Changes

|name=Arlen Specter

|name=Arlen Specter

|image=Specter-0.jpg

|image=Specter-0.jpg

|party=[[Democrat]]

|party=[[Democrat]] (1951 – 1965)<br>[[Republican]] (1965 – 2009)<br>[[Democrat]] (2009 – 2012)

|spouse=Joan Specter

|spouse=Joan Specter

|religion=[[Judaism]]

|religion=[[Judaism]]

|terms=January 5, 1981 – January 5, 2011

|terms=January 5, 1981 – January 5, 2011

|preceded=Richard Schweiker

|preceded=Richard Schweiker

|former=n

|status=f

|succeeded=[[Pat Toomey]]

|succeeded=[[Pat Toomey]]

}}

}}

}}

}}

'''Arlen Specter''' (February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012) was the former Democratic senior [[United States]] Senator from [[Pennsylvania]]. He was first elected in 1980, and was subsequently reelected five times since then. He had moderate to liberal viewpoints - particularly when it came to economic and social issues. He supported Obama's massive stimulus bill in 2009 and opposed attempts to overturn Roe v. Wade.

'''Arlen Specter''' (February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012) was the former [[Democrat]] senior [[United States]] senator from [[Pennsylvania]]. He was first elected in 1980, and was subsequently reelected five times since then. He had moderate to liberal viewpoints - particularly when it came to economic and social issues. He supported Obama's massive stimulus bill in 2009 and opposed attempts to overturn [[Roe v. Wade]].

Before defecting to the [[Democratic Party]] (see below), Senator Specter was a [[RINO]], disagreeing with the [[George W. Bush|Bush]] Administration on numerous issues. He was one of three Republicans who supported Obama's stimulus bill in 2009. Threatened with a [[conservative]] [[primary]] challenger for his seat in 2010, on April 28, 2009, he announced he was switching to the Democratic party. Once [[Al Franken]] was declared the victor in the [[Minnesota]] Senate race, Specter's vote provided the crucial 60th vote needed for the Democrats (and the two independents) to stop GOP [[filibusters]]. However, that filibuster-proof majority ended when [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[Scott Brown]] won the [[Massachusetts]] special Senate election in January 2010.

Before defecting to the [[Democratic Party]] (see below), Senator Specter was a [[RINO]], disagreeing with the [[George W. Bush|Bush]] Administration on numerous issues. He was one of three Republicans who supported Obama's stimulus bill in 2009. Threatened with a [[conservative]] [[primary]] challenger for his seat in 2010, on April 28, 2009, he announced he was switching to the Democratic party. Once [[Al Franken]] was declared the victor in the [[Minnesota]] Senate race, Specter's vote provided the crucial 60th vote needed for the Democrats (and the two independents) to stop GOP [[filibusters]]. However, that filibuster-proof majority ended when [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[Scott Brown]] won the [[Massachusetts]] special Senate election in January 2010.

Specter was defeated in the Democratic primary by Joe Sestak for his reelection in the [[2010 Midterm Elections]].

Specter was defeated in the Democratic primary by [[Joe Sestak]] for his reelection in the [[2010 Midterm Elections]]. Sestak would go on to be defeated by Republican nominee [[Pat Toomey]] in the general election.

 

==Career==

==Career==

He was a [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] veteran, serving within the U.S. as an officer within the Air Force Office of Special Investigations during the [[Korean War]].

He was a [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] veteran, serving within the U.S. as an officer within the Air Force Office of Special Investigations during the [[Korean War]].

Specter has a knack for notoriety; in one such case he was a member of the Warren Commission investigating the death of President [[John F. Kennedy]] when he was credited with creating the "magic bullet" theory, which in essence was a single bullet that wounded Kennedy and Texas governor John Connoly, but not before it went through a pair of right-angle turns in mid-air before hitting Connoly.

Specter has a knack for notoriety; in one such case he was a member of the Warren Commission investigating the death of President [[John F. Kennedy]] when he was credited with creating the "magic bullet" theory, which in essence was a single bullet that wounded Kennedy and Texas governor John Connoly, but not before it went through a pair of right-angle turns in mid-air before hitting Connoly.

