Arlen Specter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Arlen Specter | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 1981 Serving with Bob Casey, Jr. |
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| Preceded by | Richard Schweiker |
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Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
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| In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1997 |
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| Preceded by | Dennis DeConcini |
| Succeeded by | Richard Shelby |
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Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
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| In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Alan K. Simpson |
| Succeeded by | Jay Rockefeller |
| In office January 20 – June 6, 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Jay Rockefeller |
| Succeeded by | Jay Rockefeller |
| In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Jay Rockefeller |
| Succeeded by | Larry Craig |
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Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary
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| In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Orrin Hatch |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Leahy |
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| In office 1966 – 1974 |
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| Preceded by | James C. Crumlish Jr. |
| Succeeded by | F. Emmett Fitzpatrick |
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| Born | February 12, 1930 Wichita, Kansas |
| Political party | Democratic (1951-1965[1], April 28,2009-present) Republican (1966–April 28,2009) |
| Spouse(s) | Joan Specter |
| Residence | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania (B.S.) Yale Law School (J.D.) |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Committees | Appropriations, Judiciary, Veterans' Affairs, Special Committee on Aging |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Website | United States Senator Arlen Specter |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1951–1953 |
Arlen Specter (born February 12, 1930) is the senior Democratic Party United States Senator from Pennsylvania. Specter was a member of the Democratic Party until 1965, when he enlisted as a Republican in order to challenge the Democratic district attorney of Philadelphia.[2] Elected to the Senate in 1980, Senator Specter staked out a spot in the political center.[3] He has conservative views on crime, gun control and national security; at the same time, he holds liberal views on abortion rights, immigration, and the environment. In April 2006, he was selected by Time as one of America's Ten best Senators.[4]
On April 28, 2009, Specter announced that, after 44 years as an elected Republican, he was returning to the Democratic Party,[5][6] citing that he was increasingly "at odds with the (current) Republican philosophy[7][8] and indicated that polling showed that it would be difficult for him to win the 2010 Republican senatorial primary against Pat Toomey."[7] Since switching parties, Specter's voting record has become more center-left.[9] Specter is engaged in a competitive Democratic primary in 2010 against Congressman Joe Sestak. In general election polling, Specter has been shown to face a competitive re-election bid against former Republican Congressman Pat Toomey.[10][11]
Arlen Specter was treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2005 and 2008. He is currently in remission.[12]
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[edit] Early years
Specter was born in Wichita, Kansas, the youngest child of Lillie Shanin (Arlen's son named one of his daughters after her), and Harry Specter, who had emigrated from Russia in 1911.[13] He was raised in the Jewish faith in Russell, Kansas, also the hometown of fellow politician Bob Dole. Specter's father served in the U.S. infantry during World War I, and was badly wounded. During the Great Depression, Specter's father was a fruit peddler, a tailor and junkyard owner.
Specter studied first at the University of Oklahoma. He transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, majored in International Relations, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1951. During the Korean War, he served stateside in United States Air Force as an officer within the Air Force Office of Special Investigations from 1951 to 1953[14].
Specter graduated from Yale Law School in 1956 and was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar. That same year, he married Joan Levy. They reside in the East Falls section of Philadelphia. They have two sons, Shanin and Stephen, and four grandchildren, Silvi, Perri, Lilli, and Hatti.
After graduating from Yale Law School, Specter opened a law practice, Specter & Katz, with Marvin Katz, who is now a Federal District Court Judge in Philadelphia. Specter became an assistant district attorney under District Attorney James Crumlish, and was a member of the Democratic Party.
At the recommendation of Representative Gerald R. Ford, he worked for the Warren Commission, investigating the assassination of John F. Kennedy. As an assistant counsel for the commission, he authored or co-authored[15] the controversial "single bullet theory," which suggested the non-fatal wounds to Kennedy and wounds to Texas Governor John Connally were caused by the same bullet. This was a crucial assertion for the Warren Commission, since if the two had been wounded by separate bullets, that would have demonstrated the presence of a second assassin and therefore a conspiracy.[16]
In 1965, Specter ran for District Attorney, on the Republican ticket as a registered Democrat. He handily beat incumbent Jim Crumlish, and subsequently changed his registration to Republican. Although a supporter of capital punishment, as prosecutor he questioned the fairness of the Pennsylvania death penalty statute in 1972.[17]
In 1967, he was the Republican Party standard bearer together with City Controller candidate, Tom Gola, in the mayoral campaign against the Democratic incumbent James H. J. Tate. One of their slogans was, "We need THESE guys to watch THOSE guys."[18] He served two terms as District Attorney for the City of Philadelphia.
