Republican Arlen Specter Switching Parties Today

Sen. Arlen Specter

From Human Events:

HUMAN EVENTS has learned from staff sources that Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa) is about to announce his switch to the Democratic Party.

Specter, a five-term Republican and ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is facing a tough primary challenge next year from former Club for Growth president Pat Toomey. He was one of the three Republicans to support President Obama’s stimulus bill, and his liberal approach to many issues -- from his devoted opposition to the Supreme Court nomination of Robert Bork to his support for illegal alien amnesty programs -- earned him a low ACU rating of 43 in 2006. This switch will give the Democrats their 60-seat filibuster-proof majority.

According to the Washington Post, Specter said today, "I have decided to run for re-election in 2010 in the Democratic primary," said Specter in a statement. "I am ready, willing and anxious to take on all comers and have my candidacy for re-election determined in a general election."

Read more ....

Update: Specter To Switch Parties -- Washington Post

My Comment: Sen. Specter knows that he is going to lose the Republican nomination to Pat Toomey. Being 20% behind in the polls was his wake-up call. Will this help him in 2010 .... we shall see.

The Media Elite's Secret Dinners

From The Washington Post:

Last Tuesday evening, Rahm Emanuel quietly slipped into an eighth-floor office at the Watergate.

As white-jacketed waiters poured red and white wine and served a three-course salmon and risotto dinner, the White House chief of staff spent two hours chatting with some of Washington's top journalists -- excusing himself to take a call from President Obama and another from Hillary Clinton.

As the journalists hurled questions and argued among themselves, Emanuel said: "This feels a lot like a Jewish family dinner."

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It Pays To Go Green! Al Gore's Net Worth Jumps From $2 Million In 2000 To $100 Million In 2008

From Gateway Pundit:

Pro Patria discovered that while Al Gore is scaring the daylights out of young children he is making millions from his green investments.

So what has Al Gore gained from his Big Green escapades?

According to public disclosure information, Gore was worth somewhere between $1 million and $2 million in 2000. Not quite eight years later, Gore is estimated to be worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 million. While I ordinarily would applaud such financial gains from such a short period of time, I can’t help but to question just how it happened. When you look out at what Al Gore has done, it’s evident that he figured out on a way to capitalize on the creation of Big Green while becoming the official doomsday prophet that has helped to build Big Green into the monetary powerhouse that it has become.

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Watchdog Groups Want Ethics Panel Probe of PMA Ties

From Roll Call:

Democracy 21 and other good-government groups are expected to ask the House ethics committee next week for an investigation into lawmakers with close ties to defunct lobbying firm PMA Group, Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer said on Friday.

The request will seek a probe into whether the millions of dollars in campaign contributions the firm generated for favored Members of Congress influenced the tens of millions of dollars in earmarks those lawmakers secured for PMA clients.

Outside groups are barred from filing complaints with the ethics committee, but the panel can initiate probes on its own and the request is sure to pile political pressure on an already strained House Democratic leadership team.

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Best Served Cold Watch: Obama Abandoning Murtha.

From Red State:

I have to admit that when it comes to avenging slights made against it this administration has both total recall and infinite patience. What’s below (via Instapundit) is probably the most important part of this New York Times article about Jack Murtha’s travails:

While past presidents often courted Mr. Murtha with phone calls and private meetings, President Obama has extended to him no such courtesies. On a visit to the White House, the lawmaker told senior defense officials that it would be “foolish” and “ridiculous” to cancel all of a $13 billion contract to buy new presidential helicopters, as he later recounted to a defense industry newsletter. But Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has insisted on scrapping the deal as a symbol of waste.

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My Comment: Red State is a conservative blog, and it has no loyalties to the Democratic Party .... but I have to agree with their assessment that relations between President Obama and Rep. Murtha are clearing going down two separate paths.

Ethics Complaint From Judicial Watch Says Price Dodd Paid For Cottage Amounts To A Gift

From The Hartford Courant:

The conservative government watchdog group Judicial Watch filed an ethics complaint Friday against U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, saying the price Dodd paid for his cottage in Ireland amounted to a gift from a friend and accusing the senator of failing to report it as such on government disclosure forms.

"It's relatively straightforward," said Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch. "It looks like he is getting taken care of in Ireland, and he's not reporting the nature of the gifts he is getting as a result of his being taken care of."

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ABC News Reports On John Murtha's Pork Laden Airport