Free Republic

Amid the furor over how Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Ben Nelson, D-Neb., would vote on the health bill, there was little talk regarding Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter. Since switching from Republican to Democrat in April, Specter has been a reliable vote for his new party’s health plans. His main objections to the final Senate health bill were its lack of a public option and its restrictions on abortion funding. Now maybe he would have voted yes even if he were still a Republican. But party-switchers tend to shift their voting patterns significantly. After all of the left-liberal gnashing of...

14-TERM CONGRESSMAN ENDS SPECULATION OVER RETIREMENT Congressman John Spratt has ended months of speculation over whether he will resign or run to retain his seat next year. On Monday, the 14-term Democrat officially filed for re-election with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The FEC filing showed Spratt, 67, with nearly $600,000 cash-on-hand. He is currently South Carolina’s longest-serving Congressman. A number of media outlets had been probing Spratt’s intentions of late, which likely pressured him into making a decisive move before he lost the support of his 5th district base. “Washington is sort of like an echo chamber,” Spratt told...