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Home Front: Politix
Specter: Stimulus deal 'best we can do'
2009-02-08
A small group of moderate senators including Arlen Specter (R., Pa.) reached the deal that appeared to assure Senate passage of an economic stimulus bill yesterday after more than 10 hours of near-constant private meetings.

Specter was in the middle of the action, with many critical talks occurring in his private "hideaway" office on the first floor of the Capitol. Nobody involved was really happy, but there was a consensus that the group did not want to say no to the president or an anxious nation.

"Personally, I would prefer not to be on the edge of the pin, as so frequently is the case in this body," Specter said in a floor speech last night. "But I do believe we have to act, and under the circumstances, this is the best we can do."

In announcing that a tentative deal had been reached, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) credited Specter and Sens. Susan Collins (R., Maine), Ben Nelson (D., Neb.) and Joe Lieberman (I., Conn.) with saving the package.
Posted by:Fred

#14  If thats your best, it is not saying much.
Posted by: newc   2009-02-08 21:53  

#13  the BEST we can do?

NO, senator Spectre, you weak willed gimp. Doing the WRONG thing is NEVER the best we cna do.

I wish he would just drop dead.


Posted by: OldSpook   2009-02-08 14:11  

#12  Liberal Republican(?) Arlen Specter turns 79 this week. He has fought off 2 bouts of cancer during his current term. Just a hunch here, but maybe he won't be seeking a 6th term in 2010 ??
Posted by: Tom- Pa   2009-02-08 12:01  

#11  NS, the way these RINOs act you already have a veto proof senate. The RNC must defund them if they want to run as donks let them.

Its all about the principle.
Posted by: Hellfish   2009-02-08 11:28  

#10  In fairness to Specter, he hasn't been lying all along. There used to be a substantial wing of "Rockefeller Republicans" just as there were lots of KKKonservative Democrats. But both parties, instead of tolerating idological mix so that they could maintain a competitive presence in local markets, have moved to a national ideological purity that forces them to abandon certain markets.

Thus Republicans have lost Caliphornia, New York and now Pennsylvania. We are becoming a two party country made up of one party states. This is not healthy for local politics, see Illinois.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2009-02-08 09:56  

#9  Specter gives other panjandrums a bad name...why doesn't he come right out and say, "Hey, I've been lying all along, I'm a liberal democrat"
Posted by: jack salami   2009-02-08 09:48  

#8  This comment, and a similar one by Collins, reeks of inside the Beltway-itis.

They are totally focused on senatorial process and are blind to the fundamental issues involved in the bill itself. The "best we could do" = "what we got the Dems to agree to".

Fire them all. Every damned one of them that votes for this obsenity.
Posted by: lotp   2009-02-08 09:13  

#7  If it is Toomey 2010, Arlen will proudly run as a donk, as would Collins and Snowe. And win. I'm not sure I wouldn't prefer a veto proof Senate. It would put all the responsibility on the donks and free the trunks to stop appeasing the likes of the three amigettes.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2009-02-08 08:22  

#6  Toomey 2010
Posted by: Frank G   2009-02-08 07:55  

#5  Thank you Senator for telling your minority leader, the rest of the Republican party, and about 80% of the American people to go phuech themselves. We know YOU know what is best for us.
Posted by: Besoeker   2009-02-08 07:29  

#4  Private meetings? As in "I'll vote for your pork if you vote for mine?"
Posted by: gorb   2009-02-08 03:20  

#3  Arlen, (the expert in Scottish Law), and the two Witches of Maine are unprincipled hacks. "Hey, it's the best we can get..." is a disgrace.
Posted by: Muggsy Glink   2009-02-08 00:52  

#2  Hey Congress: Don't just do something, stand there!
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia   2009-02-08 00:38  

#1  Some I don't think Arlen Specter is "the best we can do".
Posted by: DMFD   2009-02-08 00:12  

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