Charlie Dent on Arlen Specter

LV Congressman Charlie Dent issued this statement on the passing of Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania's longest-serving U.S. Senator.

“It is with deep sadness that I learned of the passing of former U.S. Senator Arlen Specter. Arlen Specter had a front row seat and was actively engaged in many significant issues of the past half century -- from the Warren Commission to Supreme Court nominations to the advancement of scientific research.

“A tough, fierce competitor, Arlen Specter courageously and tenaciously battled cancer as passionately as he advocated for the causes in which he believed. He will leave an everlasting legacy of service to the people of Pennsylvania and his commitment to medical research may well be remembered as his greatest public service achievement.

"My wife Pam and I send our heartfelt condolences to Joan and the entire Specter family.”

I Owe Morganelli a Morganelli

Let me tell you the two best-kept secrets at the Northampton County Courthouse. The first is its cozy law library, which is open to the public. But the best secret is its bright and cheerful cafeteria, managed by head chef Richard McInerney for Susan's Catering.

One of McInerney's creations is The Morganelli, a great Italian sandwich named after our District Attorney. Now that Joe Sestak has defeated Arlen Specter in the Senate primary, I owe John Morganelli a Morganelli.

I had a sinking feeling I'd lose my bet over the past few days. But I never would have guessed that Sestak's margin would be that big.

DA John Morganelli to Endorse Joe Sestak

This just in:

Northampton County District Attorney John M. Morganelli, the Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania Attorney General in 2008, and a past President of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association will formally endorse Congressman Joe Sestak for US Senate at a campaign event in Bethlehem on Friday May 14, 2010. Morganelli is a 5 term district attorney in Pennsylvania and one of the state's longest serving district attorneys. Morganelli is scheduled to introduce Congressman Sestak at the campaign event.

John and I have actually placed a friendly wager over the outcome of the Specter-Sestak race. I'm looking forward to eating a Morganelli, the sandwich named in his honor.

If he wins, I'll report him to AG Corbett for gambling.

T.J. Rooney: If Sestak Wins, So Does Toomey

Why the hell do you tink Pat Toomey was willing to debate Joe Sestak so many times?

Why Steve Barron Supports Arlen Specter

It's no secret that Northampton County Controller Steve Barron supports Arlen Specter over Joe Sestak for the U.S. Senate. He was actually Specter's surrogate in a recent endorsement meeting among Northampton County Democrats. I've asked him to tell you why. Bar Johnston, who is heading up the Sestak campaign in the Lehigh Valley, has agreed to provide a similar essay, which I will be happy to publish whn it arrives.

Below is Steve's essay. May the best man win!

As you know I support Arlen Specter for US Senate in the up coming primary. I have been on the stump for him all over the Lehigh Valley.

The first thing I tell those groups of voters is that Arlen has delivered for the Lehigh Valley countless times. He recently found key funding to update the safety equipment for the Lehigh Valley International Airport, and secured a major grant for a Workforce Training Center on the Southside of Bethlehem, run in conjunction with Northampton County Community College. The Bangor Outpatient VA Clinic has also had a huge impact on veterans from this area who need outpatient care. Arlen was instrumental in making sure that clinic was placed here to help the veterans of the Lehigh Valley.

Specter has also delivered for the country. The Obama Administration’s response to the worst economic downturn in 80 years might not have gotten off the ground if Arlen hadn’t supported the economic stimulus package. Now, Bernie, I know your readers can turn on Fox News and hear 24 hours of criticism of that bill. But as Northampton County’s Controller, I keep my eye on the financial markets every day, and the upturn we’ve experienced nationally in recent months is testimony to the decisive action the White House has taken on several fronts.

Specter has tons of endorsements from folks I work with and look up to—from the governor and legislators, mayors and county executives—but maybe the biggest reason I support Arlen is because he won my Dad’s support. When I was a teenager, my father hit a rough patch in his life. Compounding his problems was the fact that he faced a ton of red tape landing a VA home loan. Arlen Specter and his staff stepped in and delivered for us. I remember the day we got the call telling us the loan was now approved; and that the VA was sorry about the problems and misunderstanding. It was the break my Dad needed to get back on his feet. My Dad told me that Arlen always had his vote anytime he was up for election; and he’s got mine too.

