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Scaring Specter straight
Townhall ^ | November 22, 2004 | Robert Novak

Posted on 11/21/2004 9:34:52 PM PST by Jim Robinson

WASHINGTON -- Before Sen. Arlen Specter stood beside other Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee last Thursday and pledged support as their chairman for any judge that President Bush nominates, he had been scared stiff by his colleagues and by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

It was close. As late as Wednesday night, his statement of party loyalty was rejected by Frist as inadequate. When the Judiciary Republicans caucused Thursday, two of them were not yet on board for Specter. To achieve the chairmanship that he has coveted for years, Specter had to promise he would seriously dilute the "independence" he brags about. The achievement suggests that Frist is getting the hang of being leader after a rocky first year in the job.

That offers hope for an end to recent Democratic success in using the filibuster to block every Bush judicial nomination deemed objectionable to liberal pressure groups. The stakes grow higher with the probability of Supreme Court nominations. But Frist will have four additional Republican senators, thanks to this year's elections, and enhanced confidence, thanks to the way he handled the Specter affair

~snip~

What to do with Specter, then, was explained to me by one of the committee's most politically astute Republicans, who asked that his name not be used: "We have to scare the hell out of Arlen before he gets to be chairman -- scare him so badly he will act properly as chairman."

(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: rino; specter
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To: gloriapoole
I am not starting a rumor. I am pretty sure that is the scuttlebutt in DC. Check it out and find out for sure.

Sorry but that's pretty much the definition of a rumor and if you are repeating hearsay you are spreading rumors..

If you have some documentation to prove that Arlen Specter is homosexual I'd like to see it and not just "documentation" from somebodies blog that also repeats rumors. So you "check it out"

Wagging tongues - wagging typing fingers -all the same.

101 posted on 11/22/2004 2:06:23 PM PST by Graybeard58
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To: Aussie Dasher

bttt


102 posted on 11/22/2004 5:24:28 PM PST by CallaWolf
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To: Keith in Iowa
"Could it be true that Frist told Arlen to play ball or the good doctor would deliver the bat like a suppository? Has Frist found his long-lost leadership stones?"

I believe Frist informed Scottish law Specter of the Dahmer procedure.

103 posted on 11/22/2004 5:29:46 PM PST by spokeshave (Strategery + Schardenfreude = Stratenschardenfreudery)
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To: snowsislander; Lancey Howard
Charles Sumner was removed from chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1871.
The reason was that he was no longer on speaking terms with the Secretary of State because of his differences over policy.

I am not sure of the fine points of removing a chairman, but the precedent for doing so has been set.

104 posted on 11/22/2004 5:40:56 PM PST by mrsmith
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To: mrsmith

"Charles Sumner was removed from chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1871.
The reason was that he was no longer on speaking terms with the Secretary of State because of his differences over policy."

Wow, and I thought Fritz hollings was old!


105 posted on 11/22/2004 5:49:26 PM PST by flashbunny (Every thought that enters my head requires its own vanity thread.)
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To: mrsmith

Surely a battle we won't have to fight if he doesn't get the job now.


106 posted on 11/22/2004 6:09:21 PM PST by Aussie Dasher (Stop Hillary - PEGGY NOONAN '08)
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To: mrsmith

Thanks for the information. Greatly appreciated.


107 posted on 11/22/2004 6:23:27 PM PST by Lancey Howard
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To: mrsmith

Thanks for the information. Greatly appreciated.


108 posted on 11/22/2004 6:24:07 PM PST by Lancey Howard
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To: Jim Robinson

No amount of promising will deter a lib from being a lib once he has the chairmanship.


109 posted on 11/22/2004 6:46:22 PM PST by ThanhPhero (Ong la nguoi di hanh huong den La Vang)
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To: mrsmith; Lancey Howard
Thanks for the name and date -- that allowed me to find the incident in the Senate Journal at the Library of Congress.

