NPR BREAKING NEWS:

Republican Sen. Arlen Specter To Switch Parties

Veteran Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania will switch parties, advancing his own hopes of winning a new term next year while pushing Democrats one step closer to a 60-vote filibuster-resistant majority.

More at NPR.org:
http://n.npr.org/NPRI/jN22728486_84630.htm

Five-term GOP Sen. Arlen Specter said Tuesday that his party had "gone too far to the right" and he would defect to the Democrats. But he promised to maintain his independence and not be an
"automatic" vote for his new party.

"I know I disappoint my friends and colleagues," he said. "But, frankly, I have been disappointed by some of the response. So, the disappointment runs in both directions."

Specter, however, took pains to say he would maintain his hallmark independence.

"I will not be an automatic 60th vote," he emphasized. "I have always agreed with John Kennedy that sometimes a party asks too much. And if the Democratic Party asks too much, I will not hesitate to disagree."