This state needs Arlen to be there fighting for the Citizens of Pennsylvania. Especially when there is so much more work to be done in Washington. Pennsylvania needs his leadership, dedication, and ability to fight for us here in the Lehigh Valley and that is why I am working hard to make sure he is our candidate in November.

Callahan's Specter Endorsement Slammed as Payback for Biden Visit

I've disabled comments on this thread because this is the LVPoliblog's topic today, and your thoughts are best expressed there.

Sestak Gets VodVarka Kicked Off Senatorial Ballot

Joe VodVarka is a plain-spoken, down-to-earth man who wowed the 500 plus crowd at a LV Tea Party candidates' night on Friday night. He mentioned he had been in court just that day, trying to fend off a Joe Sestak nomination challenge. His tired wife was sleeping in the car outside.

Looks like Sestak has succeeded in knocking VodVarka off the ballot, forcing Democrats to choose between Arlen Specter and the Rear Admiral.

I think I'll vote for the Democrat who supports small d democracy.

This Can't Be Good For Sestak

Top LV Democrats to Endorse Arlen Specter on Monday

“Arlen Specter has been a consistent moderate voice for Pennsylvania who has been more focused on results than politics, something we need more of in our country today.”

Those are the words of Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham, and they echo a theme often repeated here. While some of you certainly think that answers to our many problems lie in extreme left or right politics, most of us prefer the "can do" common sense approach of leaders like Charlie Dent, Arlen Specter, Don Cunningham and John Stoffa. Most of us, like them, detest the partisan bickering that all too often has resulted in gridlock in Washington and the land of midnight payraises.

The most powerful voices in this country, and certainly in the Lehigh Valley, are those who speak from its independent center. That's why, six years ago, when Specter was threatened from the right by Pat Toomey, I briefly switched to Republican so I could vote for him.

Now that this feisty old warrior is being threatened on the left, I'm gratified to learn that the Lehigh Valley's top Democrats will publicly endorse Snarlen' Arlen tomorrow, 9:45 AM, at Allentown's Four Point Sheraton. Don Cunningham will be joined by Northampton County Exec John Stoffa, Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, Easton Mayor Sal Panto and the party bosses from Northampton, Lehigh, Carbon and Bucks County.

I note that Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan is not among those listed. He's probably worried that publicly admitting his support for Specter will cost him votes from the left.

Obama Stumps For Arlen in Philly

The report below comes from the Pa. press pool covering President Obama's visit to Philadelphia today. Tom Fitzgerald, a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter, prepared the report below. I presume it's something I can load on my blog.

President Obama told Democrats at a fundraising reception that it was vital to his agenda for them to re-elect Sen. Arlen Specter.

“He was a great senator when he was a Republican and he is going to be an even greater senator now that he is a Democrat,” Obama said, drawing laughter from a crowd of about 500 at a pre-dinner general fundraising reception.

In a more serious vein, the president said that Specter was a pragmatist after his own heart. “Arlen is not someone who came to Washington to fight for a particular ideology. He came to fight for the working men and women of Pennsylvania, and he has a long record of success.”

Obama praised Specter’s crucial vote for the stimulus, saying people who criticize it have “selective memories” about how bad things really were. “Arlen thought it was more important to answer to the people who sent him to Washington rather than his party,” Obama said. “That’s why you should send him back for another six years – because you know he’s going to fight for you.”

Specter said he was honored to have Obama in Philadelphia, calling him a “transformational president” who has “tackled the problems of the nation and the world with vigor.” He mentioned health-care reform, climate change legislation and immigration reform, while resuscitating the economy.

“Most of all, and perhaps toughest of all, I predict the president is going to bring civility to Washington,” Specter said.

Apparently that was news to Rep. Joe Wilson (R.,S.C.) last Wednesday night.

A ticket to the reception cost a donation of $2,400, though the audience included some rank-and-file members of the Democratic State Committee who were invited to attend gratis by the Specter campaign.

“It was a smart move for him to show his commitment” to party workers, said Mike Quigley, a state committeeman from Allentown, Pa. “I’ve always had great respect for Sen. Specter.” Quigley opined that the Obama endorsement would influence Democrats who might remain lukewarm to Specter. “The fact that he would endorse Specter makes everyone take a hard second look,” Quigley said.

