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Specter camp’s response to seniority attack line: It didn’t matter anyway

Before Democrat Joe Torsella called of his bid for Senate, his campaign made clear an attack line that’s likely to be used by challengers of Senator Arlen Specter from both sides of the aisle—that Specter can no longer count on the Senate seniority he has often told voters is so important to them.

Specter has said he will regain the seniority his new Democratic colleagues took away from him earlier this month. But asked recently how Specter could assure voters that would indeed happen, his campaign manager revealed how the longtime Senator will answer such questions in the months to come—by saying that seniority didn’t matter much in the first place.

“Senator Specter didn’t get the extra $10 billion in NIH funding via the [economic] Stimulus package because of any subcommittee he chaired,” campaign manager Christopher Nicholas wrote in an e-mail. “He got it because of his clout, hard work, perseverance and intellect. His influence in DC—and more importantly, in Pennsylvania—is unchanged, and certainly much greater than any of his potential opponents. That’s reflected in the recent public polls.”

May 27, 2009 at 9:40 am

--Dan Hirschhorn

Tags: Arlen Specter

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