Anybody who has been following Specters career knew this would happen. You can always count on his vote when you don't need it. And you can never count on his vote when you do. (Of course, by "you" I mean Democrats).

Yeah, I kind of figured this would happen. And I have no idea why Specter would kowtow to the same right-wingers that want to kick him out of office. As if this will assuage them.

Specter has been loyal to a fault to Republicans, and they have repaid him with this: Steele saying he'll fund a right-wing challenger, Norquist taunting him to stay on their side, and nobody sticking up for the dude. Evidently Republican leaders have some sort of mind control over their "moderates". It's the only possibility.

I can't wait till this clown gets a challenger. I won't be able to log onto ActBlue quick enough.

Its all horsepuckey. The Republicans don't matter and their filibuster does not matter.

All the majority party does in response to a legislative filibuster is to roll all their controversial bills into one and sit out the fiibuster. With only 40 GOP senators that is a week at most. Specter may be willing to vote against cloture, but expecting these people to actually talk the bill out is ridiculous. Maybe the GOP has 15 hard core Thurmond types willing to take it to the diaper. But if their bluff is called it will be more like 5.

You want to do it as infrequently as possible so you roll all the bills into one.

The GOP will squeak about bipartisanship as if trying to stop a manifesto commitment of the majority party, an issue on which they have a clear mandate by talking it out is somehow 'bipartisan'.

The majority party can also make life less pleasant for the minority in retaliation.

My uncle here in Pennsylvania is Republican, is a member of his township's council, is well-versed and -connected politically (from his side of the fence, anyway), etc. He hates Specter. Hates him with a passion. He said he's already got his Toomey signs ready to go. This will not persuade the base to back him in the primary. Specter's done.

This will not persuade the base to back him in the primary. Specter's done.

Good. Pennsylvania gets its second Democratic senator.

Why the F*ck should anyone have expected otherwise?

Spectre has been all blow and no show throughout the Bush admin. To expect anything from him beyond talk and talk and talk and then vote rethug is foolish optimism.

This just adds to the display of idiocy of progressives who talked of Specter becoming a dumbocrap. If he did, it would be to join Evan Bayh's band of merry subversives!

We need to get Al Franken in the senate, Specter was always going to flip flop anyway.

It's painful to lose his support, but I don't think Specter ever mattered. Evan Bayh's cavalcade of corporate conservadems will never let this pass.

They really won't be happy until the proletariat is rioting in the streets, not eating the cake that congress has so graciously told them to enjoy.

That progressives had any hope of Specter supporting American workers over Corporate interests shows their ongoing idiocy.

All of the talk about a 60 vote majority was totally crap. There will NEVER be dumbocrap togetherness and party discipline like rethugs do.

All of the kowtowing of Obama & Reid to the non-progressives is continuing to be a strategy that will continuously backfire!

Joe LIEbereman should have been punished for smearing Obama during last year's campaign!

Evan Bayh should be stripped of all seniority for leading a rebellion of the DLC/DINO/Rethug-Lites!

I do not accept the rethug mantra that you have to make people fear you. But, if you continue to give up your objectives to satisfy the reich-wing of the dumbocrap party, what the f*ck are you going to accomplish for the working people of our country?

All hope is lost only for this Congress. After Specter and another 2-3 vulnerable Republicans lose their seats next year, the Democrats will have a filibuster-proof majority and EFCA will pass.

To Hell with Harry...

Specter makes it official: he'll oppose EFCA, and support Harry Reid's phantom filibuster.

Don't blame Specter. Blame Reid:

And fixing the problem would not require any change in Senate rules. The phantom filibuster could be done away with overnight by the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid. All he needs to do is call the minority’s bluff by bringing a challenged measure to the floor and letting the debate begin.

Specter is merely trying to stay in office. Reid has no such excuse.
As long as Harry leads them, the Dems will be a soft-gut party that will take its yellow showers sitting down and with its mouth wide open in feeble protest...

To be a dem... is to learn to love the smell of urine in the morning.

Didn't the AFL-CIO promise their full support if he stood with EFCA? And he turned for what---given that he's damaged goods on both sides of the aisle?

Or maybe this is Arlen's way of "going Galt": walking away from all his votes, his sanity, his common sense, and saying that it'll somehow bring the Government to its knees....

Well, at least there's plenty of time for me to change parties in order to vote for Toomey in the primary.

Memo to Harry Reid -- Make these mf'ers filibuster, or step aside for a real leader.

We Progressives had hope because Specter's only chance of remaining in the Senate was to have labor behind him. This is now gone. Hello to the 60th Democratic Senator.

Also, I really, REALLY hope this isn't a sign that Specter cut a deal with Toomey / Club For Growth.

That sound you hear is the sound of Specter's career ending. His only chance of reelection was to flip Indy or Democrat and tack to the left.

Someone is surprised that sdnarlin' Arlen is anything but a worthless piece of shit who always worries about the personal best interests of snarlin' Arlen? I mean, this sub-human collection of dog-barg is a Republican. You were expecting an actual human being???