Arlen Specter

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Those We Lost in 2012
 Those We Lost in 2012 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Dec 30, 2012 7:00 PM CST

Those We Lost in 2012

Whitney Houston, Joe Paterno, Dick Clark, Ravi Shankar

(Newser) - Neil Armstrong would always be taking that first step onto the moon, and Dick Clark was forever "the world's oldest teenager." A look at some of the notables who died in 2012:
  • Etta James, 73. Blues singer best known for her enduring classic "At Last."
...

Arlen Specter Dead at 82
 Arlen Specter Dead at 82 
Oct 14, 2012 12:08 PM CDT

Arlen Specter Dead at 82

Longtime senator had battled non-Hodgkins lymphoma

(Newser) - Former Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the Republican-turned-Democrat who played a key role in many Supreme Court nominations, has died. He was 82. His son Shanin Specter says his father died this morning at home in Philadelphia, from complications of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He had recently announced the return of his...

Seriously Ill Arlen Specter Hospitalized

 Arlen Specter: 
 I Have Cancer 
UPDATED
Aug 28, 2012 11:29 AM CDT

Arlen Specter: I Have Cancer

Former senator had been hospitalized

(Newser) - After it was revealed Arlen Specter is seriously ill and had been hospitalized, he confirms to the Philadelphia Inquirer that he is fighting cancer again. The 82-year-old battled Hodgkin's disease in 2005 and again in 2008. "I am battling cancer, and it's another battle I intend to...

Arlen Specter's New Book Full of DC Nudity

Likens naked Ted Kennedy to 'walrus'

(Newser) - Admit it—you've always wondered what Ted Kennedy looked like naked. Wonder no longer: In his new book, Life Among Cannibals, former senator Arlen Specter includes more than you ever needed to know about nudity on Capitol Hill. Among the highlights, from the Washington Post :
  • "For years when
...

Specter: Romney Changes Positions Like a Porn Star

Seems the old senator is still trying to be funny

(Newser) - If Arlen Specter told a joke in the woods and there were no one there to hear it, well, at least there would be a lot fewer of us holding our heads and groaning. The former senator, who's spent his voter-mandated retirement ostensibly dabbling as a comedian , is now...

Arlen Specter Does Stand-Up Comedy at Helium Club in Philadelphia
 Arlen Specter Does Stand-Up 
Dec 28, 2011 12:07 PM CST

Arlen Specter Does Stand-Up

Yes, really

(Newser) - Arlen Specter has a new gig, and to hear him tell it, it’s a logical progression from his old one. “I’ve been in comedy now for 30 years,” he told the audience at the Helium Comedy Club in Philadelphia. “It’s sit-down comedy.” Yes,...

Specter Chides Kagan on Dodging, May Vote No

But her confirmation appears certain

(Newser) - Elena Kagan has demonstrated a winning sense of humor during her confirmation hearings, but count Democrat Arlen Specter among those unamused. When she refused (as she has throughout the hearings) to provide a detailed response to a legal question, he cut her short to criticize her evasion and warned that...

Please, Let 'Overblown' Sestak Story Go Away

It's a fairy tale, but it's just politics as usual

(Newser) - The story from the White House is that Bill Clinton, on Rahm Emanuel's behest, offered Joe Sestak an “unpaid advisory position” to drop out of the race against Arlen Specter. It's an obvious lie—come on, would Sestak even consider dropping out for so little?—and Joe Klein of...

Sestak Confirms Clinton Offer: 'I Said No'

White House counsel says no laws were broken

(Newser) - Drip by drip, we're getting a clearer picture of the White House's attempt to keep Joe Sestak out of the Arlen Specter race. Sestak today confirmed that Bill Clinton called him last summer, reports Politico . A portion of his statement: "He expressed concern over my prospects if I were...

White House Asked Bill Clinton to Talk to Sestak

He reportedly offered an unpaid advisory position

(Newser) - Bill Clinton has emerged in the middle of the Joe Sestak controversy. He's the man the White House asked to talk to Sestak about dropping out of the Pennsylvania Senate race to clear the way for Arlen Specter, reports the Washington Post . Clinton offered Sestak a "prominent, but unpaid,...

Obama on Sestak: 'Nothing Improper Took Place'

White House will issue a formal response soon

(Newser) - Republicans might be thinking impeachment , but President Obama says he "can assure the public that nothing improper took place" in regard to Joe Sestak. At his news conference today, Obama didn't elaborate much when asked whether his administration offered the congressman a cushy job to stay out of Arlen...