In 1976, Specter ran in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate and was defeated by John Heinz. In 1978, he was defeated in the primary for Governor of Pennsylvania by Dick Thornburgh.[19] After several years of private practice with the prestigious Philadelphia law firm Dechert, Price & Rhoads, Specter ran for the Senate in 1980, this time, successfully. He assumed office in January 1981.
[edit] Hodgkin's disease
On February 16, 2005, Specter announced that he had been diagnosed with an advanced form of Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer. Despite this, Specter continued working during chemotherapy. He ended treatment on July 22. Senator John Sununu (R-New Hampshire) shaved his head to show solidarity with Specter when he was undergoing chemotherapy and was temporarily bald. On April 15, 2008, he announced his cancer had returned, at a stage "significantly less advanced than his Hodgkin's disease when it was originally diagnosed in 2005."[12][20] He underwent a second round of chemotherapy, which ended on July 14, 2008.[21]
[edit] Senate career
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Specter was first elected to the Senate in 1980. He is the longest-serving Senator in Pennsylvania's history; no one else from the state has been elected to five terms in that body. According to polls by Quinnipiac University, Specter has a higher approval rating among Democrats in Pennsylvania than Republicans, 62–55 respectively.[22]
His opposition to Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork in 1987 is seen as an important factor in the nomination's failure. However, he raised the ire of many Democrats with his aggressive questioning of Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas hearings in 1991, claiming she had committed "flat-out perjury" in her testimony.
In 1998 and 1999, Specter criticized the Republican Party for the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. Believing that Clinton had not received a fair trial, Specter cited Scots law to render a verdict of "not proven" on Clinton's impeachment. However, his verdict was recorded as "not guilty" in the Senate records.
On October 11, 2002, Arlen Specter voted in favor of H.J.Res.114 authorizing the Iraq War.
In a 2002 PoliticsPA Feature story designating politicians with yearbook superlatives, he was named the "Toughest to Work For."[23] In 2003, the Pennsylvania Report, a subscription-based political newsletter, described Specter as one of the "vanishing breed of Republican moderates" and described his political stance as "“Pennsylvania first” middle of-the-road politics" even though he was known as an "avid Republican partisan."[24]
Soon after the 2004 election, Specter stepped into the public spotlight as a result of controversial statements about his views of the future of the Supreme Court. At a press conference, he stated that:
| “ | When you talk about judges who would change the right of a woman to choose, overturn Roe v. Wade, I think [confirmation] is unlikely. The president is well aware of what happened, when a number of his nominees were sent up, with the filibuster. ... And I would expect the president to be mindful of the considerations which I am mentioning. | ” |
Activist groups interpreted his comments as warnings to President George W. Bush about the implications of nominating Supreme Court justices who are opposed to the Roe v. Wade decision. Specter maintained his comments were a prediction, not a warning. He met with many conservative Republican senators, and based on assurances he gave them, he was recommended for the Judiciary Committee's chairmanship in late 2004. He officially assumed that position when the 109th Congress convened on January 4, 2005.
On March 9, 2006, the USA PATRIOT Act was signed into law. It amended the process for interim appointments of U.S. Attorneys, a clause which Specter wrote during his chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee.[25] The change allowed the Bush Administration to appoint interim U.S. attorneys without term limits, and without confirmation by the Senate. The Bush administration used the law to place at least eight interim attorneys into office in 2006. Specter claims that the changes were added by staff member Brett Tolman.[26] For more information, see dismissal of U.S. Attorneys controversy.
Specter was very critical of Bush's wiretapping of US citizens without warrants. When the story first broke, he called the effort "inappropriate" and "clearly and categorically wrong." He said, he intended to hold hearings into the matter early in 2006, and had Alberto Gonzales appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to answer for the program (although Specter declined to force Gonzales to testify under oath). On January 15, 2006, Specter mentioned impeachment and criminal prosecution as potential remedies if Bush broke the law, though he downplayed the likelihood of such an outcome.
