Posted on 11/08/2004 7:49:54 AM PST by Anti-Bubba182
Sources on Capitol Hill and in the White House suggest Sen. Arlen Specter's (R.-Penn.) campaign to become chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee may be crumbling just as it began. Still, opponents of Specter's run face an uphill battle.
Specter's comments, the day after the election, warning Bush about sending up pro-life judges, have ignited in a firestorm that could sink Specter's bid. A grass-roots lobbying effort using the internet, phones and fax machines has bloomed, tying up phone lines of Republican Senators.
Despite his presumption to the chair, Specter is still in the position of needing to convince a majority of the Republicans on the Judiciary Committee and a majority of the Senate Republican Conference that he is the best man for the job. Conference rules explicitly state that a committee chairman, "need not be the member with the longest consecutive service on such committee."
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R.-Utah) is the current chairman, but newly instituted GOP term limits on committee chairmanships require him to step down. Second in seniority is Sen. Chuck Grassley (R.-Iowa), but conference rules prohibit the chairman of the tax-writing Finance Committee to chair any other committee. Grassley has repeatedly said he would not surrender the Finance gavel.
Next in seniority is Specter. Conservative Hill staffers, though, are quick to point out that he is far from guaranteed the spot. The rules explicitly discounting seniority are new, as are the term limits. Hatch would be among the first chairmen to surrender his gavel despite being the senior committee member and having no other major chairmanship. In short, Hill staffers point out, we are on unprecedented turf.
Some GOP Senate staff began in the summer to consider skipping over Specter and electing the No. 4 member on the committee, Sen. Jon Kyl (R.-Ariz.). That plan was aborted, but Specter's comments have revived it. Kyl has a lifetime ACU rating of 97% to Specter's 43%.
The early deliberations of electing Kyl over Specter sprang from reflection on Specter's 24-year record in the Senate. Specter was the most important player in the 1986 rejection of Robert Bork for the high court. He is also staunchly pro-choice.
Business interests are also worried that a Chairman Specter would derail the President's tort reform agenda, and at least one business representative plans on making that known on the Hill this week.
The chairman is elected by a majority of the Republican members of the reconstituted committee. Committee member Sen. John Cornyn (R.-Tex.) has suggested he is undecided on whom he would back for chairman, telling the AP, "We'll have to see where he stands."
Currently, there are 10 Republicans on the Judiciary Committee. Committee staff conjecture that Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) would like to leave Judiciary. Republican leadership hopes they can get 11 GOP members on the committee after reorganizing the Senate.
That would leave two vacancies. Sen. Sam Brownback (R.-Kan.), one of the Senate's leading pro-lifers, wants a spot. Presumably the other vacancy would be filled by a freshman. Of the incoming freshmen, Sen.-elect David Vitter (R.-La.) and Sen.-elect Mel Martinez (R.-Fla.) are lawyers.
Another committee Republican, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R.-Ala.) owes his job to Specter in a perverse way. Specter was key in defeating Sessions' appointment to the federal bench during the Reagan Administration.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), also on the committee, has gone on the record about the situation telling the New York Times, "The original comments attributed to Senator Specter were very unnerving…. His statement clarifying his position is reassuring, and I hope we will work our way through this."
Much of the election of a chairman will rest on the input of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R.-Tenn.) and Conference Chairman Sen. Rick Santorum (R.-Penn.). Neither has publicly commented, but Santorum saved Specter from certain defeat in his April primary by campaigning for his Pennsylvania colleague.
Top Bush advisor Karl Rove said on "Meet the Press" Sunday, "Senator Specter is a man of his word. We'll take him at his word" regarding support for President Bush's appointments. Rove also said, about the chairman election, "That's up to the United States Senate to decide, not the President of the United States. And just as we wouldn't like them to decide who are the staff assistants of the White House, they certainly do not want us determining who's committee chairman on the Hill."
Please say your kidding. Hatch is one of the biggest RINO'S in the Senate. He needs to retire!!
I think we need to keep the pressure up and increase it.
I think we need to communicate persuasively with Kyl, Grassley and Graham.
Disabuse these characters that Specter can be trusted to wipe himself well.
His record and recent statements make VERY PLAIN that he's a vigorous enemy to our values and goals.
THX.
I called today. BTW, I taught Kyl's son at a high school in AZ. Kyl is a good, solid guy.
I sent e-mails also to the GOP Senators, it feels good knowing that each of us are doing what we can. All the little ripples here create tidal waves on the Hill.
Keep it up.
Bork Specter now ~ Bump!
Specter has long been a "RINO", if he is humiliated in his quest for the chairmanship, he will perform a "Jumpin' Jim" act and switch parties! He would really have little difference in his PA support base and he has six years before he faces re-election!!!
"I swear some of these people get to the point where they believe they are ten feet tall and Bulletproof. There is no such thing in American politics."
Consider the case of ex-President Caligula...
Expectorate Specter!
How can they make assignments this week when the new Senate doesn't meet for a couple of months?
How do they make committee assignments until they decide on the committee make-up..i.e the number of seats the GOP wil have..
Thank you, but even PA Freepers were divided. Some actually voted for this skunk. There were constant fights on the PA board about voting for specter since the primary. I stopped checking out the PA board in the summer because I got sick of hearing PA Freepers insist that we had to vote for Specter.
2) I'm not nuts about Hatch either.
When you're lookin' for tough, articulate, stand-up guys in the Republican Party, you're sortin thru thin pickins!
His arrogance is eclipsed only by his stupidity.
There will be a lame duck session starting up next week. But this week, the "Committee on Committees" will be formulated and they will meet. A LOT will be decided by this committee and Senators generally go along with their recommendations. So once I find out who is on this "Committee on Committees", I'll get the info out here on FR.
In the meantime, Kyl is key -- he needs the backup to step up to the plate. Then Frist and the rest of the Jud comm members need to hear from everyone -- by phone, fax and email. Multiple times.
Given that a Supreme Ct. battle is right around the corner, this is CRITICAL.
This isn't Senate business, this is GOP business.
Why do they hope?
They have a 55-44-1 majority. If the committee structure represents the overall Senate breakdown, they should be demanding at least one more member, not hoping for one more member.
When will they start acting like a majority, and a majority with a mandate.
-PJ
Call Frist now and tell him Specter is unacceptable! Cap Hill switchboard is 202-225-3121.
It's obscene.
Good work! I also sent a bunch of e-mails out to the Republicans on the committee, as well as one to Bill Frist. If our work pays off and Specter loses the chairmanship, we will have been extremely effective.
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