Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter Defects, Joins Dems [Writing on the Wall]

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, previously the fifth most senior Republican member in the Senate, today announced that he is switching sides and joining the ranks of the Democratic party.

In a written statement, which Ben Smith reposted on Politico, Specter declares, "Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans."

Smith also reports that Vice President Joe Biden, who's in Austin today to visit the National Domestic Violence Hotline headquarters, was "deeply involved in the talks with Specter." Specter's switch bumps up the official tally of Dems (or those similarly inclined) in the Senate to where, if Franken's suit in Minnesota is successful, would effectively ruin any attempts by the Republicans at a filibuster.

Specter will run for re-election as a Democrat next year.