Life is so unfair. The writers for The Daily Show and Colbert Report have the easiest jobs in the world. And all that time off to boot!

But the latest figures show that fundraising is still going good (I believe they beat the Dems in the last reporting period). That is the bottom line issue for party leaders. As long as the cash rolls in Steele is reasonably safe.

So will David Broder now say that republicans have to meoderate their views in order to make nummy bi-partizanship washington work???
Naw. when pigs fly.

Specter was asked about committee position. He said he was promised he will be positioned as he would have been if he had been elected as a Dem in 1980. Since Leahy was first elected in 1974, I assume that makes Specter #2.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele says he's glad to see Sen. Arlen Specter leave the party.

Uh, wait. Isn't what Steele said the exact opposite of that?

"Some in the Republican Party are happy about this. I am not."

The part of Steele's statement that made me laugh out loud was the part about Specter's 'left-wing voting record.'

Sure, Specter always went out of his way to sound moderate, but during the Bush Years he never failed to toe the Republican line when it was time to vote.

Steele: Clueless as ever.

Steele is right, in this case. Specter cares only about staying in power; he cares not for principles.

I don't think Specter's switch was primarily a cynical calculation about getting elected. As I wrote to Kevin Drum: ... you shouldn't conclude "It's hard to avoid the conclusion that Specter finds his views more in line with Democrats these days solely because there are 200,000 more of them in Pennsylvania than there used to be." Read his quote again, and note the context: "Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. [Then, noticing the results:] 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." [They moved too far to the right, so he and many voters are switching. He just took longer, being a pol. Yes it can help his re-election but that is clearly not the point.]

But this was really cool, at the post - it is more interesting to me right now than Specter's motivations (but I'm glad to have him on board):

UPDATE 3: In 1950, Specter participated in the National Debate Tournament, which addressed itself to the following topic: "Resolved: That the United States should nationalize the basic nonagricultural industries." How newly relevent! My father [Kevin Drum's, Dale] beat him, 969-964. Take that, Ivy League.
I guess Dale Drum was "for" and Specter, "against". I also see "James Q. Wilson" and "Charles Lindbergh" - "the" I presume since he was into issues too.

Really hoping Schmidt and Girl McCain start a new party.

PS: that for Kevin was in a comment, not an email.

The mechanism for replacing an RNC chair is tricky, so it's likely that Steele's job is safe.

Funny how PR ineptitude, a special election loss, and a defecting senator in a 40 seat caucus can make "tricky mechanisms" seem very "doable".

As long as the cash rolls in Steele is reasonably safe.

Steele's a goner with or without cash rolling in. Anybody can make cash roll in when your the defacto leader of corporate America. Steele can't stop the blood letting and that's what he was put in for. Bye, bye Mike.

For folks to whom everything comes down to "RAH RAH BLUE TEAM!" or "RAH RAH RED TEAM!" I'm sure this is all very exciting.

But the fact is that on the crucial issues facing the country, there are plenty of Democrats who legislate in the interests of the ultra-rich corporate oligarchy and against the interests of the American people and indeed of all humanity.

Whether Arlen Specter is a "Democratic" bought-and-paid-for corporate shill or a "Republican" bought-and-paid-for corporate shill, is somehow not all that interesting to me.

The first part of this post reads weird--first you claim that Steele is happy to see Specter go, then your very next quote from him reads "Some in the Republican Party are happy about this. I am not. "
Regardless of Steele's complete incompetence and ridiculous claim about Specter's voting record, the claim you make seems slightly inaccurate as well. At least, it reads weird to me. No big deal though, I live in Pa. and will be happy if it means the EFCA gets an up or down vote.
Kos indicates it still might not even make it out of committee.

For folks to whom everything comes down to "RAH RAH BLUE TEAM!" or "RAH RAH RED TEAM!" I'm sure this is all very exciting...Whether Arlen Specter is a "Democratic" bought-and-paid-for corporate shill or a "Republican" bought-and-paid-for corporate shill, is somehow not all that interesting to me.

