One question: WHERE WAS SENATOR SPECTOR???

[alcibiades_mystery]

I'm just curious, as a resident of the Commonwealth.

Spector had been bandied about as a possible swing vote, by MoveOn, among others. We were urged to call him here in PA, and we did. We were out in the street, urging others to call. I wrote, emailed, called his offices in Harrisburg and DC. Wifey and several friends did the same. We cajoled, pleaded, argued, appealed to their sense of fairness, and to the grand tradition of the Senate. When I spoke with his staff again today, they said he had not yet decided, and that we'd have to wait and see.

Last Thursday, Senator Spector got up on the floor and urged a vote of conscience; he argued for a compromise, from start to finish.

So I ask you, where was this crucial vote when the Gang of Fourteen convened for their press conference? Where was Senator Spector? And what was his likely vote on the nuclear option? Enquiring minds desire your thoughts.

[realFedUp]

1. The whole backstory would be interesting....

do we wait for Vanity Fair?

[blue neen]

2. I have been wondering the same thing.

There seems to be no mention of him in all of this tonight. It would be nice to know whether our Senator was following his own advice: a vote of conscience.

See, I actually believe Senator Spector can have a conscience, unlike Santorum who has no conscience, ethics, scruples, or principles.

[alcibiades_mystery]

5. I didn't even bother contacting Santorum

He is a lockstep goon for the fascists and has no conscience other than the grift. He's a confidence man pure and simple.

[wisteria]

8. I agree with you.

I was very disappointed in his Anwar vote, but I do have respect for the man even though I don't always agree with his politics. Santorium- well I couldn't have described him better myself.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[alcibiades_mystery]

4. That's just fucking low

Not funny, friend.

[cally]

6. He has cancer

the treatment is causing hair loss. Not funny.

[wisteria]

7. I was wondering where he was too.

I heard him say the other day he didn't like the idea of a compromise on the judges based on the reccomendation of only twelve senators. I wrote him some time ago on this nuclear option and he wrote back never really stating a position. Although, I think he was personally opposed to the option, he never said how he would vote nor did he take part in the compromise as far as I know.

[blue neen]

9. Could we just have ONE senator from PA do the right thing?

Put your money where your mouth is, Senator Spector, and let us know where you stood on this.

Oh, how I long for the days of Senator Heinz. I know he was a Republican, but he could always be counted on to do the right thing.
He worked for the people.

[MADem]

10. Well, he was on the hill today

Senate Majority Leader Bill First, with other Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, left, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, right, and Jim Bunning of Kentucky, second right, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill, Monday, May 23, 2005, in Washington. Senators are locked in a fierce fight over what is required to approve President Bush's judicial nominees, Republicans want them seated with a simple majority vote, Democrats want to retain the right to block selected nominations with a debate or filibuster that can only be stopped with 60 votes. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

[DCal]

11. Specter could not openly support the agreement

My guess is that he supported the agreement behind the scenes. He said on the floor that he attended some of the meetings. But, he could not be a signator for one reason: he would have been removed as Judiciary Committee chair.

That may not seem as a principled stand by some. But, it is a hell of a lot better having Specter as Judiciary chair than Jon Kyl, who would very possibly have been his replacement.

[Gloria]

12. Here's my What if???? musing.....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1804702

Sen. Spector is most likely laying low...he may have helped engineer the whole thing...which means 8 GOP Senators told Bush and Frist they weren't going to do the former's bidding.....



What if?????....Reid did have enough votes to block the nuke option & now
Edited on Mon May-23-05 11:09 PM by Gloria


there may still be enough to defeat Owens and Rogers??

Just before we got to today's machinations we heard that Reid was close or had the votes to block the nuclear option.

What if....now that the "deal" is made....what if, there are actually enough votes to defeat Owens and Rogers? We see 7 Republicans basically decide not to go along with Bush's plan for the nuke option...while all of them may not decide to vote against the nominees, people like Snow and Collins, who were targeted by Reid, now have more cover....and we don't know how many other GOPers may decide not to vote for them, now, as Spector said a few days ago, that they should "vote their consciences" ---not on the nuke option now, but on the actual nominees?

What if?????