But his most notorious case - and one which he rarely talks about - is his getting the release on bail of [[Ira Einhorn]], a celebrated Philadelphia liberal and leftist who had strong ties to the elite in the city, and who was scheduled to go to trial for the murder of his former girlfriend, Holly Maddux, who was two-years dead when her mummified body was found stuffed in a trunk in Einhorn's closet in 1979.  Specter - who also shared the same elite ties with Einhorn, convinced the judge to have his bail reduced from an "excessive" $100,000 to $40,000, with Einhorn putting up a mere 10% to be released.  Judge William Marutani had initially thought that Einhorn might flee to Norway; "I have to disagree with your last statement," replied Specter. "Anybody is as likely to go to Norway as anybody else."  Einhorn did flee the country before his trial started in 1981, to Sweden.  He remained a fugitive until 1997, when he was extradited from France, convicted in a new trial, and sentenced to life in prison. [http://www.nationalreview.com/miller/miller200404080822.asp][http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2009/04/29/specter-switches-ira-einhorn-saga-deserves-wider-mention]

But his most notorious case - and one which he rarely talks about - is his getting the release on bail of [[Ira Einhorn]], a celebrated Philadelphia liberal and leftist who had strong ties to the elite in the city, and who was scheduled to go to trial for the murder of his former girlfriend, Holly Maddux, who was two-years dead when her mummified body was found stuffed in a trunk in Einhorn's closet in 1979.  Specter - who also shared the same elite ties with Einhorn, convinced the judge to have his bail reduced from an "excessive" $100,000 to $40,000, with Einhorn putting up a mere 10% to be released.  Judge William Marutani had initially thought that Einhorn might flee to Norway; "I have to disagree with your last statement," replied Specter. "Anybody is as likely to go to Norway as anybody else."  Einhorn did flee the country before his trial started in 1981, to Sweden.  He remained a fugitive until 1997, when he was extradited from France, convicted in a new trial, and sentenced to life in prison. [https://www.nationalreview.com/miller/miller200404080822.asp][http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2009/04/29/specter-switches-ira-einhorn-saga-deserves-wider-mention]

==Political Views==

==Political Views==

==2010 Reelection==

==2010 Reelection==

 

[[File:Specter graph.PNG|right|300px|thumb|Studies show Arlen Specter's 2010 reelection campaign has influenced his voting record.]]Specter barely won the 2004 Republican primary, which allows only registered Republicans to vote, by less than 2% against [[conservative]] challenger [[Pat Toomey]]. [[Rick Santorum]], himself a former Pennsylvania senator, described that "Specter's biggest problem ... may be that thousands of southeastern Pennsylvania Republicans who voted for him in 2004 can't vote for him in the (2010) primary. Why? Because they're no longer Republicans."  In fact, the number of registered Republicans in Pennsylvania decreased by 162,000 between 2004 and 2008.<ref>http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/americandebate/Arlen_Specter_tilting_rightward.html</ref> This is one of the main reasons why Specter switched parties; to get re-elected in 2010, he needed to rely on his left-leaning supporters. However, Specter was denied the 2010 Democratic senatorial nomination, and the more conservative Republican Pat Toomey, who lost the Republican primary to Specter six years earlier, narrowly won the general election for the seat in a strongly Republican year in Pennsylvania.

[[File:Specter graph.PNG|left|300px|thumb|Studies show Arlen Specter's 2010 reelection campaign has influenced his voting record.]]Specter barely won the 2004 Republican primary, which allows only registered Republicans to vote, by less than 2% against [[conservative]] challenger [[Pat Toomey]]. [[Rick Santorum]], himself a former Pennsylvania senator, described that "Specter's biggest problem ... may be that thousands of southeastern Pennsylvania Republicans who voted for him in 2004 can't vote for him in the (2010) primary. Why? Because they're no longer Republicans."  In fact, the number of registered Republicans in Pennsylvania decreased by 162,000 between 2004 and 2008.<ref>http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/americandebate/Arlen_Specter_tilting_rightward.html</ref> This is one of the main reasons why Specter switched parties; to get re-elected in 2010, he needed to rely on his left-leaning supporters. However, Specter was denied the 2010 Democratic senatorial nomination, and the more conservative Republican Pat Toomey, who lost the Republican primary to Specter six years earlier, narrowly won the general election for the seat in a strongly Republican year in Pennsylvania.

==References==

==References==

==See also==

==See also==

{{DEFAULTSORT:Specter, Arlen}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Specter, Arlen}}

[[Category:Former United States Senators]]

[[Category:Former United States Senators]]

[[Category:111th United States Congress]]

[[Category:111th United States Congress]]

[[Category:Democratic Party]]

[[Category:Democratic Party]]

[[Category:Reagan Era]]

[[Category:Reagan Era]]

[[Category:2010 Midterm Elections]]

[[Category:2010 Midterm Elections]]

[[Category:American Jews]]

[[Category:American Jews]]

[[Category:Abortion Advocates]]

[[Category:Abortion Advocates]]