Specter To Switch Parties

Of course the important bit is that the Democrats will have 60 votes once the Minnesota business wraps up in June or July.

UPDATE: The complete announcement from Specter.

UPDATE 2: Michael Steele:

Some in the Republican Party are happy about this. I am not. Let's be honest -- Sen. Specter didn't leave the GOP based on principles of any kind. He left to further his personal political interests because he knew that he was going to lose a Republican primary due to his left-wing voting record.

UPDATE 3: Go read this insightful post Why Specter Did It -- And Had To Do It by Eric Kleefeld on TPM.

UPDATE 4 (last one): So what kind of Democrat is Specter going to be? Nolan McCarty cites actual research on the topic and suggests that "he'll be the 34th most liberal. Such a move would put him solidly within the Democratic fold near Herb Kohl and Diane Feinstein."