Arlen Specter
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| Image:Arlen Specter official portrait.jpg | |
| Office: | Senior Senator, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Political party: | Republican |
| Term of office: | January 1981–Present |
| Preceded by: | Richard Schweiker |
| Succeeded by: | Incumbent (2011) |
| Born: | February 12, 1930 Wichita, Kansas |
| Died: | }}} {{{place of death|}}} |
| Spouse: | Joan Specter |
Arlen Specter (born February 12, 1930) is a United States Senator from Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Born to a Jewish family in Russell, Kansas, Specter studied at universities before and after serving in the United States Air Force from 1951 to 1953. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Pennsylvania in 1951 and from Yale Law School in 1956. He passed the Pennsylvania Bar in 1956.
He soon became a prominent lawyer in Philadelphia and became active in politics, beginning his political life as a Democrat. He worked with the Warren Commission investigating the assassination of John F. Kennedy. As a chief counsel for the commission, he authored the controversial "single bullet theory".
He eventually became a Republican and scored an upset by winning a race for District Attorney in heavily Democratic Philadelphia running on an anti-corruption platform against the Democratic machine. His slogan, deemed "brilliant" by Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, was "We need these guys to watch those guys." He then mounted an unsuccessful campaign for mayor in 1973. He briefly represented the "unicorn killer," Ira Einhorn, who remained at large for years after Specter successfully argued his bond should be reduced to $40,000. Specter dropped Einhorn as a client just before his run for DA.
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Senate career
Elections
In 1980, Specter became the Republican candidate for Senate when Republican incumbent Richard Schweiker announced his retirement. He had previously run for the Senate in 1976, but was defeated by John Heinz in the Republican primary.
Specter won the election and was reelected in 1986, 1992, 1998 and 2004. He was briefly a candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination in the 1996 election, but dropped out early in the race. He was chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence from 1995, when the Republicans gained control of the Senate, until 1997, when he became chairman of the Committee on Veterans Affairs. He chaired that committee until 2001, when the Republicans lost control of the Senate, becoming chairman again when they regained control in 2003.
Political leanings
Specter is a moderate Republican, reflecting his roots in Kansas and in Philadelphia. He is pro-choice on abortion and supports gay rights. However, he strongly supports the death penalty and opposes most gun control, voting against the Brady Bill, background checks at gunshows, the ban on assault weapons, and trigger locks for handguns. His work has included numerous articles on the deterring effect the death penalty has on future crimes. He supports affirmative action and voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1990. He was one of only four Republicans to vote against the Private Securities Litigations Reform Act and in recent years has been less enthusiastic about lawsuit reform than many members of his party. In 1995 he was the only Republican to vote to limit tax cuts to individuals with incomes of less than one million dollars. He voted against CAFTA. Specter also supports an increase in the federal minimum wage. These stances helped him to win election in three cycles (1986, 1992 and 1998) that have generally been seen as bad years for Republicans. His opposition to Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork is seen as one of the final nails in Bork's coffin. However, he raised the ire of many Democrats who had supported him for years with his aggressive questioning of Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas hearings. In 1998 and 1999 Specter criticized his own party for its impeachment of President Bill Clinton. Believing that Clinton had not received a fair trial, Specter famously cited Scottish law to render a verdict of "not proven" on President Clinton's impeachment. However, his verdict was recorded as "not guilty" in the Senate records.
In 2004, Specter, who is often dubbed a "Republican In Name Only" (RINO) by more conservative critics, faced a challenge in the Republican primary election from conservative Congressman Pat Toomey. Toomey charged that Specter was too much of a liberal and big spender to represent the Republican Party. The match-up was closely watched nationally, being seen as a symbolic clash between the conservative and moderate wings of the Republican Party. With support from fellow Republican Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and President George W. Bush (though some say that they did purely because Specter was the incumbent and Toomey would have almost certainly lost the general election), Specter narrowly avoided a major upset with 52% of the vote. Some considered this primary battle to have damaged his re-election hopes, putting him to the right of his past moderate stances. He faced Democratic Congressman Joe Hoeffel, Betsy Summers of the Libertarian Party, and Constitution Party candidate James Clymer in November 2004's general election. He was easily reelected, becoming the longest-serving senator in Pennsylvania history (no other Pennsylvanian has ever served five terms in the Senate).