March 10th, 1871 was the day that all committee assignments were done for the new 42nd Congress. Senator Sumner had been chairman of the committee for ten years, but when the new membership list was voted on, his name was not on the Foreign Relations Committee list as chairman, but had been moved to the Committee on Privileges and Elections (which he then disdainfully asked to be removed from consideration):

Mr. Howe submitted the following resolution; which was considered, by unanimous consent, and agreed to:

Resolved, That the thirty-fifth rule of the Senate be suspended for the purpose of electing the committees of the Senate for the present session by resolution.

Whereupon,

Mr. Howe submitted the following resolution for consideration:

Resolved, That the following be the standing and select committees of the Senate during the present session:

  • On Privileges and Elections.--Mr. Sumner, chairman; Mr. Stewart, Mr. Morton, Mr. Rice, Mr. Hamlin, Mr. Hill, and Mr. Thurman.
  • On Foreign Relations.--Mr. Cameron, chairman; Mr. Harlan, Mr. Morton Mr. Patterson, Mr. Schurz, Mr. Hamlin, and Mr. Casserly.
  • On Finance.--Mr. Sherman, chairman; Mr. Morrill of Vermont, Mr. Fenton, Mr. Scott, Mr. Ames, Mr. Wright, and Mr. Bayard.
  • On Appropriations.--Mr. Cole, chairman; Mr. Sprague, Mr. Sawyer, Mr. Edmunds, Mr. Windom, Mr. West, and Mr. Stevenson.
  • On Commerce.--Mr. Chandler, chairman; Mr. Corbett, Mr. Kellogg, Mr. Spencer, Mr. Buckingham, Mr. Conkling, and Mr. Vickers.
  • On Manufactures.--Mr. Hamlin, chairman; Mr. Robertson, Mr. Boreman, Mr. Gilbert, and Mr. Blair.
  • On Agriculture.--Mr. Morton, chairman; Mr. Cameron, Mr. Robertson Mr. Tipton and Mr. Davis of West Virginia.
  • On Military Affairs.--Mr. Wilson, chairman; Mr. Cameron, Mr. Morton, Mr. Ames, Mr. Logan, Mr. West, and Mr. Blair.
  • On Naval Affairs.--Mr. Cragin, chairman; Mr. Anthony, Mr. Nye, Mr. Osborn, Mr. Caldwell, Mr. Ferry of Michigan, and Mr. Stockton.
  • On the Judiciary.--Mr. Trumbull, chairman; Mr. Edmunds, Mr. Conkling, Mr. Carpenter, Mr. Frelinghuysen, Mr. Pool, and Mr. Thurman.
  • On Post Offices and Post Roads.--Mr. Ramsey, chairman; Mr. Pomeroy, Mr. Gilbert, Mr. Cole, Mr. Flanagan, Mr. Ferry of Michigan, and Mr. Kelly.
  • On Public Lands.--Mr. Pomeroy, chairman; Mr. Tipton, Mr. Osborn, Mr. Sprague, Mr. Windom, Mr. Logan, and Mr. Casserly.
  • On Private Land Claims.--Mr. Davis of Kentucky, chairman; Mr. Ferry of Connecticut, Mr. Sawyer, Mr. Bayard, and Mr. Cooper.
  • On Indian Affairs.--Mr. Harlan, chairman; Mr. Corbett, Mr. Buckingham, Mr. Stewart, Mr. Frelinghuysen, Mr. Hill, and Mr Davis of Kentucky.
  • On Pensions.--Mr. Edmunds, chairman; Mr. Tipton, Mr. Pratt, Mr. Brownlow, Mr. Ferry of Michigan, Mr. West, and Mr. Saulsbury.
  • On Revolutionary Claims.--Mr. Pool, chairman; Mr. Brownlow, Mr. Corbett, Mr. Cragin, and Mr. Davis of West Virginia.
  • On Claims.--Mr. Howe, chairman; Mr. Scott, Mr. Sprague, Mr. Pratt, Mr. Boreman, Mr. Wright, and Mr. Davis of West Virginia.
  • On the District of Columbia.--Mr. Patterson, chairman; Mr. Sumner, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Spencer, Mr. Caldwell, Mr. Hitchcock, and Mr. Vickers.
  • On Patents.--Mr. Ferry of Connecticut, chairman; Mr. Carpenter, Mr. Morrill of Maine, Mr. Windom, and Mr. Hamilton.
  • On Public Buildings and Grounds.--Mr. Morrill of Vermont, chairman; Mr. Trumbull, Mr. Cole, Mr. Stockton, and Mr. Hamilton.
  • On Territories.--Mr. Nye, chairman; Mr. Cragin, Mr. Schurz, Mr. Boreman, Mr. Hill, Mr. Hitchcock, and Mr. Cooper.
  • On the Pacific Railroad.--Mr. Stewart, chairman; Mr. Ramsey, Mr.

