Specter Watch: His ‘Silver Tongue’ is Tarnished     11/12/2004

Washington, D.C. – Concerned Women for America (CWA) says Senate Republicans and those concerned about keeping Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania) from becoming the next chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee should consider what Specter failed to say in support of his president and his judicial picks.

A firestorm of opposition to Specter continues to engulf Capitol Hill as a result of Specter’s perceived November 3 warning to the president not to send any pro-life judicial nominees to the Judiciary Committee when he becomes the chairman.

“What Specter failed to say is another part of the problem,” said Jan LaRue, CWA’s chief counsel. “If he really intended to help the president, his statement on the day after the election would have been a strong one needing no ‘clarification’ that could lead to ‘incorrect reporting.’ It would have sent a shot across the bow of Senate Democrats instead of the president. You have to expect more from a guy who thinks of himself as a silver-tongued orator.

“Instead of saying the president doesn’t have a mandate as a result of the election, he would have emphasized that he does. Instead of saying that he anticipates continued filibustering of qualified nominees, he should have cautioned his Democratic colleagues to avoid filibustering or they might end up at home on the range like Tom Daschle,” LaRue contends.

“Specter says he is ‘committed in word and deed to prompt action by the Judiciary Committee.’ We should be able to expect that much from a Democrat. Specter hasn’t promised to support the president’s nominees,” she added.

“To rely on his alleged commitment to support the president’s nominees while clinging desperately to his desire to become chairman means trusting a man who’s willing to repudiate his core beliefs on policy and constitutional interpretation,” LaRue concluded. “What kind of a person does that in order to chair a committee? And how does that qualify him as a strong, reliable leader? It doesn’t. He should do the honorable thing and withdraw himself from consideration.”

For Information Contact:
Valerie Mosher
(202) 488-7000
media.cwfa.org

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