Arlen Spectre in More Trouble

It isn't enough that Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Sectre is credibly accused of "warning" George W Bush not to nominate judges that are "too conservative". Spectre has denied making these comments. Now, however, a 1995 letter has surfaced in which he attacks several leaders of the religious right over their pro-life stance. Following are some excerpts:

Ralph Reed, Executive Director of the Christian Coalition, issued a blunt threat: if the 1996 Republican candidate doesn't oppose a woman's right to choose, religious conservatives won't support the ticket.

...I want the Republican Party to stand up for individual freedom and the right to choose.
...
I resent people like Pat Robertson, Ralph Reed, and Pat Buchanan trying to give litmus tests to determine who can be a Republican candidate.

I want to strip the stident anti-choice language from the Republican Party 1996 platform and will lead the fight to do so at the next National Convention.

If Senator Spectre thought he could weather the storm easily it appears he was mistaken. This letter is going to fire up Christian conservative voters, who are widely credited with making up the additional voting margin that put President Bush back into the White House for four more years.

On the one hand, I believe that in order for the Republican Party to maintain it's majority status we must be a "big tent" party. People like Arnold Schwartzenegger and Rudy Guliani help bring additional voters. We must not become like the Democrats and enforce ideological purity on our members.

I am also not a fan of Pat Robertson or Pat Buchanan (or Jerry Falwell, for that matter). I can, however, generally be called a social conservative.

If Arlen Spectre wants to be pro-abortion, er, "pro-choice", that is his right. That doesn't mean, however, that the rest of us have to go along with him. We don't have to acquiesce in his being chairman of the Judiciary committee. I still won't forgive him for voting against Judge Bork, or for his recent lukewarm comments regarding Justice Thomas.

On Tuesday, National Review editoralized in favor of dumping Senator Spectre and keeping Orin Hatch as chairman of the Judiciary Committee:

The public has handed the GOP a mandate to end the Democratic party's unprecedented attempts to filibuster the federal bench. For the second election in a row, voters have increased Republican control of the Senate by electing candidates who have promised to break the judicial gridlock. South Dakotans even ousted head obstructionist Tom Daschle, giving him the inauspicious distinction of becoming the first Senate leader in half a century to lose a reelection. Republican John Thune beat him by mentioning judges at every opportunity.
...
As this struggle looms, Senate Republicans need the steady hand of Utah's Orrin Hatch. His experience as chairman of the Judiciary Committee will prove to be a vital resource in the months ahead. The same goes for the bulk of his staff, which has already confronted Democratic obstinacy and won't waver as it joins the battle once more. Forcing Hatch and his aides to quit the committee over blind obedience to a seniority rule whose purpose is to keep the Republican party strong would be the political equivalent of a self-inflicted wound. Given the extraordinary circumstances, now is the time to make a narrow exception.

I agree; Arlen Spectre is not to be trusted with the chairmanship of such an important committee.