arlen specter

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 [...]

PITTSBURGH – The conversation with Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) heated up a bit as he took questions on what he could do to bring Republicans on board with Democratic bills. “I’m close to Chuck Grassley; we came in at the same time,” said Specter. “You don’t need any help with Senator Snowe.” Specter was pressed [...]

PITTSBURGH – Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) has sat down with moderators Susie Madrak and Ari Melber for a taut but friendly conversation, where he’s attempting to win over the most skeptical segment of his new party. Minutes before it began, Daily Kos posted a new poll showing Specter slipping badly in his primary race against [...]

As the heat gets turned up on the health care reform debate, anti-immigrant activists are using the issue to whip up fear and anger toward immigrants, portraying them as a costly and burdensome drain on any taxpayer-supported U.S. health care system.

This Rasmussen Reports poll on the Pennsylvania Senate primary is dropping some jaws today:
In thinking about the 2010 Election for the United States Senate, suppose you had a choice between Republican Pat Toomey and Democrat Arlen Specter. If the election were held today would you vote for Republican Pat Toomey or Democrat Arlen Specter?
48% [...]

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa) this morning told a town hall audience he “will not support a bill that gives health coverage to illegal immigrants.”  Will the failure to address immigration reform torpedo health care reform?
Anti-immigration activists like Mark Krikorian at the Center for Immigration Studies have been confusing the two issues for a while now, [...]

The Brady Campaign, the anti-gun group that had experienced a rather tough run during the Bush administration, is pointing out that three Republican senators who were endorsed by the National Rifle Association in their last campaigns have committed to supporting Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), and Sen. [...]

Greg Giroux reports that the senior senator from Pennsylvania has given back $224,000 to donors who are angry about his party switch.
One prominent Republican who requested and received a contribution refund was Rob Gleason, the chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party, which has even set up a Web site to help Republican donors request refunds.
Other [...]

Several months after he became the leading Republican candidate in Pennsylvania’s 2010 U.S. Senate race, former Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) has won the endorsement of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in a statement:
Congressman Pat Toomey’s life experience and public service make him uniquely qualified to serve Pennsylvanians in the U.S. Senate. [...]

What a difference a chairman makes. When he ran the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Arlen Specter (then-R-, now-D-Pa.) dealt in a genteel manner with hot-button issues. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) is firing the culture war cannon as fast as he can load it. America’s “traditional system” is under threat. The Court has relied on “foreign laws, [...]