Another thing we learned years ago was that the entire scheme was made possible by Senator Arlen Specter, who quietly changed the law allowing US Attorneys to be replaced. Without this change, President Bush could have threatened to fire Christie and the other USA's, but he would not have been able to easily replace them with political hacks. Apparently, Specter inserted the changes to benefit Bush and the Republican party--and after all, it's easy to guess at his motives since Bush and Rove saved in him in his 2004 primary contest, and Republican control of the Senate rested on the upcoming 2006 elections.
But now it's 2009, and suddenly our old neighbor, Arlen Specter, is a Democrat, and he claims has different political loyalties. He needs to tell us about the firing of the U.S. Attorneys and what he was told about it by the Bush Administration. Why did he think the changes he pushed through were desirable? What did the Justice Department tell him? Was the "need" to fire anyone specific mentioned? From my side of the river, I'd like to know if any US Attorneys were specifically mentioned to him. Say, Chris Christie? Or was Bob Menendez's upcoming election in New Jersey mentioned? Democrat Arlen Specter needs to come forward with what he knows.
A review has found that six additional veterans received incorrect doses of radiation during prostate cancer treatment at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center, raising questions about whether still more cases are yet to be discovered.
The VA tried to downplay the additional mistakes, but Congressman Adler and Senator Spector weren't having any of it:
The Department of Veterans Affairs, which has two weeks to file a full report, told the NRC that it was "reporting these six additional events to meet a regulatory requirement, not because of any anticipated harm to these patients."
Still, the finding of new cases now raised concerns for some members of Congress.
"Why didn't they discover it sooner?" Sen. Arlen Specter (D., Pa.), said in an interview yesterday. "Did they deliberately withhold the information?"
U.S. Rep. John Adler (D., N.J.) said he was frustrated that the VA was still finding additional errors.
"These kind of mistakes are unacceptable, and it's time for the VA to conduct a systemwide review of its practices and programs," Adler said.
That's a pretty serious allegation from Specter that they are deliberately withholding information as the investigation is ongoing. With the newly reported cases, that means that 98 men - 86 percent of the total 114 patients - got too much or too little radiation. Congressman Adler has been all over this issue since the news surfaced, participating in hearings and calling for a further look into how these problems could have been allowed to continue. He's also been questioning the explanations the VA has given.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has found that 92 of 116 men treated in the hospital's brachytherapy program received incorrect doses of the radiation seeds, often because they landed in nearby organs or surrounding tissue rather than the prostate. Kao performed the majority of the procedures under a VA contract with the University of Pennsylvania, where he was on staff.
Under questioning from Sen. Arlen Specter, Kao acknowledged that he never informed patients when he missed the prostate or delivered insufficient doses.
Kao, however, said the mistakes did not necessarily amount to substandard care that had to be reported to the NRC or other agencies.
Congressman Adler questioned how the Dr. Kao still even had his medical license. From the NY Times:
Another member of the Congressional panel, Representative John Adler, Democrat of New Jersey, said after the hearing that he was "deeply troubled" by Dr. Kao's unwillingness to acknowledge his personal responsibility for Philadelphia's high failure rate. Mr. Adler expressed similar criticism of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the N.R.C.
"I was very troubled that the veterans administration could not offer a better explanation of how this pattern of substandard care occurred over the course of six years," Mr. Adler said, "and why there were not systems in place to give veterans the quality of care they have earned by serving their country."
And here's video of the hearing from the local ABC affiliate:
From an article on Pittsburghlive.com, we get news about the Pennsylvania US Senate race and the effort to get Joe Sestak to back down from challenging Arlen Specter in the primary:
Word out of Washington, D.C., is that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the political wiseguys from the Obama administration plan on "visiting with" Pennsylvania Democrat Rep. Joe Sestak.
Their objective is clear: Get him off the stage and out of a primary race against incumbent (and now Democrat) Sen. Arlen Specter.
"I have received a call" from DSCC chairman Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Sestak said, "but we keep missing each other."
So the battle lines are drawn: Sestak is not inclined to be pushed out of the race, and Menendez's marching orders from the White House are to shove, not just push.
