Specter feels comfortable as Democrat

PITTSBURGH, June 7 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., says he feels "comfortable" with Democrats after switching from the Republican Party this year.

Speaking Saturday in Pittsburgh for the first time as a Democrat to a state party event, Specter said he felt as if he had come home, the Washington publication Politico reported.

"Maybe it's no coincidence that I feel so comfortable with Democrats, because I've spent most of my life with Democrats," Specter said. "Maybe it's no coincidence that I've been derided for years by the far-right as a Republican in name only. Well, I'm no longer a Republican. I'm again a Democrat, and I'm pleased and proud to be a Democrat."

At the annual Pennsylvania Democratic Party committee meeting, Specter cited a list of issues on which he agrees with his new party, such as increasing the minimum wage, support for abortion rights and stem cell research, and safeguarding civil liberties in times of war, Politico said.