Guests drank beer and wine, and nibbled chunks of cheese and other snacks. The lone hors d’oeuvres table in the center of the room at the cavernous Pennsylvania Convention Center featured a centerpiece of sunflowers, the iconic state flower of Specter’s native Kansas.

Gov. Ed Rendell ( D) and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter (D) also spoke in praise of the senator of the hour.

“We need to send a message to this country that we are serious about Arlen Specter,” Nutter said.

Toomey & Sestak: Two Hares Chasing a Tortoise at Muhlenberg

Ultraconservative Pat Toomey and Congressman Joe Sestak (PA-7) are hardly what I'd call regular guys. Toomey made a fortune dealing in derivatives, while haughty Sestak goes through staff the way I go through a bag of Cheezits. You're more likely to find these guys on a swanky golf course than at an Iron Pigs game.

That's why I have to laugh about their supposed health care "town" hall, scheduled at Muhlenberg College tonight. It's no town hall in any real sense. Of the approximately 400 tickets made available by the college, half go to the respective campaigns and another 100 will be handed out to students. That leaves just around 100 for real people and the tea-baggers.

Still, they are trying to prove they're cool. They've confirmed their rendezvous on Twitter and have even agreed - Obama style - to share a beer when all is said and done. I suspect both will ask for straws.

"This is pure good governance," Sestak solemnly pronounces.

Really?

This is no exercise in democracy. It has nothing to do with health care reform, either. It has everything to do with bashing Senator Arlen Specter. While Sestak has been launching little toy boats in his bath tub, Specter has been tangling with numerous angry crowds in town halls throughout the state. They've practically assaulted this nearly 80 year-old Senator, apparently forgetting that Snarlin' Arlen comes from the tough streets of Philly, where he learned Scottish law. Rocky country.

"Yo, Adrianne!"

While Specter is out there talking about actual issues, Toomey and Sestak are moving pieces on a political chessboard. Toomey is propping Sestak up with this Muhlenberg "town" hall so he can knock him down later. He knows he just might beat Sestak. He has no chance at all against Specter. For his part, Sestak is looking for a statewide launching pad from which he can challenge Specter's admittedly weak Democratic credentials. And the last place Joe the Admiral wants to do that in is in his own district. He's already fired everyone there. So these senatorial wannabes think they have a win-win, and it's why the incumbent was given no invitation. He'll just muddy the waters.

"With Arlen Specter, you never know who's going to show up," snarks Toomey. Well, whoever that person may be, he's already beaten you once, Pat, and that was among Republicans. Sestak claims Specter is "following my leadership." I see. What leadership is that, Admiral Joe? The kind that caused thirteen of your staffers to jump overboard during your first term? The kind that led the Navy to force you to walk the plank for disrupting morale there?

Both of these hares are ready to make deposits on apartments in Washington, but my money is on the tortoise.

Arlen Specter & Sunflower Seeds

Larry Kisslinger, veteran warhorse of numerous political battles on both sides of the aisle, must have one hell of a scrapbook. A very youthful Arlen Specter came to Bethlehem in 1985 to promote the Republican ticket, headed then by Larry's mayoral campaign. It also included council hopefuls like polka king Jolly Joe Timmer, who was then a youthful 187 years old and only a polka prince. Larry sent me the great pic you see here.

Arlen tried, but failed, to win the day. Only council hopeful Otto Ehrsam survived the Democratic buzz saw. Ron Angle insists he was Timmer's political consultant that year.

Timmer's campaign imploded when he was caught handing out forty year old sunflower seed packages and expired movie passes while going door to door. "Those seeds are good for at least ten more years," he growled as one voter was rushed to the hospital to have his stomach pumped. These days, Timmer still throws those seeds to the kids during Halloween parades.

On the bright side, this is when Timmer also shared the secret of long life with Specter. The Senator now takes one of these sunflower seeds every morning for medicinal purposes. "It's like aspirin," he claims. True, it made his hair fall out once, but he and Timmer both expect to live several thousand more years.

