arlen specter

Earlier this year when Arlen Specter was still a Republican, the Pennsylvania senator was among the harshest critics of Dawn Johnsen, the Indiana University law professor who is President Obama’s pick to head the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel.
The OLC is the office that housed such Bush-era luminaries as John Yoo and Jay Bybee, [...]

A group of 10 Democratic senators today reintroduced legislation designed to end the sentencing disparity between powder and crack cocaine — a long-standing push that never quite seems to get enacted.
In a statement, the lawmakers cite the reasoning behind the proposal.
Under current law, possession of five grams of crack cocaine (roughly the weight of two [...]

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) just gave a remarkable speech at the Senate Judiciary Committee markup session explaining why he’s voting against reauthorization of the Patriot Act provisions because the substitute Leahy-Feinstein bill, which I described earlier today, doesn’t adequately protect American civil liberties.
Responding to Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) assurances that the bill, as proposed, is [...]

Here’s a quick wrap-up of today’s health care news.
President Obama will deliver his major health care speech to Congress at 8 p.m. tonight — and the GOP has already begun its spin. The Republican leadership in Congress is blasting the reform effort, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) criticizing the size of the [...]

An eye-opening arrival in the inbox:
U.S. Senate candidate Pat Toomey called President Obama’s speech today to school children in Arlington, Virginia “an inspiring and moving speech for students across America.”

PITTSBURGH – Three days ago, a Pennsylvania voter thanked Sen. Arlen Specter (D-a.) for his opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act. At the Americans for Prosperity-funded RightOnline conference, happening at a Sheraton only a mile away from Netroots Nation, the news of Specter’s statement that he’ll vote for cloture on EFCA (the position he [...]

The latest tweet from Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa):
Specter got it all wrong that I ever used words “death boards”. Even liberal press never accused me of that. So change ur last Tweet Arlen
Here’s Sen. Arlen Specter’s (D-Pa.) offending tweet.

PITTSBURGH – I just had a chat with Crooks and Liars founder John Amato, the man who offered his cell phone for Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) to call Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and challenge him on his statements to the press that President Obama’s health care plan would “pull the plug on granny.”
Amato joined Specter [...]

PITTSBURGH – Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) just tried to persuade the Netroots Nation crowd that he’s a liberal at heart; now Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) is trying to out-liberal Specter.
Asked about his thoughts on the climate legislation that emerged from the House, he said, “I was disappointed in this bill because it was eviscerated during [...]

Spencer Ackerman passes along a photo of Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), backstage at Netroots Nation in Pittsburgh, calling Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) to talk about the Iowan’s recent comments on “death panels,” as Specter promised during his debate with Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.).
Unfortunately, Spencer reports, Specter was unable to reach Grassley, but Specter said he [...]