Politics makes for strange bedfellows. They hated each other a few months ago. Now, Arlen Specter and Joe Sestak are bosom buddies.

Remember that devastating ad in the spring that had Arlen Specter saying he switched parties so he could get re-elected? It sank Specter's bid for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate.

Now the man who beat Specter may have shot himself in the foot with this comment about the latest Obama plan to spend billions to revive the stalled economy: "Why now? We're doing it for the polls," Sestak said.

Sounds like another cynical Washington politician just trying to win re-election, doesn't it?

$50 billion stimulus could be issue in Pennsylvania Senate race - The Hill's Ballot Box

From the Republican Party of Pennsylvania:

HARRISBURG – In order to commemorate Senator Arlen Specter's decision to embrace the Party of President Barack Obama, Senator Harry Reid, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and their out-of-control big government agenda, the Republican Party of Pennsylvania is proud to announce the launch of its latest initiative, FireSpecter.com

"Last year, Senator Specter made the decision to switch from Republican to Democrat, now our Party is committed to switching him from Democrat to ex-Senator," Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason said. "Senator Specter exemplifies everything the public dislikes and distrusts with government and is the biggest political opportunist in our nation's history.

"Whether it's his support of the nearly one trillion dollar stimulus package or his flip-flop over the Obama-Pelosi government-run health care plan, FireSpecter.com is a place for everyone who's tired of Arlen Specter’s political games to come together and support our efforts to ensure that he will not be Pennsylvania’s Senator for much longer.

"It's certainly fitting that we're launching FireSpecter.com near the anniversary of his switch and at a time when Arlen Specter is expressing doubts over his decision to abandon Pennsylvania's voters for the Party of Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi. Specter may be having second doubts about his decision, but the Republican Party is not. We are very honored that we are being represented by a candidate who actually stands for smaller government, lower taxes and less spending."

"Today marks the first day of our FireSpecter.com campaign, a campaign that will last all the way to November 2nd, the day Pennsylvanians officially hand Senator Specter a long overdue pink slip!"

Pennsylvania's largest labor union is backing Sen. Arlen Specter in the May Democratic primary against U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak.

I'm guessing Specter will be backing Card Check, Cap-and-Trade and any other job-killing legislation Congressional Democrats are pushing in return for labor's support.

The Pa. AFL-CIO also announced endorsements in five contested Democratic primaries for Pennsylvania Congressional seats. For the full list, click on the link below:

unionPennsylvania AFL-CIO Endorses Senator Arlen Specter in the May 18th Primary Election

What's on the minds of Pennsylvania voters?

The latest Franklin & Marshall College Poll has the answers ... and the news is bleak for Barack Obama and the Democrats.

Among the poll highlights:

1) Pennsylvanians continue to express pessimism about the economy. Four in ten (40% compared to 36% in October) say they are financially worse off this year than last, and only a quarter (27%) expects their personal finances to be better off a year from now.

2) Among registered Democrats, Senator Specter leads Joe Sestak (30% to 13%) in the primary race for U.S. Senate, although 50 percent remain undecided. In possible general election match-ups, Pat Toomey leads both Specter (45% to 31%) and Sestak (41% to 19%) among likely voters. Registered Pennsylvanians cite health care (29%) and the economy (24%) as the most important issues in their vote for U.S. Senate.

3) Nearly three in four (72%) Pennsylvania Democrats remain undecided about the primary race for governor. Tom Corbett leads Sam Rohrer (23% to 5%) among Republicans for the gubernatorial nomination, but seven in ten (69%) remain undecided about their preference. Registered Pennsylvanians cite the economy (26%) and taxes (13%) as the most important issues in their vote for governor.

4) Favorability ratings for President Obama have changed slightly since October. His unfavorable rating increased by 5 percentage points, and he is now viewed favorably and unfavorably by equal proportions (44%) of registered Pennsylvanians. Senator Specter's favorability rating has risen slightly to 35 percent (compared to 28% in October), and his unfavorable rating stands at 43 percent (compared to 46% in October).