Specter Opposes Relaxing Concealed Gun Permits

Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bipartisan coalition of mayors, reports that Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter has decided to oppose legislation that would undermine Pennsylvania's authority to decide who is entitled to carry concealed weapons in this state. Under a proposal from Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), tacked on as some goofy amendment to a Defense Authorization bill, a person who has a concealed weapon permit in Florida = which authorizes gun permits to people convicted of impersonating police officers - would be able to carry here, where the law forbids permits to cop copycats.

Reading Mayor Tom McMahon, pointman for Pennsylvania's Mayors Against Illegal Guns, calls the Thune Amendment a "detrimental step backward in our continuing effort to reduce gun violence in PA." He adds, “This is a States’ Rights issue, not a gun rights issue."

The Senate may vote on this proposal today, even though Thune has been denied a committee hearing. Republicans and some conservative Democrats appear to support what amounts to a nationalization of gun permits.

Specter himself released the following statement: “From my own experience growing up in Kansas and being District Attorney of Philadelphia, I know states need to prescribe their own rules for carrying a concealed deadly weapon. This is the essence of federalism. My vote against the Thune Amendment will not limit the constitutional rights of hunters and gun owners. Pennsylvania already recognizes concealed carry permits from 24 other states where their laws are similar.”

What Does Specter's Defection Mean?

A little over six years ago, former Northampton County GOP chair Charlie Roberts gave me a call. He's known me since I was a little kid growing up in Hellertown. His family lived across the street. Once, he picked up my sister Ellen after school and drove her home, thinking she was his daughter. Seeing a kindred soul, my Dad adored him after that.

When Charlie called me, Senator Arlen Specter was in a very tight race against Far Right Poster Boy Pat Toomey. Charlie knew I had a soft spot for Snarlin' Arlen, and asked me to switch parties and help defeat Toomey. I agreed and was even able to talk a few fellow Dems in joining me. Specter won his primary, 51% to 49%.

This time around, it's Specter who has switched to Democrat, sounding a possible death knell to the Reagan Big Tent that tolerates moderate views. This is no surprise. Just weeks ago, Lehigh County Republicans were squabbling amongst themselves over some movement to censure Specter. At the time, blueblood Charles Snelling warned that "if we don't find ways to work together as a party, we will cease to be a party." But ideologue Joe Hilliard blames "[t]he tiny minority that advocated the 'move to the Left' strategy just to win elections ... ."

Specter's defection, though clearly an act of self-preservation, will continue to marginalize the Far Right. His move to the Democratic party is actually a move to the center, where he's most comfortable.

With Specter and Al Franken, Dems now have the muscle to stop a Senate filibuster. But don't expect to see that muscle flexed. Just as he has infuriated Republicans for years by supporting Democratic initiatives, Specter will have no trouble swinging away from the left. Sooner or later, everyone gets mad at him. That's why I like him.

Morning Update: According to the White House press office, Senator Specter, VP Biden & President Obama met the press this morning in the White House's Diplomatic Room. Obama and Biden pledged their "full support" in the Democratic primary. For his part, Specter added that "I can be of assistance to you." Specter claimed he represents the people of Pennsylvania, not the Republican party. He also warned, "I will not be an automatic 60th vote."

And then they all sang a song.

Senator Specter Opposes Employee Free Choice ... For Now

The proposed Employee Free Choice Act has been criticized because it supposedly eliminates the secret ballot. When Congressman Charlie Dent first voted against this legislation in 2007, he said it "should be called the ‘Secret Ballot Elimination Act.’ Would we stand for this kind of system to elect members of Congress, the state legislature, or city council? Secret-ballot voting is a cornerstone of our democratic system, and the American people should not be denied this right in any aspect of their lives."

AFL-CIO blogger Chicago Carless disagrees, and I tended to side with him. "In reality, the Employee Free Choice Act puts the choice about how to authorize a union squarely in the hands of workers, where it belongs, and protects workers from the current, nonstop onslaught of illegal intimidation by anti-union companies."

U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), under fire for his recent pro-stimulus vote, has finally decided to oppose the bill in its current form, at least for now. "The better way to expand labor’s clout in collective bargaining is through amendments to the NLRA rather than on eliminating the secret ballot and mandatory arbitration."

