Opinion: What a difference in 8 years: Arlen Specter video on switching parties

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Yesterday veteran Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania underwent a political thought change operation, changing his party label (and improving his chances of re-election next year) from R to D.

Good for him. Or call him Benedict Specter. We’ve had several revealing items on that procedure right here, over here, over there and some unhappy Democratic reaction back here.

But, back in 2001 the then -Republican Specter had very different thoughts when the then-Republican Jim Jeffords made a similar decision and basically started voting with Senate Democrats.

The 79-year-old Specter looks more than eight years younger back then.

Here, thanks to the ubiquitous, encyclopedic C-SPAN video archives are then-Republican Specter’s thoughts on the then-former Republican Jeffords’ move that the now former Republican Specter would replicate yesterday:

-- Andrew Malcolm

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