On April 9, 2006, Specter, speaking on Fox News about the Bush administration's leaking of classified intelligence, said that "The president of the United States owes a specific explanation to the American people"[27]
However, he voted for the 2008 amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which placed federal electronic searches almost entirely within the executive branch.[28]
During the 2007–2008 National Football League season, Specter wrote to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell concerning the destruction of New England Patriots Spygate tapes, wondering if there was a link between the tapes and their Super Bowl victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. On February 1, 2008, Roger Goodell stated that the tapes were destroyed because "they confirmed what I already knew about the issue." Specter would release a follow up statement:
| “ | My strong preference is for the NFL to activate a Mitchell-type investigation, I have been careful not to call for a Congressional hearing because I believe the NFL should step forward and embrace an independent inquiry and Congress is extraordinarily busy on other matters If the NFL continues to leave a vacuum, Congress may be tempted to fill it.[29] | ” |
Since 2007 Specter has sponsored legislation[30] to fix a longstanding inequity in American law which shuts out a majority of U.S. Armed Forces service members from equal access to the U.S. Supreme Court.[31] In 2007 Specter cosponsored the Equal Justice for United States Military Personnel Act of 2007 with Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Russ Feingold (D-Wis.).[30] The bill failed in the 110th Congress, and Specter again cosponsored the measure in the 2009 111th Congress.[32]
In December 2008 Specter was involved in a controversy as a result of telling "Polish jokes" at New York's Rainbow Room while speaking at the annual meeting of the Commonwealth Club [1] This had not been his first run in with Americans of Central European descent. In 1998 Specter voted against admitting Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic into NATO. [2]
Specter voted in favor of the Senate's version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on February 10, 2009; he was one of only three Republicans to break ranks with the party and support the bill, which was favored by President Barack Obama and was unanimously supported by the Democratic senators.[33] As a result of his support, many in the Republican mainstream have begun to set up ads calling for his removal from office.[34] Specter was instrumental in ensuring that the act allocated an additional $10 billion to the National Institutes of Health over the next two years.[35] Since becoming a Democrat in the Senate, Specter has been denied seniority on Senate committees.[36]
Specter has called for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, which he supported in 1996.[37]
[edit] Committee assignments
Specter holds the following committee assignments:[38]
- Committee on Appropriations
- Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Defense
- Subcommittee on Homeland Security
- Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
- Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
- Committee on Environment and Public Works
- Committee on the Judiciary
- Committee on Veterans' Affairs
- Special Committee on Aging
Specter was chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence from 1995, when the Republicans gained control of the Senate, until 1997, when he became chairman of the Committee on Veterans Affairs. He chaired that committee until 2001 and again from 2003 to 2005, during the times the Republicans controlled the Senate. He also chaired the Judiciary Committee from 2005 to 2007.
[edit] Campaigns
In 1980, Specter became the Republican nominee for Senate when Republican incumbent Richard Schweiker announced his retirement. He faced the former Mayor of Pittsburgh, Peter F. Flaherty. Specter won the election by a 2.5% margin. He was later reelected in 1986, 1992, 1998 and 2004, despite 1992 and 1998 being bad years for Republicans. Specter will run for reelection in 2010, for the first time as a Democrat.[39]
[edit] 1996 bid for the Presidency
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On March 31, 1995, Specter announced his candidacy for President of the United States, to challenge the incumbent Bill Clinton. He entered the race claiming his party needed a candidate who did not conform to the stereotypical religious conservative image. He was critical of Patrick J. Buchanan, Pat Robertson and Ralph E. Reed, Jr., saying all three were far too conservative.
| “ | Neither this nation nor this party can afford a Republican candidate so captive to the demands of the intolerant right that we end up re-electing a President of the incompetent left. | ” |
His campaign focused on balancing the federal budget, strict crime laws, and establishing relations with North Korea. Specter said:
| “ | My commitment to America, is to replace a President who has been inattentive, inactive and indecisive when it comes to America's vital foreign policy interests. | ” |
His candidacy was not expected to succeed in winning the Republican nomination due to the overwhelmingly large number of social conservatives in the Republican Party. He was, however, able to gain support. Although fellow Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum was never overly enthusiastic, he was supportive. Other supportive Republicans were hopeful Specter could trim the party's "far-right fringe." Although his campaign was ultimately unsuccessful at wooing conservatives, it was widely believed he could have had a strong showing among independents. On November 23, 1995, before the start of the primaries, Specter suspended his campaign to endorse Kansas Senator Bob Dole.