5) President Obama's job approval in Pennsylvania is the lowest of his presidency, with only 38 percent (compared to 40% in October) saying he is doing an excellent or good job. Senator Specter's job approval has risen slightly to 34 percent (compared to 29% in October), and about three in ten (29%) respondents say he deserves re-election (up from 23% in October). Those who say Specter does not deserve re-election cite his length of service (25%) and party switch (21%) as the main reasons.

6) Pennsylvanians continue to express dissatisfaction with the direction of the state, albeit less so than in October. 53 percent now say the state is off on the wrong track (compared to 60% in October), while 39 percent say the state is headed in the right direction (compared to 32% in October). Nearly eight in ten (78%) registered Pennsylvanians feel state government needs reform, and a similar number (72%) would favor a constitutional convention to review the state's constitution.

7) The job approval rating of the state legislature remains very low with only 16 percent of registered Pennsylvanians indicating it’s doing an excellent or good job, while 74 percent indicate it's doing only a fair or poor job. These figures have changed little since October.

Complete results can be found at http://politics.fandm.edu

From the latest Rasmussen Reports:

Republican Pat Toomey now leads incumbent Senator Arlen Specter 49% to 40% in Pennsylvania's race for the U.S. Senate.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Pennsylvania voters also finds Toomey with a 43% to 35% lead over Democratic challenger Joe Sestak.

A month ago Toomey led Specter by four and Sestak by six. In the state’s Democratic Senate Primary race, Specter now leads Sestak by 21 points.

Read more poll numbers on the Pennsylvania Senate race at Rasmussen Reports

Arlen "Formerly the 60th Vote for Senate Democrats" Specter released the following statement in regard to the Massachusetts special election results:

"The Massachusetts election shows Washington must change its ways. Now that there 59 Democrats in the Senate, it will be indispensable for at least some bipartisanship to deal with the serious problems confronting America: creating jobs; reducing the deficit; reining in Wall Street; and stopping abusive insurance company practices like denying coverage on technicalities."

Arlen Specter the reformer?

This guy is schizophrenic.

What does Arlen Specter have going for him? He's abandoned the Republican Party and has not convinced a single Democrat that he's really one of them. What's he going to do to win the Democratic primary in May? Have Barack Obama campaign for him? We all know how well that went for the Democratic candidates in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

Don't be surprised if Specter decides to retire in the coming months rather than face a humiliating defeat at the hands of Pennsylvania voters.

Where does Arlen Specter stand on the issues? It depends on which day of the week it is. Specter is pushing John Kerry aside as king of the flip-flop.

Specter sat down a few days ago for and extensive interview with The Mercury.

On health care, Specter said "I will only vote on a health care bill that does not add to the deficit."

Does that mean he will defy Barack Obama and Harry Reid?

I also enjoyed this quote from Specter about the fact that it took him a couple of decades to figure out he wans't a true Republican: "I found I was voting more often with the Democrats than the Republicans during my tenure."

Check out what he has to say on a variety of issues ... before he changes his mind again.

Read the story at the newspaper's Web site, where you can also view videos of Specter at the offices of The Mercury.

Six months ago today, Arlen Specter left the Republican Party because polling data showed that he could not win against Pat Toomey. Today, the polls show Pennsylvanians of all political stripes are rejecting his rampant political opportunism and complete lack of principle.

This morning Team Toomey released the video above to commemorate Sen. Specter's six month anniversary as a Democrat.

From CQPolitics:

Coaxing Arlen Specter into switching parties and running for re-election as a Democrat was a major coup for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who is bending the Senate's schedule to accommodate a presidential fundraiser for Specter Tuesday afternoon in Pennsylvania.

Reid announced Friday that the Senate would hold no votes after 3 p.m. Tuesday. His office later said that the scheduling decision was meant to accommodate a long-planned fundraiser that President Obama is headlining in Philadelphia to benefit Specter's campaign.

The move could delay efforts to finish work on the fiscal 2010 transportation spending bill, which the Senate began considering Thursday.

