Posted on 01/05/2005 12:49:35 PM PST by hinterlander
Senate Republican Conference Chairman Rick Santorum (Pa.) joined his GOP colleagues Wednesday in a unanimous vote of support for liberal Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) to become Judiciary Committee chairman.
Ending two months of silence, Santorum told HUMAN EVENTS there was no opposition to Specter at Wednesday's Republican Conference meeting. A day earlier, all 10 Republican members of the Judiciary Committee voted in favor of Specter, whose bid to become the panel's chairman was in doubt a mere two months ago.
The controversy stemmed from Specter's comments after winning election to a fifth term in November. When he was asked to assess President Bush's prospects for getting judges confirmed by the Senate, Specter said, "When you talk about judges who would change the right of a woman to choose, overturn Roe v. Wade, I think that is unlikely." His answer set off a firestorm of grassroots activity, which eventually forced Specter to make a list of concessions to his GOP colleagues in order to win their backing.
Santorum, meanwhile, declined to offer his support. Even though he supported Specter in Pennsylvania's general and primary elections in 2004, Santorum said it would be inappropriate for him to offer a public endorsement of the embattled Specter before Republicans on the Judiciary Committee had a chance to vote. At one point, Santorum's spokesman told HUMAN EVENTS the senator was officially "undecided" on Specter's bid.
"I don't want to usurp the power of the committee by making a recommendation one way or the other," Santorum said at a November 17 press conference. "To me, this is the committee's decision. Senator Specter is meeting with the committee. He's discussing the matter with the committee. I think it would be presumptuous of me to direct the committee as to who they should appoint as their chairman. That's not being silent, that's being deferential to the process that we have in place and have had in place."
Specter takes the reigns of the Judiciary Committee on Thursday when he will host a hearing on Attorney General-designate Alberto Gonzales. Democrats have promised to turn the session into an examination of Gonzales's legal memos as White House counsel on terrorist detainees. Once the new chairman ushers Gonzalez through the committee, Specter said he plans to tackle asbestos litigation at a January 11 hearing.
Robert B. Bluey is Assistant Editor for HUMAN EVENTS
Now we'll see the Santorum lynch mob.
Ping
IOW, he wanted to see which way the wind blows before taking a stand.
As well as the 'Santorum walks on water' crowd.
SOLD to the highest bidder !
They all like the perks to much to fight the system.
Once again, proof that there ain't no one in Washington who won't compromise his values to get ahead.
You have a problem with that?
...and yet they totally ignored all of them.
That should tell us where we citizens stand.
They already went back to sleep.
"If Specter is allowed to cause the defeat of pro-life judges, there will be HELL to pay in the next election. Bank on it."
Doubt it. Bigger issues will be on the table. Immigration. Health care for the aged. Deficit spending. Education reform. IRS reform.
Iraq...
The GOP has let down every conservative by supporting Specter. Why they have chose to do so is one of the great mysteries of the modern world.
Can I buy the rope?
I love the let's eat our own crowd, I think they spend half their time posting at the DU and the other half of the time here.
Because four years from now they're banking on raising the alarm on the Democrat boogieman hiding under the bed, figuring it'll scare enough folks to vote for their party.
You'll see it on this forum about a year before the election, much like an orchestra building up to a cacophonic crescendo.
You consider Specter one of our own? I would then say that YOU spend the other half of the time posting on DU. Oh, forgive me! I forgot-he has an "R" after his name. No wonder Rick campaigned for him.
Yep. Coming to a thread near you...
A lynch mob in search of ANYTHING to lynch.
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