WEEK OF NOVEMBER 22, 2004 In A Lonely Place Arlen Specter is the same. ROBERTO WESTBROOK ROBERTO It’s the GOP that’s changed. BY T.R. GOLDMAN staff member was now 14 months away from being the longest serving senator in the history of Pennsylvania—after fellow The harsh glare of the single television spotlight made Arlen Republican Boise Penrose, who died in office on Dec. 31, 1921. Specter’s face shine unnaturally, and his smile was tight and He had survived a grueling primary against Rep. Patrick prearranged. Toomey (R-Pa.), and an unexpectedly tough general election The disembodied voice of CNBC’s Gloria Borger was work- against Rep. Joseph Hoeffel (D-Pa.). ing its way into Specter’s ear. Behind him, the rotunda of the But when Specter takes over the Senate Judiciary Committee Senate’s Russell Building glowed in the sunset. in January, as he now appears certain to do, he will be noted The conversation had turned to Richard Viguerie, the arch- more for surviving an infelicitous remark at a euphoric Nov. conservative direct mail guru, and one of those most promi- 3 press conference—that it was “unlikely” that the committee nently opposing the Pennsylvania Republican’s ascension to the would confirm any judicial nominee who would overturn Roe chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee. v. Wade—than for possessing what his supporters say is a long “I’m not about to make any deals with Richard Viguerie,” and distinguished career as one of the Senate’s few remaining said Specter, his eyes blinking with intensity. “[N]obody elected centrist Republicans. Richard Viguerie to anything. Somebody ought to tell him.” Specter has insisted—in 34 subsequent media interviews— He paused. that he was merely stating the obvious; but the Associated Press “Maybe he watches your show, Gloria,” Specter said in his article, which ran shortly after the press conference, termed it trademark drawl, cracking a sliver of a smile. more starkly, saying Specter had “bluntly warned” President It was late afternoon on Veterans Day, and the Capitol was shut George W. Bush not to nominate anyone who would seek to tight. Yet here was Specter, possibly the only senator in the build- overturn abortion rights. ing, his staff in tow, on his eighth straight day of damage control. An acrid battle followed, one which pitted Specter, working to It was not supposed to be like this. defend his upcoming chairmanship with virtually no initial support Just 10 days earlier, Specter had won his fifth Senate term; from his GOP colleagues, against a highly mobilized base of secu- the former Philadelphia prosecutor and Warren Commission lar conservatives, evangelical Christians, and radio talk show hosts. Specter immediately launched a full-throttle offensive, pri- Bork for the U.S. Supreme Court, a vote that has led to contin- vately talking to colleagues, publicly reciting his mantra to tele- ued hard feelings between the two men, and which many conser- vision, radio, and print reporters: “I have not and would not use vatives have never forgiven. a litmus test to deny confirmation to pro-life nominees.” “He hasn’t insulted me since yesterday,” Specter jokes as he The matter took precisely two weeks to resolve, ending with walks through the deserted Senate hallways on Veterans Day. a second upbeat press conference on Nov. 18. Surrounded by his Bork had described Specter as “shifty” in a New York Times GOP committee colleagues, Specter issued a formal statement article the day before. reiterating his loyal Republican bona fides. Laughing and smil- Specter joined Democrats on the Judiciary Committee to vote ing, everyone made nice. against the 1986 nomination of Alabaman Jeff Sessions for a But Specter knows better. To him, the controversy was only seat on the federal bench. Ten years later, Sessions was elected the most recent episode of a long-running drama, one in which to the Senate and now sits with Specter on the committee. It’s a a Jewish Republican from an overwhelmingly Democratic city, vote that Specter, who has since gotten to know Sessions, says a man who lost four elections before reaching the Senate, has he now regrets. survived for yet another day. In 1991, Specter provoked just as much ire in the liberal com- “That’s the story of my life, I mean, really, it is,” Specter says munity, not simply for his support of Clarence Thomas for a seat in an interview with Legal Times. on the Supreme Court, but for questioning the veracity of Anita Hill, who insisted that Thomas had sexually harassed her. TAKING FIRE FROM ALL SIDES To many people watching the televised hearings, Specter’s In many respects, Specter’s post-election press conference— prosecutorial manner came across as insensitive and brutish. the one that caused all the trouble—was vintage Specter: arro- In his