WSJ OpinionJournal's Political Diary has a little tidbit about AlexC's beloved senior Senator:
Specter Says ThanksPennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter is putting on a little re-election show today, one that will surely have certain members of the Bush Administration wondering why they worked so hard to carry that Republican to a narrow primary victory back in April.
Mr. Specter has a reputation as one of the more liberal Republicans in the Senate, and he's set to prove it again today with a hearing bashing the Bush Administration for not providing Big Labor with more funds. The Department of Labor has decided not to renew its grant with the AFL-CIO's Working for America Institute, an organization that ostensibly provides training to union members. The Labor Department has slowly been phasing out a number of high-dollar national partnership grants (in part because the money from the grants isn't actually going into training), and the Institute's is the last to go.
And Mr. Specter intends to make sure the Administration gets an earful. The hearing gives Nancy Mills, the executive director of the Working for America Institute, a public platform to complain about the defunding. It also allows Mr. Specter to send a message to his union pals that he's back in their camp and expecting their vote this fall as he runs for Senate re-election against Democratic Representative Joe Hoeffel.
All this is in contrast to the Mr. Specter of earlier this year, who was busy shining up his right-of-center credentials in preparation for a tough primary against a more conservative challenger, Representative Pat Toomey. With the White House's help he managed to squeak through that match-up with 51% of the vote. Perhaps the Administration should view this hearing as a taste of the gratitude to come.
--Kim Strassel
Hoeffel '04 baby.
Posted by: AlexC at July 22, 2004 07:50 PMI'm afraid that I agree. Better to lose the Senate than let this guy be Judiciary Chairman....ARRRG!
Posted by: jk at July 23, 2004 08:26 AM