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Specter steps up his support of Sotomayor

Specter steps up his support of Sotomayor

As he looks to shore up Democratic support ahead of next year’s primary, Senator Arlen Specter on Wednesday offered his strongest words of support yet for Preident Obama’s Supreme Court nominee.

In a floor speech announcing his formal support, Specter praised Sonia Sotomayor “extraordinary” judicial record, The National Journal reports.

Specter had initially lauded Sotomayor’s pick, before withholding his full support until her formal hearings. But he now seems prepared to help shepherd her nomination through the Senate. He defended Democrats in his new party for trying to move her confirmation hearings forward.

“I think [Senate Judiciary Committee] Chairman Leahy was correct in moving the hearing date so that the confirmation process could be concluded in time for Judge Sotomayor, if confirmed, to sit with the court during September when the court will decide what cases it will hear,” Specter said. “A great deal of the important work of the Supreme Court of the United States is decided on what cases they decide not to hear.”

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June 17, 2009 at 8:19 pm

--Dan Hirschhorn

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  1. Lee

    Jun 17th, 2009

    Why’d he wait so long? His hesitation shows that Specter is not comfortable in Dem clothing. Suporting Soto is a no brainer for a true Dem.

  2. David Diano

    Jun 18th, 2009

    Lee-
    Initial reaction of support was the right “Dem” (or at least “party” instinct).

    Since he was getting some push back about whether he would still be “independent” and because some initial reports suggested potential embarrassing statements by Soto, Specter backed off very slightly.

    If all the Dems are going to declare in advance that they are going to vote for her, then actually hearings seem pointless. Specter’s been around long enough to know that on the Judiciary committee, you don’t announce your verdict before the trial even starts.

    This “hesitation” is an attempt to make something out of nothing. Specter was always going to vote for her, unless some major skeleton popped out of the closet.

    Specter is going to vote with the Dems for Supreme court, EFCA and healthcare.

  3. Lee

    Jun 18th, 2009

    Specter’s current problem is not whether he appears to remain independent. It is whether he will support sufficiently the Democratic Party’s values. If he is going to err, he needs to err on the side of enthusiasm for high profile issues such as the confirmation of Sotomayor. If he continues his tentative, tepid approach with his eye on the general election, he may well find himself on the sidelines after the primary.

  4. David Diano

    Jun 18th, 2009

    Lee-
    Very interesting point.
    However, Arlen’s been around for 30 years. If he suddenly panders too much toward the Left, it will look phony (okay…. more phony) and turn off voters.
    What Arlen CAN do is help Democratic candidates running in 2007. That would advance Dem party values, generate Dem loyalty to him, and not force him to vote uncharacteristically to the Left.

  5. David Diano

    Jun 18th, 2009

    correction: What Arlen CAN do is help Democratic candidates running in ** 2009 ** (not 2007)

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