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Hugh Hewitt's Take on Arlen Specter
Hugh Hewitt ^

Posted on 11/05/2004 10:22:33 PM PST by MplsSteve

Friday, November 5, 2004

Posted at 10:30 PM, EST

After a late-night flight from the west coast, and a day spent interviewing would-be law professors, I have had a chance to catch up on the news, and I see that there is a blog swarm forming around the expected assumption of the chairmanship of the Senate's Committee on the Judiciary by Pennsylvania's Arlen Specter. The opposition to Specter seems headquartered at The Corner. Many friends post at The Corner, so I paused, considered their arguments, and thought it through. On reflection, it seems to me a very bad idea to try and topple Senator Specter from what in the ordinary course of events would be his Chairmanship. I hope my colleagues on the center-right that embrace pro-life politics will reconsider.

I understand that Senator Specter voted against Robert Bork, and that Senator Specter is not a friend of the pro-life movement. But genuine progress in the fight to return American public opinion to an affirmation of life before birth cannot be made through strong-armed tactics and almost certainly will not be lasting if it is accomplished through a putsch. Institutions that are destabilized for expediency's sake do not regain stability after a convenient alteration. That was the lesson of the Roman Revolution, where a series of departures from settled precedent in the name of urgent expediency eventually brought down the entire structure. For the past four years Republicans have complained bitterly of Democratic obstructionism that upended the traditions of the Senate. Should the GOP begin its new period of dominance with a convenient abandonment of the very rules they have charged Dems with violating repeatedly?

In 1986 the Democrats won control of the Senate from the Republicans with a margin of 55 Democrats and 45 Republicans. The Republicans now enjoy an even greater edge of 55 to 44 (Jeffords is an Independent). The Judiciary Committee of 1986 had 14 members. I cannot find the exact breakdown, but the allocation of seats was at least 8 to 6 for the Democrats, and may have been 9 to 5. Regardless of the exact split, the GOP in 2005, with a Judiciary Committee of 19 members ought to enjoy at least an 11 to 8 majority, and possibly a 12 to 7 split. The Chairmanship will have great power, of course, but what matters far more than the name of the Chair is resolve in insisting that the GOP majority be reflected in the Committee make-up, and that Senator Frist appoint serious pro-life members to the new vacancies.

What also matters is a transparent debate and vote on the rules governing the nominations by the president to the courts. A great deal of extra-constitutional nonsense has grown up in the traditions of the Senate. The GOP majority ought to insist on a rule that assures that every nominee that gains a majority vote of the Judiciary Committee be brought to the floor. This is a long overdue reform of reactionary practices such as "blue slip" holds and filibusters of judicial nominees. Conservatives are not demanding the right reforms when they aim at Senator Specter. They should be insisting on a rebalancing of the processes employed by the Senate according to constitutional norms.

Senator Specter has supported every judicial nominee sent forward by President Bush. More important than that, he won first the primary and then the general election in Pennsylvania, and is a man of the party and the party needs to welcome its members who hold minority views, not punish them. The prospect that Senator Specter might oppose a Bush nominee is not a happy one, but neither is it inevitable nor, given the appropriate committee make-up, fatal to the nominee's prospects. Conservatives ought to be focused on demanding the right allocation of seats and the right names for the new members, not on their fears about Senator Specter's reliability. Recall that Specter did a fine job defending Justice Thomas. Given Senator Specter's reputation for moderation, his support of future Bush nominees could prove hugely valuable.

So, fellow pro-life conservatives, we should keep our focus on the key issues: The split of the seats, the names of the new members, and reform of the rules governing judicial nominees.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; Politics/Elections; US: Pennsylvania
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To: MplsSteve
Opinions anyone?

To paraphrase California Gov. Arnold. "Why should we talk to losers?" It is our time to provide the compasionate conservative influence on American society. It is part of the eb and flow of our national destiny.

Do you really think the Dems would acquiesce so easily to our point of view if Kerry had won? I think we know the answer to that.

61 posted on 11/06/2004 7:23:09 AM PST by suijuris
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To: MplsSteve
cannot be made through strong-armed tactics

...A great deal of extra-constitutional nonsense has grown up in the traditions of the Senate. The GOP majority ought to insist on a rule that assures that every nominee that gains a majority vote of the Judiciary Committee be brought to the floor. This is a long overdue reform of reactionary practices such as "blue slip" holds and filibusters of judicial nominees. Conservatives are not demanding the right reforms when they aim at Senator Specter. They should be insisting on a rebalancing of the processes employed by the Senate according to constitutional norms.

Ahh, seems like Specter was trying to strong arm "W"

However - Hewitt has a VITAL point. We need to get rid of this "60" vote crappola. I have NEVER understood how the republicans let the dims push this down their throats - effectively wiping out our majority advantage altogether!. (You can bet your bippy that, should the dims ever get the majority - even of 1 - again, that "60" rule will be rescinded poste haste.

Perhaps we need to focus on getting rid of this "60" rule that has been the most heinous obstructionist tool aver devised?

