From Specter's press conference yesterday:

And for the people who are Republicans, to sit by and allow them to continue to dominate the party after they beat Chafee, cost us Republican control of the Senate, and cost us 34 federal judges, there oughtta be a rebellion. There oughtta be an uprising.

I was applauding the decision by Specter yesterday but not for the reasons that I heard on Rush Limbaugh. I was happy with the decision because this was one rooted in ideology and a core belief in the "big tent" theory of American politics. Don't get me wrong, I am not naive in thinking that the poll numbers for the Republican primary we not a factor in his decision but that was the push Specter needed to jump off the cliff.

Specter has been in the spotlight for years because he was the senior member of a group of moderate Republican Senators that refused to compromise their core beliefs for the sake of a party vote. As the party moved more to the right (some say radically to the right) this group became more vilified. Over the past 6 years, their numbers have dwindled and with the numbers in the Senate within the margin of the 60 vote threshold, they became important to the process. The gang of 14 incident, when the "nuclear option" was discussed was their hey day. The party set out to destroy what little control these members had on the process. Enter Club for Growth.

The Club for Growth has set out make the Republican Party ideologically pure. They have made it clear that they challenge seats that are held by Republicans that do no meet their ideological standards and, for the most part, have been unsuccessful. The primaries they have won, have led to loses in the general or have succeeded in weakening the moderate candidates that have led to loses. That is what Specter was referring to in the video I posted yesterday. Pat Toomey challenged Specter 4 years ago in one such primary battle and almost beat him.

The real loss for the party at the hand of Club for Growth was the defeat of Linc Chaffee in Rhode Island. Chaffee was beat up in the primary though he did win. He spent a ton of money and went into the general with little in the war chest and little support from the portion of the Republican party that did not support him in the primary. He ended up losing to Sheldon Whitehouse (who happened to be a childhood friend of Chaffee's).

There is an incredible amount of political issues this decision disrupts on all levels. On a national level and the Senate in particular, this could give the D's a filabuster proof majority if Franken is ever seated in MN. In Pa, there are too many to discuss. The biggest is the 2010 election and the effect on down ballot Republican candidates. I will write more about this implication later.

Here is one last quote from today's WSJ:

Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter's decision to become a Democrat underscores his former party's political downward spiral.

In losing control of the House and Senate over the past four years, congressional Republicans have also lost much of their ideological and geographic diversity -- raising questions about the GOP's viability as a national party. The party has suffered in particular in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions, and among moderates.