Soon after the 2004 election, Specter stepped into the public spotlight as a result of controversial statements about his views of the future of the Supreme Court, specifically in warning President Bush about the implications of nominating Supreme Court justices who are opposed to the Roe v. Wade decision.
A senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Specter was in line for the chairmanship in 2005 under the seniority system. However, conservatives began a campaign to deny him the chairmanship after his comments on Roe v. Wade and judicial nominees. Specter then met with many conservative Republican Senators, and based on assurances he gave them, he was recommended for the Judiciary Committee's chairmanship in late 2004. He officially assumed that position when the 109th Congress convened on January 4, 2005. The Judiciary Committee is responsible for holding hearings federal judicial nominations made by the President, including Supreme Court nominees, for oversight of the United States Department of Justice, and for other matters.
His wife, Joan Specter, is a former at-large member of the Philadelphia City Council.
Specter is a member of The Republican Main Street Partnership and supports stem cell research. He is also a member of The Republican Majority For Choice, Christine Todd Whitman's Its My Party Too, Republicans For Choice and Republicans For Environmental Protection.
Despite Specter's mixed voting record on tax issues, he is a strong advocate of the flat tax system. On May 15, 2003, an amendment submitted by him calling on the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Economic Committee to hold hearings and consider legislation providing for a flat tax, was passed 70-30, with every Republican colleague of his supporting the measure.
Specter has been very critical of President Bush's wiretapping of American residents without warrants. When the story first broke, he called the effort "inappropriate" and "clearly and categorically wrong." He intends to hold hearings into the matter early in 2006, and has obtained Alberto Gonzales's commitment to appear before the Senate judiciary committee to answer for the program. On January 15, 2006, Specter mentioned impeachment and criminal prosecution as potential remedies if President Bush broke the law, though he downplayed the likelihood of such an outcome.
As of late Specter, through a feud with Senator Harry Reid on the floor of the senate, his position as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and his opposition to a new budget plan proposed by the Bush administration, has emerged as a nationally recognized figure from his previous, more taciturn role in the public eye.
Health problems
On February 16, 2005, Specter announced that he had been diagnosed with an advanced form of Hodgkin's disease, a type of cancer. Despite the advanced form, Specter continued working during chemotherapy. He ended treatment on July 22, having made a full recovery, and chaired the hearings on John Roberts' confirmation as Chief Justice.
Electoral History
- 2004 Race for U.S. Senate
- Arlen Specter (R) (inc.), 53%
- Joe Hoeffel (D), 42%
- 2004 Race for U.S. Senate - Republican Primary
- Arlen Specter (R) (inc.), 51%
- Pat Toomey (R), 49%
- 1998 Race for U.S. Senate
- Arlen Specter (R) (inc.), 67%
- Bill Lloyd (D), 31%
- 1992 Race for U.S. Senate
- Arlen Specter (R) (inc.), 49%
- Lynn Yeakel (D), 46%
- John Perry (Lib.), 5%
- 1986 Race for U.S. Senate
- Arlen Specter (R) (inc.), 56%
- Bob Edgar (D), 43%
- 1980 Race for U.S. Senate
- Arlen Specter (R), 51%
- Pete Flaherty (D), 48%
See also
External links
- Official website
- Judiciary Committee website
- Specter: If Bush Broke The Law With Warrantless Spying, Impeachment Is A Remedy
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| Image:Pennsylvania state flag.png | Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation serving in the 109th United States Congress |
|---|---|
| Senators | Arlen Specter (R), Rick Santorum (R) |
| Representative(s) | Bob Brady (D), Chaka Fattah (D), Phil English (R), Melissa Hart (R), John E. Peterson (R), Jim Gerlach (R), Curt Weldon (R), Mike Fitzpatrick (R), Bill Shuster (R), Don Sherwood (R), Paul E. Kanjorski (D), John Murtha (D), Allyson Schwartz (D), Michael F. Doyle (D), Charles Dent (R), Joseph R. Pitts (R), Tim Holden (D), Tim Murphy (R), Todd Platts (R) |
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Current Delegations: AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY | AS DC GU PR VI | |
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Categories: 1930 births | American lawyers | Debaters | District attorneys | Jewish-American politicians | John F. Kennedy assassination | Living people | People from Kansas | People from Philadelphia | Phi Beta Kappa members | Pi Lambda Phi brothers | Pro-choice politicians | United States Air Force officers | United States presidential candidates | United States Senators from Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania alumni | Warren Commission | Wichitans | Yale alumni
