Free Republic

A town hall erupted in Philadelphia after Sen. Arlen Specter said health care reform has to get done fast.

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) took the opportunity Wednesday to defend House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has come under fire in recent weeks over a controversy surrounding when she was told of the use of enhanced interrogation techniques being used by the CIA. "The CIA has a very bad record when it comes to — I was about to say 'candid'; that's too mild — to honesty," Specter, a former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a lunch address to the American Law Institute. He cited misleading information about the agency's involvement in mining harbors in Nicaragua and...

The political whirlwind that surrounded Sen. Arlen Specter ’s switch from the Republican to Democratic party had him forgetting which team he is rooting for in 2010. But after voicing support for Republican Norm Coleman in his contested Minnesota Senate race, Specter said he misspoke in a New York Times magazine interview and is supporting Democrats. Specter switched parties April 30 in an effort to hold his Pennsylvania seat for a sixth term in the 2010 election. The move upset fellow Republicans and elated Democrats who edged to a 59-seat majority with two independents in a Senate where 60 senators...

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) said Sunday in his first TV interview since becoming a Democrat last week he had not promised to be “a loyal Democrat” and would lead a filibuster against his new party if he felt strongly enough about an issue. Specter told David Gregory on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he had determined “with polls and a lot of personal contact” that his reelection prospects as a Republican were “bleak.” But he added: “There’s more than being reelected here. There’s the factor of principle. The Republican Party has gone far to the right since I joined it...

IT is disheartening and disconcerting, at the very least, that here we are today — almost exactly eight years after Senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party — witnessing the departure of my good friend and fellow moderate Republican, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, for the Democratic Party. And the announcement of his switch was all the more painful because I believe it didn’t have to be this way. When Senator Jeffords became an independent in 2001, I said it was a sad day for the Republicans, but it would be even sadder if we failed to confront and learn...

My one rule of politics is that the future is never a straight line projection of the present. Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter's unexpected decision to switch parties and run for re-election in 2010 as a Democrat proves the rule. Mr. Specter often votes for liberal Democratic initiatives and infuriates conservative Republicans. Still, his surprise defection was a crushing setback for the GOP, instantly reducing what limited power Republicans have in the Senate. The GOP's ability to stop liberal legislation is now weakened if not eliminated in some instances. CorbisMr. Specter's jump across the aisle significantly adds to the heavy Republican...

When Arlen Specter became the 21st senator to switch parties while in office, he did so with considerably more flash than one predecessor. "I basically tried to move about without notice," said former Sen. Harry F. Byrd Jr. of Virginia. Byrd, 94, switched from Democratic registration to independent in 1970. "Colleagues were cordial, but I did my best to avoid everyone." Specter, 79, had little chance of repeating that feat Tuesday. His announcement kicked off a national frenzy of news stories and speculation about what it might mean for Pennsylvania politics, President Obama's agenda, the balance of power in the...

HUMAN EVENTS has learned from staff sources that Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa) is about to announce his switch to the Democratic Party. Developing….

Breaking news on FNC

Statement by Senator Arlen Specter I have been a Republican since 1966. I have been working extremely hard for the Party, for its candidates and for the ideals of a Republican Party whose tent is big enough to welcome diverse points of view. While I have been comfortable being a Republican, my Party has not defined who I am. I have taken each issue one at a time and have exercised independent judgment to do what I thought was best for Pennsylvania and the nation. Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party...

Dear Pennsylvania constituent: After giving exhaustive consideration to the Employee Free Choice legislation, I have decided to oppose the bill for reasons specified in my Senate floor statement which is contained below or you may read here [link 1] and watch here [link 2]. I remain open to working to correct the imbalance which exists with so many jobs being exported and substantial labor losses in areas like pensions and health care. In my floor statement, I have also laid out some suggested revisions to the National Labor Relations Act which could provide the basis for correcting the current imbalance....

Sen. Arlen Specter said Tuesday that he will not run for reelection in 2010 as a Democrat, but might run as an Independent. The Pennsylvania Republican has been under tremendous pressure from the GOP base since being one of just three Republicans to vote for the Democratic-led stimulus package last month. He said in an interview with The Hill that the role of the Republican Party in Washington is too vital for him to switch to the Democratic side. “I’m staying a Republican because I think I have a more important role to play there,” he said. “I think the...

