Arlen Specter: Our Newest Democrat

I like the National Jewish Democratic Council's take on this news story better than anyone's:

NJDC welcomes Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter to the Democratic Party.

The Democratic Party of 2009 is an inclusive party that believes political parties should be big tents. In contrast, the Republican Party of 2009 is a party which believes in circling the wagons into an ever smaller and smaller circle until only the ideologically pure are welcome. Senator Specter has been a Republican since 1966 but he has never been a conservative ideologue. It has become increasingly clear in recent years that he is not ideologically pure enough for the Republican activists of today.

The Republican Party’s continued shift to the right has had negative implications for GOP support in the Jewish community. Despite the fact that in every election cycle conservative Jewish activists claim that Jews are becoming more Republican, the Jewish vote for Republicans at the national level is stuck at about 20%. Moreover, over the last decade there are fewer and fewer Republican Jewish office holders at the national level.

With Specter joining the Democratic Party, he becomes the 12th member of the Senate that is Jewish and caucuses with the Democrats. When Al Franken, another Jewish Democrat, gets seated as the second Minnesota senator, there will be 13 Jewish senators who caucus with the Democrats in the Senate (compared to zero who caucus with the GOP). Democrats will then have 60 seats in the Senate, reducing the possibility of Republican filibusters.

I am not happy to have another right wing Democrat. But I AM happy to welcome Specter into the big tent that is the Democratic Party. I should note Pete McClosky, another high profile convert to the Democratic Party, suggested this was a possibility.

And the response from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee:

Moments ago, longtime GOP Senator Arlen Specter, a Republican since 1966, announced he is switching parties and becoming a Democrat!

Senator Specter's bombshell comes on the heels of Democratic Congressman-elect Scott Murphy's come from behind victory in NY-20. It also comes as the ongoing legal battle in Minnesota draws closer to a conclusion that will now make Al Franken the 60th Democratic vote in the U.S. Senate.

You were the ones who made these incredible developments happen. This is the clearest possible evidence of the power that grassroots Democrats like you have to create change.

In making his announcement that he is now a Democrat, Senator Specter said, "I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans. When I supported the stimulus package, I knew that it would not be popular with the Republican Party. But, I saw the stimulus as necessary to lessen the risk of a far more serious recession than we are now experiencing."

Your incredible grassroots support for President Obama's economic agenda is not only proving that the Republicans' "just say no" approach is wrong for America but it's also helping drive proud Democratic candidates like Scott Murphy to victory and driving courageous leaders like Senator Specter away from their party.

Thank you again for keeping up the fight to bring change to Washington.