Arlen Specter

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Republicans Slam Party-Purist Outfit

Club for Growth backs unelectable righties, say some in GOP

(Newser) - Some in the GOP have had it with the Club for Growth, an organization that identifies Republicans it deems weak on low-tax, small-government values, the Wall Street Journal reports. Party members argue that the Club backs Republicans too far right to win elections. “If their goal is to increase...

Abortion 'Purity Test' Is New to Republicans
Abortion 'Purity Test' Is New to Republicans
OPINION
May 15, 2009 1:45 PM CDT

Abortion 'Purity Test' Is New to Republicans

Not even 'conservative issue' for older generation: Goodman

(Newser) - Abortion has become “the purity test for remaining in the GOP’s inner circle,” writes Ellen Goodman in the Boston Globe: The Republican Party is shedding and shunning abortion-rights supporters it once called its own. But it wasn’t always that way—even “Mr. Conservative” Barry Goldwater...

Specter to Dem Donors: Show Me the Money
Specter to Dem Donors: Show Me the Money
ANALYSIS
May 12, 2009 9:18 AM CDT

Specter to Dem Donors: Show Me the Money

Senator's election-cycle party switch creates fundraising issues

(Newser) - Arlen Specter may have brought his years of experience in the Senate across the aisle with him, but that doesn’t mean all his donors will follow. And the timing—it’s 2010 campaign season—complicates matters, Jeanne Cummings notes for Politico. “He’s not the world’s most...

Ridge Won't Challenge Specter for Seat

Former Pa. gov was encouraged to run for Senate by GOP brass

(Newser) - Former Pennsylvania governor and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge will not seek the Republican nomination for senator from that state, the Hill reports. Party leaders had urged him to run against newly minted Democrat Arlen Specter. Ridge was in a good position to run, polling just 3 points behind Specter....

After Seniority Flap, Specter Lands Plum Gig

Durbin engineers Judiciary shuffle, giving newest Dem a gavel

(Newser) - Dick Durbin has yielded his seat atop the Senate Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on crime and drugs to Arlen Specter, a consolation prize after Democrats stripped their new colleague of his seniority, Politico reports. In exchange, Durbin will take the helm of a newly reconstituted human-rights subcommittee. The move should help...

GOP Looks to Centrists for 2010
 GOP Looks to Centrists for 2010 
ANALYSIS
May 7, 2009 10:29 AM CDT

GOP Looks to Centrists for 2010

Candidates should 'fit their states': Cornyn

(Newser) - As the GOP eyes 2010, it’s turning to centrist candidates to restore its health—despite a “good riddance” attitude to the departure of moderate Arlen Specter, Politico reports. “I’m absolutely committed to recruiting candidates around the country that fit their states,” said National Republican Senatorial...

Dems Promised Me Seniority: Demoted Specter

(Newser) - Arlen Specter, demoted to junior spots on Senate committees after switching to the Democratic Party, thought things would be different, he told CNN today. Majority Leader Harry Reid “said that I would maintain my committee assignments,” Specter said, “and that my seniority would be established as if...

For Sessions, Confirmation Hearings May Feel Familiar

Specter's far right replacement once rejected by same committee

(Newser) - Even if Al Franken is seated, President Obama's Supreme Court nominee isn't guaranteed an easy confirmation process. The reason is Jeff Sessions, the Alabama Republican who inherited Arlen Specter's seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The fiery Sessions knows the committee well: It blocked his bid to become a federal...

Coleman Gaffe Costs Specter Seniority on Senate Panels

Dems disappoint defector with junior slots after he speaks up for Coleman

(Newser) - Party-switcher Arlen Specter's comment that Republican Norm Coleman should be Minnesota's senator cost him seniority on Senate panels yesterday, a source told Politico. His gaffe was the final straw for Senate Dems already angry about the prospect of being bumped from senior positions by the 29-year senator. A resolution last...

What the GOP Needs Is a Bill Clinton
 What the GOP Needs 
 Is a Bill Clinton 
OPINION
May 5, 2009 9:28 AM CDT

What the GOP Needs Is a Bill Clinton

Douthat: Way out of this mess is to find a new breed of moderate

(Newser) - Republican moderates like Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, and Arlen Specter are right that the GOP has a hole in the center, writes Ross Douthat in the New York Times. The problem is that they’re not the right kind of centrists to fill it. Yankee Republican moderates are either just...