Well, thanks for submerging your total lack of interest long enough to write that hugely significant and totally unrepetitive comment. Rising above crushing ennui in order to take advantage of a teaching moment is the height of selflessness, and we're grateful.

Left out was the first big blunder of Michael Steele's Chairmanship: They picked Michael Steele for the job. Seriously, while Steele has been a bonehead, the writing was on the wall when they decided that this bonehead was the best they had.

Whether Arlen Specter is a "Democratic" bought-and-paid-for corporate shill or a "Republican" bought-and-paid-for corporate shill, is somehow not all that interesting to me.
Posted by: SecularAnimist

I agree with your premise, but in the political world this is the equivalent of a magnitude 7.9 earthquake. A major shift has just taken place and whether Specter is a D or R shill does matter. Look we all would like progressive change, but for those looking for ideological purity, it ain't going to happen. From a pragmatist perspective this does matter.

Secular Animist and others on this and previous threads sound really unhappy with this.

People, can we remember the 2002 midterms, or in through there please? Remember how the Republicans used to have 55 seats in the Senate? Look, we're not about to legalize gay marriage in every state and remake "This Land Is Your Land" into our National Anthem, but this is a small measure of progress, and it's a good thing to be celebrated.

We have lost a shitty liberal Republican senator, but gained a shitty conservative Democratic one. I don't see how this is all that great for Democrats, who have more than their fair share of these self-righteous Blue Dog types already. As Kos observed, the ideal situation would have been for Specter to lose the primary to Toomey, and then run a credible, progressive Democrat against a real wingnut.

On the other hand, this is yet another piece of fantastic news for Michael Steele just coming off his amazing performance in the NY-20 race. If these things come in threes, he's gotta be bracing for a good, old-fashioned gay hooker scandal to break in the next week or two.

Posted by me earlier at TalkLeft:

"The GOP is well on its way to being driven south of the Potomac and the Ohio, southeast of the Mississippi, and well inland from the Pacific Coast.

Further, judging by the last two statewide elections in the wake of the VECO scandal, the Republicans' Arctic stronghold of Alaska has also come under siege. Democrats have organized and now control the State Senate, and are only four behind in the Alaska House, 22-18 -- meaning that but three seats now stand between them and the Speaker's chair. Even Gov. Sarah Palin isn't necessarily a lock for re-election at this point.

If Republicans want to demand that members of our party now refer to ourselves as "Democrat Socialists", then it's only fair that the GOP likewise reconstitute itself as the 'Whistling Dixies'."

i agree with secular animist. although this is great on its face (and fun to watch "conservative" heads explode) i worry about the continued rightward drift of the democratic party.

i understand that specter was promised that he would have seniority privileges as if he had been a democrat since he was first elected to the senate. giving a lifelong republican that kind of power within the democratic caucus seems to me to be wrong for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is knocking "real" democratic senators down a rung on the seniority ladder.

but, hey, lieberman wasn't tossed overboard, so i can't say it surprises me that specter was promised this.

and shortstop, you might not agree with secular animist but your nastiness is unwarranted and unappreciated. the comment threads here are remarkable for their civility. let's keep it that way.

Uh, wait. Isn't what Steele said the exact opposite of that?

Yeah. Benen appears to be a measure once, cut twice kind of guy.

We should rename Steele to Baldrick:

"I have a cunning plan..."

jonas: "If these things come in threes, [GOP Chair Michael Steele has] gotta be bracing for a good, old-fashioned gay hooker scandal to break in the next week or two."

From Woody Allen's Love and Death (1975):

SONYA (Diane Keaton): "There are many different kinds of love, Boris. There's love between a man and a woman; between a mother and son ..."

BORIS (Woody Allen): "Two women. Let's not forget my favorite."

karen marie: "... and shortstop, you might not agree with secular animist but your nastiness is unwarranted and unappreciated. the comment threads here are remarkable for their civility. let's keep it that way."

Two thoughts here:

(1) While I really fail to see the difference between the two comments, tone-wise, you should really learn to discern the difference between true "nastiness" and plain ol' sarcasm.

(2) You haven't been posting here nearly as long as either shortstop and secular animist, and I trust their respective personal judgments regarding where to draw the line in a robust political discussion. As the late Democratic House Speaker Thomas "Tip" O'Neill was fond of saying, "Politics ain't beanbag."

Specter is first and foremost attempting to save his own ass. Life as a senator is pretty sweet and he would eat a lot of poo if he thought it would guarantee his continued life as a vacillating corporate shill with benefits.

It's cool that Dems have the momentum that makes AS's switch his best hope, but he can't be trusted any more than Lieberputz. It would be fantastic for him to have sold out his lifetime membership in RepubCo just to get his butt kicked in the Dem primary.

Hopefully Dems in Pennsylvania will look at the disappointed voters of Connecticut and pay attention to that cautionary tale.

"Multiple polls show the GOP shrinking into a tiny national minority."

I can't wait until the weekend after the GOP get's down to just one guy, tune in that Sunday to see the one remaining Republican cover "both sides" of every issue on every political roundtable show.

This Sunday, look for Lindsay Graham and John Cornyn to "debate" the effect of Specter's defection on Congress. Should be great fun.

shortstop, you might not agree with secular animist

Secular Animist is a big boy who can take punches as well as he throws them, karen marie. As it happens, I agree with him on most issues (including on the excessively corporatist tendencies of many Dems) and tell him so in these threads frequently. I don't, however, see the point of dropping a condescending, sneering post into the middle of a discussion to inform everyone of how unworthy that discussion is. I'd have thought that was moderately obvious from my comment, which gigged him for his tone, not his content.

I can't wait until the weekend after the GOP get's down to just one guy, tune in that Sunday to see the one remaining Republican cover "both sides" of every issue on every political roundtable show.

Now that made me laugh out loud. I only hope he changes chairs between comments.

Shortstop was right on the money. I thought the animist comment missed the point with its derisive "a plague on both your houses" context. I am excited that the debate will again focus on moderate versus liberal elements, rather than fascist versus really fascist conservative false constructs. This ends the unholy coalition between moderate republicans and the radical right. That was always a marriage of political expediency. Like all non-traditional marriages, it was tough to make work without having some legally binding recognition. Think of the children!

Any truth to the rumor that Evan Bayh will switch parties and become a Democrat, too?

"...due to his left-wing voting record."..."???

WTF? This is definite proof as to how far right the party has moved if Steele considers Specter's voting record...left wing.

One look at Steele should tell anyone how much of a manipulating, deceitful, opportunist he is besides being willfully ignorant.

The republican party is being exposed and they think that rather than change they just need to present them selves in new ways. "We don't need to change we just have to look like we have".

Less brain tissue means more left-leaning.

For folks to whom everything comes down to "RAH RAH BLUE TEAM!" or "RAH RAH RED TEAM!" I'm sure this is all very exciting.

Its also interesting to people who noted Specter's shift farther to the right recently, in a bid to remain viable given the Republican primary challenge; if he, as one would expect, moves back leftward from where he is now in terms of his voting behavior now that he is going to be running as a Democrat in what is likely to be a contested primary, that can have significant near-term impacts on legislation.

Specter may be a self-interested opportunist, but a self-interested opportunist trying to get votes from a Republican primary electorate has different incentives than one trying to get votes from a Democratic primary electorate in the same state.

STEVE BENEN:

Did you read the quote from Steele? He seems to be saying the opposite of what you are saying:

You said:

REMEMBER, 'IT'S ALL STRATEGIC'.... Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele says he's glad to see Sen. Arlen Specter leave the party.

Quoting Steele:

"Some in the Republican Party are happy about this. I am not."

What does "I am not." mean to you? "Not" sorta means "not" to me.

Another glaring error goes uncorrected for hours.