Specter, who is seeking a sixth term (and his first as a Democrat), faces a primary challenge from Rep. Joe Sestak. The likely Republican nominee is Pat Toomey, a former House member who nearly beat Specter in a 2004 Republican primary.

Read the full story at CQ Politics.

Specter's likely Republican challenger in 2010 wants to know why Specter is putting his own political career ahead of taxpayers needs?

From Pat Toomey's campaign Communications Director Nachama Soloveichik:

"For someone who has been in Washington for 30 years, stopping the Senate to hold a fundraiser might seem perfectly normal. But for Pennsylvania taxpayers who are footing the bill for Specter’s $81 billion auto bailout and unprecedented debt, it's a slap in the face. If Arlen Specter spent nearly as much time fighting for taxpayers as he does fighting for reelection, our economy might not be in such bad shape."

The Independence Hall Tea Party Association, which sent 14 buses from the Delaware Valley to Washington, D.C., on Saturday, is holding a rally against President Obama at 4 PM Tuesday, just prior to Obama's appearance at fundraiser for Sen. Arlen Specter at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

From a press released issued by the group:

"We are rallying against Obamacare, Cap and Trade, and this administration's massive expansion of the federal government" said Organizer Chris Clemency. "We want the President to understand that Saturday's march on Washington, attended by at least 1.5 million Americans, is just the beginning of our efforts to stop his agenda."

"In just six short months, President Obama has tripled the deficit and quadrupled the national debt," he said. "Never before in the history of America has the government moved so quickly to spend so much money—it will ultimately lead to high taxation and even higher inflation."

Obama will headline a fund raising dinner for turncoat Arlen Specter, who was elected as a Republican but recently switched to the Democratic Party in order to strengthen his re-election prospects.

"Both Obama and Specter represent the politics of old," said protest organizer Teri Adams. "They do not represent the politics of hope and change." "We will continue to hold these demonstrations and fight on until the American public realizes these men do not represent the people's interests, but their own."

The Independence Hall Tea Party Association is a grassroots organization formed after Philadelphia Tea Party II held on Independence Mall on April 18th as part of the Tax Week Tea Party Protests also held nationwide.

Visit the group's Web site at www.independencehalltpa.com

The Workforce Fairness Institute has launched an online petition demanding Sen. Arlen Specter explain his position on the Employee Free Choice Act, aka Card Check.

The group refers to EFCA as Employee FORCED Choice Act.

Pennsylvanians deserve an honest and clear answer on where Senator Specter stands on the elimination of the secret ballot and mandatory, binding arbitration! Sign the online petition at the group's Web site, http://www.workforcefairness.com/SpecterExplain

Also check out this editorial in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review nothing that Specter changes his position on Card Check every other day.

Obamacare appears to be sinking the Democratic Party.

A new poll by Rasmussen Reports on the 2010 Senate race in Pennsylvania shows Republican Pat Toomey beating both incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter and Congressman Joe Sestak.

A lot can change between now and November 2010 and Specter has $8 million to spend on his re-election bid. But that's assuming Specter can beat back a primary challenge from Sestak, a two-term House member. Let the Democrats fight it out. Toomey will be waiting.

From Rasmussen Reports:

Uncomfortable town hall meetings are just the tip of the iceberg for Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter. He now trails Republican Pat Toomey by double digits in his bid for reelection next year and is viewed unfavorably by a majority of the state’s voters.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Pennsylvania voters shows 48% would vote for Toomey if the election were held today. Just 36% would vote for Specter while four percent (4%) prefer a third option, and 12% are not sure.

These figures reflect a dramatic reversal since June. At that time, before the public health care debate began, Specter led Toomey by eleven.

Just 43% now have a favorable opinion of Specter while 54% offer an unfavorable assessment of the longtime GOP senator who became a Democrat rather than face Toomey in a party primary. Those numbers have reversed since June when 53% had a favorable opinion of him.

The current figures include 15% with a Very Favorable opinion of Specter and 36% with a Very Unfavorable view.

Read more at Rasmussen Reports