Get Active: Call your senator NOW about hate crimes bill

The vote in the Senate could be as early as Thursday. CALL NOW, and yes, even call Kansas' hidebound throwbacks, Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts.

The equality bandwagon rolls into Maine

The Maine Legislature Senate has just approved a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in the state.The bill faces a couple more votes, but versions of it have already passed both chambers of the legislature. the Maine House. No word, yet, on whether the governor will sign it to make Maine the fifth state to make marriage equal.

Wow.

Double wow, actually.

Political Bombshell: Arlen Specter goes Democrat

[updated 12:48 pm]
Wow. If Al Franken is seated, the Republicans ability to filibuster is weakened. However, Specter says he won't be an automatic 60th vote to end filibusters. dead, and it's a whole new ballgame in Congress.

Steve Benen and others argue that the significance of Specter's action isn't the ability to block the filibuster, but the fact that it paints the GOP as the party of wackos. Specter's move certainly adds momentum to the Democratic Party, while giving Republicans more reason to push Norm Coleman to do everything he can to keep Franken out of the Senate. And so it goes..

Josh Marshall's "holy crap" is the right response.

Specter's statement.

Think Progress.

Kos points out the downside to this.