Posted on 11/16/2004 7:34:05 PM PST by urbanrepublican
ALSO HEARING [KJL]
from a Senate staffer:
the caucus and leadership meetings were not love fests. Specter was forced to address the issues and his leadership of the committee, and to defend himself. Hatch in fact did exit the meeting and put his arm around Specter and endorsed him.
Conservatives are livid about Hatch's actions, but now feel there is little that can be done. The old guard is backing him, and some more endorsements are expected tonight and tomorrow. The way it was put to me is that barring a last minute surprise, Specter has the job.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
Let's give him a chance. No Democrat would write a brief in the WSJ op-ed pages or a National Review article explaining to conservatives he'll stand by the President. My philosophy is a pragmatic one - as long as Arlen works for us, I don't care that his voting record isn't 100% lifetime ACU. AS long as he votes for the President's nominees, that's good enough for me. Getting rid of liberal judges is more important than any Democratic bill Arlem here might vote for.
The point is if they handle things in a committee that he chairs we will not be able to watch.
They know what they are doing. I think they don't care that much. As long as there are abortions there is an issue. The issue is a proven vote-getter. Why kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
Supreme Court nominations are rather rare. This is the last chance to end abortion in our lifetimes.
I feel used.
The Chair isn't king.
They are giving up too soon. A few media words, and the pressure stops.
If MILLIONS of conservatives would keep this up, it still would be stoppable.
It's up to us.
But will the millions do it?
(Maybe that's why these Senators know they can do whatever they want. The sheep will go back to their football and prime-time TV comedies.)
Sure you do. We need all the help we can get. Punishing Arlen would be to throw away all the chances we can get to reshape the federal bench. That's stupid. Conservatives need to look at the whole picture. My motto is, "trust but verify." We'll watching to see Arlen lives up to his pledges.
Warning to Bill Frist....if you let this happen you are screwed in the 2008 primary...we rallied hard and showed how we felt, and if you blow us off, kiss any larger ambitions goodbye...
what is a "penultimate" RINO? Are there only two? Who is the last RINO?
Republicans will have a bigger majority on Judiciary. And hearings WILL be scheduled. Before Freepers have a seizure, let's remember NOTHING would have happened had Leahy been in charge.
In the Senate, one's word is currency. I hazard a guess Arlen gave his colleagues assurances to that effect and in exchange they let him have his chairmanship. His word is now his bond.
Well said! I agree 100%
This has nothing to do with punishing Specter. God will do that. We don't want him with all the power as Judiciary chair, blocking conservative Supreme Court nominees.
NR is reliably conservative, but they aren't always right. senators are like ducks; everything worth watching is happening under the surface.
and NR devoted the majority of an entire print issue to defeating specter; when they get that close to a cause, it sometimes screws up their judgment.
Arlene knows where all the bodies are burried since he burried John F Kennedy
They are all crooks and compromised... the whole rat nest of them Pubbies and Dems
They could care less for the Republic or the Constitution....they care only for themselves
and their positions to be able to rob Americans of their tax dollars and line their own pockets and those of their big money patrons
imo
The one argument I found consoling from the other side, was that if Arlen has basically agreed not to block anyone, then the cons have "cover" because they can point to their independent moderate in support, to show that so and so is not an extreme nominee. And if that were the arrangement, that would indeed be excellent.
Yep, I guess you and I are in the minority around these parts. I'm not a Specter fan, but he's a member of our party. He'll chair the committee and life will be okay.
As National Review editorialized, the elevation of Specter to the chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee would represent a "betrayal" of social conservatives. As indeed it does. We now have a pro-abort Attorney General and a pro-abort Judiciary Committee Chairman. Anyone who now thinks that Bush will push for the overturn of Roe v Wade is delusional.
So you presume its a given he'll break whatever he's told party colleagues and proceed to willy-nilly do the opposite? He maybe the chairman but he has just ONE vote on the Judiciary Committee.
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