Dear (redacted): Thank you for contacting my office concerning the confirmation of Eric H. Holder. I appreciate your interest in this important matter and your opinion. The confirmation of an Attorney General is one of my most important responsibilities as a United States Senator. Next to the President, there is no federal official more important than the Attorney General to ensuring that the rule of law is enforced. Attorneys General are trusted with incredible responsibility and, in our justice system, they often have the final say on critical legal issues. As a result, I take the Senate's constitutional role in...

Dear Friends, As you know, today the President signed into law the "Americans Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009." The vote on the stimulus package was a very tough vote because of the very large deficit we have and the very large national debt faced by future generations. But the economy is in a desperate situation. Just in the month of January we lost 600,000 jobs, added to the loss of 2.8 million last year. There are millions of people who are having their homes foreclosed. The economists tell us that if we do not act that the current severe...

Woman gives judge earful, lands in jail Obscene outburst nets Sarah Muller contempt charge in jury selection By Suevon Lee Star-Banner Published: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 6:30 a.m. Last Modified: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 5:35 a.m. OCALA — A Summerfield woman said she blurted without thinking a couple choice words for a county judge during jury selection at the Marion County Courthouse Monday morning—ones which had landed her in jail by the end of the day. ALAN YOUNGBLOOD/STAR-BANNER Sarah E. Muller comments on her case during an interview at the Marion County Jail. click to enlarge Judge R....

[JURIST] US Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) [official website; JURIST news archive], outgoing chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee [official website], has indicated that President Bush may have to nominate moderate judges to any future vacancies on the US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] following midterm elections that ceded control of Congress to the Democrats. Monday's Philadelphia Inquirer also quoted Specter as speculating that the Democrats, who formally take control in January, may restrict or even halt judicial confirmations until the 2008 presidential elections. In related comments, Specter expressed hope that the lame-duck Congress will push through legislation [JURIST...

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is hosting a series of one-on-one lunches with members of the Supreme Court. The senator, whose tenure as chairman began last year amid furious conservative opposition but has included confirmation of two conservative nominees to the high court, is holding his tête-à-têtes in the Senate dining room with strict constructionists and loose constructionists alike. Specter told The Hill that he lunches with the justices simply because he is hungry. In a more serious vein, he added that he does so to hash out “matters of concern.” Pennsylvania’s senior senator said...

By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer 19 minutes ago A Senate committee approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage Thursday, after a shouting match that ended when one Democrat strode out and the Republican chairman bid him "good riddance." "I don't need to be lectured by you. You are no more a protector of the Constitution than am I," Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., shouted after Sen. Russ Feingold (news, bio, voting record) declared his opposition to the amendment, his affinity for the Constitution and his intention to leave the meeting. "If you want to leave, good riddance," Specter...

WASHINGTON - President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney should speak publicly about their involvement in the CIA leak case so people can understand what happened, a leading Republican senator said Sunday. ADVERTISEMENT "We ought to get to the bottom of it so it can be evaluated by the American people," said Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record) of Pennsylvania, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In a federal court filing last week, the prosecutor in the case said Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby, testified before a grand jury that he was authorized by Bush, through...

Sen. Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said Sunday that while President Bush's terrorist surveillance program is a "flat out violation" of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, it may be entirely legal because of powers granted the president by the Constitution. "There is an involved question here . . . as to whether the president's powers under Article 2, his inherent powers, supersede a statute." Specter told NBC's "Meet the Press." The Pennsylvania Republican said that if the FISA statute "is inconsistent with the Constitution, the Constitution governs and the constitutional powers predominate." Specter, whose committee is set to commence...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee promised a thorough investigation on Sunday into President George W. Bush's secret domestic eavesdropping program and said there would be no blank check for Bush. Sen. Arlen Specter, a Republican from Pennsylvania, said Bush in theory could face impeachment charges if found to have violated the law by authorizing the program, but he did not endorse that approach and had heard no serious talk of it. News of the covert domestic spying program last month sparked an outcry by both Democrats and some members of Bush's Republican party. Many lawmakers...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter on Friday announced he would vote to confirm Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court. "I intend to vote to support Judge Alito's nomination as associate justice of the Supreme Court," said the Pennsylvania Republican at the conclusion of his committee's confirmation hearing. Specter, a moderate who supports legalized abortion, announced his support of Alito, a conservative appeals court judge who was grilled closely on his past statements in opposition to a woman's right to an abortion. Most, if not all, of the eight Democrats on the Judiciary Committee are expected...

