It would appear that Arlen Specter may have spoken too soon when he annouinced that there was no guarantee that he would be a loyal Democrat.

On Tuesday night, 5 May 09, the Senate voted to strip Sen, Arlen Specter of his seniority on committees.

He had been  assured him he would retain his seniority in the Senate and on the five committees on which he serves. Specter’s tenure ranked him ahead of all but seven Democrats.

On a voice vote, the Senate approved a resolution that made Specter the most junior Democrat on four committees for the remainder of this Congress. (He will rank second from last on the fifth, the Special Committee on Aging.) Reid himself read the resolution on the Senate floor, underscoring the reversal.

Democrats have suggested that they will consider revisiting Specter’s seniority claim at the committee level only after next year’s midterm elections.

Specter had switched parties because he saw the writing on the wall that he would be defeated in 2010 Pennsylvania Republican primary.  The loss of seniority could prove costly to Specter in his campaign to win reelection in 2010, denying him the ability to distinguish himself from a newcomer in his ability to claim key positions.

Looks like the Senate Democrats took Specter at his word, when he said:  ” I’m ordinarily pretty correct in what I say. I’ve made a career of being precise.”  Why would the Dems want a person who is not a team player to lead any of the committees?

So when Specter said he would not necessarily be a loyal Democrat, he step hard onto his johnson.