Specter Recants 'Warning'; Critics Question His Loyalty to Bush
by Jody Brown, Chad Groening, and Rusty Pugh
November 5, 2004
(AgapePress) - A powerful Republican leader in the U.S. Senate has stirred controversy by bluntly warning President Bush against nominating pro-life and conservative judges for federal judicial positions. Arlen Specter, who himself just won re-election in Pennsylvania, has since denied he was issuing a warning to the president -- but numerous pro-life advocates across the country are taking the liberal senator to task for essentially turning his back on President Bush.On Tuesday, Arlen Specter was elected to his fifth term as a U.S. senator from the state of Pennsylvania. He garnered 53 percent of the vote against Democrat Joe Hoeffel. He faced strong opposition from pro-life candidate Pat Toomey in the Republican primary to even get to the November 2 ballot, but received the endorsement of President Bush late in the primary -- a move publicly criticized by conservatives. Regardless, Bush's intervention brought Specter a narrow victory over Toomey.
But less than 24 hours after both he and the president had been re-elected, Specter -- who is next in line to become chairman of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee -- issued what some view as an ultimatum of sorts to the second-term president regarding judicial nominations. (See Earlier Story)
"When you talk about judges who would change the right of a woman to choose, overturn Roe v. Wade, I think that is unlikely," Specter said in an Associated Press story. "The president is well aware of what happened, when a bunch of his nominees were sent up, with the filibuster .... and I would expect the president to be mindful of the considerations which I am mentioning."
Following an outburst of criticism from conservatives -- political and otherwise -- the Pennsylvania senator sought to clarify his remarks. "Contrary to press accounts, I did not warn the president about anything and was very respectful of his Constitutional authority on the appointment of federal judges," he says in a press release.
After noting his past support for President Bush's nominees, Specter concluded the press release by saying, "In light of the repeated filibusters by the Democrats in the last Senate session, I am concerned about a potential repetition of such filibusters. I expect to work well with President Bush in the judicial confirmation process in the years ahead."
It remains to be seen if Specter will get that chance -- at least as head of the Judiciary Committee. Several pro-life and pro-family leaders are calling for Specter's name to removed from consideration as chairman of the committee.
Deny Chairmanship
One pro-family activist -- himself a former presidential candidate -- says Specter's comments should convince the GOP Senate leadership that he is unqualified for the position of committee chairman.
"They ought to make it absolutely clear that he will not be the next chairman when the new Senate comes in next year," says Gary Bauer, president of American Values, who describes the senator's comments as the "height of ingratitude."
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Gary Bauer |
"It is unacceptable for one liberal Republican from Pennsylvania to thwart the desires of the president of the United States to make our federal courts more conservative and more in tune with the values of the American people."In Bauer's opinion, Specter's remarks indicate he is prepared to use his new power as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee to apply his own "pro-abortion litmus test" to block President Bush's conservative judicial nominees.
"It's certainly a sign that Senator Specter will once again throw his lot in with the liberals who are trying to thwart the Bush agenda," Bauer says. "In my view, he has just disqualified himself to be chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee."
And Bauer acknowledges that should Specter become chairman of the SJC, it would be tough even for the president to overcome. "Unfortunately when you have a committee chairman who is dedicated to values other than the president's values, there are all sorts of things that he can do as committee chairman to slow the process down, to make it difficult to get a judge through the Judiciary Committee," he says.
Tony Perkins | |
Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council is calling on Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to oppose Specter's appointment as SJC chairman -- and not just because of the spoiler role Specter could play in that role. Perkins says Specter has a history of "pandering to the aggressive abortion lobby" and would be "disastrous" as committee chairman.Noting the influence Specter could carry during the judicial confirmation process, the FRC president says the Pennsylvania senator "would also determine the makeup of the [SJC] staff, which would go a long way toward determining the committee's political and judicial philosophy."
Like Bauer, Perkins says Specter's committee leadership must be opposed. "Senator Frist and the overwhelmingly majority of pro-life Republican senators on the Judiciary Committee need to stand up for the president and the American people and oppose the Specter litmus test," he states. "Our pro-life president and his colleagues in the Senate must not allow Senator Specter to determine the makeup of our courts."
'How's That for Thanks?'
Apart from the possible ramifications of a Specter chairmanship, the senator is also being criticized for his lack of loyalty to President Bush.
Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family calls Specter's comments "especially egregious" in light of the fact he would not have even been in the position for re-election without Bush's endorsement in the primaries. And Phyllis Schlafly of Eagle Forum says Specter is being "impudent."
"His comments are outrageous," she tells Family News In Focus, "and I hope that President Bush will admonish him.
The leader of a Virginia pro-family group cuts through political niceties and asks a blunt question:
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FPN President Joe Glover |
"How ungrateful can you be?" asks Joe Glover of the Family Policy Network. "For a senator to have his political career on the line and to barely scrape by in a primary process, where the president comes in and rescues you? And yet just a day after the election is over, Arlen Specter has the audacity to threaten the president and say don't you dare bring any pro-life, pro-family nominees before the Senate Judiciary Committee."Glover, pointing out that Specter's obvious pro-abortion leanings are out-of-step with the constituency that re-elected President Bush, says the president should expect an obstructionist attitude from liberal Democrats -- but should not have to face battles from a senator who is supposed to be on his side.
Complain Here...
An online family forum is encouraging individuals to use its website to register their concerns about Senator Specter. The forum's president explains they offer an approach that increases the chances their messages will not be "lost in the noise."
Chuck Pardee, president of Newsbull.com, explains that his website offers an individual forum for every elected member of Congress and state governor.
"By commenting at Newsbull, a person will know their message is recorded and not just discarded, deleted, or forgotten by some elected officials staff member," Pardee says. "When a person posts [to the forum], an e-mail is sent to the posting member for easy forwarding. This allows the message to be sent to the official and to others."
The Newsbull forum for Senator Arlen Specter is found at http://www.newsbull.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=176026.
