Technically, I think you should thank Snarlin' Arlen for doing the left thing.
But, talking seriously for a second (which I never do), Pennsylvania has been trending more Democratic for the past 9 or so years. It is somewhat an effect of the Republican Party's shift further to the right (and the accompanying shift of the Democratic Party towards the center), but it is also a function of demographics. Pennsylvania has one of the highest proportions of senior citizen populations of any other state - a lot of which are those old-guard Republicans. Not only are the younger demographics more Democratic-leaning than these seniors, well, how to put it delicately... fuck it, there is no delicate here, these seniors are DYING OFF. At a faster rate than those more-Democratic-leaning whippersnappers.
So, you've got a shift among the youth toward the Democratic Party, you've got the Republican Party ceding the middle-ground to the Democrats, AND you've got a dwindling population of old-school older Republicans... all of which spells trouble for the state's Republican Party. Throw in some really pissed-off Unions, a recession largely (and largely rightfully) blamed on the Republican Party, and a still-incredibly-popular and charismatic President... and it really, REALLY sucks to be a Republican right now. For reals, y'all.
Also, this isn't Specter's first rodeo with the Democrats - he's actually switching back. Specter was a Democrat until 1966 when he wanted to run for District Attorney and the Democratic Party didn't want him, so he switched affiliation and has been a Republican ever since... until now. So, it's not so much a Coming-Out Party as it is a Homecoming. Welcome back, Arlen.
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But, talking seriously for a second (which I never do), Pennsylvania has been trending more Democratic for the past 9 or so years. It is somewhat an effect of the Republican Party's shift further to the right (and the accompanying shift of the Democratic Party towards the center), but it is also a function of demographics. Pennsylvania has one of the highest proportions of senior citizen populations of any other state - a lot of which are those old-guard Republicans. Not only are the younger demographics more Democratic-leaning than these seniors, well, how to put it delicately... fuck it, there is no delicate here, these seniors are DYING OFF. At a faster rate than those more-Democratic-leaning whippersnappers.
So, you've got a shift among the youth toward the Democratic Party, you've got the Republican Party ceding the middle-ground to the Democrats, AND you've got a dwindling population of old-school older Republicans... all of which spells trouble for the state's Republican Party. Throw in some really pissed-off Unions, a recession largely (and largely rightfully) blamed on the Republican Party, and a still-incredibly-popular and charismatic President... and it really, REALLY sucks to be a Republican right now. For reals, y'all.
Also, this isn't Specter's first rodeo with the Democrats - he's actually switching back. Specter was a Democrat until 1966 when he wanted to run for District Attorney and the Democratic Party didn't want him, so he switched affiliation and has been a Republican ever since... until now. So, it's not so much a Coming-Out Party as it is a Homecoming. Welcome back, Arlen.
--Jeff