WASHINGTON - Members of Congress from both parties expressed outrage Friday over revelations that President Bush launched a secret domestic surveillance program in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The disclosure that the National Security Agency has been eavesdropping on domestic telephone conversations created a furor that could have far-reaching implications for the Bush presidency. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, promised a thorough investigation into the secret program early next year. The surveillance operation was disclosed Friday by The New York Times, which reported that the government has been monitoring phone calls...

Haunting Specter Arlen Specter's impending chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee has conservatives concerned | by Lynn VincentThe day after winning a dicey reelection fight, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, presumptive new chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, held a press conference in which reporters asked him how he would handle pro-life judicial nominees. Perhaps feeling flush with imminent power, the famously pro-abortion Republican pledged allegiance to Roe vs. Wade—and seemed to warn President Bush that his judicial nominees should do likewise. Those remarks ignited protests by conservatives who jammed airwaves and Senate phone lines, questioning Sen. Specter's fitness to chair...

Conservative activists who protested Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter's bid to chair the Judiciary Committee are vowing are keep pressure on the liberal Republican and his Senate colleagues who have vowed to support him. A formal vote on Specter's ascension won't happen until January. Even though the nine Republicans on the Judiciary Committee are backing Specter, his support in the 55-member Senate Republican Conference remains unclear. "Anything can happen in two months," said the Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, who led a protest against Specter earlier this week on Capitol Hill. "Let's face the political realities, but I don't think it's both...

ON NOW! 2:35 CT. UNANIMOUS endorsement of Specter by all the GOP Senate Jud. Comm. members. Specter WILL get chairmaship, each taking turns speaking about it and all the calls they've gotte. Making their case for why he'll be okay as chair.

ON CAPITOL HILL Specter wins colleagues' support GOP judiciary panel members back his chairmanship -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: November 18, 2004 4:00 p.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com Despite a strong campaign by conservative opponents, Republican Sen. Arlen Specter won support of his colleagues to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sen. Arlen Specter at town hall meeting (Photo: Williamsport Sun-Gazette) Outgoing chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, told reporters at a news conference today the panel's Republican members unanimously backed the Pennsylvania senator, known for his liberal stance on many issues. "I have assured the president that I would give his nominees quick committee hearings...

Christian Understanding...

In early May 2002, things looked grim for Brooks Smith, a federal district judge in Pennsylvania who had been nominated to a seat on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. Smith, a conservative and a favorite of home-state Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), faced an uphill climb in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Democrats controlled the committee by a thin 10-9 majority — control given to them a year earlier by the defection of Sen. Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.) — and they clearly wanted to block Smith’s nomination. But they didn’t have much to work with. So they tried a bunch of little...

The good news is that GOP Leadership is not letting him off the hook easy. Notice that Senate leaders rejected his first draft. Associated Press:Specter, who supports abortion rights, also is pledging a strong predisposition to support the president's nominees for the bench, according to these sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Pennsylvania senator's draft statement affirms that he will not impose a litmus test on nominees based on the issue of abortion, but does not include a blanket pledge to vote for them. Specter's written statement, apparently undergoing changes, largely covers positions he has staked out in...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Despite intense efforts from pro-life advocates, it appears increasingly likely that pro-abortion Pennsylvania Republican Senator Arlen Specter will be the next chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Late Tuesday, after meeting with Republican members of the judicial panel, Specter picked up the support of Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, who opposes abortion. "I expect him to have the support of the committee," Hatch said after the closed-door meeting with the panel's members. "Nobody in the meeting was against Arlen," Hatch told reporters, with Specter at his side. "Senator Specter handled himself very well and frankly, I'm for...

