Arlen Specter

Arlen Specter ( born February 12, 1930 in Wichita, Kansas; † 14 October 2012 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ) was an American politician and U.S. Senator for the state of Pennsylvania.

Life

Arlen Specter grew up in Wichita and Russell; his father was a Jewish immigrant from Ukraine. Arlen Specter attended after high school, first the University of Oklahoma, followed by the University of Pennsylvania with a major in " International Relations ". He received his degree he acquired there in 1951, after which he studied law at the Law School of Yale University. In 1956 he was admitted to the bar in Pennsylvania. He worked in private practice and later as a prosecutor under James Crumlish. On the recommendation of then- Congressman Gerald Ford Specter was assistant to a member of the Warren Commission, which investigated the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

His wife Joan Specter was a member of the City Council of Philadelphia, in which it was (instead of in a specific district ) elected city-wide. In February 2005, Specter announced that he was suffering from Hodgkin 's lymphoma. Despite the advanced stage of cancer Senator Specter continued working during his chemotherapy. With the end of treatment in July 2005, he was considered cured.

Political career

Arlen Specter competed in 1965 as a registered member of the Party of the Democratic Party for the Republicans for the office of District Attorney, defeating the incumbent and former manager James Crumlish. After the election win, he changed his party affiliation logical. He was re-elected once, but lost in 1973 his challenger. After that, he worked again as a lawyer, but he defended inter alia the murderer Ira Einhorn. In 1976 he entered the Republican primaries for the office of U.S. Senator, but was defeated by John Heinz. Was already defeated Specter in the primaries in 1978, when he wanted to apply for the post of governor of Pennsylvania. In 1980 he succeeded to be elected U.S. Senator for Pennsylvania, he has since been confirmed in every election in office.

From 1995, when the Republicans gained the majority in the Senate until 1997 he was Chairman of the Senate Committee on intelligence. In 1996 he ran for the Republican nomination in the presidential campaign, gave this goal, however, relatively early on. 1997-2001 he chaired the Committee on Veterans Affairs, to the Republicans lost their majority in the Senate. After they had won a majority in 2003, he was again chairman of this committee. 1998 and 1999 was one of Specter to the critics of the impeachment of Bill Clinton. Conservative critics called him before his change of party a " RINO " ( Republican in name only = english name only a Republican ). For example, criticized Congressman Pat Toomey in the primary campaign in 2004 that Specter was too liberal to represent the Republicans can. Specter was able to win with 52% against Toomey and eventually won in the Senate elections in November to Democrat Joe Hoeffel. Specter of Pennsylvania was the first senator who served five terms of office by his re-election.

As a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee Specter took over the chairmanship of this committee on January 4, 2005. His predecessor was the Democrat Patrick Leahy, Orrin Hatch before. The committee, which is responsible for the confirmation of Judge Appointments by the President, he has great influence on the future jurisprudence of the Supreme Court. He was nationally recognized for his role as an opponent of the nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court known as well for his defense of Justice Clarence Thomas and his participation in a 30 - hour speech marathon, which was directed against the practice of Filibuster on Judge appointments. More recently, Specter gained attention when he expressed controversial views on the future of the Supreme Court; in particular he warned President George W. Bush about the dangers of nominations of judges candidates holding the abortion case Roe v. Wade ruling in spoken wrong. After the Democrats in the election in November 2006, took back the majority, Specter was forced to cede to the chair of the Judiciary Committee, Leahy again. In May 2010, he led before the Criminal Law Committee of the Judiciary Committee, a hearing in which he entered on the Siemens corruption scandal. Even the paid by the company $ 800 million penalty was not enough for him. The lack seen from him: " And no one went to jail. "

He was a long time member of the Republican and until 2009 the longest-serving senator. On 28 April 2009 he announced that he would change his party affiliation and again to switch to the Democrats. As his Senate seat decency in November 2010 for reelection to Specter had to face in May 2010 of a code, but he was defeated his challenger Joe Sestak. He therefore resigned in 2011 out of the Senate. Subsequently, he was a lecturer at his alma mater.

Positions

Specter was prior to joining the Democrats to the moderate Republicans. He was classified as pro-choice. For various occasions he himself has criticized John Ashcroft, Minister of Justice under President George W. Bush, President Bush and fierce.