Senator Arlen Specter: Republican, Democrat, B'nai Brith, ADL
Before I post the article about Senator Arlen Specter's latest manouver, I want you to understand something about this man...He is 'our' Senator from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and I have watched this weasel move for many years...Specter was the supposed originator of the 'single bullet' theory for the Warren Commission, investigating the JFK assassination...He is an errand boy for the Crypts/Zionists/CIA, whatever you want to call the international crime family...Please read this report of his intimidation of witnesses in Dallas shortly after the JFK murder...This Specter is a liar and a piece of work....Here is the testimony from a withess he intimidated in the wake of the JFK assassination, Mrs. Jean Hill:
Quote from Jean Hill:
"The FBI took me to Parkland Hospital. I had no idea what I was doing there. They escorted me through a labyrinth of corridors and up to one of the top floors of Parkland. I didn't know where we were. They took me into this little room where I met Arlen Specter. He talked to me for a few minutes, trying to act real friendly, then this woman, a stenographer, came in and sat behind me. He had told me that this interview would be confidential, then I looked around and this woman was taking notes. I reminded him that the discussion was to be private and he told the woman to put down her notebook, which she did. But when I looked around again she was writing. I got mad and told Specter, 'You lied to me. I want this over.' He asked me why I wouldn't come to Washington, and I said, 'Because I want to stay alive.' He asked why I would think that I was in danger and I replied, 'Well, if they can kill the President, they can certainly get me!' He replied that they already had the man that did it and I told him, 'No, you don't!'
He kept trying to get me to change my story, particularly regarding the number of shots. He said I had been told how many shots there were and I figured he was talking about what the Secret Service told me right after the assassination. His inflection and attitude was that I knew what I was supposed to be saying, why wouldn't I just say it. I asked him, 'Look, do you want the truth or just what you want me to say?' He said he wanted the truth, so I said, 'The truth is that I heard between four and six shots.' I told him, 'I'm not going to lie for you.' So he starts talking off the record. He told me about my life, my family, and even mentioned that my marriage was in trouble. I said, 'What's the point of interviewing me if you already know everything about me?' He got angrier and finally told me, 'Look, we can even make you look as crazy as Marguerite Oswald [Lee Oswald's mother] and everybody knows how crazy she is. We could have you put in a mental institution if you don't cooperate with us.' I knew he was trying to intimidate me....
He finally gave me his word that the interview would not be published unless I approved what was written. But they never gave me the chance to read it or approve it. When I finally read my testimony as published by the Warren Commission, I knew it was a fabrication from the first line. After that ordeal at Parkland Hospital, they wrote that my deposition was taken at the U.S. attorney's office in the Post Office Building."
Specter shift puts Dems near filibuster-proof mark
AP
By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent David Espo, Ap Special Correspondent – Tue Apr 28, 7:24 pm ET
WASHINGTON – Veteran Republican Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania switched parties Tuesday with a suddenness that seemed to stun the Senate, a moderate's defection that pushed Democrats to within a vote of the 60 needed to overcome filibusters and enact President Barack Obama's top legislative priorities.
Specter, 79 and seeking a sixth term in 2010, conceded bluntly that his chances of winning a Pennsylvania Republican primary next year were bleak in a party grown increasingly conservative. But he cast his decision as one of principle, rather than fueled by political ambition as spurned GOP leaders alleged.
"I have found myself increasingly at odds with the Republican philosophy and more in line with the philosophy of the Democratic Party," he said at a news conference. He added, "I am not prepared to have my 29 year record in the United States Senate decided by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate."
Not long after Specter met privately with Republican senators to explain his decision, the party's leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell, said the switch posed a "threat to the country." The issue, he said, "really relates to ... whether or not in the United States of America our people want the majority party to have whatever it wants, without restraint, without a check or balance."
As a result of last fall's elections, Democrats control the White House and have a large majority in the House. Specter's switch leaves them with 59 Senate seats. Democrat Al Franken is ahead in a marathon recount in Minnesota. If he ultimately defeats Republican Norm Coleman, he would become the party's 60th vote — the number needed to overcome a filibuster that might otherwise block legislation.