As many of you know, over the last five days, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, in partnership with a number of progressive organizations and blogs including Senate Guru, asked those in the netroots, "Should a Draft Sestak movement be created to take on Sen. Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary?"
The results are in and they are overwhelming. 85% of Pennsylvanian respondents and 86% of respondents nationally want Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak to challenge Arlen Specter in the 2010 Democratic Senate primary. The poll has even gotten the attention of Congressman Sestak, as the PCCC points out:
"I am honored that so many of you took the time to vote in the recent grassroots Straw Poll. Let me tell you, I and many others were paying attention. If I decide to run it will be in large measure because of the grassroots energy of so many people like you. Until I and my family make that decision, please accept my thanks and my best wishes as you continue be active participants in our people-powered democracy. Thank you so very much!"
Due to such an overwhelming response, a Draft Sestak Fund has been created on ActBlue. To contribute and further encourage Congressman Sestak to enter the race, click on the image below:
If you need any additional motivation to contribute to this effort to draft a real Democrat to oppose Specter in the primary, consider Specter's actions since announcing his Party switch:
1) Specter opposed the Obama budget.
2) Specter opposed the "cramdown" mortgage/bankruptcy reform, siding with banks over families.
3) Specter reiterated his opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act.
4) Specter reiterated his opposition to President Obama's nomination of Dawn Johnsen to the Office of Legal Counsel.
5) Specter announced his support for Republican Norm Coleman over Democratic Senator-elect Al Franken in Minnesota's Senate race.
6) Specter promoted a website that appeared to raise money for cancer research but, in actuality, simply raised money for his campaign.
7) Specter denied reports that he told President Obama that he would be a "loyal Democrat" despite multiple reporters sticking to their story.
The netroots have displayed overwhelming support for Congressman Sestak to take on recently-Republican Arlen Specter. Help the effort by contributing to the Draft Sestak Fund.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, working with a number of progressive organizations and blogs including Senate Guru, has put out a poll to gauge netroots interest - in New Jersey and all across the country - in supporting an effort to draft Congressman Joe Sestak to challenge recently-Republican Arlen Specter in the PA-Sen Democratic primary next year. The poll will be open for the next four days, and provided are both pro and con arguments regarding a draft effort. To read the arguments and vote in the poll, click the below link:
"I think Senator Specter obviously understands that he is now running in a Democratic primary, it is a different universe of voters," Mr. Menendez said. "We are working with Senator Specter and his staff so that he understands the universe that he is in."
I don't really know that this is even an issue, but the Auditor takes a look back at statements by Sen. Bob Menendez surrounding Arlen Specter wondering what he know of the switch and when:
Asked about Specter during an April 13 Statehouse meeting with reporters, Menendez -- head of the Senate Democrats' campaign efforts for 2010 -- said he was watching Specter's upcoming re-election fight "very closely" but didn't pounce.
"Senator Specter has a problem already, obviously, in his own party," Menendez said then, noting that "a couple hundred thousand moderate Republicans" had switched their registration to Democrat in Pennsylvania last year.
"I do believe there is an opportunity in Pennsylvania to pick up a seat, and we are looking at a range of candidates and talking to a lot of candidates," Menendez said. "If we get a good candidate, I think there is a good opportunity."
Then they look at the reaction last week from Senator Menendez following the announcement of the Specter switch which was not surprisingly glowing:
"This one's a game-changer. Specter's move immediately improves the prospects of President Obama's bold change agenda," Menendez wrote in a chest-thumping e-mail blast to supporters.
The note featured an eerily familiar quote from Specter: "Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans."
Asked whether Menendez knew in advance and was keeping his own counsel about Specter's stunning switch, his spokesman, Afshin Mohamadi, declined to comment.
I'd be shocked if Menendez DIDN'T know. He needs to coordinate the actions of the Senate committee and would have to know who his candidate would be I would think. Follow me below the fold for some bumps that remain in the road and let's look at whether Menendez may have a bigger fight on his hands.
