Senator Arlen Specter: The 60th Vote

Wednesday, 01 July 2009 15:51

To:           Interested Parties
From:     Rob Jesmer, NRSC Executive Director
Re:           Senator Arlen Specter: The 60th Voteth Vote
Date:       July 1, 2009

After a hard-fought campaign to ensure that no Minnesotan was disenfranchised in 2008, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled yesterday in favor of Democrat Al Franken, ending the Senate recount. The outcome – while disappointing for Republicans – will have important national implications for Democrats across the country, including recent Democrat convert U.S. Senator Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania.

The Democrats’ 60-vote Senate supermajority ends the era of excuses and finger-pointing, and it increases the pressure for supposedly “moderate” Democrats such as Senator Specter. Specter will effectively serve as the 60th vote on a number of controversial measures championed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the Obama Administration, including government-run health care, card check, and cap-and-tax.

On the critical issue of health care reform, Senate Democrats have already clearly stated that they don’t intend to work with Republicans if they don’t have to. According to Politico last month, “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he’ll ditch bipartisanship in the Senate if it means getting a health care reform bill.”

Earlier this week, the White House refused to rule out tax hikes on the middle-class to pay for health care – something the President pledged that he would never do as a candidate on the campaign trail. According to a new national poll released today, “most people worry that their health care costs would go up if the administration’s proposals passed and only one in five thinks that his or her families would be better off under the Obama plan.”

The White House’s waffling comes less than a week after Specter completely reversed his position on government-run health care. Shortly after his switch to the Democrat Party, Specter flatly ruled out supporting a public option, but now facing plummeting poll numbers, told a group of union activists last week that he backs a public health insurance option.

Clearly, with the Democrats obtaining 60 votes in the Senate, Specter will be under intense pressure to back the President’s plan – even if it ultimately means higher health care costs for middle-class families and small businesses in Pennsylvania.

In March, while still a member of the Republican Party and facing the prospect of a conservative primary challenger, Specter definitively rejected the Democrats’ card check legislation, taking to the floor of the U.S. Senate to outline his opposition to the union-backed bill in an impassioned and lengthy speech.

Since his conversion, however, Specter has drastically changed his tune on card check, repeatedly promising union activists that they will “be satisfied” with his vote on their desired legislation. Specter even acknowledged the political implications of card check, saying, “I feel the heat, and I know it.”

Now with the Democrats’ new supermajority, Senator Specter will certainly face new challenges and pressures in Washington – especially as he attempts to appeal to Democrat primary voters once U.S. Representative Joe Sestak (D-PA) makes his widely-anticipated entrance into the primary fracas.

Will Senator Specter serve as the Democrats’ 60th rubber stamp on critical issues such as health care and card check? Or will he represent his constituents with the so-called “independent voice” he promised when he switched political parties earlier this year?

Clearly, Specter’s decision will have a major impact on his 2010 re-election prospects.