One-party State

So, ZOMG!, Arlen Specter totally transformed into a Democrat which means he now supports Employee Free Choice, right? No? You mean he didn't actually change any of his positions; just changed parties because he's likely to lose the Republican primary next year, and the Democrats have already promised they'll clear the road for him if he switches?

The mainstream pundit class is, of course, ecstatic with the news. Specter is just the kind of Democrat they like; a Republican. He'll continue to support Sensible Economics and unrestrained imperialism abroad, and he's pro-choice and not a complete social reactionary. The biggest threat to having the Democrats in power is the threat of the scary, scary hippies bringing their patchouli reek into the wrong cocktail parties. Fortunately there are heroes like Specter willing to make sacrifices to ensure that, if the public is going to insist on overwhelmingly voting Democratic, at least we'll get the right sort of Democrat.