Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

NEWS ABOUT: Arlen Specter

Senate Targets Insurance Exec Pay

Meanwhile GOP will keep battling Medicare cuts

(Newser) - Democratic senators are taking aim at insurance industry executive pay today as they jockey for advantage in a rare weekend session to debate health care overhaul. Republicans will be targeting the bill's cuts to Medicare, seeking to undermine support among seniors. With talks on the key divisive issues of abortion... More »

Obama Surge Dicey for Campaigning Dems

Liberal base could make life hard for incumbents, and others

(Newser) - President Obama’s decision on the Afghan troop surge is throwing a big monkey wrench into the campaigns of some Democrats, who must now walk the line between an exasperated liberal base and the approval of the White House. Support for the surge is being wielded like a cudgel by... More »

Left, Right Assail Obama Plan

GOP faults timetable; Dems fault surge itself

(Newser) - There was a bipartisan show of unity after President Obama’s speech tonight on Afghanistan—though hardly the unity Obama was looking for, as negative reaction echoed from his leftmost supporters to his rightmost critics. The 30,000-troop buildup irked Democrats, the Wall Street Journal reports, despite Obama pairing that... More »

White House Throws Weight Into State Races

Some Democrat's fret about administration's increasingly partisan direction

(Newser) - The Obama administration is becoming increasingly assertive in trying to influence state-level elections around the country, the New York Times reports. White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and other top political strategists have made it plain that they're willing to play hardball to strengthen the Democratic ticket where necessary—... More »

Sebelius: Public Option Not Essential

Also, Dem sen. calls Obama's health care pitch a 'wasted effort'

(Newser) - Liberal lawmakers are demanding that a public option be included in a final health care reform package, but top Obama administration officials seemed to hedge on the subject today, Politico reports. On Face the Nation, Robert Gibbs said “thus far” President Obama sees a government-funded system as the best... More »

Senators Tweet It Out Over 'Death Panels'

Specter accuses Grassley of spreading false info

(Newser) - Arlen Specter and Chuck Grassley engaged in a very 21st-century sniping match today, ABC's Jake Tapper reports. The 79-year-old Pennsylvania Democrat took to Twitter to accuse the 75-year-old Iowa Republican of spreading "myths about health care reform and imaginary ‘death panels.' " He was referring to comments... More »

Specter Breaks Up Fight at Town Hall, Gets Yelled At

(Newser) - Arlen Specter got a taste of health care rage at a town hall event today, where a reform opponent got so angry that another attendee tried to physically remove him from the event. Specter descended from the stage to try to break up the confrontation, telling the man to leave... More »

Facing Primary Battle, Specter Shifts Leftward

Has voted with Dems 97% of time since Sestak announced bid

(Newser) - Since going blue, Arlen Specter voted with Democrats some two-thirds of the time on “Contentious Votes”—defined by Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com as “anything that comes up for a floor vote and where the majority of each party splits their votes.” That is, up until... More »

Six Things to Watch at Sotomayor Hearings

(Newser) - The White House is working hard to ensure an easy confirmation for Sonia Sotomayor, with John Roberts' perfect-10 testimony as a model. Will she sail through? Politico lists six things to watch.
  1. That 'wise Latina' remark. Republicans are obsessed with it, and she needs to explain it without sounding phony.
... More »

Pa., NY Dems Ignore Obama, Ready Senate Primary Bids

Renegades take aim at Specter, Gillibrand

(Newser) - Two House Democrats look ready to stage Senate primary challenges in 2010—even if the White House doesn’t like it, Politico reports. Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania says a presidential intervention wouldn’t change his mind about a run against Arlen Specter; New York’s Carolyn Maloney is “way... More »

Sotomayor Vote Carries Risks for These Senators

Judiciary committee members share spotlight with nominee

(Newser) - Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation looks likely, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be some drama between here and there. Politico runs down which senators have the most to win—and the most to lose:  
  • Patrick Leahy: Facing his first nominee as judiciary chairman, Leahy’s eager to
... More »

Democratic Congressman Plans Run Against Specter

Sestak unswayed by recent party switch

(Newser) - Geez, what's a guy got to do to win some love from his own political party? Even though Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania switched parties to become a Democrat, he's still going to face a big-name challenger in a party primary. Rep. Joe Sestak told Wolf Blitzer on CNN today... More »

Obama Already Throwing Weight for Midterms

Takes steps for Reid, Specter, Gillibrand 4 months into term

(Newser) - He’s been in office just a few months—but President Obama’s already working to get Democrats elected in 2010, the Wall Street Journal reports. So far this month, Obama has urged a potential candidate to run in North Carolina, battled a primary threat to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, pledged... More »

Specter Finds His Inner Democrat

After rocky beginning, GOP turncoat sticks to new side of aisle

(Newser) - Arlen Specter’s first days as a Democrat may not have gone well, but since then he’s settled in and sided with his new party on nearly every vote, Politico reports. He’s gone from staunch opponent of the Employee Free Choice act to a key negotiator for it,... More »

Specter Backs Pelosi in CIA Torture Flap

Cites agency's 'very bad record' on honesty, chides GOP for 'games'

(Newser) - Arlen Specter defended Nancy Pelosi today against the CIA and former GOP colleagues he says are making a “political game” out of the interrogation debacle. “The CIA has a very bad record when it comes to honesty,” the Senate’s newest Democrat said. Specter charged that the... More »

Republicans Slam Party-Purist Outfit

Club for Growth backs unelectable righties, say some in GOP

(Newser) - Some in the GOP have had it with the Club for Growth, an organization that identifies Republicans it deems weak on low-tax, small-government values, the Wall Street Journal reports. Party members argue that the Club backs Republicans too far right to win elections. “If their goal is to increase... More »

Abortion 'Purity Test' Is New to Republicans

Not even 'conservative issue' for older generation: Goodman

(Newser) - Abortion has become “the purity test for remaining in the GOP’s inner circle,” writes Ellen Goodman in the Boston Globe: The Republican Party is shedding and shunning abortion-rights supporters it once called its own. But it wasn’t always that way—even “Mr. Conservative” Barry Goldwater... More »

Specter to Dem Donors: Show Me the Money

Senator's election-cycle party switch creates fundraising issues

(Newser) - Arlen Specter may have brought his years of experience in the Senate across the aisle with him, but that doesn’t mean all his donors will follow. And the timing—it’s 2010 campaign season—complicates matters, Jeanne Cummings notes for Politico. “He’s not the world’s most... More »

Ridge Won't Challenge Specter for Seat

Former Pa. gov was encouraged to run for Senate by GOP brass

(Newser) - Former Pennsylvania governor and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge will not seek the Republican nomination for senator from that state, the Hill reports. Party leaders had urged him to run against newly minted Democrat Arlen Specter. Ridge was in a good position to run, polling just 3 points behind Specter.... More »

After Seniority Flap, Specter Lands Plum Gig

Durbin engineers Judiciary shuffle, giving newest Dem a gavel

(Newser) - Dick Durbin has yielded his seat atop the Senate Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on crime and drugs to Arlen Specter, a consolation prize after Democrats stripped their new colleague of his seniority, Politico reports. In exchange, Durbin will take the helm of a newly reconstituted human-rights subcommittee. The move should help... More »

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne