In a move that brings the Democrats a step closer to a 60-seat majority that could enable it to block filibusters, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said today he plans to cross the aisle and join the majority party.
"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 said in a statement.
Specter, who has been in the Senate since 1981, has been a key player on a range of domestic policy issues ranging from judicial nominations to health care policy. He was one of the few moderate Republicans left in Congress.
His decision prevents him from facing a heated primary challenge next year, where he was likely to be challenged by at least one conservative candidate, former Rep. Patrick Toomey, who almost defeated Specter in the 2004 primary.
In anticipation of that primary, the political action committees of both CUNA and NAFCU have made contributions to Specter's campaign thus year.
Specter began his political career as a Democrat but switched to the GOP after tangling with members of the Philadelphia political machine during the 1960s. In addition to his work in the Senate, he is well known for his service as deputy counsel to the Warren Commission, which assassination of President Kennedy. Specter is the leading proponent of the single-bullet theory.
With Specter's switch that gives the Democrats 59 votes, including those of independents Joseph Lieberman and Bernard Sanders who caucus with the party for organizational purpose. If Al Franken, who is ahead in the recounts in the race for a Senate seat in Minnesota, prevails, the Democrats will have 60 votes.
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