It tolls for thee, GOP.
I just heard that US Senator Arlen Spector, long-time (and many-term) Republican from Pennsylvania, has decided to switch parties and become a Democrat. Knock me over with a feather!
I suspect he did it because as a Republican, he'd be facing a nasty primary fight next spring against a really far right nut job, which he could well lose. That's the problem with "vote by party" primaries--the extremists and uber-zealots wield power way out of proportion to their lack of clout in the general election.
There's almost no doubt Spector would win the general election in the fall--if he were on the ballot. So his switching party affiliations must be designed to maximize his chances of making it onto that ballot in the first place.
Still, I shouldn't sell him short. In many ways, and for many years, he's been a relatively centrist, moderate, and sensible voice within the GOP. My biggest problem with him is the way he savaged Anita Hill during Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's confirmation hearings. Spector's behavior and tone were totally uncalled for and were, frankly, disgusting. It's obvious to me that Hill was telling the truth, because she had absolutely NOTHING to gain from doing so--while Thomas had a lot to gain by lying. But Spector did his GOP-mandated trashing and bashing, and Thomas was confirmed, despite the fact that he was totally unqualified. He's just a "me-too"er, a right-wing ditto head, taking his lead from Antonin Scalia. Creepy!
So I am not overjoyed that Spector has "seen the light." Nor do I see him making a world of difference to the Democrats in the Senate, even though with him and Al Franken (once former Minnesota Senator Coleman gives up his idiotic challenge to Franken's election), the Democrats will have a 60-vote majority. Spector will be a blue-dog Democrat, or as some like to describe the phenomenon, a DINO (Democrat-In-Name-Only).
But the psychological impact of Spector's defection cannot be overstated. The rats are leaving the sinking ship, boys. The GOP as a national party is sinking. USS Titanic redux!
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