Senator Arlen Specter, who is a veteran of the GOP, has announced today that he is switching from the Republican to the Democratic party. According to his statement, his "political philosophy is more in line with the Democrats than the Republicans." He also stated that a "change in party affiliation does not mean that I will be a party-line voter any more for the Democrats than I have been for the Republicans." He will be running in the 2010 Democratic primary for re-election. What this does mean, if Al Franken is seated as a Minnesota senator, then the Democrats will have a fillibuster-proof 60 seats.

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