Specter Officially Leaves the GOP

Senator Arlen Specter’s statement this morning, although not out-of-the-blue, stunned Senate GOP leaders. The PA Senator would have been facing a strong GOP primary challenge against Club for Growth Chairman Pat Toomey, Specter’s team thought he couldn’t win it.

Sen. Mich McConnell called the move a “defection.” GOP leaders, some of whom had vowed to stand behind Specter in the race against Toomey, now feel betrayed by the RINO.

RNC Chairman Michael Steele on Specter’s “slap in the face”:

Specter’s statement:

My view is, Specter should have been termed out long ago, nobody should spend 30 years in the Senate… Now we might have to see his shrivled face on CSPAN for yet another six. Many Republicans have been calling for a more “open,” less conservative party–They’re wrong. RINOs like Specter, Graham, McCain, Snow, and Collins don’t help the Republican party or the cause of freedom, they only make us look unorganized, out-of-touch, and squishy… I only wish that I could say good riddance, but he’s going to stick around…This was a political play by a career politician to keep power in his own hands at the expense of the American people.