Democrats say Specter’s defection means GOP should become more like, well, Democrats

October 6th, 2009 Health care issues: Medicare cutsA look at key issues in the health care debate: THE ISSUE: Will seniors' Medicare benefits be slashed to pay for health care overhaul? THE POLITICS: Democrats are proposing to reduce the ballooning costs of Medicare to keep the program solvent. They want to root out waste to find the savings, and to reduce payments to some providers.

September 30th, 2009 Exit polls: Merkel riding high in German electionBERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel was on track to win a second term and form a new center-right government in Sunday's election and her center-left rivals were headed for a historic defeat, exit polls indicated. Merkel, a conservative, was seeking to end her "grand coalition" with the center-left Social Democrats of challenger Frank-Walter Steinmeier and form a government with the pro-business Free Democrats instead.

September 30th, 2009 Clinton says 2010 elections won't be as bad as '94WASHINGTON — Former President Bill Clinton predicts that Democrats won't suffer the kind of political meltdown that hobbled his administration after the 1994 elections. Democrats lost control of the House for the first time in 40 years after those elections.

September 23rd, 2009 Health care issues: Using parliamentary maneuversA look at key issues in the health care debate: THE ISSUE: If Senate Republicans continue to oppose Democratic plans to overhaul the nation's health care system, should majority Democrats employ a process called "reconciliation" to pass parts of it without Republican support? THE POLITICS: Reconciliation is a procedure used to protect bills from being filibustered to death. It effectively lowers the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to a simple majority of 51.

September 15th, 2009 Rangel: Health bill harder after Obama speechWASHINGTON — A key House committee chairman says proposals President Barack Obama set out in his health care speech are causing problems for Democrats trying to finalize health legislation in the House. Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel of New York says House Democrats would have to slash subsidies to the poor to get their bill to the $900 billion, 10-year price tag Obama specified.

July 9th, 2009 House Dems likely to alter intel billWASHINGTON — Stymied by a White House veto threat, House Democrats say they will work with the Obama administration to soften a legislative provision that would broaden access to secret intelligence briefings. Democrats on the intelligence committee say that an intelligence authorization bill containing the controversial provision would likely pass the House intact but would be adjusted in negotiations with the White House and the Senate.

June 3rd, 2009 Ex-Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes wants his old job backATLANTA — Former Georgia Gov.

May 5th, 2009 GOP senator blames McConnell for Specter defectionFRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky's embattled junior senator is blaming GOP leader Mitch McConnell for losing Arlen Specter to the Democrats and costing the party Senate seats.

May 1st, 2009 What comes next: Filling a Supreme Court vacancyWASHINGTON — Now that Justice David Souter has helped solve the mystery of whether anyone would retire from the Supreme Court this year, what's next? How will the executive and legislative branches of government set about filling a vacancy on the nation's highest court? — President Barack Obama will have to nominate a successor after Souter makes his retirement announcement official. Souter is likely to stay on the court through the end of the term in June, and maybe longer if a replacement is not quickly confirmed.

April 30th, 2009 AP: GOP group launches anti-Specter robocallsHARRISBURG, Pa. — A national Republican group is hitting the telephones to remind Pennsylvania Democrats that Sen.

April 29th, 2009 Specter's party switch rocks Pennsylvania politicsHARRISBURG, Pa. — Sen. Arlen Specter's surprise defection to the Democratic Party scrambled the political calculus for both parties in next year's Pennsylvania Senate race.

April 29th, 2009 Analysis: Specter leaves a shrinking GOP tentWASHINGTON — With Sen. Arlen Specter's switch to the Democrats, the Republican Party is increasingly at risk of being viewed as a mostly Southern and solidly conservative party, an identity that might take years to overcome.

April 29th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pennsylvania's Republican Senator Arlen Specter has decided to quit the GOP to join the Democrats. The five-term senator's stunning defection puts the Democratic Party one vote from being able to crush any stalling tactics in the Senate, giving the White House a virtual E-ZPass through Capitol Hill.

April 28th, 2009 Analysis: Specter defection shrinks GOP's reachWASHINGTON — With Sen. Arlen Specter's switch to the Democrats, the Republican Party is increasingly at risk of being viewed as a mostly Southern and solidly conservative party, an identity that might take years to overcome.

April 28th, 2009 Democrats close in on filibuster-resistant marginWASHINGTON — Sen. Arlen Specter's party switch puts the Democrats within grasp of a 60-seat majority and the first filibuster-resistant margin since the Carter administration three decades ago.