Before Arlen Specter's Party switch announcement yesterday, the Senate's Democratic caucus stood at 58 members. Senator-elect Al Franken represented Democrats' 59th vote toward cloture, still short of reliably ending Republican filibusters. But now, with Specter joining the Democratic caucus, Senator-elect Franken represents the big 6-0, which is why Republicans will redouble their efforts to delay Senator-elect Franken's seating - and why we in the netroots must redouble our efforts to send obstructionist Republicans a message and also provide them with adequate disincentive from delaying Senator-elect Franken's seating any further.
Since the "One Dollar a Day to Make Norm Coleman Go Away" effort started just a couple weeks ago, about $40,000 has been raised to remind the Republicans funding Norm Coleman's endless appeals that, for every single day that they delay the implementation of the will of Minnesota voters, progressive voters will raise money to use against these Republicans on Election Day 2010.
Your support will strengthen that message!
Norm Coleman and his fellow Republicans recently scored a success in further delaying Senator-elect Franken's seating, as the trial schedule adopted by the state Supreme Court for Coleman's appeal is such that oral arguments before the Court won't begin until June 1st, over a month from now. Further, although Minnesota election policy dictates that Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty must prepare and sign Senator-elect Franken's election certificate once the state Supreme Court hands down its decision, Pawlenty has hemmed and hawed as to whether he would follow state election policy accordingly.
With a D next to Arlen Specter's name, Republicans will go full force to block Senator-elect Franken's seating. Please join us in eliminating Republicans' incentive to delay Senator-elect Franken's seating any further by taking part in the "One Dollar a Day to Make Norm Coleman Go Away" effort. Above at right is video of the segment on MSNBC's Hardball highlighting the effort.
On the top of the page at Blue Jersey, as I write this, is a banner ad that revolves with a few others at the top of our front page. The ad calls out Senator Arlen Specter, who is a Republican, for working against union labor, support the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).
Here's the ad:
Just a few minutes ago, news broke that Arlen Specter is switching parties, and running as a Democrat in 2010. And that means that labor unions fighting for EFCA are going to have another opponent to deal with: Democrat Arlen Specter. Specter's jump saves him from a primary challenge next year from former Rep. Pat Toomey, who he almost lost to in 2004. Pennsylvania politics shifts on this jump, and Toomey, freed from the primary competition with Specter, will almost certainly be the Republican nominee. And given how far-right he is, he has very little chance of winning that Senate seat.
That makes Arlen Specter ... our issue now. And why I'm writing about it, even though he's not New Jersey's Senator.
This should be slam-dunk great news. After all, when we finally wear out Norm Coleman's endless legal challenges to Al Franken's legitimate win of the Minnesota Senate seat, we should have our filibuster-proof Senate. Right? Well, not exactly. Because Specter made it known right from the start that party-switching isn't going to change his mind - even in union-strong Pennsylvania - about EFCA. That's a huge issue. And that may make Arlen Specter this year's Joe Lieberman.
My change in party affiliation does not mean that I will be a party-line voter any more for the Democrats that I have been for the Republicans. Unlike Senator Jeffords' switch which changed party control, I will not be an automatic 60th vote for cloture. For example, my position on Employees Free Choice (Card Check) will not change.
Specter's jump is very likely a mixed bag. He may caucus with the Democrats, and provided we get Franken seated in this century, that could be valuable. On the other hand, this move also raises the stakes for Norm Coleman in his increasingly desperate attempts to keep Franken from taking his rightful seat. Now, Coleman has even more reason to flail on. And there's more for the Republicans - who have moved so far-right that Specter's actually a Democrat - to lose.
Incidentally, something should be said here about the SEIU ad, above. It isn't easy - particularly in this economy - to keep progressive political blogs supported financially. A long-running ad, like the one SEIU has on Blue Jersey and other progressive blogs right now, is a statement of how fully unions like SEIU stand behind the work we do here, and how important it is to them that people like those in the Blue Jersey community hear their message. That's how I'm seeing Arlen Specter's switch from Republican to Democrat: I want real Democrats.
Here's a couple good things you can do, inside of 2 minutes each:
