When he rocked the political world last week by announcing he was fleeing the Republican Party and crossing the aisle to the Democrats, Sen. Arlen Specter indicated he had been promised he would retain his powerful leadership posts as a Democrat.
That apparently did not sit well with some longtime Democrats who were not especially thrilled by the notion of Specter leapfrogging over them into the seat of power.
Last night the Senate added Specter as a Democrat to four committees, but he lost his seniority posts. That means Specter loses a key trump card to put before Pennsylvania voters in the 2010 Senate race.
He no doubt would have pushed the power he wields in Washington and what those leadership posts mean in terms of money and clout for Pennsylvania.
Specter defected from the GOP when his own polling data indicated he would lose to conservative former Congressman Pat Toomey.
But he’s not out of the woods yet, either in terms of his old party, or his new one, for that matter.
Former Pennsylvania Governor and Homeland Security boss Tom Ridge confirmed yesterday that he was mulling a run for the Republican nomination.
He would face many of the same challenges from conservative Republicans as Specter, but initial polling say he would be a much more formidable opponent in the general election should he win the nomination.
A poll done by Quinnipiac University showed Ridge and Specter running about even. Polls also indicate Ridge would beat Toomey in the GOP Primary in a competitive race. For his part, Toomey yesterday said Ridge was Specter in different clothing, still too liberal to represent the state.
Specter doesn’t even have smooth sailing in his new-found party.
Delco 7th District Congressman Joe Sestak continues to make noise about challenging Specter, despite the fact that party leaders like President Barack Obama and Gov. Ed Rendell are trying to clear a path to a Specter nomination.
It seems not everyone in the party is ready to anoint Specter, and they’re not thrilled with party leaders’ attempts to do just that.
They might be turning to Sestak, who this week met with some unions to gauge their suppport.
Today an outfit called the Progressive Change Campaign plans to launch an online poll to test the water for a possible Sestak run.
Likewise Joe Torsella, the guy who headed the Constitution Center, is saying he plans to stay in the race.
The Specter of a Democratic nomination might just be turning into the Specter of still one more fight for his political life for the ever-evasive Specter.
He now looks like he’s facing challenges from both parties.
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