It has, essentially, put the dims in the drivers seat

62 posted on 11/06/2004 7:35:41 AM PST by maine-iac7 ( Pray without doubt..."Ask and you SHALL receive")
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To: montag813
Let's not debase the forum by resorting to ad hominem attacks on a fellow activist. Hugh's in our camp more often than not.

Hugh's just being center-right. He's a moderate, and that's his job.

So let the Hugh Hewitts of the world fight for balance, expediency and protocol...me, I'm fighting for Conservative values. Down with Spector!!

63 posted on 11/06/2004 7:46:45 AM PST by Verax
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To: goldstategop
What are you saying? That if Spector goes we get Leahy?
Wrong! There is no way the Dems get the Chair in this session. Without Spector we probably get Kyl, who is next in seniority, and is conservative.
64 posted on 11/06/2004 8:05:35 AM PST by woody9
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To: MplsSteve
He says that to set aside the ascendency rules for political expediency will do more harm than good.

The ascendency rules in the Senate are a farce. The Democrats will toss them the minute they regain a one seat majority! Why is it that the Democrats can break "tradition" with impunity and yet the Republicans always have to leave their balls at home and play by the rules?

Yes, we need to address the composition of the committee, and ensure the rules are changed to disallow filibuster. However, we don't need "moderate support" such as Specter. If his support for Bush's appointees was so great, why does the blood of good men stain the chamber floor?

Specter is not only opposed to pro-life issues; he is opposed to any constructionist jurist. We are not seeking the simple overturn of one or two flawed cases though right-winged judicial activism; we want a return to Constitutional jurisprudence. Specter will consistently prove a stumbling block to that aim, and that is why he needs to be dumped.

65 posted on 11/06/2004 8:07:20 AM PST by antidisestablishment (Our people perish through lack of wisdom, but they are content in their ignorance.)
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To: Torie
Hewitt might be wearing rose colored glasses, but he is right. Bouncing Specter would be counterproductive. This is an issue about tactics. Almost everyone on this site, from Torie to Apesforevolution, wants the same end, and end to judicial over-reach.

Well, I suspect that this issue regarding Specter is sympomatic of the broader issue concerning whether the leadership of the Republican Party really wants to overrule Roe v. Wade and return abortion in a comprehensive way to the political process. A remodeled Supreme Court could overrule Roe as easily as it once overruled Lochner, but what consequences might that have for Republican Party politics?

Moreover, the struggle within the Republican Party over abortion would not be limited to local state politics. Since the Roe decision, both parties in this country have shifted the boundaries of federalism in favor of the federal government. For example, if the federal government can constitutionally regulate disputes between a physician and patient (tort reform), what would stop it from regulating the types of medical procedures about which a physician and patient are permitted to agree (abortion)?

Roe v. Wade has to some extent sheltered Republican politicians from the politics of abortion. It has served as a shield against demands for comprehensive action against abortion. Similarly, electing Specter to chair the Judiciary Committee could provide a procedural shield to the appointment of justices who might endanger the substantive shield that Roe v. Wade is now providing many pro-choice Republicans.

What happens to guys like Giuliani or Pataki (and many, many others) in the kind of environment that would exist following an overruling of Roe?

I think that the people who are suggesting that this Specter question goes to the heart of the abortion issue have a good point. ;-)

66 posted on 11/06/2004 8:11:59 AM PST by Scenic Sounds (Sí, estamos libres sonreír otra vez - ahora y siempre.)
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To: MplsSteve

I think he's wholesale wrong about Specter.

Specter is arrogant. He's a stoolie of the puppet masters.

He's an aggressive infanticide supporter. He supports the whole globalist agenda.

He's already brazenly threatened the President about judicial nominees. No way he's going to be wimpy about pushing his globalist agenda as Judiciary chairman, if he gets in.

We need to see that he does not.


67 posted on 11/06/2004 8:21:11 AM PST by Quix (PRAY 4 PRES BUSH'S SAFETY; SPECTER OFF COMMITTEE; TROOPS; GOD'S PROTECTION)
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To: goldstategop
He defended Clarence Thomas.

Could it have been because Specter was one year away from a re-election battle?

68 posted on 11/06/2004 8:21:38 AM PST by jackbill
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To: GeronL

Dennis Hastert refused to let now defeated Rep. Phil Crane, R-IL, chair a committee that was by rights his. So there is precedent for denying Specter the chairmanship. Will it happen? NOT A CHANCE!!!!


69 posted on 11/06/2004 8:23:20 AM PST by Theodore R.
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To: woody9

Probably the poster meant that is Specter loses the chairmanship, he and five other GOP liberals will turn Democrat and give Harry Reid the majority leader (not minority leader) position. In such a case, the reelected Patrick Leahy will be grinning in the catbird's seat at least for two years.


70 posted on 11/06/2004 8:26:15 AM PST by Theodore R.
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To: GeronL

Why would it "destabilize" the institution - as Hewett claims -- to choose a chairman by a means other than a blind seniority system?


71 posted on 11/06/2004 8:28:03 AM PST by churchillbuff
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To: goldstategop
Here's the message I sent every GOP Sen. on the committe, and few who weren't:
72 posted on 11/06/2004 8:29:43 AM PST by TomSmedley (Technical writer)
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To: goldstategop
He defended Clarence Thomas

How many times are FReepers going to repeat this crock?

