)
As St. Paul noted, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” So none of us really has much cause for self-rigtheousness.

BTW…Even though I am an Obama supporter, I would certainly prefer that the Democrats not get a “super-majority” because I don’t think “one party rule” is good for any nation, no matter which party it is.
However, if the Republicans continue in lock-step behind the likes of Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck and other radio ranters…I fear they will go over the cliff. They continue to fail to offer a truly coherent and credible alternative, and it undermines their ability to even offer useful input and a helpful counterbalance…which is needed in such times.
Like AA says, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.”
You might take a look at the results you’ve gotten, and ask yourself if this really amounts to a “Grand Party”…old or otherwise.

“Bingo…so it would be seriously nice if the liberals stopped equating blogging about Democrats as “mean spirited” and “hateful”.”
Once again, MzEllen defines her morality by the fact that she is better than those she opposes.
Whatever happened to the morality defined by the Bible, MzEllen? Or are those rules only for those who do not agree with you?

Some reaction:
“The Club for Growth just put another scalp on their mantel. ” said former Rep. Davis of VA, president of Republican Main Street Partnership. We are becoming a white Southern party in a country where the fastest-growing voter groups are Hispanics and young people,” Mr. Davis said
“I don’t want to be a member of the Club for Growth. I want to be a member of a vibrant national Republican Party that can attract people from all corners of the country,” Sen. Lindsey Graham told the Politico Web site. “As Republicans, we got a problem.”
Davis said the loss of moderates in the party ranks throughout the Northeast, Midwest and parts of the West had largely turned those states into Republican wastelands that now regularly fall into the Democrats’ electoral column in presidential elections.
There are now 18 states that the Democrats have carried in 5 straight presidential elections, assuring them of 238 electoral votes.

“I clearly disagree with much of what Michelle writes. But I don’t consider her hateful… ”
Michelle, stop writing about yourself in the third person, using the Your Name alias. It’s transparent.
Michelle is the most hateful blogger on the entire of BeliefNet. She attacks gays, atheists, Democrats, other religions. She is intolerant, hateful, spiteful and bigoted. She’s been whining for several months now because her God fearing religious party didn’t win office. Her rants have been getting more and more apoplectic with each passing day. Anybody who claims she isn’t hateful is either (a) deluded, or (b) one of the faithful (looking at you, Comrade MzEllen).
Stop it with the Astroturfing. Even Michelle must acknowledge she is hateful. Otherwise why would God have punished her with cancer? Or punished her with a black Democrat in office? Har har.

Your Name, I have to stand up for Michelle. She does have her moments, but hate-filled for all comers she is not. Like the true Luciferian she shows great potential to become, she reserves her hate for those it gives her pleasure or power to hate. She is not some willy-nilly Satanist in her hating. She has the potential to serve Lucifer well–and is off to a great start. Praise Lord Lucifer!

Michelle, stop writing about yourself in the third person, using the Your Name alias. It’s transparent.
snort…says “your name”
Once again, MzEllen defines her morality by the fact that she is better than those she opposes.
Once again…a straw man (yawn).

straw man? yes. accurate? yes.

AR – seeing as I never said that I’m better than anybody else here, I leave the questioning of other people’s salvation to Julie, I’m Reformed so I believe that we are all subject to total depravity…not at all better than anybody else.
I say repeatedly that we disagree politically – it’s the libs that want to make that translate into “hate”.
It’s rather amusing that “if you’re going to hold conservatives to one standard, you should hold yourself to the same standard” gets morphed into “you think you’re better…yada yada.
It confirms. Liberals here have a lower standard for themselves than they do conservatives. Here’s my (not) surprised look.