[edit] 2004 re-election campaign
In 2004, Specter faced a challenge in the Republican primary election from conservative Congressman Pat Toomey, whose campaign theme was that Specter was not fiscally conservative enough. The match-up was closely watched nationally, being seen as a symbolic clash between the conservative and moderate wings of the Republican Party. However, most of the state and national Republican establishment, including the state's other senator at the time, Rick Santorum closed ranks behind Specter. Specter was strongly supported by President George W. Bush. Specter narrowly avoided a major upset with 51 percent of the primary vote. Once Specter defeated the challenge from the right, he was able to enjoy great support from independents and some Democrats in his race against Hoeffel.[40] Hoeffel also trailed Specter in name recognition, campaign funds and poll results.[41] Although the two minor candidates were seen as more conservative than Specter, they were only able to take four percent of the vote and Specter was easily reelected.
[edit] 2010 re-election campaign
Specter is up for re-election to the Senate in 2010, and he has expressed his plans to run again. On March 18, 2009, Specter said that he was not considering running as an independent. He said, "To eliminate any doubt, I am a Republican, and I am running for reelection in 2010 as a Republican on the Republican ticket." [42] Subsequently Specter's 2004 conservative GOP primary challenger, Pat Toomey, announced he will again run for the Republican nomination in the Republican senatorial primary.[43]
However, on April 28, 2009, Specter stated that "As the Republican Party has moved farther and farther to the right, I have found myself increasingly at odds with the Republican philosophy and more in line with the philosophy of the Democratic Party."[7] He said that he is switching party affiliation and will run as a Democrat in the 2010 election.[6][7][44] In the same announcement, Specter also said that he had "surveyed the sentiments of the Republican Party in Pennsylvania and public opinion polls, observed other public opinion polls and have found that the prospects for winning a Republican primary are bleak."[7] A March 2009 Quinnipiac poll indicated that Specter trailed his likely primary challenger, Pat Toomey, by 14 percent (41 percent for Toomey 27 percent for Specter).[45] Additional polling found that 70 percent of Pennsylvania Republicans disapproved of his recent vote in favor of the Stimulus Bill[46] and that 52 percent of Pennsylvania Republicans disapprove of the job he is doing.[45] Following Specter's switching parties, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele criticized his leaving the Republican Party, claiming that Specter had "flipped the bird" at the GOP.[47]
[edit] Political views
Specter states that he is "personally opposed to abortion", but is "a supporter of a woman's right to choose".[48][49] He received a 20 percent rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America in 2005 based on certain votes related to the regulation of abortion; in 2008, he received 100 percent [50][51]
Specter strongly supports the death penalty and opposes most gun control, voting against the Brady Bill, background checks at gun shows, the ban on assault weapons, and trigger locks for handguns.[52] His work has included numerous articles on the deterring effect the death penalty has on future crimes.
He supports affirmative action and voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1991, receiving a 76 percent rating from the NAACP in 2008.[53] He was one of only four Republicans to vote against the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act and in recent years has been less enthusiastic about weakening consumer protection laws than many members of his party. In 1995 he was the only Republican to vote to limit tax cuts to individuals with incomes of less than one million dollars. He voted against CAFTA. Specter also supports an increase in the federal minimum wage. He is a leading supporter of the U.S. Public Service Academy.
