Sen. Arlen Specter's surprise switch to the Democratic Party raises two questions.  What were his motives and what does this say for national Republicans.

As for why Specter switched, he was pretty honest about it.  His polls showed him losing the GOP primary to a former Congressman who is most definitely on the more conservative side of the ledger.

But few strategists give that candidate, former Rep. Pat Toomey, a real chance to win statewide in November of 2010.

"Qunnipiac University Poll Showed Specter Running Better as a Democrat," said one release using poll data from last month, which gave Specter a 71-16 positive rating among Democrats in Pennsylvania.

Specter gave his reasoning a short speech to his former GOP colleagues in a closed door lunch on Tuesday.

"I thought it was sort of a sad event," said Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida, who was one that said it was All About Arlen.

Martinez said the message was, "this is the only way I can get elected; I'll do anything."

"I don't think it sends any message except about his own career," said Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, one of many conservatives who didn't seem flustered at Specter's decision.

In his news conference, Specter said he filed for political divorce because the national Republican party has moved "too far" to the right.

That frame of reference does worry some in the party, who see the GOP wasting away north of the Potomac River.

"Ideological purity is not going to win the day for either party," said Sen. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina.

"I'm looking for a balanced party," Graham told reporters just moments after the Specter news had dropped on the GOP.

From Pennsylvania through New York to Maine, Republicans are almost extinct in the Congress. 

In the Senate, there are now only two Republicans in the eleven states that start in Maryland and end in Maine.

That's two of twenty two.

In the House, it's almost as bad, as the Republicans don't have a single seat in the U.S. House in New England.  They have three of the 26 seats in New York.

In the South, the GOP is strong.  But you can't win the White House by only winning the South. 

A lot of Republicans though want no part of Specter or any "Republican In Name Only."  I certainly understand that gut instinct.

But right now at least, that's not a winning election ticket.

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