No one is charging off of a cliff. Specter made a questionable statement yesterday to the San Francisco Chronicle and he's made such statements in the past. Some of us believe that this demonstrates a pattern and that there is a strong possibility that he will prove to be an obstacle to the confirmation of conservative, pro-life Federal Judges and Supreme Court Justices. Because of that concern some of us are contact Sen. Bill Frist and others (I recommend Jon Kyl) who may have an affect upon whether Specter is appointed as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
It is apparent that our efforts are starting to cause Specter some concern as to whether he will, in fact, be appointed. He's gone into damage control mode. Despite his desperate attempts, he won't be able to cover up all of his statements and record on this issue. Again, the San Francisco Chronicle interview does not constitute the entirety of Specters history on this. I will say, however, that he did finally vote to recommend Pryor. That is something to be considered in his favor. However, these statements cause me enough concern that I would not want him to serve as Senate Judiciary Chair - he needs another committee assignment somewhere else.