Specter took $250K from union buster in 2008, then turned back on workers

FULL ARTICLE
http://talkingunion.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/specter-took-250k-from-union-buster-in-2008-then-turned-back-on-workers/#more-2707

K&R!

They're LOBBYISTS. http://www.blankromegr.com/

BUT where there's SMOKE....

There's something beneath the surface to this. Just need an enterprising DUer who's SMARTER than me (shouldn't be difficult:silly: lol) and a more proficient researcher to see where this goes.

Blank Rome's page at SourceWatch:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Blank_Rome_LLP

Blank Rome LLP has over 425 attorneys who are organized in the following practices: public companies & capital formation, emerging & closely held companies, business tax, customs and international trade private clients, health law, employment, benefits & labor, intellectual property & technology, maritime, matrimonial, real estate, public finance, business restructuring & bankruptcy, financial services, government relations, and litigation including: corporate, commercial, insurance, intellectual property, mass torts and products liability. The firm's offices are located in Pennsylvania; New York; New Jersey; Delaware; Maryland; Ohio; Washington, D.C.; and Florida."

Interesting fact #1: Specter's SECOND largest contributor is Comcast http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?CID=N00001604&cycle=2008
Top Contributors
Senator Arlen Specter
Election Cycle: 2008

Blank Rome LLP $235,450
Comcast Corp $111,100
UPMC Health System $100,750
Goldman Sachs $99,100
Kline & Specter $88,650

Interesting fact #2: One of Blank Rome's biggest clients is...wait for it....COMCAST. According to the Wikipedia entry for Spector:

"Arlen Specter has taken $153,600 in campaign contributions from Comcast or those affiliated with Comcast as employees or through its PAC. The only firm which has given more money to Specter is the law firm Blank Rome, LLP, which represents Comcast and which has given Specter $358,453 although the organization itself did not donate, rather the money came from the organization's PAC, its individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals' immediate families."

Hmmm. Where is this going? Follow the money. ALWAYS follow the money.

DUer DinahMoeHum posted this on a thread about Specter's GRANDSTANDING in the NFL "Spygate" story last year:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3309179

"Spector's motives here ain't exactly as pure as the driven snow."

There are some issues between the NFL, the NFL Network, Spector, and a major $$$ contributor to Spector: Comcast

Link: http://www.edgeofsports.com/2008-03-03-329/index.html

(snip)
Long before Spygate, dating to 1983 according to aides, Specter has railed against the antitrust exemption held by the NFL. He has, his supporters say, objected to the way they can blithely move teams and take public funds to build stadiums. Yet in recent years, the object of Specter's NFL ire has been the NFL Network and its exclusive relationship with DirecTV. The Philadelphia-based Comcast cable company is in a war with the NFL over whether they can charge their customers for the NFL Network, unlike DirecTV.

Here is where we start to get filthy. Specter was described to me by an opponent as "the Senator from the great state of Comcast." Is this fair?

Comcast is the No. 2 source of campaign funds for the Senator. Comcast execs and employees have given a reported $153,600 in contributions, going back to 1989. The No. 1 contributor since '89 is Blank Rome LLC, a lobbying firm that has dumped $358,483 into Specter's coffers. A chief client of Blank Rome is .... wait for it .... Comcast.

Goodell has pulled no punches on Comcast, saying, "They're just finding another way which they can charge our consumers more money. We think it (the NFL Network) should be available on a broader basis." When asked if Specter's vendetta is related to Comcast, Goodell only said, "I'm not addressing that point."

Comcast is VEHEMENTLY opposed to unions and EFCA, and more than likely is one of the largest donors to the anti- EFCA lobby, IN MY HUMBLE OPINION. I can't prove that, but where there's SMOKE....

Follow The MONEY.