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Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Specter To Switch Parties — UPDATED, 2:10 p.m. Continue following the story here. — Original Post — Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter will switch his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat and announced today that he will run in 2010 as a Democrat, according to a statement he released this morning.
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PoliticsPA:
Statement by Senator Arlen Specter — I have been a Republican since 1966. I have been working extremely hard for the Party, for its candidates and for the ideals of a Republican Party whose tent is big enough to welcome diverse points of view. While I have been comfortable being a Republican, my Party has not defined who I am.
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The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Young Philly Politics, CNN, CQ Politics, Time, The Daily Dish, The Plum Line, George's Bottom Line, Weekly Standard, NPR Blogs, MSNBC, The Swamp, Newshoggers.com, City Pages, Betsy's Page, Daily Kos, ONTD: Politics, Macleans.ca, Opinion L.A. and Hotline On Call
Lisa Lerer / The Politico:
Two Republicans blame conservatives — Two leading Republicans say Sen. Arlen Specter's decision to become a Democrat highlights the hostility moderates feel from an increasingly conservative GOP. — “You haven't certainly heard warm encouraging words about how [the GOP] views moderates …
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William Kristol / PostPartisan:
Good News for Republicans! — On May 24, 2001, I wrote an op-ed for The Post in the wake of Vermont Sen. James Jeffords's party switch. I argued that the switch, which cost Republicans control of the Senate, could well turn out to be good for President Bush.
Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
CNN's Rick Sanchez calls out DeMint's vapid talking point: ‘What the hell does that mean?’ — Today, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) appeared on CNN to talk about Sen. Arlen Specter's switch to the Democratic party. Host Rick Sanchez asked DeMint about Specter's statement that the Republican party …
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Washington Monthly
The Huffington Post:
Snowe: GOP Has Abandoned Principles; Specter Switch “Devastating” — Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, one of the few remaining moderate Republicans in the Senate, said Tuesday that Arlen Specter's abandonment of the GOP is “devastating,” both “personally and I think for the party.”
The New Republic:
Unprincipled Hack (D-PA) — When a politician switches parties, it's customary for the party he's abandoned to denounce him as an unprincipled hack, and the party he's joined to praise him as a brave convert who's genuinely seen the light. But I think it's pretty clear that Specter is an unprincipled hack.
Newt Gingrich / Washington Post:
Arlen Specter's Switch — The Post asked politicians, former officials and others about the Pennsylvania senator's defection from the Republican Party. — Former Republican speaker of the House — Arlen Specter's decision to leave the Republican Party in name as he left it in spirit …
The New Majority:
Another Triumph for the Club for Growth — With Arlen Specter's defection, all that stands between the Democrats and a 60-seat Senate majority are Norman Coleman's lawyers. I wish them every success - but they have not exactly been on an winning streak to date.
Discussion:
AmSpecBlog, The Washington Independent, Blogs and Stories, Eunomia, Hot Air, Daily Kos and The Caucus
CNN:
Limbaugh to Specter: Please take McCain with you — (CNN) — Conservative host Rush Limbaugh said Tuesday he isn't sorry to see Arlen Specter leave the GOP — and that many Republicans wish the Pennsylvania senator would take a few others with him when he goes.
Discussion:
Hot Air
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
What Specter's switch says about him, the Democrats and our political spectrum — (updated below - Update II) — I just contributed my thoughts on Arlen Specter's party switch to the New York Times' “Room for Debate” segment, so I'll post the link to that once that is available (see Update II) …
Ramesh Ponnuru / The Corner:Specter on Jeffords — When Jim Jeffords became an “Independent” …
Discussion:
The New Republic
The Huffington Post:Limbaugh To Specter: Take McCain And His Daughter With You
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Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Glenn Thrush / Glenn Thrush's Blog:Specter tried to block party switching
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Los Angeles Times
Katharine Q. Seelye / The Caucus:Specter Speaks, Defends Decision to Leave Republican Party
Discussion:
CNN
WCBS-TV:
FAA Memo: Feds Knew NYC Flyover Would Cause Panic — Threatened Federal Sanctions Against NYPD, Secret Service, FBI & Mayor's Office If Secret Ever Got Out — Furious Obama Apologizes: “It Will Never Happen Again” — CBS News Interactive: Sept. 11 And Since
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JammieWearingFool, Gawker, The Strata-Sphere, Gateway Pundit, Blue Crab Boulevard, Don Surber and DISSENTING JUSTICE
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JammieWearingFool:
Wonderful: Feds Knew NYC Flyover Would Cause Panic, Proceeded Anyway — One of those rare times I'm in agreement with Chuckie Schumer. … The idea Obama had no knowledge of what was happening with his own plane is nonsense. It's just not plausible. — He deliberately allowed this to happen.
Emily Kaiser / City Pages:
Bachmann: ‘Interesting coincidence’ that Dems in power during swine flu outbreak — Rep. Michele Bachmann came up with another doozy during her interview Monday with Pajamas TV. Does anyone think it's “interesting” that the last time we saw swine flu was during another Democratic president?
Discussion:
Respectful Insolence
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Eric Kleefeld / TPMDC:Bachmann: Swine Flu Happens Under Dem Presidents
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Congress Matters
Declan McCullagh / CBS News:
DHS Sets Guidelines For Possible Swine Flu Quarantines — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has sent a memo to some health care providers noting procedures to be followed if the swine flu outbreak eventually makes quarantines necessary. — DHS Assistant Secretary Bridger McGaw circulated …
RELATED:
Andrew Blankstein / L.A. Now:Two L.A. County deaths possibly related to swine flu, coroner says [Updated]
CNN:
HHS secretary confirmed in midst of outbreak — (CNN) — The Senate confirmed former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as secretary of Health and Human Services Tuesday on a 65-31 vote. — The timely vote will put Sebelius in office as the Obama administration is up against its first public health outbreak.
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Joseph Abrams / Fox News:
Despite Reports, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Was Not Waterboarded 183 Times — The number of times Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was waterboarded was the focus of major media attention — and highly misleading. — FOXNews.com — The New York Times reported last week that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed …
Bill Vlasic / New York Times:
Holdouts Jeopardize Debt Plan for Chrysler — DETROIT — The Obama administration is prepared to force Chrysler into bankruptcy by the end of the week unless it gets unanimous consent from a group of banks and hedge funds to retire the automaker's debt. — The Treasury Department has told …
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Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Major defeat for Bush/Obama position on secrecy — [updated below (interview with lead counsel Ben Wizner of the ACLU) - Update II] — The first sign that the Obama DOJ would replicate many of the worst and most radical arguments of the Bush DOJ was in the Jeppesen case …
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