Specter Switches Parties

President Obama is “thrilled” to have Specter on the Democratic side of the aisle, a breaking new development occuring on this, the President’s 100th day in office.

Specter, a Republican Senator from Pennsylvania, was facing a radically conservative primary electorate and polling that proved just how unpopular his deal-making on the economic stimulus bill had become within his party.

Now, trying to get himself into the general election, Specter is switching parties so that “the people of Pennsylvania” could judge his 30-year record without being blocked by a party that, in his mind, has abandoned the center for the far-right since Reagan’s (and Specter’s) victory in 1980.

The dramatic switch is causing a firestorm on Capitol Hill, as the GOP leadership huddles in emergency session to figure out how to weather the news cycle.

It’s quite exciting, even if the consequences (filibuster-proof) are not nearly as dramatic as a switch in majority parties (as with Jeffords in 2001).