fighting a long time. Rest in peace, Sen. Specter.

Certainly the cream of this crappy crop.

My best memory of him was during the Senate hearings on the Ruby Ridge shooting, he hammered the ATF for the fuck ups that led to the siege.
He will be missed.

RIP Arlen

He suffered a long time -
Peace

One of the last moderate Republicans.

Other issues aside, he was always good for Pennsylvania.

instead of the guy who was actually lying - Clarence Thomas. f him

< Specter was the attack dog for the Republicans, fiercely laying into Anita Hill again and again. He led the strategy to label Hill “nutty and slutty,” the Republicans’ key tactic to discredit Hill as mentally unstable and promiscuous. Watching his slash and burn technique against Hill, who didn’t come forward voluntarily but was subpoenaed to appear, filled me with a rage I have rarely felt before or since.>

http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/05/26/this-one%E2%80%99s-for-you-anita-hill/

.... no good he ever could have done could have made up for the despicable way he treated Anita Hill.

Anita Hill was remarkably calm through the whole awful attack. She's one of my heroes.

that's what I remember of him also...he's mostly responsible for us having that fuckstain Clarence Thomas on the court. Also wasn't he the creater of the "majic bullet" theory regarding the assassination of Pres. John F. Kennedy?

you, you two bit freak show.

but that man lived too damned long. I detested him.

Rest well, Sir.

And maybe that experience helped him to understand how important health care reform is. He not only supported Obamacare, but also supported a public option.

is the way they keep becoming...fewer.

He was a great man.

but I cannot forget what he did to Anita Hill nor can I wish him peaceful rest. Sorry.

Cross gently, Senator.

No fan here (Anita), but not a bad person. Joyous over at Fox, no doubt.

Maybe he'll have a posthumous memoir (like the late Senator Ted Kennedy did: "True Compass&quot where he retracts his "Single Bullet Theory."




Unbelievable how pristine the bullet is. You can be sure that ALL fingerprints have been wiped from it by now....if it can EVEN be found in the National Archives...AT ALL!!

He knew who killed JFK and why..... but he chose the dark side.

true Republican government servants. RIP, Senator Specter, & best wishes and condolences to your family.

In the days after Katrina hit, I got more and more upset, even though i live no where nearby. We had two Senators at the time - Specter and that awful Santorum person.

I called Specter's office crying, and said to the staffer who answered, "listen, that idiot in the White House is letting people die. Your boss is a good man even if he is a Republican. Please tell him he has to do something about this because our useless President won't". I was crying. It was not like me. The poor woman tried to calm me down, but I was too frustrated and angry.

I left my name, and wonder if they put it in some sort of "crank" file...

wishes of condolences to his loved ones .

Condolences to his family. May he rest in peace.

When he switched he voted with us on every issue but one.

And I'll leave it at that.

Didn't your mama teach you that? (and yes, I'm j/k)

One of the few sane Republicans, one who I actually liked.

You know the one in which he yelled at them to: WAIT A MINUTE!

His actions as a U.S. Senator proved with out question that he was a True American, he set aside party politic to do what he though was right for citizens of this country.
The country owes Senator Specter a great debt buy keeping Bork off the Supreme Court. He will be missed.

He was a weasel.

he caused way more harm than good!

"Of course it is necessary to specify how, exactly,
conspiracy theories begin.. Some such theories seem to bubble up spontaneously,
appearing roughly simultaneously in many different social networks; others are initiated
and spread, quite intentionally, by conspiracy entrepreneurs who profit directly or
indirectly from propagating their theories."

~snip~

"Some conspiracy entrepreneurs are entirely sincere;
others are interested in money or power, or in achieving some general social goal."

Conspiracy Theories
Cass R. Sunstein
Adrian Vermeule

Conversely, the false belief in
Santa Claus is justified, because children generally have good reason to believe what
their parents tell them and follow a sensible heuristic (“if my parents say it, it is probably
true”); when children realize that Santa is the product of a widespread conspiracy among
parents, they have a justified and true belief that a conspiracy has been at work.

~snip~

On one reading of Popper’s account, those who accept conspiracy
theories are following a sensible heuristic, to the effect that consequences are intended;
that heuristic often works well but it also produces systematic errors, especially in the
context of outcomes that are a product of social interactions among numerous people.

The magic bullet theory is strengthened by the reputation of Specter and Warren commission, despite the systematic errors relative to the pristine nature of the bullet and the damage it caused.

This is the man who gave the media the idea that public bullshit is plausible news. His mischief contributed to the deterioration of trust both by the public and of the public in government's role at getting at the truth.

rather than become some lobbyist.

And my sympathy to all his family and friends.

I don't know who this is but I hate to hear anyone passing on no matter what side they played for.

About a year ago he went to a comedy club in PA on "open mike night". No pun intended here but he went on stage & killed! He was so funny! Lawrence O'Donnell read about it online and had the reporter that happened to be there on TLW. He (Sen. Spector) just did what anyone does at an open mike night. He gave his first name & waited his turn. (did stand-up myself once upon a time) His jokes were original and his timing was on the money. I was blown away.

So dear Arlen, rest in peace & if you see Teddy or the likes of Groucho or Henny, say hi for us.

from us to your family.

Problematic sometimes (Anita Hill) but had my respect when he became more moderate.

that wingnut from Club for Growth has his seat now

He had the good sense to leave the know nothing party and join normal people in the Senate.

I'm not trolling. I'm telling you seriously: I've experienced Arlen Spector's entire career and must say that he was an overall bad leader who lived too trouble-free and anonymous a life for his traitorous single bullet theory and all the mischief, sickness and grief he caused this country.

So what if he helped stop Bork and gave hell to a few others. He was a major reason that public bullshit first started getting public traction in our media. If I ever met the man I'd tell him just how much I hate his role in ruining this country's search for the truth, in so many ways, at so many times. You have to have lived through his treacherous behavior to say what I'm saying. Good riddance.

The rest of you who didn't live through his political past can carry on and take the high road about him.

don't forget he was #1 in the senate attempting to toss Bill Clinton out after the house impeachment went through

may you Rest in Peace President Kennedy and your son, Senator Bobby, Senator Teddy.
and rest in peace Mr Jim a poster from another board who died of cancer a few years back in his 40s leaving a wife and kids. (who enjoyed talking about this topic but not any other oddity, just this one). A smarter man I never knew.

before the election...

The middle part of the discussion at the link below is a thorough dissection of whether or not Arlen Specter lied when pushing his single-bullet theory.

http://www.patspeer.com/chapter10%3Aexaminingtheexaminations

The evidence is clear that he did. We can only hope he told someone--perhaps his son Shanin--why.