On immigration, Specter supports a "pathway to citizenship" and a "guest worker program" which opponents call amnesty. He introduced Senate bill S. 2611 (the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006) on 6 April 2006, which was passed by the Senate on May 25, 2006 before reaching a stalemate in the House.[54]
On health care reform, Specter is a cosponsor of the Healthy Americans Act, a proposal he supported during both the 110th and 111th Congresses. Specter voted for the Affordable Health Care for America Act, the healthcare bill passed through the Senate by every Democratic senator, and he held various town hall meetings to discuss the issue, and all issues surrounding health care reform, with his constituents.[55]. Specter believes single payer healthcare should not be "taken off the table"; in an interview he had with John King on CNN, Specter showed support for a public option.[56]
Specter has received a 61 percent rating from AFL-CIO.[57] He voted for cloture on the Employee Free Choice Act in 2007. The vote failed to reach the 60-vote threshold that would have ended debate on the bill and allow it to pass. In 2009, Specter announced that he would not be voting for cloture on the Act in the 111th Congress.[58]
Specter supports LGBT rights with mixed positions. He voted to prohibit job discrimination based on sexual orientation, and was a co-sponsor of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act.[59] Specter is opposed to same-sex marriage, but is also opposed to a federal ban and supports civil unions.[60]
The Jewish daily The Forward reported in the wake of the July 2009 organ trafficking scandal in the U.S. involving Rabbi Levy Izhak Rosenbaum of Brooklyn that an Organ Trafficking Prohibition Act of 2009, sponsored by Senator Specter, has yet to be officially introduced in the U.S., the preliminary reports cites Israel as a model of a country that has enacted a law providing benefits for organ donors.[61]
Senator Specter criticized the federal government's policy on cancer, stating the day after Jack Kemp—the 1996 Republican vice presidential nominee and former congressman—died of cancer, that Kemp would still be alive if the federal government had done a better job funding cancer research.[62]
[edit] Electoral history
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Upset in Philadelphia" (PDF). The New York Times. 1965-11-02. http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/flash/politics/20090414_SPECTER/1965Elected.pdf. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
- ^ "Senator Specter bolts GOP". boston.com. April 29, 2009. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/04/29/senator_specter_bolts_gop/?page=2.
- ^ Krawczeniuk, Borys (April 28, 2009). "Specter is a marked 'moderate'". The Daily Review. http://www.thedailyreview.com/articles/2009/02/09/news/tw_review.20090209.a.pg3.tw09specter_s1.2290943_loc.txt.
- ^ "Arlen Specter: The Contrarian". TIME magazine. April 14, 2006. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1183946,00.html.
- ^ "Statement by Senator Arlen Specter". Specter 2010 Election website. Citizens for Arlen Specter. April 28, 2009. http://www.specter2010.com/news6.html. Retrieved April 28, 2009.
- ^ a b Cillizza, Chris (April 28, 2009). "Specter to switch parties". The Washington Post. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/04/28/specter_to_switch_parties.html?wprss=44. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
- ^ a b c d e "Longtime GOP Sen. Arlen Specter becomes Democrat". CNN. April 28, 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/28/specter.party.switch/index.html. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
- ^ "Glenn Beck: The guy who got Specter out". glennbeck.com. April 30, 2009. http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/196/24751/.
- ^ http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news;_ylt=A0WTTkl8JBJL.mcBjhLQtDMD;_ylu=X3oDMTBhNjRqazhxBHNlYwNzZWFyY2g-?p=a
- ^ http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2010/senate/pa/pennsylvania_senate_specter_vs_toomey-1058.html
- ^ http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_2010/election_2010_senate_elections/pennsylvania/2010_senate_election/election_2010_pennsylvania_senate_election
- ^ a b "Specter Announces Cancer Recurrence". The New York Times. Associated Press. April 16, 2008.
- ^ "Specter genealogy". Ancestry.com. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/senators/specter.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ http://specter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=AboutArlenSpecter.Timeline
- ^ Bugliosi, pp. 301-6. "Warren Commission staff lawyer Norman Redlich was asked by author Vincent Bugliosi in 2005 whether Specter was the sole author of the single bullet theory and he said, 'No, we all came to this conclusion simultaneously.' When asked who he meant by 'we,' he said, 'Arlen, myself, Howard Willens, David Belin, and Mel Eisenberg.' Specter did not respond to Bugliosi's request for a clarification on the issue."
- ^ Bugliosi, p.456.
- ^ "Death Rattles". TIME magazine. November 20, 1972. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,712208,00.html.
- ^ Dionne, E.J. (May 24, 2005). ""Watch Those Guys"". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/23/AR2005052301337_pf.html. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
- ^ Samuel, Terence (September 4, 2005). "Irritating Them All". US News and World Report. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/050912/12specter_2.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
- ^ "Arlen Specter's Hodgkin's disease returns". CNN. April 15, 2008. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/15/arlen.specter/index.html. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ "Specter finishes chemotherapy". Pennlive.com. The Associated Press. July 14, 2008. http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2008/07/specter_finishes_chemotherapy.html. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ Coomes, Jessica (February 11, 2009). "Poll: Voters don't want to give Arlen Specter another term". lehighvalleylive.com. The Express-Times. http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/jessica-coomes/index.ssf/2009/02/poll_voters_dont_want_to_give.html. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ "Keystone State Yearbook Committee". PoliticsPA. The Publius Group. 2001. Archived from the original on 2002-08-31. http://web.archive.org/web/20020803170058/www.politicspa.com/yearbookcommittee.htm.
