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HARRISBURG — Only 31 percent of Pennsylvania voters believe Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter should be re-elected, and 59 percent believe it's time to give someone else a chance, a state poll released today shows. Specter's numbers are "staggering," said pollster Jim Lee, president of Susquehanna Polling and Research. An incumbent typically is vulnerable if fewer than 40 percent approve of his or her re-election, Lee said. The poll of 700 registered voters, conducted Oct. 7-12, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. "When I see a re-elect in the low 30s, that's ... near fatal,"...

In case you missed it, embattled Democrat Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) posted an op-ed on the liberal Huffington Post web site today outlining his support for a “robust public option plan” as the health care debate wages on in Washington. Of course, you might recall that just a few months ago, Senator Specter emphatically stated the exact opposite position on NBC’s “Meet the Press” – but that was before Congressman Joe Sestak entered the Democrat primary against Specter…

A new Quinnipiac University poll found Republican challenger Pat Toomey with a narrow lead over Sen. Arlen Specter. Statistically, the survey's trial race -- 43 percent for Mr. Toomey and 42 percent for the incumbent -- was essentially identical to the school's last survey in July, when Mr. Specter was ahead by the similarly tiny margin of 45 percent to 44 percent. Both results were well within the survey's 3 percentage point margin of error. But the reversal of their positions threw a symbolic spotlight on the veteran's vulnerability in the closely watched race. When he made his surprising departure...

Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., is closing the door on Republican donors who want their campaign contributions back after his party switch. His website announces a new October 15 expiration date for his promise to return the money of those who want their money back.

(President Barack Obama and Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., pause atop the stairs from Air Force One upon their arrival at Philadelphia International Airport on Sept. 15. Sen. Specter trails Pa. Republican Senate Candidate Pat Toomey in a new Quinnipiac University poll.) (Joseph Kaczmarek/Associated Press) Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Pat Toomey now leads incumbent Democrat Arlen Specter 43 percent to 42 percent among the state’s registered voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday. Mr. Specter switched parties from Republican to Democratic in April, explaining that he had no interest in staying in a party that would not nominate him...

<p>Vice President Joe Biden will hold a Bucks County Fundraiser for Senator Arlen Specter. Congressman Pat Murphy is expected to attend. Here’s your chance to tell Biden/Specter/Murphy just what you think of Obamacare and cap and tax.</p>

Arlen Specter has been the cause of consternation and worse for his critics. He has even made supporters -- in both parties -- scratch their heads. But with his prosecutorial precision and campaign discipline, Specter has been able to use his independence to justify many of his unpredictable moves. Until, perhaps, last week. With his strangely wild prediction about the controversial labor reform bill called the Employee Free Choice Act, the word is that Specter was so off-message that he even floored his own Senate and campaign staff. snip...

President Barack Obama hit the campaign trail for one of the newest members of his party today, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter. The 79-year old senator switched parties last April, after 44 years in office as a Republican. His new affiliation may have won him the favor of the president, but it’s also set him up for a very tough re-election battle in Pennsylvania. In twin events in Philadelphia this afternoon, the president helped Specter get “within striking distance” of his $2.5 million fundraising goal, according to the senator’s press secretary Kate Kelly. (snip) The President hailed Sen. Specter as a...

OBAMA HEADLINES SPECTER FUNDRAISER (September 15) The Daily News reports that President Obama and Governor Rendell will headline an Arlen Specter fundraiser. The goal—raise $2.5 million. Join the Independence Hall Tea Party Association in a rally against the policies of Obama, Rendell, and Specter. When: Tuesday, September 15, 4 PM ‘til? Where: We will be gathering at 12th & Arch, Pennsylvania Convention Center Please check our website independencehalltpa.com for possible updates! : ) We have had a number of calls from the media, including TV stations. Let's get lots of people to this event and show them we mean business!...

U.S. Senators Arlen Specter and Bob Casey and Congressmen Bill Shuster and Mike Doyle today announced that the Pennsylvania High-Speed Maglev Project will receive $28 million in federal funding. The funding is in the form of a grant from the Federal Railroad Administration SAFETEA-LU Maglev Program. “This $28 million award is the most significant development in the 29 years we’ve been working on Maglev,” Senator Specter said. “The vision is to have a 250 mile-an-hour train traveling from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia with intermediate stops. Such a train would be a tremendous economic boon with thousands of new jobs in the...

Specter wants Wilson censured Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Penn.), who's looked at POTUS from both sides now, was just on the Bill Press radio show suggesting the South Carolina firebrand Joe Wilson be censured for his heckle heard round the world. Said the Republican-turned-Dem: "He apologized immediately afterward but I don't think that’s adequate... If an apology is the consequence of an outburst I think we can expect more – that’s not a sufficient penalty that’s not a sufficient price to pay.. I'm not saying the guy should be kicked out of the House… But there ought to be some rebuke,...

Joliet, Illinois (CNN) – Organizers of the Tea Party Express bus tour arriving in Washington later this week planned their route to go though Democratic congressional districts they consider vulnerable. "What we did was take a map of the United States and then we went head and pin pointed the members of congress that merited our attention and then we looked at those that might be politically vulnerable," said Joe Wierzbicki, a strategist with the conservative PAC Our Country Deserves Better, who are organizing the cross country Tea Party Express tour. Topping the group's target list in the Senate is...

When Arlen Specter switched parties back in April, he realized that some of his former supporters might regret having donated money to someone who was no longer a Republican. He made a concession: “Upon request, I will return campaign contributions contributed during this cycle.” That could wind up being a costly promise. Specter has raised $11 million this cycle, and only has $7.5 million on hand. That said, some donors have a lot invested in Specter and won’t want their money back. And many others might want their money back, but either aren’t aware of his promise or won’t bother...

Specter noted he had been voting mostly with the Democrats for years. He recalled his successful fight, along with Senator Kennedy, to stop the controversial nomination of Judge Robert Bork to the Supreme Court in 1987. “It would’ve been a different world,” he said if Bork had been appointed. “Bork would have overturned Roe vs. Wade.”

Washington - The Federal Election Commission voted today to allow the Club for Growth to contact thousands of contributors to Senator Arlen Specter's campaign about his policy of providing refunds to those who supported his reelection before he switched parties from Republican to Democrat in April. "The Commission's decision is good news for thousands of Americans who contributed to Specter's campaign to elect a Republican, not to strengthen Harry Reid's Democratic majority," said Club Executive Director David Keating. "We look forward to helping Senator Specter make good on his commitment."

STROUDSBURG — Congress will pass health care reform that includes a government-run program to compete with private insurance, Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., predicted Wednesday morning. Specter told a friendly audience of Monroe County Democratic activists that the so-called public option is the only way to prevent profiteering by private insurance companies. The public option is the most controversial element of proposals to provide health insurance for the estimated 45 million Americans without it.

Arlen Specter says no more end of life books at the VA.

Senator Arlen Specter's positions continue to dog the the now Democratic Senator from Pennsylvania, as he bobs and weaves his way through some of his past stances prior his party switch. In this video clip, Mr. Specter first explains back in late April of 2009 on MSNBC's Ed Schultz's program , that he was opposed to using reconciliation as a tactic to passing health care reform.

Here is video of Sen. Specter and Rep. Ryan on "Fox News Sunday." When Sen. Specter was asked why he thought public support for President Obama's handling of health care has dropped sharply he answered "it is dropping because of so much misinformation." (Watch Video)

Arlen Specter vs. Paul Ryan on FNS...

Sen. Arlen Specter on Sunday called for hearings to scrutinize a guide for veterans' end-of-life care which one former Bush official says sends a "hurry-up-and-die" message to injured troops. The guide, called "Your Life, Your Choices," was suspended under the Bush administration but has been revived under the current Department of Veterans Affairs. Jim Towey, former director of the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, told "FOX News Sunday" that the pamphlet makes injured veterans feel like a burden, encourages the severely injured to die and should be tossed out. Asked about the document, Specter, a member of the Veterans'...

Specter Only Mocks Republicans At Pittsburgh Comedy Club By Noel Sheppard Created 2009-08-22 12:48 Most Republicans likely already think Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Penn.) is a joke, and Thursday evening he proved it when he took the stage at a Pittsburgh comedy club. Appearing at the Improv in a benefit for Allegheny county's Music Festival Fund for children, Specter poked fun exclusively at Republicans including Bob Dole, Dan Quayle, Trent Lott, Alfonse D'Amato, and Howard Baker. Proving just how much his allegiances have changed since his defection to the Democrats, although some of the material was taken from a previous routine...

Weird, I know, but it was for charity. Consider this an in-kind contribution to the Toomey campaign, as once the clip starts circulating the money from enraged Palinistas should start pouring in. I’m not sure what the point of the punchline is, frankly: Is the joke supposed to be that she’s an egomaniac or is it actually a dig at her religious devotion? Ah well — as a newly minted Democrat, he’s practically obliged to stick some Palin derision in there somewhere. The Sarah goof is in the first clip; the other two involve him showing off his repertoire of...

Has Arlen Specter met his political demise? It’s beginning to look that way. As he seeks reelection to the Pennsylvania Senate, Specter is locked in a furious campaign fight on both his left and right flanks. It’s a challenge that may soon become too much for even this ultimate political shape shifter and survivor to overcome. In its most recent survey, Rasmussen Reports found that Specter was trailing Republican rival Pat Toomey by 12 percent. But that’s not even the worst for the Republican-turned-Democrat. Specter may not even survive the Democratic Party’s primary. The Rasmussen poll says that Specter is...

A new ad from Pennsylvania Senate Candidate Pat Toomey (R) shows Arlen Specter criticizing and bashing then-President Bill Clinton's government-run health care plan in 1994.

In Senator Specter’s own words regarding EFCA and the Secret Ballot… One answer to the Senate, the same to Sunday shows, the same to a townhall last week. …. and then three days later a different to a liberal crowd in Pittsburgh. Which is it?

As you watch it, try to figure out whether the Card Check supporters are running it or whether it is the opponents. Specter is such a craven, unprincipled hack that this ad could have been run by either side in this debate, as it focuses on his unreliability and flip-flopping, starting from his party affiliation all the way down to individual issues like this one. The money clip (shot last week at the Nutroots Nation conference) is at the end.

Republican former Congressman Pat Toomey leads in a poll against both of the Democrats vying to run against him in the 2010 U.S. Senate election, according to a Rasmussen poll. Rasmussen Reports said today that 48 percent of Pennsylvania voters surveyed support the former Lehigh Valley representative while only 36 percent back Democratic Senator Arlen Specter. U.S. Representative Joe Sestak, D-7th, of Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties only got 35 percent of poll respondents’ support in a match-up against Toomey, with the Republican getting 43 percent. At this early stage, Mr. Sestak is the underdog in the Democratic primary, trailing...

Sen. Arlen Specter (D) will welcome President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden to Pennsylvania in the coming months as he looks to build his financial lead in his race for reelection. The president will attend a Sept. 15 fundraiser for Specter at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, while the vice president will join the new Democrat for an event in Western Pennsylvania later this fall. Fundraisers for Specter's campaign hope to raise $2.5 million during the event in Philadelphia, according to an e-mail invitation obtained by the Philadelphia Daily News. The event has already raised $600,000, and...

Democratic Senator Arlen Specter said in an interview on “This Week” that he supports Americans right to organize, but warned that recent town hall ruckus from critics of the Democrats' health care proposals are not representative of the public's view on the issue. “I think we have to bear in mind, that although those people need to be heard and have a right to be heard, that they are not really representative of America in my opinion,” Specter said on ABC’s “This Week.” “We have to be careful here not to let those town meetings make the scene that influences...

Sen. Arlen Specter says critics of the Democrats' health care proposals are not representative of the public's view on the issue. The Pennsylvania Democrat says people who are angry at town hall meetings don't reflect the broader public opinion of the proposed overhaul.

Foxnews Griff Jenkins says ACORN did confirm the buses at the event, 2 interviews with Greta talk to eyewitnesses about what they saw with the buses at the Specter Town Hall

US healthcare reforms cause outrage and fears of a 'socialist state' Imre Karacs, Kittanning, Pennsylvania The retired coal miner queuing in the midday sun has come to the town hall meeting with heavy political baggage. “I’ll keep my money and guns — you keep the change,” warns the badge pinned to Carl Anderson’s chest. In his hand is a banner that states simply: “Revolution is Brewing.” He is here to protest against health reform. Mr Anderson, 70, has travelled 65 miles with seven of his friends and family to add his booming voice to the pensioners’ revolt that has shaken...

Sen. Arlen Specter might have greater worries than receiving rancorous receptions at town hall meetings. A Rasmussen Reports poll released Thursday shows the Democrat trailing Republican Pat Toomey by 12 points in next year's Senate race. The survey indicates that a majority of Pennsylvania voters view Specter unfavorably. "I was staggered by the low base of support that Sen. Specter received," said Scott Rasmussen, president of the New Jersey-based independent polling firm. "It did not surprise me that his numbers were down, but I was blown away by the extent of the drop." The poll, an automated telephone survey of...

got an opportunity to speak with Pat Toomey, former Congressman and president of the Club for Growth, who will run for the US Senate against either incumbent Arlen Specter or Rep. Joe Sestak. Toomey talks about the broad appeal of economic freedom, and how he routinely attracted Democrats to his banner in a working-class Congressional district. Find out the shocking thing Toomey did as a politician, and don’t forget to visit his campaign website and read his new book, The Road to Prosperity: How to Grow Our Economy and Revive the American Dream.

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter (D., Pa.) told a wary audience today at the Netroots Nation convention of liberal bloggers and activists that he is the only Democrat vigorously defending President Obama's plans to overhaul the health care system before hostile crowds. He spoke just before his primary challenger, Rep. Joe Sestak, took the stage to make his pitch and answer questions in a back-to-back bid for the influential ears of several hundred bloggers attending from around the nation. "I carried the president's message," said Specter, who switched from the Republican Party in the spring and is seeking reelection to a...

Yesterday, the day after the headline making town hall meeting in nearby Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Senator Arlen Specter called the area's largest newspaper, the Harrisburg Patriot-News, to request time with the editorial board and local reporters. Specter faced off yet again yesterday with an angry crowd over health care, this latest one in State College, home of Penn State. "Good morning" said one student. "Is it?" Specter snapped. A transcript of the later editorial board meeting was published today. Beginning by saying "we have to acquaint the American people with the facts" and that "there are a lot of rumors," he...

Sens. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) took to Twitter Friday to clash over comments the latter made regarding end-of-life provisions included in healthcare reform legislation.Specter initiated the tussle, tweeting about a call he made to Grassley’s office. “Called Senator Grassley to tell him to stop speading (sic) myths about health care reform and imaginary ‘death panels,’ Specter said on Twitter. “Had to leave a message - for now. I will talk to him soon.”The Pennsylvania Democrat's phone call demonstrates growing tension between his party and Grassley, who is the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee and lead...

By the time Sen. Arlen Specter set foot inside the Belmont Complex in East Franklin on Thursday afternoon, the crowd wanting answers was red-hot. About 1,500 people waited for hours near Kittanning under the beating sun for the town hall meeting on health care reform. The 200 or so allowed into the hall greeted the Republican-turned-Democrat with rounds of thundering jeers reminiscent of a Jerry Springer show. Some stood up and applauded, and so began a 90-minute showdown marked by passionate pleas for action, interruptions from angry hecklers and incessant chants that drowned out Specter's call for civility. "Read the...

GLENN: 888 727 BECK, 888 727 BECK. Hello and welcome to the program. Let me go to Katy in Pennsylvania

Thursday, August 13, 2009—On the Glenn Beck radio program this morning Katy Abram, 35-year old mom, who asked Arlen Specter with boldness a question at a town hall meeting, poured her heart out to Glenn Beck. She was sobbing uncontrollably as she reported how the unscrupulous left had been calling her cell phone, emailing her constant threats and vile vitriol. The harassment didn’t stop there it bled over to her father’s business. Past two days have been a whitlwind (sob)--I'm okay." Hear it for yourselves, you decide! Sounds like shades of Sarah PaIin. I say Katy Abram is an American...

The back-and-forth between Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter and several attendees of a town hall meeting in Lebanon, Pa., this week may become the lasting political symbol of the summer of 2009: a politician and his constituents standing inches away from one another, angrily debating the merits (or lack thereof) of President Obama's health-care reform plan.

Poor Arlen Specter.The Pennsylvania senator who ditched the Republican Party to become a Democrat is getting tired of his constituents yelling at him for supporting President Obama's plan to nationalize the healthcare industry.Specter attended a safe, friendly healthcare event yesterday in Duncannon, Pa., organized by Organizing for America (OFA), which is an arm of the Democratic National Committee. The OFA wesbite (my.barackobama.com) carried the following listing for the event: THE DETAILSStanding up for insurance reform in Duncannon with Sen. Specter (Health Care Public Event)Our representatives are under attack by Washington insiders, insurance companies, and well-financed special interests who don't go a day...

KITTANNING, Pa. -- Residents of Kittanning are already squaring off on health care reform while waiting for Sen. Arlen Specter to arrive for a meeting slated for 3 p.m. Recent town hall meetings have ended with people shouting at lawmakers over health care reform. Specter has been on the receiving end of some of the anger. Today's town hall meeting will be held at the Belmont Complex in Kittanning. The event will be livestreamed on WPXI.com. Some people began lining up as early as 6 a.m. to make sure they get a seat in the front row. And all morning...

Uncomfortable town hall meetings are just the tip of the iceberg for Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter, Scott Rasmussen writes. In a Rasmussen survey released this morning, Republican Pat Toomey is clobbering Specter, 48-36. As recently as June, Specter had a substantial lead over Toomey in a Rasmussen poll.

Pennsylvania Senate: Toomey 48%, Specter 36%Uncomfortable town hall meetings are just the tip of the iceberg for Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter. He now trails Republican Pat Toomey by double digits in his bid for reelection next year and is viewed unfavorably by a majority of the state’s voters. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Pennsylvania voters shows 48% would vote for Toomey if the election were held today. Just 36% would vote for Specter while four percent (4%) prefer a third option, and 12% are not sure.

SUNBURY — U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter said Tuesday that the fate of the proposed Central Susquehanna Valley Thruway depends on his re-election, and he and the federal transportation secretary will drive around Pennsylvania discussing the project Aug. 24 Specter and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood will go on a road trip to Philadelphia, Scranton and Allentown, said Specter’s press secretary, Kate Kelly. They will discuss highway priorities, she said, not necessarily confined to those locations. Speaking after his Tuesday town hall meeting in Lewisburg, Specter called the Thruway long overdue. Specter, who in April switched from the Republican to...

Average American citizen Katy Abram's impassioned plea against socialized health care, at Senator Arlen Specter's town hall meeting on Tuesday, got her noticed by the "Hardball" producers as her clip was featured on Tuesday's show and she even received an invitation to appear tonight -- complete with the requisite scolding from the program's liberal host. Subbing for Chris Matthews, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell incorrectly challenged Abram's fear that Barack Obama wanted to move to a single-payer plan.After Abram recalled that, "I heard him say on a quote, on television, that...we will move to a single-payer" plan, O'Donnell rebuked "He never said...