DOES THIS mean that I have to rise to the defense of Arlen Specter? If the enemy of my enemy is my friend, is the target of my enemy my hero? Do I have to rally whole paragraphs around the senior senator from Pennsylvania? Puh-leeze. In the aftermath of the election, the ayatollah wing of the Republican Party has insisted that their opposition to issues like same-sex marriage and abortion put the president back in office. That's their story, and they're sticking to it. Now it's payback time, and the folks who already own the White House and Congress are...

WASHINGTON - While pledging to help President Bush (news - web sites) promote anti-abortion judges to the federal bench, Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record) is struggling to maintain his proudly cultivated image as an independent thinker and sometime maverick. To salvage the Judiciary Committee (news - web sites) chairmanship he's in line to get in January, the Pennsylvania Republican has been promising to support anti-abortion nominees even though he favors abortion rights. Specter's elevation to the panel's chairmanship after 24 years in the Senate was put in doubt two weeks ago when he told reporters that judges who...

(GOP Senators Expected to Approve Chairmanship)Key Republicans said yesterday they believe that Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) will be approved by GOP colleagues as chairman of the Judiciary Committee despite an uproar over his expressed doubts that a Supreme Court nominee who opposes abortion rights could be confirmed by the Senate. "I expect him to have the support" necessary to win the chairmanship, said the outgoing committee chairman, Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah). He was joined by former Senate GOP leader Trent Lott (Miss.) and deputy party whip Robert F. Bennett (Utah) in predicting victory for Specter. Bennett characterized the controversy as...

Specter gets key backing for Judiciary post Current chairman supports him to head panel, but Majority Leader Bill Frist says, 'We'll see.' By Jeff Miller Call Washington Bureau WASHINGTON | Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter picked up an important endorsement Tuesday in his bid to chair the Judiciary Committee, even as social conservatives vowed to step up their fight to block him. Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, the current chairman, said he supported Specter and predicted other committee Republicans would do the same. ''I think this matter will resolve itself,'' said Hatch, who will be forced to step down in January because...

Sen. Arlen Specter, a Republican defender of abortion rights, made progress on Tuesday in his embattled bid to head the committee that reviews judicial nominations, party aides said. Specter emerged from a closed-door meeting with Senate Republican leaders with a smile but no prediction on whether he will become Judiciary Committee chairman -- though a handful of Republican lawmakers have publicly voiced support in recent days and have said they expect him to get it. "I never count any chickens before they hatch," Specter, 74, of Pennsylvania, said after the meeting in the office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist,...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Anti-abortion conservatives on Tuesday protested the possible elevation of Sen. Arlen Specter to Senate Judiciary Committee chairman just as the Pennsylvania senator was trying to convince his Republican colleagues that he would be a strong advocate for President Bush's judicial nominees. More than a dozen protesters gathered outside a Senate office building where Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., keeps his offices, carrying signs saying "Bork Specter", "Sen. Frist: Stop Judicial Activism" and "Senator Frist: Listen to We the People." Robert Bork was a conservative jurist whose nomination to the Supreme Court was thwarted. Specter has been...

More groups speak out against potential chair of Judiciary Committee More activists are speaking out against the possible appointment of Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, including a leading rabbi and a gun-rights group. Specter, who won re-election to the Senate this month, is in line to become chairman of the committee that scrutinizes all presidential judicial appointments. After making comments both before and after the election suggesting he would block approval of "extremist" or pro-life judges, however, a firestorm of opposition to his becoming chairman began. Rabbi Yehuda Levin, speaking for the Union of...

Battle Over Senator Arlen Specter Heating Up -- Please ask President Bush to oppose Specter as Judiciary Committee Chairman Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert 8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151 Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408 http://www.gunowners.org Monday, November 15, 2004 Your calls and e-mails have been burning up the Capitol Hill phone lines and computer terminals! Senators once believed the elevation of anti-gun trial-lawyer-stooge Arlen Specter to the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee was a "given." But no more. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Specter would have jurisdiction over: * Virtually all gun-related legislation...

Your recent editorial ("The Door for Specter") begins by misquoting my comments and mischaracterizing my views on the judicial-confirmation process. Contrary to your assertions, an objective reading of the transcript of my November 3 press conference confirms that I did not "warn" the president about anything and that I was very respectful of his authority to appoint constitutional judges. You are rearguing the Pennsylvania Republican primary election, in which you strongly supported my opponent, even running two hyperbolic cover stories on the contest. That election has been over since April. The fact is, I have supported all of President Bush's...

