Specter and Sotomayor

Interesting to see his response. I suspect he will ask all sorts of seemingly tough questions to demonstrate that he’s still a player, but hard to see him opposing her. He is too new as a Democrat and has already annoyed too many people on peripheral issues. Maybe he’ll go after anyone who questions her—a sort of Anita Hill in reverse, although one doubts that similar issues will arise.

Perhaps more interesting is the response …

May 27, 2009 at 7:33 am | Comments (0)

Obama nominates a judge, so Toomey, of course, bashes Specter

You’ve got to hand it to the people over at Pat Toomey’s campaign: Even with Senator Arlen Specter on the other side of the aisle, the Toomey folks won’t let an opportunity to attack Specter go by.

The latest is Toomey’s statement about President Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. In a statement this afternoon, Toomey said: “For the past twenty years, the Supreme Court confirmation process has very regrettably become a …

May 26, 2009 at 3:25 pm | Comments (0)

Specter lauds court pick

Continuing his recent …

May 26, 2009 at 11:57 am | Comments (1)

Specter ups the ante on CIA

Senator Arlen Specter on Thursday called for full transcription of CIA briefings, stepping up a brewing feud between the agency and Democrats in Congress.

In a letter CIA Director Leon Panetta, White House Counsel Gregory Craig and lawmakers on intelligence committees, Specter said his time on the Senate Intelligence Committeee made clear that “there were frequent disputes as to whether the CIA did the requisite briefings.”

“Such controversies could be resolved by having the briefings …

May 21, 2009 at 1:04 pm | Comments (0)

Biden writes in support of Specter

Vice President Joe Biden has e-mailed half-a-million Obama supporters in Pennsylvania to tout Senator Arlen Specter for reelection, Politico …

May 21, 2009 at 12:19 pm | Comments (0)

The ‘loyal Democrat’ meme emerges

After insisting he would not just be a “loyal Democrat” or an automatic vote for his new party—and sticking to it for a solid week—Senator Arlen Specter seems growing more comfortable among the Democratic ranks. And the press seems to be taking notice.

“ p“…he’s been about as automatic as they come, holding the party line on every measure but one that’s come before the chamber,” emThe Morning Call/em a href="http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/state/all-a16_5specter.6904858may21,0,6336403.story" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.mcall.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcall.com%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fstate%2Fall-a16_5specter.6904858may21%2C0%2C6336403.story','writes')" target="_blank"writes/a./p
pWhether Democrats embrace him as heartily as he’s beginning to embrace them remains an open question. But if there was ever a clear turning point, it could be his recent a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22768.html" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.politico.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com%2Fnews%2Fstories%2F0509%2F22768.html','support')" target="_blank">support of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in her ongoing spat with the CIA.

•Earlier on pa2010.com: …

May 21, 2009 at 10:20 am | Comments (1)

Specter says CIA has bad record on honesty

Senator Arlen Specter appeared to side with House Speak Nancy Pelosi Wednesday regarding her spat with the CIA over interrogation briefings, Politico …

May 20, 2009 at 5:12 pm | Comments (1)

ANALYSIS: Once again, Specter’s fate could hinge on card-check

In March, Senator Arlen Specter was under an extraordinary amount of pressure regarding the Employee Free Choice Act. With attacks from the right becoming more fierce and his primary reelection prospects looking more and more difficult, Specter …

May 20, 2009 at 10:22 am | Comments (0)

Thoughts for primary night

Still in NY and likely to be for some time. We’ll know soon how well the GOP has overcome ballot position to nominate its chosen judicial candidates. And, of course, how many people bother to turn out, now that more and more Republicans have become Independents… or worse.

No surprise that Gov. Rendell …

May 19, 2009 at 8:27 pm | Comments (0)

Will Specter cooperate on Johnsen nomination?

President Obama still doesn’t have a head of the White House Office of Legal Counsel, because Senate Republicans have continually threatened to filibuster of Obama’s nominee, Dawn Johnsen. Johnsen, a fierce critic of the Bush’s abuses of executive power who once stinted as the legal director of NARAL, is anathema to the pro-life, right-wing crowd. Yet it seems mysterious why Senator Arlen Specter, who is purportedly pro-choice and who recently introduced legislation placing limits on …

May 18, 2009 at 8:30 am | Comments (0)