Buh-Bye Benedict Arlen

Long-time Republican-In-Name-Only Senator Arlen Specter (PA) has been reading the tea leaves, Crumb Crunchers. Faced with a stiff Republican primary challenge from Pat Toomey and the possibility of being unceremoniously dumped by Pennsylvania voters, Arlen has decided to join his ideological comrades in the Democrat party. Good riddance.

On Friday, Rasmussen Reports released polling results in the Specter/Toomey race: Election 2010: Pennsylvania Republican Senate Primary: Toomey 51% Specter 30%

Specter is viewed favorably by 42% of Pennsylvania Republicans and unfavorably by 55%, according to a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of voters in the state. Those are stunningly poor numbers for a long-term incumbent senator. Specter was first elected to the Senate in 1980.

In another sign that could be troubling for Specter, the current poll finds that 79% of Pennsylvania Republicans have a favorable opinion of the “Tea Party” protests against big government spending and higher taxes held across the nation last week. Thirty percent (30%) know someone personally who took part. Overall, 82% of Pennsylvania Republicans say that the federal government has too much money and too much power. Just four percent (4%) say it has too little.

GOP National Chairman Michael Steele said "He left to further his personal political interests because he knew that he was going to lose a Republican primary due to his left-wing voting record. Republicans look forward to beating Sen. Specter in 2010, assuming the Democrats don't do it first." Woot!

This turn of events leads me to wonder... can we get him to take Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins with him?