Specter was stripped of his seniority .....

[Hieronymus]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/05/AR2009050504344.html?hpid=topnews

There is a God.

[BattyDem]

1. Oh gee, that's too bad.

:rofl:

[izzie]

18. Is he the same Sen. that sent all the rules ahead when he traveled

You know that the hand ball court had to be at this temp. etc. It was one of the funny thing I read at one time. Like the 'royals' of old. I just as soon not see this guy get in to Congress next time he runs. Frankly as an old f--- my self I say get the other old f--- out and let us see some new thinkers. Hard to get those old guys to re-think any thing they are sure is right.

[AtomicKitten]

2. But I heard him say he was entitled.

:puke:

[solara]

3. Amen

:patriot:

[Beacool]

4. Serves him right.

Never trust a backstabber.

x(

[backscatter712]

13. As Baron Vladimir Harkonnen once said:

Never trust a traitor, not even one you create.

[Beacool]

23. Absolutely!!

They only serve one master: themselves. They will betray you when it serves their purpose.

[razorman]

35. I agree. This is one thing that Democrats and Republicans can agree on.

Specter is a POS rat, and cannot be trusted by anyone.

[Clio the Leo]

5. What a GREAT way to encourage more to switch.

:sarcasm:

[vaberella]

17. Do we want more to switch?

So far Spector switching has meant nothing for us. I'd rather have the loyal and steadfast Dems than the ones who where Dem skins but are Repubs through and through.

[Clio the Leo]

19. Yeah! It's been a week! What has he done for us lol....

... like I've said before, I'll take all I can get.

We laugh and joke about the GOP being a dying breed ..... where are we expecting those fleeing members to go? ;)

[MadBadger]

28. In a week, he voted against the Budget.

[Clio the Leo]

39. And so did 20 other Democrats ......

.... whos loyalties we apparently aren't worried about? Are they not valued members of our party? Or shall we send all 21 of them over to the GOP?

[MadBadger]

40. I am worried about their loyalties as well. Bayh and Nelson voted no too

Bayh is trying to run an obstructionist wing of the party (conservadems), though it seems its just for him. Ben Nelson has been a thorn in our sides many times, and the overwhelming majority of the Dems in the house were blue dog dipshits like Heath Shuler


So I have plenty of anger to dole out.

[onenote]

26. he could swtich back if it meant that much

Every situation is different. Specter faced almost certain defeat unless he abandoned the repubs. He could've become an independent and had no claim on seniority. Or he could become a Democrat and have a case for getting seniority, if not immediately, then after he actually gets elected as a Democrat.

No precedent is set by this. If another repub -- one with a chance of winning as a repub -- wanted to switch, the case might be stronger for giving them seniority.

[DFW]

6. Was he expecting to be welcomed with a 21 gun salute?

Instead of coming with grace and humility, he abuses his welcome immediately by saying he will
be disloyal and will not support a practically sure-to-be-seated Al Franken to join him in a
very welcome Democratic (in theory, anyway) majority.

To cross the aisle on the floor of the U.S. Senate takes only a step.

It is another matter entirely to walk the walk.

[ccharles000]

7. lovely

[Merlot]

8. I don't like the fact that reid promised him his seniority

and then took it away. It should have not been promised.

[Hieronymus]

10. I don't. The bastard started talking crazy ... not a loyal Democrat ... hoping

Coleman was confirmed.

[vaberella]

16. Reid has a big mouth and I think at times his ego is too big for his britches.

Reid could not have promised anything. The Senate committee never promised Spector anything in order to take it away. Reid did..and he couldn't give or make a promise on his own, yet he did..so he's lost a bit of respect there..but overall the decision was never his to make, for it to be Reid to take it away.

[nomaco-10]

21. reid is the majority leader, it's certainly within his...

perameters to make a deal with specter. i wouldn't be a bit surprised if reid came out within the next 48 hours and gave specter back his committee seniority. reid tends to collapse like a cheap suit if somebody says boo to him. look how he handled lieberliar.

[Dinger]

44. Well You Sure Called This One

reid. what a wimp

[truebrit71]

33. Reid is as useful as a kickstand on a Jackass...and an embarrassment to the party...

...we need a new leader...Boxer/Feingold/Durbin would be fine with me...

[onenote]

25. did reid ever say he made that promise? Or did Specter say it?

Big difference.

[cliffordu]

9. Welllllll....

:rofl:

[Bolo Boffin]

11. I guess he'll start calling for Franken to be seated NOW. n/t

[The Magistrate]

12. Excellent News, Sir!

After his comments this Sunday, there is not much point even in allowing him to attend our caucus. The flat statement, "I am not a loyal Democrat' is pretty hard to argue with.

"The difficulty in employing double agents is assessing correctly on which side the balance of treachery will come to rest."

[Born_A_Truman]

30. Dem primary challengers have probably already used this in their commercials!

[The Magistrate]

36. And It Ought To Be a Devastating Clip, Ma'am, Too: 'I Am Not a Loyal Democrat' Says Arlen Specter

There is no reason for our Party to give this reptile a new lease on political life, unless he begins to show a convert's fervor, and becomes, as they say, more Catholic than the Pope. Which he shows not the slightest sign of doing.

[Kaleko]

14. He should be stripped of his thinking cap as well.

It's shot full of holes like a slice of swiss cheese, apparently.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

34. But all those holes were made by a single magic bullet n/t

.

[vaberella]

15. I thought we figured there was a God when O was voted into office.

This just proves there's justice.

This is brilliant...I mean I don't want to say that O knows all and everything and turn him into some sort of "messiah" :P But I must say he must have suspected this might go down. Sure we'll help you...if we can. The more he fucks up the more they set to get rid of him. Spector leaving the Repubs hurts...and helps Dems (in the weirdest and most minute way) however...if in the end he loses to a Dem...one who is definitely more Loyal it's a TOTAL win for the Dems and an even bigger blow for the Repubs.

[olkaz]

20. Good news.

But, nope, still no god.

[ClarkUSA]

22. Reid did well. This is carrot-and-stick to get Spector to behave until 2011. (Quote -->)

Democrats have suggested that they will consider revisiting Specter's seniority claim at the committee level only after next year's midterm elections.

"This is all going to be negotiated next Congress," Jim Manley, a Reid spokesman, said last night.

Specter's office declined to comment.

[MADem]

29. The majority leader giveth, and the majority leader taketh away. Very clever. NT

[Dappleganger]

24. WTF did he expect?

With all of those anti-Dem comments he's made, his rethug voting record and indicating he has no intention of voting Dem for pretty much anything else--they man deserves to sit in the corner with the dunce cap on his head for the rest of his term.

[TheKentuckian]

27. Beat him down!

Play ball or suck eggs.

[Freddie Stubbs]

31. Then you can probably forget about Snowe or Collins ever crossing over

[The Magistrate]

38. They Are Not Going To, Sir, In Any Case

They are not in trouble with their primary electorates, and are re-elected handily running at-large.

If the man is coming over, then let him come over, putting some real heart into it, and supporting President Obama's policies, programs, and nominees. If he does not do this, he has not come across the aisle at all, really.

The man is simply fishing for another term, and he does not deserve one, whether he calls himself a Democrat or a Republican.

[WinkyDink]

43. Oh, gee.

[SerfinUSA]

32. I do not understand why he switched

and why we wanted him?

[razorman]

37. He switched purely for his personal electoral prospects.

It looked as if he was certain to lose in the next Republican primary, so he turned on his party to keep his seat. He was always a RINO, and they never trusted him, anyway. We accepted him for the numbers, to try and reach the magic "60" in the Senate. Now, it looks as if he is going to be a DINO, and not be worth anything to the Democratic party, either. I think he is mentally unable to actually be loyal to his own, regardless of the party. A turncoat is a turncoat.

[Orsino]

41. He's now the Senate's most junior Dem.

Let's see how hard he's willing to work to earn seniority. I think he now has to straighten the chairs and clap the erasers, at least until Franken shows up.

[WinkyDink]

42. Couldn't happen to a nicer Not Necessarily Loyal Democrat!