Reporting from Washington — Sen. Arlen Specter received a hero's welcome at the White House on Wednesday, while the Republican Party he left behind continued to grapple with the implications of his defection.
Specter stunned his colleagues Tuesday by announcing he would run as a Democrat in next year's Pennsylvania Senate primary, further decimating the ranks of a party whose popularity has been waning in recent years.
As Specter was greeted warmly by President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, many in his old party pushed to paint him as a political opportunist and argued that his move did not reflect a wholesale public rejection of the GOP.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele sent e-mails to supporters that called Specter an unprincipled "Benedict Arnold" and echoed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who on Tuesday had labeled the five-term Pennsylvania senator's move a purely political decision.
But Sen. Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, one of the few remaining moderate Republicans in the chamber, pushed back at that assessment -- warning that the party is in deep denial about its fading political fortunes.
"I don't think it was a constructive response, frankly," Snowe said of Republican reactions in an interview with MSNBC. "I think that we as a party and our leaders have to recognize the reality of the situation that we're facing when we've lost 13 Senate seats [and] more than 50 House seats in the last two elections."
Snowe accused the party of nurturing a "culture of opposition" against moderates and said leaders must "reorient the philosophy and the views and the foundations of the Republican Party that really [have] disaffected and alienated so many Americans, including mainstream Republicans who have left our party."
Specter, 79, a moderate who supports abortion rights and is known for his independence, made similar remarks about the state of the party Tuesday. At the White House on Wednesday, he offered his services to Obama, saying, "I think I can be of assistance to you, Mr. President."
His office was flooded with calls following the switch, aides said, with the bulk of callers lauding his decision.
Recent polls have shown that about one-fourth of voters nationally now identify themselves as Republicans. And the majority of those want to see the party become more conservative.