    Page 21 | Page image

    Wilson, Mr. Harlan, Mr. Rice, Mr. Fenton, Mr. Scott, Mr. Kellogg, Mr Hitchcock, Mr. Blair, and Mr. Kelly.

  • On Mines and Mining.--Mr. Rice, chairman; Mr. Chandler, Mr. Flanagan, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Logan, Mr. Caldwell, and Mr. Saulsbury.
  • On the Revision of the Laws of the United States.--Mr. Conkling, chairman; Mr. Carpenter, Mr. Pool, Mr. Pratt, and Mr. Hamilton.
  • On Education and Labor.--Mr. Sawyer, chairman; Mr. Morrill of Vermont, Mr. Flanagan, Mr. Patterson, and Mr. Blair.
  • To Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate.--Mr. Fenton, chairman; Mr. Windom and Mr. Saulsbury.
  • On Printing.--Mr. Anthony, chairman; Mr. Howe and Mr. Casserly.
  • On the Library.--Mr. Morrill of Maine, chairman; Mr. Howe and Mr. Sherman.
  • On Engrossed Bills.--Mr. Buckingham, chairman; Mr. Ames and Mr. Davis of West Virginia.
  • On Enrolled Bills.--Mr. Carpenter, chairman; Mr. Lewis and Mr. Kelly.
  • Select Committee on the Revision of the Rules.--Mr. Pomeroy, chairman; Mr. Edmunds and Mr. Bayard.
  • Select Committee on the Removal of Political Disabilities.--Mr. Robertson, chairman; Mr. Boreman, Mr. Ames, Mr. Gilbert, Mr. Vickers, and Mr. Stevenson.
  • Select Committee on the Levees of the Mississippi River.--Mr. Kellogg, chairman; Mr. Trumbull, Mr. Schurz, Mr. Spencer, and Mr. Blair.
  • Select Committee to investigate alleged outrages in the Southern States.--Mr. Scott, chairman; Mr. Wilson, Mr. Chandler, Mr. Rice, Mr. Nye, Mr. Bayard, and Mr. Blair.

The Senate proceeded, by unanimous consent, to consider the said resolution.

On motion by Mr. Sumner to amend the resolution by striking out his name as a member of the Committee on Privileges and Elections, it was determined in the affirmative.

[ ... much boring procedural trivia... ]

On the question to agree to the resolution as amended,

  • It was determined in the affirmative,
  • Yeas ... 33
  • Nays ... 9

On motion by Mr. Edmunds,

The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the Senators present,

Those who voted in the affirmative are,

Messrs. Ames, Anthony, Boreman, Brownlow, Caldwell, Chandler, Cole, Conkling, Corbett. Edmunds, Fenton, Ferry of Michigan, Flanagan, Frelinghuysen, Hamlin, Harlan, Hitchcock, Howe, Lewis. Morrill of Vermont, Morton, Nye, Osborn, Pomeroy, Pool, Ramsey, Robertson, Sawyer, Scott, Sherman, Stewart, West, Wright.

Those who voted in the negative are,

Messrs. Blair, Casserly, Cooper, Davis of Kentucky, Davis of West Virginia, Kelly, Stevenson, Thurman, Vickers.

So the resolution as amended was agreed to.

As I read this, I don't believe that this sets precedent for removing Senator Specter from the chairmanship on the whim of Senator Frist, or anyone else. At best, it says that Senator Sumner, who greatly upset President Grant with respect to the Treaty of Santo Domingo, failed to be renominated as chairman of the committee.