GOPers Smell Impeachment in Sestak Job Offer

Repeated calls to Holder to appoint special prosecutor

(Newser) - Republicans are calling for the attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Joe Sestak's claims that someone in the Obama administration offered him a high-ranking job to drop out of the Pennsylvania primary race against Arlen Specter. And they've already used the “I” word. “It's very...

Palin on Paul: 'Gotcha' Media Strikes Again
 Palin on Paul: 
 'Gotcha' Media 
 Strikes Again 


TALK SHOW ROUNDUP
May 23, 2010 11:11 AM CDT

Palin on Paul: 'Gotcha' Media Strikes Again

Michael Steele distances himself from Kentucky candidate

(Newser) - Rand Paul has famously taken the day off , but he was certainly everywhere on the Sunday circus dial. Sarah Palin led Paul's defense, decrying a media perpetually in search of that "'gotcha' moment," while Michael Steele backed away, calling Paul's philosophy "misplaced in these times." Tim...

Why I'll Miss Arlen Specter, Warts and All

He regularly thumbed his nose at party-line automatons

(Newser) - It's so easy to dislike Arlen Specter, writes Dana Milbank. Let us count the ways: "Ornery, vain, disloyal, and a brazen opportunist." And let's not forget the infamous quote that brings all those characteristics into play: "My change in party will enable me to be reelected."...

Obama Embraces Sestak
 Obama Embraces Sestak 
May 20, 2010 10:15 AM CDT

Obama Embraces Sestak

Meet the man who beat Arlen Specter

(Newser) - Barack Obama was lined up against Joe Sestak until Tuesday, as was much of the Democratic establishment, but, well, that was Tuesday and this is now. The president called the Pennsylvania rep yesterday to congratulate him on beating Arlen Specter, and promised him his full support—including campaigning on his...

Primary Upsets Signal a New Era
 Voters to Specter & Co.: 
  We Want New Blood 
incumbents take warning
May 19, 2010 7:58 AM CDT

Voters to Specter & Co.: We Want New Blood

Voters reject GOP, Democrat establishments

(Newser) - Yesterday's primary results show that incumbents from both parties are probably going to have to get comfortable with rejection. The results—including the ouster of Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania and the victory of Tea Party fave Rand Paul in Kentucky—signal a wave on anti-incumbent, anti-party establishment feeling that is...

Sestak Beats Arlen Specter
 Sestak Beats Arlen Specter 
May 18, 2010 9:28 PM CDT

Sestak Beats Arlen Specter

Democratic challenger beats longtime incumbent

(Newser) - Arlen Specter goes down. Democratic voters in Pennsylvania picked Rep. Joe Sestak as the party's nominee for the Senate, denying the 80-year-old Specter his bid for a sixth term. Specter said he called Sestak to congratulate him and offer his support in the fall election against Republican Pat Toomey. The...

What to Watch in Today's 4 Primaries

Pennsylvania, Arizona, Kentucky offer intrigue

(Newser) - Four states go to the polls today, and the results will have huge implications. Politico breaks down what to watch for in each race, and we, as always, provide the cliff notes:
  • Pennsylvania: Arlen Specter—the longest serving senator in state history—is in real danger of losing a primary
...

3 Big Primaries Test Voter Rage
 3 Big Primaries 
 Test Voter Rage 
ANALYSIS
May 17, 2010 6:50 AM CDT

3 Big Primaries Test Voter Rage

Arlen Specter, Blanche Lincoln, Rand Paul in key races

(Newser) - Look to three big primaries tomorrow, in both parties, for a test of the country's anti-establishment rage and the chances that Congress will be even more polarized after November, reports the Los Angeles Times . In Pennsylvania, Democratic challenger Joe Sestak has pulled even with Arlen Specter with ads sneering that...

Arlen Specter's in Trouble, for Good Reason
Arlen Specter's in Trouble,
for Good Reason
opinion
May 13, 2010 1:49 PM CDT

Arlen Specter's in Trouble, for Good Reason

He's a man of two parties amid anti-incumbent fever

(Newser) - Arlen Specter is in a dogfight to keep his Senate seat—the latest poll has fellow Democrat Joe Sestak up 9 points, notes USA Today —and no wonder. The Republican-turned-Democrat looks "like an incumbent of two parties in a year when it’s better to be an incumbent...

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