Ladies and Gentlemen, Arlen Specter has left the “big tent” (meanwhile, Phil Spector is still in the Big House).

The Republican Senator from Pennsylvania announced today that he would be switching party affiliations and running as a Democratic candidate in 2010. Now, I had noticed that Specter was beginnng to make a bit more sense in his TV appearances of late, and I’d heard rumors that members of the Donkey Brigade had been working on him for a while. I just didn’t expect him to actually jump ship.

This news is particularly significant because it affords the Dems a 60-member fillibuster-proof majority, pending the arrival of one Senator Al Franken. It also continues the demographic and ideological shift among the Keystone State voter population. Specter:

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.

You don’t say.

To quote Harvey Keitel in Pulp Fiction, let’s not start sucking each other’s dicks quite yet. (Wow, I really just typed that.) Specter likely made the move in part due to pragmatic political calculus — he’s up for reelection next year, and was facing a difficult primary battle against former Rep. Pat Toomey. Factor in the ever-shrinking GOP voter base in PA and the hurdles he’d face as a third-party candidate, and going Dem was the only viable way to keep his seat.

Hey there, Joe Lieberman — it’s not to late for you to come back to the fold, too. . .

Psych!

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About the author

Casey Rae
Casey Rae is a musician, public policy wonk and the editor/publisher of The Contrarian Media. An in-demand speaker, he gives frequent talks at conferences and campuses on issues at the intersection of creativity, technology, policy and law, and is a go-to source for major media outlets from NPR to the New York Times. Casey works alongside leaders in the music, arts and performance sectors to bolster understanding of and engagement in key policy and technology issues, and has written dozens of articles on the impact of technology on the creative community. Casey is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and the Deputy Director for Future of Music Coalition. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Media & Democracy Coalition and the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture. The Contrarian does not necessarily represent the views of the organizations to which he belongs.