110 posted on 11/22/2004 7:15:44 PM PST by snowsislander
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To: MeekOneGOP
Good! I hope Specter got the message LOUD and CLEAR!!!

Me too Meek. I would imagine the Congressmen mentioned all the feedback they were getting from their constituents!

111 posted on 11/22/2004 8:42:38 PM PST by potlatch (Under Construction.......)
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To: snowsislander; mrsmith
I believe that a precedent WAS set. It may indeed be true that there is no precedent for bouncing a chairman mid-session or sometime during the middle of any two-year Congress, but it certainly is a precedent for bouncing Specter in two years at the start of the NEXT Congress if it becomes necessary to do so.

So if the bottom falls out and Specter reneges on all his promises, the worst we will suffer is two years. That would leave two more years for the Bush Administration and the Republican Senate (it should stay that way, easily) to get nominees (and/or re-nominees) treated properly.

112 posted on 11/22/2004 8:44:08 PM PST by Lancey Howard
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To: PhilDragoo

He found out what it was like to be 'on the other side' of the action!!


113 posted on 11/22/2004 8:46:46 PM PST by potlatch (Under Construction.......)
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To: Jim Robinson
"he had been scared stiff by his colleagues and by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist."

Sorry I don't believe it. There was NO discernable change in Specter's behavior before, during or after the conference.

Even if true, it won't take him long to revert to his normal self. When Bush appoints the conservative who tips the court pro-life, Specter will Bork him. To place him as chairman of the Judiciary was a HUGE mistake and conservatives and the innocent will pay a high price.

114 posted on 11/22/2004 9:01:37 PM PST by TAdams8591 (BORK SPECTER!!!)
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To: Cedar

Agreed. LOL! I think it was Specter who scared the other Senators.


115 posted on 11/22/2004 9:04:51 PM PST by TAdams8591 (BORK SPECTER!!!)
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To: Prime Choice; GeronL
Specter, cowed? That'll be the day, LOL!

I agree with both of your posts.

116 posted on 11/22/2004 9:08:28 PM PST by TAdams8591 (BORK SPECTER!!!)
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To: Jim Robinson; afraidfortherepublic; Alamo-Girl; AlbionGirl; anniegetyourgun; Aquinasfan; ...
Pro-life/pro-baby ping...


117 posted on 11/23/2004 12:03:24 AM PST by cgk (The Left was beaten by Pres Bush twice & will never have another shot at him... who's dumb?)
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To: guitfiddlist

Prediction:

Pro-life Rehnquist is the first to retire and MacSpecter "vigorously" DEFENDS the pro-life candidate Bush names to replace him. 20 RATs vote against the nominee but the other 80 senators support this nominee. Assuming Bush picked a sitting justice (Thomas?) to replace Rehnquist, Bush names a second court appointment, which Specter then "happily" works to confirm him as well. At this point, a bunch of conservative Senators say they were wrong to doubt Specter and that he's "on our side"...

One year later, a pro-abort justice (Stevens?) retires. Bush names a nominally pro-life, highly qualified minority justice (Estrada?) to replace him or her. Specter, realizing such a change could affect his precious "woman's constitutional right to choose", BORKS this nominee into oblivion. He says it has nothing to do with abortion ("after all, I voted for Thomas for Chief Justice"), but because his nominee is "insensitive" to "civil rights" or some other such garbage. Specter refuses to relent until Bush nominates some pro-abort RINO, and by that time it's too late to remove Snarlin' Arlen MacSpecter as Chairman, and the damage has been done.

Wait and see.


118 posted on 11/23/2004 9:25:58 AM PST by BillyBoy (George Ryan deserves a long term...without parole.)
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To: MHGinTN; Coleus; nickcarraway; narses; Mr. Silverback; Canticle_of_Deborah; ...

Please FreepMail me if you want on or off my Pro-Life Ping List.

119 posted on 11/23/2004 9:38:50 AM PST by cpforlife.org (The Missing Key of The Pro-Life Movement is at www.CpForLife.org)
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To: BillyBoy

Prescient!


120 posted on 11/23/2004 9:51:08 AM PST by MHGinTN (If you can read this, you've had life support from someone. Promote life support for others.)
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