Specter, who has a lifelong record of independence, told reporters, "I will not be an automatic 60th vote." As evidence, he pointed out he opposes "card check" legislation to make it easier for workers to form unions, a bill that is organized labor's top priority this year.
His move comes as Democrats are looking ahead to battles on health care, energy and education.
Specter was one of only three Republicans in Congress who voted for Obama's economic stimulus bill earlier this year, a measure the senator said was needed to head off the threat of another Great Depression.
Specter called the White House on Tuesday to notify Obama of his decision to switch. The president called back moments later, according to spokesman Robert Gibbs, to say the Democratic Party was "thrilled to have you."
Several officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said discussions of a possible switch had reached into the White House in recent days, although Gibbs said he had no details.
Gibbs said Obama would raise money for Specter as well as campaign personally for him if asked.
Specter told reporters at his news conference that Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat, had suggested a meeting in Washington for this week at which the party's leadership could formally "endorse my candidacy."
In Pennsylvania, State Rep. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, swiftly announced he was no longer interested in running for the Senate next year. The only announced Democratic candidate has been ` Torsella, chairman of the State Board of Education.
Among Republicans, former Rep. Pat Toomey is expected to run. He had been poised to challenge Specter, who defeated him narrowly in a 2004 primary.
"I welcome Senator Specter and his moderate voice to our diverse caucus," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in a statement that was a jab at the Republicans.
Other Democrats spread the word on Twitter in a way that reflected surprise. "Specter to switch parties? Wow," said a message sent by Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri.
At his news conference, Specter grew animated as he blamed conservatives for helping deliver control of the Senate to Democrats in 2006, making it impossible to confirm numerous judicial appointees of former president George W. Bush.
"They don't make any bones about their willingness to lose the general election if they can purify the party. I don't understand it, but that's what they said," he added.
Ironically, Specter had spoken recently about the importance of a strong Republican presence in the Senate.
"If we lose my seat they have 60 Democrats, they will pass card check, you will have the Obama tax increases, they will carry out his big spending plans. So the 41st Republican, whose name is Arlen Specter, is vital to stopping tax increases, passage of card check and the Obama big spending plans."
Pennsylvania has voted increasingly Democratic in recent elections, and Obama's candidacy in 2008 prompted thousands of voters to switch their registration to his party. Specter said their migration had left the GOP primary electorate "very far to the right."
After nearly six full terms in the Senate, Specter is one of a handful of moderate Republicans left, a politician of remarkable resilience who has maneuvered successfully to protect his seat at home and his seniority rights in Congress.
In line to become chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2004, he was forced to reassure conservatives he would not attempt to thwart them on Bush's conservative judicial nominees. As a senior lawmaker on the Senate Appropriations Committee, he is responsible for a steady stream of federal projects in his state.
In recent years, he has battled Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymphatic system, but maintains a busy schedule that includes daily games of squash.
Specter was the sixth senator to switch parties in the past 15 years, and the first to leave the Republicans since former Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont became an independent in 2001. Jeffords' defection gave Democrats control of the Senate. Reid, then the second-ranking Democrat, played a role in that change, as well, offering to give up a committee chairmanship so Jeffords could retain it.
As one of the most senior Republicans in the Senate, Specter held powerful positions on the Judiciary and Appropriations committees. It was not clear how Democrats would calculate his seniority in assigning committee perches.
As recently as late winter, he was asked by a reporter why he had not taken Democrats up on past offers to switch parties.
"Because I am a Republican," he said at the time.
Tuesday's switch was not Specter's first.
He was a Democrat until 1965, when he ran successfully on the Republican ticket for district attorney in Philadelphia.
___
Associated Press Writers Julie Hirschfeld Davis, Laurie Kellman, Liz Sidoti, Andrew Taylor and Erica Werner contributed to this story from Washington. Peter Jackson contributed from Harrisburg, Pa.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090428/ap_on_go_co/us_specter_switch
Link to Specter and JFK Coverup
http://www.geocities.com/zrrifle99/
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