Remembering Sen. Specter

Arlen Specter, who died this past weekend, has been credited above all with being one thingW a survivorK He was the perfect Darwinian adaptor to the culture of Washington, DKCK, and the times he lived inK More than that, he survived health issues (cancer, brain tumors, etcK) to which lesser men would have more meekly surrenderedK

But Specter was so much more than a mere survivor, because he survived to do important things, not the least of which was being a clarion call for a less partisan, less poisoned environment that still valued compromise over deadlockK

For our money his most laudable accomplishment was his constant pursuit of more federal money for medical researchK

When he became Pennsylvania’s junior senator in 1981, the annual budget for the kational Institutes of Health was A3 billionK By the time of his retirement (at the hands of DHOFR DHPRFUDWLF uSsWDUW -RH 6HsWDN) Ln 2010, WKDW fiJuUH had increased 10-foldK Today, kIH’s budget is just over A30 billionK

With the country going broke, it is hardly a good time to brag about federal spending on anythingK But is it hard to think of a much better way to invest tax dollars than Ln finGLnJ FuUHs IRU WKH sLFN DnG wDys WR NHHS $PHULFD healthierK

Specter started his political career as a Democrat and ended on the same side of the aisleK In between he was a Republican who commanded the attention of both sides for his willingness to buck his own party to do what he thought was in the nation’s interest, not to mention his ownK

He was best known for four thingsW His single bullet theory in the gFK assassination; his “borking” of Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork; his grilling of Anita Hill in the &ODUHnFH 7KRPDs FRnfiUPDWLRn KHDULnJs; DnG KLs FLWLnJ RI Scottish law for his non-vote in the impeachment trial of William gefferson ClintonK

These actions came decades apart, but all of them revealed a man who was iconoclastic, cerebral and braveK

Some would disagreeK There were many who saw Specter’s actions mostly as attention-getting political calculationsK They saw a man who always had his eye on the next election and made sure he was properly positioned to win itK

Late in his career (2004), he had a very close call against a GOP insurgent named Pat ToomeyK He survived itK But Toomey came back to haunt him six years laterK To avoid another tough primary against Toomey, Specter jumped parWLHs. HH wDs unOuFNy HnRuJK WR finG DnRWKHU DPELWLRus RIfiFH sHHNHU wDLWLnJ IRU KLP Ln WKH DHPRFUDWLF SULPDUy.

After losing to goe Sestak (who went on to lose to Pat Toomey) Specter took up the hobby of performing as a stand-up comedian

He was no gerry Seinfeld but he obviously enjoyed himself on stage and so did his audiencesK And unlike the famous politicians who appear at the annual Correspondents Dinner in Washington every year, Specter wrote his own jokesK

(Our favoriteW “I called Clinton up on his S5th birthday and said, ‘Bill, congratulations on being S5K How do you feel?’ He said, ‘Oh, I feel like a teenager, the problem is I FDn’W finG RnH.’”)

He was the consummate political pro; a creature of the Beltway who never lost his Kansas drawlK Or his sense of humorK He was an American and political originalK Dead at 82K He has gone, we’re sure, to a less contentious and more peaceful placeK

By Kathy Disque