- ^ "The PA Report “Power 75” List" (PDF). Pennsylvania Report. Capital Growth, Inc.. January 31, 2003. Archived from the original on 2006-09-02. http://web.archive.org/web/20060920200116/www.pa-report.com/uploaded_pdf/PAReportPower75_.pdf.
- ^ Lithwick, Dahlia (March 5, 2007). "Specter Detector". Slate. http://www.slate.com/id/2161260/. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
- ^ Kiel, Paul (February 6, 2007). "Specter: ‘I Do Not Slip Things In’". TPMmuckraker. TPM Media LLC. http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002487.php. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
- ^ Jackson, David (April 10, 2006). "Specter urges Bush, Cheney to explain CIA leak". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-04-09-specter-cia_x.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
- ^ "U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes: Bill H.R. 6304". United States Senate website. July 9, 2008. http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00168. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
- ^ Maske, Mark (June 6, 2008). "Specter Repeats Call for NFL to Hire Outside Investigator". The Washington Post. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/nflinsider/2008/06/specter_repeats_call_for_nfl_t.html. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ a b Equal Justice for United States Military Personnel Act of 2007, S.2052 introduced in 110th Congress-Senate (September 17, 2007)
- ^ American Bar Association (August 7-8, 2006). "Resolution 116" (PDF). http://www.abanet.org/crimjust/policy/am06116.pdf. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
- ^ "S. 357: Equal Justice for United States Military Personnel Act of 2009". Thomas website. Library of Congress. January 30, 2009. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.357:. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
- ^ Schatz, Joseph J. (February 10, 2009). "Senate Passes Stimulus, Setting Up Tough Conference With House". CQPolitics. Congressional Quarterly. http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docid=news-000003028597. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
- ^ Smith, Ben (February 14th, 2009). "Ads target 3 Republicans, Lincoln". Politico.com. http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0209/Ads_target_3_Republicans_Lincoln.html. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
- ^ Harris, Gardiner (February 13, 2009). "Specter, a Fulcrum of the Stimulus Bill, Pulls Off a Coup for Health Money". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/14/health/policy/14specter.html. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
- ^ Kane, Paul (May 5, 2009). "Senate Democrats Deny Specter Committee Seniority". The Washington Post. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2009/05/senate_democrats_deny_specter.html?hpid=topnews. Retrieved May 8, 2009.
- ^ "Specter calls for repeal of marriage act". The Caucus Blogs of the New York Times. 2009-10-27. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/specter-calls-for-repeal-of-marriage-act/. Retrieved 2009-10-31.
- ^ 2009 Congressional Record, Vol. 155, Page S5168
- ^ Sherman, Jerome L. (March 20, 2007). "Specter says he'll run in 2010 at age of 80". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07079/770871-178.stm. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
- ^ Sabato, Larry J. (October 22, 2004). "Republican Specter defends his seat against Joe Hoeffel". Crystal Ball. University of Virginia. http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/article.php?id=SPA2004102201. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
- ^ Samad, Farouk (September 27, 2004). "Hoeffel trails Specter by large margin in Senate race". The Daily Pennsylvanian. http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2004/09/27/News/Hoeffel.Trails.Specter.By.Large.Margin.In.Senate.Race-2150770.shtml. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Thomas (March 19, 2009). "Specter staying on Republican ticket". The Philadelphia Inquirer. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20090319_Specter_staying_on_Republican_ticket.html. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
- ^ Turner, Trish (April 15, 2009). "Specter faces conservative challenge from familiar foe". Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/15/specter-faces-conservative-challenge-familiar-foe/. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
- ^ Hulse, Carl (April 28, 2009). "Specter switches parties". The New York Times. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/specter-will-run-as-a-democrat-in-2010/. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
- ^ a b "Little-Known GOP Challenger Tops Specter In Primary, Quinnipiac University Pennsylvania Poll Finds; Support For Obama Plan Helps Among Democrats". Quinnipiac University. March 25, 2009. http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1284.xml?ReleaseID=1280&What=&strArea=5;10;&strTime=3. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Thomas (March 26, 2009). "Two polls show challenges for Specter". The Philadelphia Inquirer. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20090326_Two_polls_show_challenges_for_Specter.html. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/04/29/1913755.aspx
- ^ "Senator Arlen Specter: Key Issues". U.S. Senate website. http://specter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=IssueStatements.View&Issue_id=bd531be8-7e9c-9af9-74ef-d3a53537ede0. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
- ^ "Specter: I'm pro-choice… But I don't make the decisions". November 9, 2004. http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/11/08/judy.specter/index.html. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
- ^ "Arlen Specter". NARAL Pro-Choice America. http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/choice-action-center/us-gov/congressional-record-on-choice/arlenspecter.html. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
- ^ "Pennsylvania Senators 2008". NARAL Pro-Choice America. http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/choice-action-center/us-gov/congressional-record-on-choice/pennsylvania.html. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
- ^ Delano, Jon. "Specter Says No To Automatic Weapons Ban". KDKA-TV website (CBS). http://kdka.com/local/Specter.gun.control.2.987870.html. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
- ^ "CIVIL RIGHTS FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE REPORT CARD". NAACP. http://www.naacp.org/programs/bureau-dc/report_card/110th_Congress.FINAL.pdf. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
- ^ "S.2611, A bill to provide for comprehensive immigration reform and for other purposes". Thomas. Library of Congress. May 25, 2006. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN02611:@@@L&summ2=m&. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
- ^ "Specter faces hostile audience at health care forum". CNN. August 11, 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/11/specter.town.hall/index.html. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcfK_-4Tc3I
- ^ "Sen Arlen Specter". AFL-CIO website. http://www.aflcio.org/cgi-bin/member.pl?state=PA&pg=2&id=76&year=07&congress=s. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
- ^ Schor, Elana (March 24, 2009). "Specter: I'll Vote No on Employee Free Choice Act". Talking -Points Memo. http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/03/specter-ill-vote-no-on-employee-free-choice-act.php. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
- ^ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query
- ^ "Arlen Specter on the Issues". On the Issues. http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Arlen_Specter.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
- ^ Guttman, Nathan (2009-08-05). "Kidney Donation Scandal Sparks New Debate Over Specter’s Organ Legislation". The Forward. http://forward.com/articles/111473/.
- ^ Fox News (2009-05-04). “Specter Claims Kemp Would Be Alive if Congress Better Funded Medical Research” Retrieved 2009-10-25.
- Bugliosi, Vincent (2007). Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Arlen Specter |
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Arlen Specter |
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Articles
- New York Times — Arlen Specter News collected news and commentary
- "Tale of injustice". Sarasota Herald Tribune. July 16, 2007. http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20070716/OPINION/707160422/1030. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
- "Milestones: Arlen Specter". New York Times. April 15, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/04/15/us/politics/20090416_SPECTER_TIMELINE.html. Retrieved 2009-04-28. (Interactive timeline with access to articles from the 1960s through 2009)
- The Magic Bullet; Even More Magical Than We Knew, Gary Aguilar and Josiah Thompson, History Matters
- After Yale, Specter Still a Force, Andrew Mangino, Yale Daily News, September 23, 2005
- Interview with Arlen Specter
- The Need to Roll Back Presidential Power Grabs, by Arlen Specter, The New York Review of Books, Volume 56, Number 8 · May 14, 2009
- Specter: Reagan’s GOP is Gone by Mark Trumbull, The Christian Science Monitor, May 3, 2009
Critics The term "doing a Spector" has now become a shorthand, in language among conservative Republicans, to describe untrustworthy Republicans.
- Legislation sponsored or cosponsored
The following table links to the Congressional Record hosted by the Library of Congress. All the specifics and actions taken for each individual piece of legislation that Senator Specter either sponsored or cosponsored can be viewed in detail there. "Original bills" and "'Original amendments" indicate instances where Sen. Specter pledged to support the legislation at the time it was initially introduced and entered into the Senate record, rather than later in the legislative process.
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Note: The numbers for the current session of Congress may no longer reflect the actual numbers as they are still actively in session. The THOMAS database shows Sen. Arlen Specter has withdrawn his one-time support of legislation by adding his cosponsorship to introduced legislation a total of five times during the time this statistic first started being compiled by them: |
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