Free Republic

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., has asked Judiciary Chairman Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah, to convene a closed-door meeting of committee Republicans during the lame-duck session next week as he battles to succeed the term-limited chairman in the new Congress. The prospective meeting is part of a counter-offensive by Specter against an unrelenting campaign by social conservatives who are demanding that Republicans find someone other than the moderate, abortion rights supporter for the chairmanship. Although Specter is lobbying the nine other Republicans currently on the committee, Senate leaders have not yet set committee ratios for the 109th Congress. It is not clear...

Specter is extremely proud of his opposition to conservative Judge Robert Bork, and would stop another judge like him in a second. From the Bucks County Courier-Times:Specter said he does use his position on the Senate Judiciary Committee - a panel he will probably begin chairing next year if re-elected - to weed out judges who are extreme. He points to Robert Bork, a Ronald Reagan nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. "I not only voted against Bork, I led the charge against him," Specter said.