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to promote civic engagement in the Philadelphia region.Twitter Buzzing Over Specter Defection
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 at 4:55 pm - by Its Our City Staff. Filed under: Politics.
By Jason Kleinman
Twitter, the popular social networking site, was aflutter this afternoon when Sen. Arlen Specter announced that he was switching political parties. While Twitter’s trending application still showed that tweets about the swine flu taking over the world remained the site’s most popular topic, Specter’s defection from the GOP quickly moved to number two. I am still a Twitter newbie, but I decided to follow the instant virtual feedback to find out what people were saying about this story. Here are some interesting tweets that I came across:
juliekarbo: Are pigs flying? Arlen Specter to become a Democrat?!
staceyviera: Being a D is, like, IN right now! GOP is soooo 2004.
nemesisdarkstar: RT @Politwitz Arlen Specter changes parties to beat primary challenge. So what! The party structure is corrupt anyway - no matter which one.
Austinb861: Is sadly not surprised to see another senator lack any conviction of responsibility and cave to populism. (Sen. Specter)
madnesswv: The people of PA should hold a tea party at Specter’s house.
hanxplace: Arlen Specter’s switch adds fuel to the theory that the U.S. needs a third party!
RebeccaCarelli: Senator Specter please retire. You are a sell-out. Apparently political power and prestige is more important to you than doing what is right
CoreyOConnor: LOL 4 days after poll shows Toomey has lead over Specter (51-30), Specter switches parties
engine5150: Just like Darth Vader, Arlen Specter has switched from the darkside towards the end of his life.
ScottDochterman: Specter needs to repay constituents who funded his re-election campaign. Cheap political move at his age and service record.
tgies: i just won my “when will arlen specter switch to D” betting pool — i had said noon eastern on may 1. closest guess. $30
thoughtbeast: @SenArlenSpecter Sen. Specter why are you doing this? Shouldn’t you ask the folks who voted for you in the first place?
Gregyoung3: is curious now about the primary challenges (if any) specter will get in the Dem primary.
ranggrol: Specter was totally honest about only switching so he could get re-elected. Do we applaud his honesty or condemn his crassness? You decide.
chickwithbrain: Sen. Arlen Specter is out of the closet. . .as a Democrat. About freakin’ time!
Did you come across any interesting comments about this story on any social networking sites that you subscribe to? If so, please share them with us.
Jason Kleinman is an intern for It’s Our City and a Master’s of Public Policy candidate at Rutgers University.
April 28th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Seventy nine ? Specter !!! uuuggghhh !! sucking from us middle class for all those years and still wants more ??? and will get retirement from government until he dies….Selfish egotistical ! give it up Specter. What a joke.
April 29th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Patsy,
There are a lot of reasons that you could criticize Specter depending on your positions on various issues, but criticizing him for his age seems to smack of age-ism. I am by far not the biggest Specter fan in the world, but I hope that when I’m 79 and if my mind is still sharp, that people aren’t telling me to just curl up in a corner. If you are on the left you could criticize Specter for his terrible record on gun regulation, environmental issues and that ridiculous flat tax idea. If you are on the right, you could criticize him for being pro-labor (except for recently) and pro-choice. There are plenty of issues to pick from. We should try to keep our focus on them especially since he is up for reelection in less than two years.