DELUSIONAL

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) on why Specter's switch foretells a GOP landslide:

"And that is all of a sudden, we find out that Arlen Specter is down in the Republican Party, down in terms of his popularity. The guy that ran against him and was defeated by Arlen Specter in, six years ago, now is so far ahead of him that Arlen Specter's own advisers said there's no way that you can win this thing unless you change to the Democratic Party. Now to me, that's the evidence it's coming."

"It" is the rise of the GOP.

DYSFUNCTIONAL

"For the senator to flip the bird back to Senator Cornyn and the Republican Senate Leadership... to save his hide is not only disrespectful but down right rude. I'm sure his mama didn't raise him this way."

~RNC Chairman Michael Steele, offended by Specter's manners.

EMPOWERMENT

"It was not a good statement... I thought Michael was mad and frustrated. ... Michael, you go find somebody who can run in Pennsylvania and can win."

~Lindsay Graham, on the RNC chairman's statement on Specter.

PETER PAN SYNDROME

"Arlen not only stuck his chin out, he stuck his rear end out and then he pulled his pants down and then wiggled it at us."

~Former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), on an illegal sexual act Specter's party shift.

SELF- ACTUALIZATION

"I know its been a hard day for a lot of you but Arlen Spector has made a selfish choice. This can come back and be better than ever."

~Megan Mccain, another forcaster of GOP ("this") resurgence, via twitter . "RED TIL I'M DEAD BABY!!!" She tweeted later.

ANGER MANAGEMENT

".....It's ultimately good. You're weeding out people who aren't really Republicans,"

~Rush Limbaugh was psyched. He added, dissolving in laughter. "A lot of people say, 'Well, Specter, take [Sen. John] McCain with you. And his daughter [Meghan]. Take McCain and his daughter with you if you're gonna..."

BLOWHARD

"We come not to condemn Arlen Specter, we come to bury Arlen Specter... Nobody in the conservative movement has supported this man for quite a period of time because he really hasn't supported anybody in the conservative movement."

~Michael Reagan chiming in for the "good riddance!" caucus and referencing Shakespeare... sort of.

DENIAL

"People are moving from the northeast and from the northern part of the country to the south for a lot of reasons. And I think you see heavy unionization and forced unionization in Pennsylvania and Michigan, these other states."

~ Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) on why the GOP lost Pennsylvania (union hating voters fled the northeast for the comfort of the southern motherland). However, for DeMint, all hope is not lost: "Pat Toomey, who is running in Pennsylvania, is one of the most mainstream Americans I know." So the logic is-- with Toomey in place, the tea-loving masses will repatriate the state. Mmmhm.

OUTRAGE

"Thanks to him [Specter], Democrats will now be able to steamroll their big government agenda through the Senate... This also shows how unprincipled he is."

~Club for Growth President Chris "the Count" Chocola.

FINGER-POINTING

"I don't think it had anything to do with leadership; it had to do with Club for Growth... I wish they'd spend their money going after Democrats, rather than Republicans. ... Let's just be honest about it: In blue states, we're not going to get conservative Republicans. It's just that simple."

~ Orrin Hatch (R-UT) playing the Specter-defection blame game.

BLUSTER

"Let's look at what a big-tent Republican Party gets you. Over the last eight years, we had Big Government with a party that had no identity. People like Specter destroyed the Republican brand... The reason why Arlen Specter left is because of Arlen Specter, not because of the Club for Growth or Pat Toomey,"

~Andy Roth, the Club for Growth's vice president for government affairs.

CO-DEPENDENT

"The Republican Party has room for conservatives and moderates because we are the Party of ideas.... I, like many of my fellow Pennsylvania Republicans, took Senator Specter at his word when he said that he would not switch parties, and I believe he owes every Republican who has supported him over the last three decades an apology.

~PA GOP Chair Rob Gleason, on the apology he feels he's owed.

SELF PRESERVATION

"I'm not prepared to have my 29-year record in the United States Senate decided by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate... not prepared to have that record decided by that jury."

~Arlen Specter, at a press conference after he announced his decision to switch parties.