Specter Humiliated: Democrats Strip GOP Defector of Rank

Wednesday, May 6, 2009 12:21 PM

Senator Arlen Specter was unexpectedly stripped of his seniority Tuesday night in what seemed a humiliating blow by Democrats who had earlier welcomed the former Pennsylvania Republican’s defection from the GOP.

Specter’s office was not commenting, but earlier the senator had told reporters he was going to keep his senior rank on key committees, The Washington Post and Politico reported. The move not only strips the five-term senator from legislative clout, it also hampers his ability to convince voters he can still bring influence to issues in Pennsylvania as he approaches election there in 2010.

It was the likelihood that Specter would lose a Republican primary that prompted him to jump to the Democrats. Now, though President Barack Obama has promised to campaign for him, Specter could face a Democratic challenger in that party’s primary. After that, he may be up against former Gov. Tom Ridge – the state’s most popular Republican – in the general election.

The Senate vote stripping him of rank came after Specter made a huge faux pas against his new party -- Specter told The New York Times Tuesday that he hoped Republican Norm Coleman wins the protracted court battle over the Minnesota senate seat. Democrats want candidate Al Franken to prevail over Coleman in order for the party to attain a filibuster-proof majority of 60 in the Senate.

Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., read on the Senate floor yesterday a resolution making Specter the most junior Democrat on four of his five committee assignments. It stood in stark contrast to Reid's alleged promise that Specter would retain his seniority if he switched from the Republican to the Democratic party.

Specter serves on the Appropriations, Judiciary, Veterans Affairs, Environment and Public Works, and Special Aging committees. He had been the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, which is preparing for hearings on a Supreme Court nominee to replace the retiring Justice David Souter.

When Republicans were in the majority, Specter chaired the confirmation hearings for Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. He now will have to wait in line to question the nominee, the Associated Press reported. Specter also was the top Republican on the subcommittee that funds the National Institutes of Health. The issue is a personal one for him because he has twice battled cancer.

The move came only a day after Specter boasted of the power he had through seniority to voters in Pennsylvania.

"My senior position on Appropriations has enabled me to bring a lot of jobs and a lot of federal funding to this state," Specter said at a town hall meeting on Monday, according to CNN.

Over and over, CNN reported, Specter made a point of telling an auditorium filled with medical faculty and staff about the hundreds of millions of dollars he delivered to the Keystone State, thanks to the power he's accumulated in his 29 years in the Senate.

"Pennsylvania has a big interest in my seniority, a big interest," he said.

Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday, Specter said that it's an "entitlement" for him to retain his seniority on those committees.

"I was elected in 1980. I think that's not a bribe or a give for something extraordinary," he said. "I'll be treated as a Democrat as if I was elected as a Democrat."

Specter could have a chance to reclaim his seniority on influential committees such as the Appropriations and Judiciary Committees after the 2010 midterm elections, Democrats have suggested.

Perhaps realizing the consequences his Coleman remarks, Specter quickly changed his tune. He told Congressional Quarterly on Tuesday that he would like to see more Democratic members elected in the 2010 midterms.

"In the swirl of moving from one caucus to another, I have to get used to my new teammates," Specter said. "I’m ordinarily pretty correct in what I say. I’ve made a career of being precise. I conclusively misspoke."

But Democrats have not only stripped Specter of his clout, they’ve used his defection from the GOP to attack his former party colleagues. In a new Web ad from the Democratic National Committee, they parody the TV show “Survivor to highlight "the continued disunity" within the GOP. It doesn't have a strong political message, just points out that the Republicans currently don't have a strong leader.

The final result is that Arlen Specter has betrayed the party that supported him for decades, only to be apparently betrayed by the party that seduced him to defect.

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