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Sen. Arlen Specter gave a press conference to talk about his decision to become a member of the Democratic Party. He says the Limbaugh National Committee moved too far to the right and the Club For Growth was destroying any form of moderation in his old party. He blames Pat Toomey's old group for the fact that thirty four judges were left on the table for Obama because of them and says they cost the GOP the majority in 2006. He still says he opposes EFCA and doesn't support President Obama's choice of Dawn Johnsen for the OLC.

Here's more:

"I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans," said Specter, who was first elected.

Howie writes that we have another Ben Nelson on our hands.

Although this will be a blow to rightists-- when Franken is finally seated Democrats will now have at least a theoretical filibuster-proof majority-- it won't do much for progressives. Remember, as awful as Ben Nelson (NE), Mary Landrieu (LA) and Blanche Lincoln (AR) have been on core issues-- lately joined by reactionary freshmen Kay Hagen (NC), Mark Begich (AK) and Michael Bennet (CO)-- all of them, except Nelson, are significantly better than Specter. This year Nelson and Specter has each scored a 33.33 on the progressive scale when it comes to tough partisan votes that split the parties. And when it comes to selling out to vested interests...

Rush Limbaugh wants him to take John and Meghan McCain with him.

After briefly downplaying the concerns about swine flu, Rush kicked off today's program by noting that Sen. Arlen Specter will announce today his switch from (R-PA) to (D-PA). Rush counseled Specter to take Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and his daughter, Meghan, with him, and then pondered who else in the Senate should make the switch.

As usual Karl Rove lied and said Arlen suddenly veered left.

Newsweek gives us the GOP party line on Specter: He's a Sell Out

Michael Steele says Specter flipped the bird at Republicans and he's sure his momma didn't raise him this way.

Lindsey Graham and Olympia Snowe blame conservatives.

Two leading Republicans say Sen. Arlen Specter's decision to become a Democrat highlights the hostility moderates feel from an increasingly conservative GOP.

“You haven't certainly heard warm encouraging words about how [the GOP] views moderates,” said Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, one of the few remaining moderate Republicans in the Senate.

Specter's insistence on being opposed to the Employee Free Choice Act, which he mentioned prominently -- indicating he would vote against cloture -- is going to be problem for anyone running in the Democratic primary in union-heavy Pennsylvania. Since his current position reflects a reversal already, it may take only a month or two of further polling for Specter to begin to see the light again.

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Mark Begich finally takes down Ted Stevens, the rampaging Hulk from Alaska.

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, the Republican lawmaker convicted on felony corruption charges in October, appears to have lost his bid for re-election to Democrat Mark Begich, according to a release from Begich's campaign and unofficial results from state officials.
Democrat Mark Begich (left) has claimed victory over Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska.

The statement and results Tuesday come two weeks after the election, after absentee ballots were counted.

With 100 percent of Alaska's precincts reporting, Begich, the mayor of Anchorage, had roughly 47.7 percent of the vote, compared with about 46.6 percent for Stevens, according to unofficial results posted on the Alaska Secretary of State's Web site.

He appears to have bested Stevens by 3,724 votes, according to the posted results.

So much for Sarah Palin's hopes of sliding over to the Senate.

And the Democratic tally in the Senate now reaches 58, with two more races still in the balance.

Rarrrrghhh!!!

Via Roll Call we hear that disgraced Senator Ted Stevens is pleading with his senate colleagues. As with Larry Craig, the Republicans are turning their backs.

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) is reportedly calling his Republican colleagues in the hope of shoring up support before an expected vote Tuesday on whether to expel him from the Conference because of his seven felony convictions.

Although it was unclear how many lawmakers Stevens has reached out to, GOP aides said he has been making calls urging his colleagues to withhold judgement until the appeals process is exhausted. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) has proposed expelling him from the Conference and stripping him of his committee assignments, and a vote on that proposal could occur Tuesday.

Even if Stevens survives through next week, he is widely expected to be eventually expelled from the Senate, with leaders from both parties saying proceedings to remove him would take place at an undetermined time.

Rank-and-file Republicans have also begun to turn their backs on Stevens, the longest-serving member of the GOP. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), during an interview on MSNBC Thursday afternoon, echoed a statement he made Wednesday in which he said he would vote for any motion to remove Stevens.

Of course this may all be rendered academic by Tuesday when Mark Begich is declared the winner in Alaska's Senate race. But left with no options, Stevens may decide not to appeal the election results and demand a recount (that the Republican party would most likely have to pay for), turning his focus instead to avoiding jail time. Stevens faces up to 35 years for his recent conviction.

Let's hope this trend continues and Stevens finally gets the axe.

Democrat Mark Begich now leads Sen. Ted Stevens (R) by just over 1,000 votes with more than 90 percent of the total ballots now counted in the high-profile Alaska Senate race.

The Alaska Division of Elections counted another 14,500 votes on Friday and Begich's lead increased from 841 before the day started to 1,022 when the counting ended.

That means that Begich has gained more than 4,200 votes on Stevens since the 90,000 early, absentee and questioned ballots began to be counted on Wednesday. There are roughly 24,000 votes left to be counted, and the counting will resume, and presumably conclude, early next week, according to the Begich campaign.

Of the remaining votes, roughly 15,000 are in the Anchorage area (a swing area in the race) and another 8,000 are in the Juneau area, which should be Begich territory.

"The news continues to be positive," Begich said in a statement released by the campaign tonight. "With the gap widening slightly in our favor today, I feel even more optimistic that when all the ballots are counted next week, we'll see Alaskans came out to vote for new leadership in Washington, D.C."

I wonder what Gov. Palin will say if it goes to Begich?

As a follow-up to the very successful Blue America House contest two weeks ago, we're starting a week long Senate competition today. You can vote for the candidate of your choice on our dedicated Blue America contest page and whether you give $1 or $10 or a thousand dollars, it counts as a vote for the candidate (or candidates) or your choice.

Crooks & Liars asked each campaign to submit an ad that could be used with the donations we collect this week. Texas, and especially the Houston area, was struck very hard by Hurricane Ike and the Noriega campaign has essentially diverted all its energy and resources towards the recovery efforts and Rick himself is on Army National Guard duty where he is a Lieutenant Colonel. We had to excuse them from creating an ad in the midst of all the chaos and turmoil there. How about taking a look at each one of the other ads and visualizing helping to put them on TV? And while you're at it, visualize a U.S. Senate without John Cornyn, Susan Collins, James Inhofe, Gordon Smith, and Ted Stevens.

Andrew Rice:

Mark Begich:

Jeff Merkley:

Tom Allen: