There’s something I like about Arlen Specter’s party-switching statement. He begins with the nonsense about how the Republican party has moved too far to the right, blah, blah, blah. That’s not to be taken seriously. That’s just rationalization, and not very smart rationalization at that.
Soon we get to the nitty-gritty: “I have traveled the State, talked to Republican leaders and office-holders and my supporters and I have carefully examined public opinion. It has become clear to me that the stimulus vote caused a schism which makes our differences irreconcilable. On this state of the record, I am unwilling to have my twenty-nine year Senate record judged by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate.”
There you have it: He thought he was going to lose.
P.S. I don’t know what “On this state of the record” means either.