He voted for Thomas ONLY because he was up for re-election the following year. AFTER he was re-elected (again, barely) he denounced Thomas. Specter is slime, period. Very disappointed in Hewitt.

73 posted on 11/06/2004 8:31:38 AM PST by ServesURight (Tim Michels for U.S. Senate Wisconsin)
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To: PISANO

I believe the margin will change from 11-10 to 12-10 or 11-9.

I hope that Senator-elect Coburn gets the vacancy on the GOP side, if one develops. Of all the freshmen, he seems to have the right temperament and ideological consistency (including pro-life commitment) for a Judiciary assignment.

I've been freeped for days because I agree with Hugh Hewitt.

1. Specter will support Bush's nominees and in so doing will provide a useful foil to moderates and the MSM. Well, Specter is supporting these nominees, so they can't be that bad. We'll get more accomplished with less controversy.

2. Frist is running for President. He must keep Specter in line. If he fails to do so, his presidential run is in prompt shambles, tatters. In fact, raising expectations on our side for Frist and Specter to produce may yield even greater results than if we have a conservative chair who is assailed by the MSM week after week.

3. Specter likes the limelight. Fine. Let him have it. I'm even willing to carve out a hero's nitch for him if he gets the job done by the 2006 midterms and we have two or more new USSC confirmations and a host of circuit court nominees confirmed.

4. Specter in the chair role will help the RATS to realize that they must throw in the towel on this counter-productive filibuster strategy. If we alienate Arlen, a bunch of GOP moderates will side with enough RATS to maintain the filibuster, and we accomplish nothing.

5. There is a sea change in the Senate due to the election results, particularly the defeat of Tom Daschle. The ramifications are huge, and tremendously benefit the GOP. Let's not inject new recriminations. We are the winners, let's act accordingly.

6. This said, we should change or enact a rule such that the filibuster of a circuit or district court nominee is prohibited... 51, not 60, is the legitimate number.


74 posted on 11/06/2004 8:40:00 AM PST by mwl1
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To: Theodore R.

Question for you..amid all the blooging about Spector, has anyone seen any reasonably intelligent gues as to why he spoke now, the day after the election? That's what I don't get. Assumingthe quotes are correct, and I believe they are, they reflect nothing different than what we've always know about Spector, indeed what W and Sabotrum knew about him when the decided to back him against Toomey. So why did Arlen open his mouth now?. Is there a hiden agenda at work..or did he just blab because he was near a mike?.


75 posted on 11/06/2004 8:41:03 AM PST by ken5050
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To: TheLawyerFormerlyKnownAsAl
I can. Enough of that "center-right" crap.

I agree. I am tired of the kool-aid kids with their "big tent theory" That is for the other side. Time to pull the right back to the right.

76 posted on 11/06/2004 8:46:22 AM PST by smokeyb
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To: MplsSteve

I totally disagree w Hugh on this one.

His historical examples of Judiciary successes are not valid in the current Senate tactical climate.

Conservatives are under no obligation to give power and authority to RINOs.

Things will move slowly enough, even after we add to the Conservative foundation laid on Tuesday.

I don't expect R v Wade to be overturned soon, but I DO expect PBA to be outlawed!

The quicker the route to a more conservative Judiciary, the better off we will be.
There will be sufficient roadblocks to slow the transition.
We don't need to aid the Devil further.


77 posted on 11/06/2004 8:51:16 AM PST by G Larry (Time to update my "Support John Thune!" tagline. Thanks to all who did!)
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To: ken5050

did he just blab because he was near a mike?

Yes, I doubt that it even occurred to Arlen that his being Arlen was impolitick in this case. Arlen rejects that biblical admonition that one "ought not to think too highly of himself." Arlen's little "miscommunication" is not that much different from Trent Lott "congratulating" Strom Thurmond at the 100th birthday party.


78 posted on 11/06/2004 8:51:39 AM PST by Theodore R.
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To: ken5050
Question for you..amid all the blooging about Spector, has anyone seen any reasonably intelligent gues as to why he spoke now, the day after the election? That's what I don't get.

I think it made sense for him to speak out now before the Senate decides whether to elect him to Chair the Judiciary Committee. I don't think he wants anyone to later claim surprise if and when he works to kill Supreme Court appointments that might threaten Roe v. Wade.

I think that the Republican Party has an opportunity to overrule Roe v. Wade and I think that Specter wants the Republican Party to decide if that is what it really wants to do. ;-)

79 posted on 11/06/2004 8:53:05 AM PST by Scenic Sounds (Sí, estamos libres sonreír otra vez - ahora y siempre.)
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To: My2Cents
The only way I could see Arlen being allowed to assume the Judiciary chairmanship is if he gets a stern lecturing from W

W campaigned for him in the primaries then stabbed him a week later saying he wasn't a rubber stamp for the President. You really think he can be trusted ? We here in PA have watched him pull a Brutus too many times to trust him.

80 posted on 11/06/2004 8:54:05 AM PST by smokeyb
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