When Arlen Specter became a Democrat nearly three weeks ago, everyone in Washington was extremely “surprised,” but nobody was really all that surprised. Specter had been taking a beating from the right for, among other things, supporting the stimulus bill. He had lost the confidence of many in his party and, to ward off attackers, he was tacking steadily to the right to protect himself from a primary challenge he nonetheless seemed poised to lose.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=142730