Inhofe's spin on this is quite excessive. That said, there's still a case to be made that there are some good things the GOP can get out of Specter's move. For instance, Campaign Diaries argues that Republicans might have improved their chances of keeping this seat beyond 2010 with Specter’s move:

Specter was showing no sign of considering retirement, so it is a safe bet that Attorney General Tom Corbett, former Governor Mark Schweiker, former Lieutenant Governor William Scranton or Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati had not even thought of the possibility that they might jump in the race. What will they decide now that Specter’s switch opened up the Republican field?

Until yesterday, it was looking likely that Toomey would win the GOP nomination and go on to lose the general election; but Specter’s switch opens the possibility that Republicans might nominate an electable candidate.

While Corbett, Schweiker, Cranton, Scarnati or Ridge would all start as underdogs against Specter, they might have a shot if the liberal base deserts the general election. ... And the bottom line is that these Republicans would have a stronger shot at winning than Toomey - who was until yesterday the party’s probable nominee.

BLACK KNIGHT:
The Black Knight always triumphs! Have at you! Come on, then.
[whop]
[ARTHUR chops the BLACK KNIGHT's last leg off]
BLACK KNIGHT:
Oh? All right, we'll call it a draw.
ARTHUR:
Come, Patsy.
BLACK KNIGHT:
Oh. Oh, I see. Running away, eh? You yellow bastards! Come back here and take what's coming to you. I'll bite your legs off!

Danny Devito in "Other People's Money":

We're dead alright. We're just not broke. And you know the surest way to go broke? Keep getting an increasing share of a shrinking market.

Yep, sounds to me like Inhofe has gotten his hands on The Math.

Even among other Republicans, he stands out as delusional.

Inhofe appears to be thinking here that the state of opinion in the Republican Party is tantamount to the nation's opinion overall.

That seems to me to be a common belief in conservatives here in Texas, and Oklahoma is even more conservative-ridden.

The conservatives use every possible technique of self-delusion and social self-isolation to maintain their beliefs. It's really pretty amazing. But Inhofe is a clear result of the process.

I suspect that we are going to see the conservative-dominated Republican party shrink to impotence, while the Democrats are going to break up into the conservative and liberal Democrats. The only real question is whether the Democrats will keep the disagreements within the party, making the Democratic primary into a lock on the general election, or if one of the two groups of Democrats will take over the structure of the Republican Party and resurrect it because it already has a useful state-by-state national legal structure.

The internecine battles within the Democratic Party is reminiscent of the period when parties were first forming under Thomas Jefferson, and of Texas after the Civil War where the Demcratic Primary was the election until the crazies recreated the conservative Republican Party. (George H. W. Bush was a key player in that action, as was Nixon.) (Historical analogies are always an iffy way to reason and predict the future.)

Look at the picture of this guy on the TPM homepage. He looks like a zombie from Night of the Living Dead.

"Why look, they're throwing rotten produce up on the stage and aiming for ME! They loved my performance! They're just begging for an encore!"

"She slammed the door in my face and threw everything I own out in the street. Could there ever be a clearer sign that she wants me back?"

"We're trailing 45-3 with 12 seconds to go in the fourth quarter. Ha! We've got 'em right where we want 'em."

The Republicans are nothing if not amusing.

War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength; and

Failure is Success.

Nothing like pouring perfume on a turd.

Message to Imhofe from Jake Gittes:

"Mulwray's dead, ya dumb Okie."

Inhofe is, without question, one of the dumbest members of Congress... perhaps of all time.

Inhofe might really believe what he's selling. I lived in two large and democratic cities for the first part of my politically aware adulthood. As such, I could not fathom how 1994 happened. I couldn't get my mind around it because I was surrounded by like-minded individuals who overwhelmingly voted the way I did.

Then, I returned home to my red state (which is now blue!). And now I get it. But for Inhofe, who lives in a state where one political position overwhelms the other, he probably has a hard time getting it. When everybody that you talk to on a daily basis thinks the same as you, it's easy to assume the entire world does too. As the Republicans become even more geographically isolated and concentrated, I look for them to become even more delusional.

Inhofe's comment makes perfect sense if you interpret his "we" as referring not to the Republican party, but to his own brand of extreme conservatives. Understand Inhofe comes from a universe in which, as far as he is concerned, Specter has more in common with Obama than he does with Inhofe - and that was true even before the defection. From that perspective, it is correct to say that the fact that the Specter/Obama coalition would not win in a Republican primary in 2010, whereas the Specter/Kerry coalition did win a Republican primary in 2004. Inhofe's brand of conservatism is actually on the rise. Now throw in the assumption that Inhofe's brand of conservatism is what people truly believe, and that the only reason that people don't vote for Republicans is because they are insufficiently devoted to Inhofean principles, and you arrive at the conclusion that the resurgence of real conservatives in the primary will be the resurgence of conservatism in America.

It's not actually that hard to understand; you just have to be willing to enter into the mind of a true believer.

ahem *From that perspective, it is correct to say that the fact that the Specter/Obama coalition would not win in a Republican primary in 2010, whereas the Specter/Kerry coalition did win a Republican primary in 2004 indicates a resurgence of conservatism.

With comments like that, it won't be long before Inhofe gets his own show on Faux News.

This is the only time in my memory that Inhofe is telling the truth: Specter's switch is a craven act that I think is despicable. Strike me dead if when I'm 79 (if I live that long) that I even THINK like this asshole.

Bottom line: Inhofe & Specter are equal assholes on a scale I can't even comprehend.

In closing, I ask this: Would it be a war crime to strategically Nuke Oklahoma?

And if so, who would even bother prosecuting?

A little OT, progressives trying to get rid of Specter next year would be a great example of dems trying to make the big tent smaller.

History is not repeating itself for 1965 but is similar to the Whigs of 1856-1860.

Republicans principles are losing and the outcomes are proven failure.

No different than the Whigs were proven ineffectual and failure. Placating the slave states and duo economy and ethics proved disastrous.

This party which thought it was structuring a permanent majority in 2002 now is forming a permanent 3rd party of the old South.

I am reminded of the Onion's headline on the "theory" of gravitation being challenged by the "theory of intelligent falling." There is no gravity; God makes things fall.