I want to see all sides of him when he makes the statement.
Posted on 11/17/2004 6:06:32 PM PST by yonif
WASHINGTON (AP) — After two days of appealing to fellow GOP senators, embattled Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania said he would make a public statement to assure Republicans at large he would not block anti-abortion judicial nominees from President Bush.
"I'm working on it," Specter said of the statement after receiving more Senate support despite calls from anti-abortion conservatives that he be skipped over as the next chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
Specter, a moderate on abortion rights, has been trying to repair the damage caused by his postelection comment that Democrats would probably block judicial nominees who would try to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court case legalizing abortion.
"And I would expect the president to be mindful of the considerations which I am mentioning," he said after the Nov. 2 election.
Since then, he has sought to reassure Republicans that he would not stand in the way of Bush's nominees if he took over the Judiciary Committee next year. The current chairman, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is stepping down because of term limits.
Even as he campaigned to save his chairmanship, Specter lost his spot as one of the senators who must sign the compromise $388 billion spending bill being worked on by congressional negotiators. Specter, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, which wrote the spending measure, now will have less leverage in reaching a final deal.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said the move "has nothing to do with the chairmanship."
Specter has gone on radio and television. He has told senators, individually and in groups, that he does not have a litmus test on abortion for judges. In addition, he has stressed that Democrats plan to filibuster against conservative judges regardless of what he does.
"People are looking to him to provide some assurance, so he'll make a statement," said Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., who is in line, in terms of seniority, to become the committee's chairman if Specter is passed over.
Senators have said that there would have to be some kind of public reckoning for Specter to smooth over relations with abortion opponents, and to give them some political cover from the e-mails, faxes and phone calls they have been receiving.
But nothing Specter says will satisfy some conservatives, who say he has a track record of opposing their issues.
"When Jon Kyl, Jeff Sessions or John Cornyn would make a great chairman, why in the world would Republicans take the great risk of trusting Specter?" said Jan LaRue, lawyer for the conservative Concerned Women for America.
Nevertheless, the Senate's No. 3 Republican, anti-abortion advocate and fellow Pennsylvanian Rick Santorum, offered Specter support.
"I expect him to keep his commitments, to move judges out of committee, and to be an advocate of the president in getting those judges passed," Santorum said.
Committee Republicans will take an official vote on his chairmanship in January. The vote can be appealed to the full GOP caucus, which heard from Specter on Wednesday.
No one would say what Specter told senators, and that includes Specter. Frist said Specter's comments "were received well."
Even before the meeting, Specter was getting public statements of support from colleagues such as Hatch, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va., and Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine.
"He was just restating the facts about potential challenges with a Supreme Court nominee before the United States Senate," Snowe said.
His subsequent statements since Election Day, said Warner, have been "clear as a bell — no ifs, ands or buts. I think he's made clear the circumstances under which he made that statement, and he should be given the opportunity to serve."
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On the Net:
Senate Judiciary Committee: http://judiciary.senate.gov
Sen. Arlen Specter: http://specter.senate.gov
Anti-Specter group: http://www.notspecter.com
I don't care what he says. He is a liar.
When is a liar to be believed?
He is only saying and doing what he thinks it will take him to get the Chair position.
Once he gets the Chair position he can do as he pleases.
Oh, I understand that the Republicans say if he steps out of line they will remove him pronto. The Republicans don't even believe that , let along Spectre. Should they even think about removing him, the mainstream media would put up a howl like never before. When was the first time the Republicans stood up to the main stream media?
And he is going to get revenge on those who opposed him.
I still believe that the Republicans are going to give him the position.
When they do, President Bush had better hit the ground running because '05 and '06 are the only two years he will be able to work on implementing his agenda. He will spemd '07 and '08 if he drag it out that long defending himself from being impeached by the Democrats. Knowing how Republicans defend each other when being attacked by the main stream mediaor the Democrats, he has the chance of a snowflake, not snowball, in hell.
Why? Because a good portion of his base, the majority which is still comprised of , in spite of what some are saying, anti abortion Christiand and gun owners. They and others who worked so hard to hepl re-elect President Bush and other Republicans only to get throughly hosed by the Republicans before even allthe votes were counted will either vote third party or stay home on election day.
Righto Rino! You won't get a chance! GOTCHA!
Too late Arlen baby, we gotta get rid of this guy.
Two very important words: ROBERT BORK !!!
It looks like we've been sold out again. The abortion litmus test isn't the only one we need to be concerned about. And Specter didn't "earn" this important post. I can't think of anyone who "earned" it less. Seniority should not be a part of this appointment. The best man should head the committee, and that leaves Arlen out.
Of course. That's what he's "working on"... getting the double just right in the speak.
Advocate retroactive abortion rights up to the age of 2.
Yeah, I thought the same thing.
He must be writing up a nice Clintonesque statement that he can claim says one thing and can mean another. Then all his RINO buddies can say it's okay, all the GOP party hacks can say "but he's given in, now appoint him," and the sellouts like Lott can claim they won.
Then he'll Bork us again.
He's supported blocking partial-birth abortion I think. Otherwise, he sees it as open season on the unborn.
Arlen should not be chairman. We all know what his true view is. Even if he doesn't openly attempt to scuttle a pro-life, or natural-law, or strict-construction judicial candidate, he'll be doing it in the cloak room.
Specter cannot be trusted with our hard-fought win against the propaganda forces of the left.
If the left were in political power they would steam-roll the constitution with more left-wing judges.
Specter believes the same bull-hockey that the far-left Harvard professors teach. They think the honest intent of the constitution is backward and embarrassing to such high-minded progressives as themselves. Forget the law, forget the intent, all that matters is the elitist professors, the ACLU and their elitist buddies.
That bunch of lawbreaking fakes have no business in any place of influence.
I wonder if Specter would approve of Robert Bork now? At the point of a gun maybe.
ok and we all read Hugh Hewitt, but this time he is wrong. this is where we should draw the line. This is the only chance to get spector if we miss it, its gone forever. Spinctor has shown his hand so many times, and now we need to cut it off. let him cross the aisle. that's where he belongs. he is a flaming RINO if ever there was one. 54-46 with Jon Kyl, Jeff Sessions or John Cornyn is better than 55-45 without the ability to get strict constitutionalists out of committee and on the floor. 54-46 will still change the fillibuster rule. 54-46 is the only way to get the job done.
Lucy: "Charlie Brown, I promise that this time I will not pull away the football!"
my first thought as well...
Lucy "I will not pull away the football"....That is well said in very few words! If they allow Spector this position, they have asked for trouble.
I want to see all sides of him when he makes the statement.
He'll crawl, grovel, beg ...... until he's in the driver's seat.
it is the only chance because right now there is no nominee to fight over. the fight is only about spector and what he said and what he has done in the past. any battle now will not get the publicity and the attentinon that it would if it came on the heels of his outright refusal, or more likely, his obliquely rationalized opposition to a specific nominee, 1) we would have already lost the nominee and 2) the MSM would find its audience and rev them up and the damage to the Republican Party would be far worse. Dump him now and its not as inflammatory and much easier to deal with.
you say in effect that i am speculating about it being easier to dump him now than later, but you are also speculating when you say that more than just spector might cross the aisle. who else will do that now, and more importantly, if we have to dump him later, in the intense glare of a nomination fight, why would not the same cross the aisle then? you would be argueing to keep spector then for the same reasons you argue it now. fear of losing him and other RINOS.
take this guy out now, its the only chance to do it.
respectfully, i must disagree with you on this issue.
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