Arlen Specter

By Dave Lindorff

President Barack Obama was so obviously pleased to have five-term
Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania announce that he was
switching party affiliation and joining the Democratic Party that the
president missed an opportunity to make sure that his new BFF in the
Senate was also a backer of the issues that Obama ran on in the
presidential campaign.

Indeed, while President Obama was quick to offer Sen. Specter his
backing and even to offer to help him with fund-raising in his quest
for re-election in 2010, he said nothing at all about any quid-pro-quo.

This is not only unfortunate. It is irresponsible.

Arlen Specter's switch is the first sign of a real and lasting division between "moderate" Republicans and the conservative movement that elected them and gave them power for a generation.

These "moderate" Republicans are not liberals. Most call themselves "conservatives." Their ranks include Specter, Olympia Snowe, Richard Lugar, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Their spokesmen include David Brooks, David Frum, Daniel Larison, and Michael Smerconish.

Chalk up another "victory" for the Radical Republican Right - they drove Arlen Specter out of the Republican Party and converted him to a Democrat!

Specter is no "liberal" and he still opposes key Democratic issues like card check union elections (EFCA). He also won't provide an automatic 60th vote for cloture.

But he brings us one vote closer to our goal of 100 Democratic Senators - a goal we could never dream of without the suicidal brilliance of the Republican Right.

By Dave Lindorff

It looks like Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) is going to get his wish to follow up his failed "Health Care Week" with "Wedge Issue June" as Senator Wayne Allard's (R-CO) "Marriage Protection Amendment" made it through the Senate Judiciary Committee today on a straight party line vote -- after which, Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) left the room following a sharp exchange of words with Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA).

Allard's bigoted bill, which has a zero chance of passing the full Senate when it arrives for the June 5 date set by Frist, has 29 Republican cosponsors and says that "… marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman."

Specterism n. A threat to stand up to Bush that is never meant to be acted upon and withdrawn at the very first opportunity.

Remember when Specter threatened to send Bush's illegal NSA wiretapping program to the FISA court for its legal judgment? Well today that threat became one more "Specterism."

The English language badly needs a new word: "Specterism."

The word derives its origin from "Bushism," a word coined by Slate's Jacob Weisberg, which means an incoherent statement by the most powerful man in the world.

What is a "Specterism"? Here's the proposed dictionary entry:

Specterism n. A threat to stand up to Bush that is never meant to be acted upon and withdrawn at the very first opportunity.

Here is the latest Specterism:

On Friday, Senator Arlen Specter will chair a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Senator Russ Feingold's Resolution to Censure George Bush for illegal wiretapping.

Specter has repeatedly denounced Bush's illegal wiretapping. But he refuses to do anything to stop Bush from doing it!

Senator Feingold proposed censuring Bush to put the Senate on record that Bush's conduct is illegal and must stop now. So why does Specter say Feingold's resolution is "vastly excessive?" And why is Specter politicizing the resolution by declaring "I am sure not going to sit back and have Feingold spout off."

It's time for Arlen Specter to stop defending Bush's illegal wiretapping and start defending the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and Freedom.

Call/fax/email his offices (numbers below) with this simple message:
"Speak Up Specter! Censure Bush for illegal wiretapping!