biography, A Passion for Truth, Specter provides a gant, dry-humored, intellectual, discursive. minutely layered account of his life, one that emphasizes detail “I would like to see us select someone in the mold of Holmes, more than introspection, but does not whitewash his more con- Brandeis, Cardozo, or Marshall,” said Specter, answering a ques- troversial achievements either. He provides favorable reviews of tion about the characteristics he was looking for in a potential his cross-examination of Hill, but also quotes Washington Post nominee to the Supreme Court. “With all due respect to the U.S. television critic Tom Shales, who called his questioning “merci- Supreme Court, we don’t have one.” less, snide, supercilious.” Philadelphia television reporter Vernon Odom, perhaps not Specter is still defensive about his performance. “I was aware sure of what he was hearing, persisted: “Are you saying there is there were 14 white guys with blue suits and white shirts and red not greatness on there? Is that what you’re driving at?” ties, and that she was sitting all by herself, and [how] it came “Yes,” Specter replied. “Can you take yes for an answer, across on television.” But, he insists: “Find one question, tone, Vernon?” inflection, or substance that I didn’t handle like a professional. It’s safe to say that Specter probably wishes he stayed several “I came very close to talking about our common background miles away from anything remotely resembling a comment on at [the University of] Oklahoma, but I decided that would be judicial nominations. Especially after Bush had gone to bat for patronizing.” the man, leaving the president’s far right flank unusually exposed. The Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill hearings became a cause But Specter’s pro-choice, outspokenly independent brand célèbre; Specter’s 1992 Senate opponent, Lynn Yeakel, made it of Republican politics had long been seen as traitorous by the sole issue in her campaign. Specter won in a three-way race, many conservative activists. Indeed, more than a year ago, he but he garnered only 49 percent of the vote. made the cover of the conservative National Review with the He chaired the Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism in 1995, headline: “The Worst Republican Senator.” which held hearings into misconduct by the Federal Bureau of “This didn’t surprise me. They’ve been after me forever,” Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms notes Specter. at Ruby Ridge, Idaho. He also launched a quixotic, eight-month “I didn’t warn anyone about anything,” he adds about the Nov. run for president that year. 3 press conference. “But it made a good newspaper story and Then there was the 1998 impeachment vote over President off Dr. Dobson and his group went,” he says, referring to James Bill Clinton. Specter insisted on choosing a verdict for both Dobson, the fatherly founder of the conservative advocacy group articles of impeachment that was not part of U.S. jurispru- Focus on the Family. dence. And while the choice of “not proven” did do justice to Indeed, after 24 years in the Senate (all of which have been the Senate trial—because no witnesses were called—Specter spent on the Judiciary Committee), 14 years in the Philadelphia invoked Scottish law to do it. And he added the phrase, “and district attorney’s office, and four failed runs for public office, he therefore not guilty.” has weathered infinitely worse. The additional caveat made a historic difference, at least on Any political figure with four decades of public life manages the obstruction charge outlined in the second article of impeach- to make headlines. Specter, however, seems to have prompted ment, and only managed to resurrect the deep-seated anger con- enough copy for a career twice as long. servatives still felt toward Specter about Bork. He is still regularly harangued for his central role in develop- The vote to convict Clinton on obstruction charges ended ing the single-bullet theory of the John F. Kennedy assassina- with a 50-50 tie. If Specter had simply said “not proven,” then tion, which eliminates conspiracy theorists’ second gunman by his vote would have been counted as “present.” In that case, the positing that the same bullet both killed President Kennedy and final vote tally, while still well short of the 67 needed to convict, wounded Texas Gov. John Connally. would have been 50-49-1, at the very least a symbolic one-vote In 1987, Specter helped derail the nomination of Judge Robert majority in favor of conviction. “Most conservatives felt he should have been there with the From his perch as chairman or ranking member of the conference,” says a senior aide to a GOP member of the Senate Senate Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, and Judiciary Committee.