Posted on 11/15/2004 10:19:46 PM PST by ETERNAL WARMING
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
PANIC: Specter In SERIOUS TROUBLE, Cancels Santorum Meeting, Cornyn Said To Be Leaning Against, New Senators Decline Comment
If Specter cancelled a Monday night New York City event with Santorum, you know he's in serious trouble!
American Spectator:
Specter was expected to attend last night's meeting with Sen. Rick Santorum, and to mount his most public defense for the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee. ... Word among senior Senate staffers was that Specter over the past 36 hours has grown increasingly alarmed at what he is hearing out of the GOP caucus in the Senate. Pointedly: that support for his chairmanship is rapidly crumbling under an assault from conservative groups across the country.
On Monday in Washington, a number of incoming freshman Republican Senators were asked about their support of Specter, and to a man, most declined to say what they were thinking of doing.
These were piled on top of the brutally frank remarks of Senate leader Sen. Bill Frist on Sunday, which made it clear that Specter will have to fight for his chairmanship without the aid of his GOP leadership.
Even Judiciary member Sen. John Cornyn is believed to privately be leaning voting against Specter, despite some public words of support late last week. "What Senator Cornyn said was not a public statement of support, it was an attempt to convey to Senator Specter that he had to be more vocal and clear about where his head was at, and that if he were more open and frank publicly, support for him would follow," says a Cornyn staffer. "If Senator Specter misconstrued the remarks, that is unfortunate."
There is a school of thought inside the Senate that Specter has indeed badly misjudged the environment in which he has been operating. "Specter for the past week has believed that he was winning this thing," says a Senate leadership staffer. "Today [Monday] it appears that it has finally become clear to him that he is not winning this thing. He is losing it, unless he starts making a concerted effort to sway some votes. The Senator's staff may have done him a great disservice by leading him to believe he was successfully weathering this situation."
The resulting panic is what led Specter to cancel his appearance in New York and to focus his attention, not on public relations, but on private discussions with his Senate colleagues. "The folks at the Monday Meeting aren't the ones who are going to cast a vote for him behind closed doors in a couple of months," says another Senate staffer. "That he has been unable to shore up support within the committee is troubling. Perhaps he isn't working hard enough."
Pointedly: that support for his chairmanship is rapidly crumbling under an assault from conservative groups across the country. WELL DONE EVERYONE! If you took the time to sign the petitions and contact your homeboys, a hearty bravo! If you didn't, please do so now. We need to keep the heat on Washington on a number of issues!
Specter can't be trusted. John Kyl should be put at the head of the Judiciary now or in two years after Hatch has served his two year extension.
Kyl would make a great chairman!
The (his pending) job is to get the Presidential nominees escorted thru the commitee - if he can't/won't commit to that screw (Bork) him.
Welcome news to those of us who, although prepared to vouchsafe some leeway to a Republican who had supported Thomas and was in turn supported by Bush, nevertheless were dismayed by his remarks shortly after the election.
Accordingly, we concluded that thirty million more lives simply cannot be entrusted to him as chairman of the judiciary committee.
If Specter doesn't get the chair, is it likely he'll he'll jump ship ?
Scottish Law is a B%#$&.........
It was obvious Spector was and is toast less than 24 hours after he opened his trap. His words were fighting words to the GOP's pro life wing. In a moment that called for conciliation Spector chose arrgance, hubris, and unnecessary confrontation.
Rather than continue to allow him to twist, the GOP braintrust needs to throw Spector a bone for his dignity in some less controversial venue. Spector's out of touch defenders, such as Hugh Hewitt, are prolonging and exacerbating the inevitable.
Okay. Let's say Specter gets the boot. What do you want to bet that the guy that replaces him isn't a clone of Spector?
We're sure not going to get a conservative in there. I just don't see the leadership taking the course. I hope I'm wrong.
Hi Mom, did you see this?
There's poetic justice in that slogan: "Bork Specter."
The "Rules" are designed to amplify the powers of individual Senators so that they can each shake down the lobbyists for an average of $100,000 per month.
Specter shot his own mouth off and shouldn't expect the other 99 Senators to take the fall for him.
Yes, I agree.....but I'm curious about something: IF Specter loses his chance at becoming Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, do you think that he could possibly "pull a Jeffords" by either becoming an independent of a RAT??
& if he does so, do you think the RATS could use him to filibuster President Bush's judicial nominees as an act of revenge?
Fatalis I agree with you but I think he will be voted in.
It also does not help that his all out "charm offensive" for the MSM (aka Mediots) only managed to expose him as an incinsire opportunist.
The Mediots tried to save him by using the mantra "moderate", Specter only managed to look like a democrat spouting the "magic words" to achieve his goals. (not unlike Kerry who threw ribbons but not medals)
FINAL LINE: We must PUSH HARDER!!! Specter must be made an example to all Rinos.
Don't let the door slap you in the clymer on your way out, back-stabber.
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