Thomas Sowell: An ominous Specter: Part III QUICK LINKS: HOME | NEWS | OPINION | MEETUP | C-LOG | ISSUES townhall.comPrinter-friendly versionAn ominous Specter: Part III November 11, 2004As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Arlen Specter has often justified his voting for or against judicial nominees on grounds that he supports those nominees whose views are in the "mainstream," as distinguished from those whose views are "extremist."  Now that he is in line to become chairman of that committee in January, because of seniority, the meaning of these two elusive -- and elastic -- terms becomes crucial. Senator...

WASHINGTON - There are no sandbags outside his Senate office, and no bunker inside. In spite of a head cold and a lot of angry phone calls and faxes, Arlen Specter is coping. The Pennsylvania Republican, in fact, sounded more assertive yesterday as he described the campaign by conservatives to derail his nomination as Judiciary Committee chairman as part of "a battle for balance in the Republican Party... and in America." In an interview, Specter also disclosed that he had spoken to almost all of the nine other Republican members of the committee. "The sense is, once they know the...

In a bizarre manner, Arlen Specter actually did an enormous favor to conservatives and pro-constitution forces last week. Essentially stating that pro-life court nominees need not apply, he brought to the forefront a subject about which conservatives have given up far too much ground over the years. Specter's not-so-subtle threat unequivocally confirmed a truth that naive conservatives have long been unwilling to face. The elimination of a pro-life litmus test for judicial nominees, at the insistence of the pro-abort forces some years back, effectively constituted the establishment of a pro-abortion litmus test in its place. It is altogether unfortunate that...

No Litmus Test I've backed pro-life judges before, and I'll do so again. BY ARLEN SPECTER Wednesday, November 10, 2004 12:01 a.m. EST To resolve any concern that I would block pro-life judicial nominees, take a look at my record. I have consistently opposed any litmus test. I have backed that up by voting to confirm pro-life nominees including Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Justice Anthony Kennedy. I led the fight to confirm Justice Clarence Thomas, which almost cost me my Senate seat in 1992. I have voted for all of President Bush's...

In the midst of a global war on terror, Americans were given an opportunity to replace their commander-in-chief with a new leader. But they chose to stick with President Bush, and made him the first presidential candidate in 16 years to win a popular majority. Senate Republicans now face a momentous fight of their own over judicial nominations. This may very well include difficult battles over the makeup of the Supreme Court. And that's why they must allow Orrin Hatch to remain chairman of the Judiciary Committee for two more years. He is the right man for the right committee...

Sean Hannity just announced Arlen Specter was going to be on his program today. He did not say in which hour. Remember though, three hours a day is all they ask! You're a great American.

(CNSNews.com) - "Arlen Specter MUST NOT become Chairman of the Judiciary Committee," says a petition being circulated by an anti-Specter website. The petition, which claims to have 14,359 signatures so far, criticizes the "arrogance and sheer audacity of Senator Specter," who said last week that President Bush should be "mindful" of nominating judges who would overturn Roe v. Wade. Specter, who supports abortion rights, later said his comment had been taken out of context. He insisted that he would not impose a "litmus test" on judicial nominees -- but some conservatives don't believe it. "Voters sent a clear message of...

We must make it perfectly clear to Rick Santorum that if he lets Specter chair the judiciary committee, we WILL NOT SUPPORT HIM in 2006 for Senate. Instead, we will support Pat Toomey. We must also make it perfectly clear to Bill Frist that if he does not block Specter Chairmanship, he might as well not even enter the 2008 primaries. Both of these men hold the power over Specter and we must threaten to boycott their futures if they ignore their base.

Washington, DC, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter is facing a possible battle for the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The newly re-elected Specter, who is in line for the post, angered social conservatives who long viewed the moderate, pro-choice lawmaker with suspicion with comments made at a Wednesday news conference that appeared to be a warning to President Bush against attempting to name an anti-abortion justice to the Supreme Court in his second term. He said in a statement Thursday "no litmus test" would be used in his oversight of Bush's nominees for the federal...