Republicans Finally Ponder The Endangered Species List.

Arlen Specter Quits The Confederacy.

Big news from Chris Cillizza in the Washington Post:

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter will switch his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat and announced today that he will run in 2010 as a Democrat, according to a statement he released this morning.

Specter's decision would give Democrats a 60 seat filibuster proof majority in the Senate assuming Democrat Al Franken is eventually sworn in as the next Senator from Minnesota. (Former Sen. Norm Coleman is appealing Franken's victory in the state Supreme Court.)

"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."

He added: "Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans."

The Troubling Specter Of EFCA Without Specter's Vote.

From the AP:

In a setback for organized labor, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter said Tuesday he will oppose a bill that would make it easier for workers to form unions.

Specter was the only Republican to support the Employee Free Choice Act two years ago, and unions were hoping he might be the crucial 60th vote needed to overcome an expected GOP filibuster of the measure when it's taken up this summer.

Specter has faced unusually heavy pressure from both labor and business interests and is likely to face a tough Republican primary challenge next year from former Pennsylvania Rep. Pat Toomey. In a statement, Toomey called Specter's decision a "flip flop," prompted by the threat of primary opposition to the five-term senator.

In a floor speech, Specter called the organizing bill a "very emotional issue with labor looking to this legislation to reverse the steep decline in union membership and business expressing great concern about added costs, which would drive many companies out of business or overseas."

Business groups, who have already spent more than $20 million to lobby against the bill, applauded the decision.

"We are commending Sen. Specter for putting American jobs first and opposing card check legislation," said John Engler, president of the National Association of Manufacturers.

Specter said his vote to end a filibuster on the bill two years ago was not support for the merits, but instead for Congress to take up the issue of labor law reform.

Labor leaders quibbled with Specter's recollection of history, noting he was an original co-sponsor of the same bill in 2005. Specter, a moderate, has long been counted among the few GOP lawmakers who have supported unions.

"His statement today opposing an up or down vote and real discussion is inconsistent with his own record of support for working people," said Mary Beth Maxwell, executive director of the pro-union group, American Rights at Work.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney called Specter's position "frankly, a disappointment and a rebuke to working people, to his own constituents in Pennsylvania and working families around the country."

"We do not plan to let a hardball campaign from Big Business derail the Employee Free Choice Act or the dreams of workers," Sweeney said.

Make no mistake: the EFCA battle is old-fashioned country hardball--spitballs, brushbacks, high spikes and all. It's too bad that Arlen Specter is scared of the inside pitch.