Arlen Specter's Revenge (Arlen gets even with Obama)
The Daily Beast ^ | 5/28/2010 | Benjamin Sarlin
Posted on Friday, May 28, 2010 3:02:37 PM
Friends tell The Daily Beast that the departing senator, injured by Obama's failure to show last-minute support, may well shift right on key votes from Kagan to financial reform.
With party unity crucial to Democrats’ hopes for passing significant legislation before the midterm elections, Arlen Specter’s primary loss could pose a new problem for the White House.
The Senate could vote on any number of crucial bills before the midterms, including a new jobs bill, immigration reform, climate-change legislation, and a final financial-reform package, making Specter’s continuing support more important than ever. But several longtime friends and associates tell The Daily Beast that without a primary challenge to pressure him, the veteran senator--a famously prickly character whose temper has earned him the nickname "Snarlin' Arlen"—may shift to the right.
[....]
Obama supported Specter’s candidacy with an endorsement and appearances in ads and robo-calls, but their marriage ended on a sour note when the president failed to make a last-minute appearance in Pennsylvania to rally voters in a tight race. In an additional poke in the eye, CBS’ Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer reported ahead of the election that White House sources were “preparing for a Specter loss here, and that the president doesn’t want to be associated with that.”
The Daily Beast ^ | 5/28/2010 | Benjamin Sarlin
Posted on Friday, May 28, 2010 3:02:37 PM
Friends tell The Daily Beast that the departing senator, injured by Obama's failure to show last-minute support, may well shift right on key votes from Kagan to financial reform.
With party unity crucial to Democrats’ hopes for passing significant legislation before the midterm elections, Arlen Specter’s primary loss could pose a new problem for the White House.
The Senate could vote on any number of crucial bills before the midterms, including a new jobs bill, immigration reform, climate-change legislation, and a final financial-reform package, making Specter’s continuing support more important than ever. But several longtime friends and associates tell The Daily Beast that without a primary challenge to pressure him, the veteran senator--a famously prickly character whose temper has earned him the nickname "Snarlin' Arlen"—may shift to the right.
[....]
Obama supported Specter’s candidacy with an endorsement and appearances in ads and robo-calls, but their marriage ended on a sour note when the president failed to make a last-minute appearance in Pennsylvania to rally voters in a tight race. In an additional poke in the eye, CBS’ Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer reported ahead of the election that White House sources were “preparing for a Specter loss here, and that the president doesn’t want to be associated with that.”
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