Specter concedes there are serious problems within the NLRB. "When Republicans controlled the Board, the decisions were for business. With Democrats in control, the decisions were for labor. Some cases took as long as eleven years to decide. The remedies were ineffective."

He has proposed changes to the NLRA. For example, it would be an unfair labor practice for a union to visit an employee at his home to pressure him in a representation campaign. It would also be an unfair labor practice for a company to hold employees in a "captive audience" speech unless the union is given equal time. If proposed changes to the NLRA turn out to be ineffective, Snarlin' Arlen is willing to support employee free choice when the economy rebounds. You can read his entire floor statement here.

I like his approach. He's willing to aim at the evils complained of by both union and management without elimination a secret ballot. His idea is worth a try, but I don't know if it stands a chance.

Arlen Specter: Why I Support the Stimulus

Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter explains his support of an economic stimulus package in a Wahington Post op-ed, reproduced below.

I am supporting the economic stimulus package for one simple reason: The country cannot afford not to take action.

The unemployment figures announced Friday, the latest earnings reports and the continuing crisis in banking make it clear that failure to act will leave the United States facing a far deeper crisis in three or six months. By then the cost of action will be much greater -- or it may be too late.

Wave after wave of bad economic news has created its own psychology of fear and lowered expectations. As in the old Movietone News, the eyes and ears of the world are upon the United States. Failure to act would be devastating not just for Wall Street and Main Street but for much of the rest of the world, which is looking to our country for leadership in this crisis.

The legislation known as the "moderates" bill, hammered out over two days by Sens. Susan Collins, Ben Nelson, Joe Lieberman and myself, preserves the job-creating and tax relief goals of President Obama's stimulus plan while cutting less-essential provisions -- many of them worthy in themselves -- that are better left to the regular appropriations process.

Our $780 billion bill would save or create up to 4 million jobs, helping to offset the loss of 3.6 million jobs since December 2007. The bill cuts some $110 billion from the $890 billion Senate version, which would actually be $940 billion if floor amendments for tax credits on home and car purchases and money for the National Institutes of Health are retained.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the proposed cuts "do violence to what we are trying to do for the future," especially on education. Her objections are a warning to conservatives that more cuts would be unlikely to win House approval. They are also an admission of the high price that moderates have been able to extract for their support of stimulus legislation.

If a stimulus bill doesn't pass, there won't be any money for Title I education programs. The moderates' bill provides marginally less money for Title I than the House and Senate bills. But while it's less than supporters want, this proverbial half a loaf beats no loaf by a mile.

In health funding, both the House and Senate bills contain billions of dollars for wellness and prevention programs, including for smoking cessation, prenatal screening and counseling, education, and immunization. The moderates' bill, regrettably but necessarily, cancels this funding on the grounds that such programs are better left to the regular appropriations process.

"In politics," John Kennedy used to say, "nobody gets everything, nobody gets nothing and everybody gets something." My colleagues and I have tried to balance the concerns of both left and right with the need to act quickly for the sake of our country. The moderates' compromise, which faces a cloture vote today, is the only bill with a reasonable chance of passage in the Senate.

Republicans to Rally Against Stimulus Bill This Afternoon

LV Republicans will spend today protesting enactment of Brack Obama's "catastrophic" stimulus package. They will assemble outside Allentown's federal courthouse at 1:30 P.M. Much of their ire is directed at one of their own, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter, who has reluctantly agreed to support a slimmed down, $780 billion, bill.

Right after the rally, rumor has it that Northampton County Council candidate J.C. Kelleher will conduct a few speed dating sessions.

Sam Bennett on Arlen Specter: "You Just Can't Kill Him"

Failed LV Congressional candidate Sam Bennett, in a blog interview at Firedoglake, actually complains about Senator Arlen Specter's longevity. Pennsylvania's senior senator has been battling an advanced form of Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer, since 2005.

"We are beginning to regard Arlen as the Glenn Close (what WAS that movie with Michael Douglas?) of PA politics — you just can’t kill him." Bennett later adds, "I meant to say 'you just CAN’T kill him' in reference to the unfortunately indomitable Arlen Spector.[sic]"

Nice person, isn't she? Not a single "progressive" condemned her insensitive remark.

I'll have more to say about Sammy tomorrow.