Specter Enjoys 20-Point Lead Over Toomey

But Tom Ridge would be a stiffer challenge if he nabbed GOP nom

(Newser) - Arlen Specter beat Pat Toomey 53% to 33% in a Quinnipiac poll of Pennsylvanians’ preferred candidate for US senator. But against Tom Ridge, who may become the Republican candidate, Specter's lead grows more precarious—voters prefer Specter to Ridge by a margin of 46% to 43%, the Quinnipiac poll showed....

Media Let Specter Off the Hook
 Media Let 
 Specter Off 
 the Hook 
OPINION
May 4, 2009 7:26 AM CDT

Media Let Specter Off the Hook

Didn't he sort of betray voters?

(Newser) - When the Arlen Specter story broke last week, “most journalists assumed the role of handicappers,” writes Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post. The value-neutral reporting focused on how powerful this would make Democrats, and what it meant for the wilderness-dwelling Republicans. “Little attention was devoted to this...

Specter: I'll Filibuster the Dems If Needed

Former Republican says GOP let him down

(Newser) - Arlen Specter may be a Democrat now, but the erstwhile Republican senator says he’s not afraid to use the F-word: filibuster, Politico reports. Specter told NBC’s Meet the Press he hasn’t promised to be “a loyal Democrat” and made the switch after realizing through “polls...

Dowd: GOP Has Short Memory
 Dowd: GOP 
 Has Short 
 Memory 
OPINION
May 3, 2009 10:57 AM CDT

Dowd: GOP Has Short Memory

'Quaint' calls for balance follow reign of 'Boy Emperor'

(Newser) - As their party contracts with the defection of Arlen Specter, the GOP is complaining about a disappearing balance of power: “How quaint,” writes Maureen Dowd in the New York Times—this from the party whose “arrogant” previous administration “did its best to undermine checks and balances....

Sebelius: Never Mind Biden; It's OK to Travel
 Sebelius: Never 
 Mind Biden; 
 It's OK to Travel 
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP
May 3, 2009 10:19 AM CDT

Sebelius: Never Mind Biden; It's OK to Travel

Newest cabinet member seeks to allay swine flu fears

(Newser) - President Obama’s new Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius made the talk show rounds today, insisting that people should continue traveling, despite remarks to the contrary by Joe Biden. “Traveling and being in close places is certainly something we encourage people to continue to do,” she...

Chatty Joe Provides 100+ Days of Gaffes
Chatty Joe Provides 100+ Days of Gaffes
analysis
May 1, 2009 8:23 AM CDT

Chatty Joe Provides 100+ Days of Gaffes

The veep has his uses, but staying on message ain't one

(Newser) - This week perfectly illustrates the yin and yang of Joe Biden, write Sam Youngman and Ian Swanson of the Hill. First, he scores a political coup by helping to convince pal Arlen Specter to defect. Then he promptly inserts foot in mouth with his advice on how to avoid the...

Republicans Building Big, Empty Tent: Noonan
Republicans Building Big, Empty Tent: Noonan
OPINION
May 1, 2009 8:02 AM CDT

Republicans Building Big, Empty Tent: Noonan

(Newser) - With Arlen Specter gone, it’s time for the "latest round of What Should the Republican Party Do," writes Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal. Call Specter an opportunist if you want, “but opportunists tell you something: which side is winning.” The Republican party is...

Republicans Play Blame Game Over Specter

Steele, Club for Growth in crosshairs

(Newser) - Arlen Specter’s departure has set off a wave of finger pointing within the Republican Party, Politico reports. Some blame Specter for not having the ideological purity to stick with the party. But others single out various Republicans they claim helped push Specter out the door, from Michael Steele, who...

Meghan: Specter Bailed on Us
 Meghan: Specter Bailed on Us 
OPINION
Apr 30, 2009 8:28 AM CDT

Meghan: Specter Bailed on Us

Party needs progressive voices, she says

(Newser) - Arlen Specter has let the GOP down, but only because Republicans did the same, Meghan McCain writes for the Daily Beast. “He’s been made to feel like an outcast by a small, vocal group,” says McCain, herself familiar with the “tired rhetoric” now being hurled at...

Dems in a Snit Over Specter's Cozy Deal

Senate honchos fume as newbie prepares to leapfrog to top jobs

(Newser) - Some top Democratic senators are rebelling against the deal that brought Arlen Specter into the fold, the Hill reports. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told the aisle-crosser he could keep the 28 years of seniority he gained as a GOP senator, infuriating long-serving Democrats whom Specter will now likely leapfrog...

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