Arlen Specter

Arlen Specter

Arlen Specter (born February 12, 1930 in Wichita , Kansas , † October 14, 2012 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ) was an American politician and US Senator for the state of Pennsylvania.

Life

Arlen Specter (left), assistant to the Warren Commission, demonstrates the projectile's path in the assassination attempt on John F. Kennedy

Arlen Specter grew up in Wichita and Russell ; his father was a Jewish immigrant from Ukraine. After high school, Arlen Specter first attended the University of Oklahoma , then the University of Pennsylvania with a major in "International Relations". He graduated there in 1951, after which he studied law at the Law School of Yale University . In 1956 he was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar. He initially worked in his own practice, later as a prosecutor under James Crumlish. On the recommendation of then Congressman Gerald Ford , Specter was assistant to a member of the Warren Commission investigating the murder of John F. Kennedy .

His wife, Joan Specter, was a member of the Philadelphia City Council, to which she was elected citywide (rather than a specific district). In February 2005, Specter announced that he had Hodgkin's lymphoma . Despite the advanced stage of the cancer, Senator Specter continued to work during his chemotherapy. When treatment ended in July 2005, he was considered cured.

Political career

Arlen Specter ran for the office of District Attorney in 1965 as a registered member of the Democratic Party for the Republicans , defeating incumbent and former supervisor James Crumlish. After winning the election, he consequently changed his party affiliation. He was re-elected once but lost to his challenger in 1973. After that he worked as a lawyer again, defending a. a. the murderer Ira Einhorn . In 1976 he ran for the office of US Senator in the Republican primary, but was defeated by John Heinz . Specter was defeated in the primaries in 1978 when he tried to run for governor of Pennsylvania. In 1980 he was elected US Senator for Pennsylvania and has been re-elected in every election since then.

From 1995, when the Republicans won a majority in the Senate, until 1997, he served as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. In 1996 he ran for the Republican nomination in the presidential election, but gave up that goal relatively early. From 1997–2001 he chaired the Veterans Affairs Committee until the Republicans lost their majority in the Senate. After they regained the majority in 2003, he re-chaired that committee. In 1998 and 1999 Specter was among the critics of the impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton . Before he changed party, conservative critics called him a "RINO" ( English republican in name only = a republican only in name ). For example, Congressman Pat Toomey criticized in the 2004 primary campaign that Specter was too liberal to represent the Republicans. Specter was able to prevail with 52% against Toomey and finally won in the Senate election in November against the Democrat Joe Hoeffel . Upon re-election, Specter became Pennsylvania's first senator to serve five terms.

As the longest serving member of the Senate Judiciary Committee , Specter assumed the chairmanship of that committee on January 4, 2005. His predecessor in office was the Democrat Patrick Leahy , before that Orrin Hatch . This committee, which is responsible for confirming judges' appointments by the President, has a major influence on the future jurisdiction of the Supreme Court . He became known nationwide for his role opposing the nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court, as well as defending Judge Clarence Thomas and participating in a 30-hour speech marathon against the practice of filibusters in judge appointments. More recently, Specter has drawn attention for expressing controversial views on the future of the Supreme Court; in particular, he warned President George W. Bush of the dangers of nominee judge nominations that violate the Roe v. Think Wade's judgment is wrong. After the Democrats regained a majority in the November 2006 election, Specter had to resign the chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee again to Leahy. In May 2010, he chaired a hearing before the Criminal Law Commission of the Judicial Committee, in which he also discussed the Siemens corruption affair. Even the $ 800 million fine the company paid was not enough for him. The deficiency he saw: "And nobody went to prison."

He was a member of the Republicans for a long time and their senior senator until 2009. On April 28, 2009, he announced that he would change his party affiliation again and join the Democrats . In doing so, he gave the Democrats the 60th vote they needed to break the Republican filibuster against Obamacare . In November 2010, Specter's Senate seat was up for re-election. Despite his crucial help in getting Obama's most important reform project through, Specter defeated his challenger Joe Sestak in the Democratic primary in May 2009 . He therefore left the Senate in 2011. He then had a teaching position at his alma mater .

Positions

Specter was a moderate Republican before his move back to the Democrats (2009). So it was classified as Pro-Choice . On various occasions he has severely criticized John Ashcroft , Attorney General under President George W. Bush , and President Bush himself.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Longtime GOP Senate Moderate Arlen Specter Dies. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on October 15, 2012 ; accessed on October 14, 2012 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ http://www.arlingtonsistercity.org/files/Disovering_Ukraine.pdf
3. ↑ Jürgen Dahl Kamp and Jörg Schmitt: storm warning , in: Der Spiegel, 49/2010, p 85-86
4. ^ " Specter To Switch Parties " - Washington Post
5. ↑ https://www.reference.com/history/did-obamacare-pass-congress-8fb44b73f7bcdcb6
6. ↑ http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/news/senator-arlen-specter-teach-university-pennsylvania-law-school

Web links

Commons : Arlen Specter  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Arlen Specter in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)