Arlen Specter losing support of Republican peers
With the $789 billion economic stimulus package he helped broker set for a vote in the U.S. House and Senate, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., phoned home Thursday to unhappy members of the Pennsylvania State Republican Committee.
The conference call was initiated by Specter, his office said. It was a “conversation” to explain his thinking for backing the spending plan that Democrats hope will deliver jobs for the tanking U.S. economy.
But a growing chorus of Pennsylvania state Republican officials say their faith in Specter is irretrievably broken.
And some are vowing to defeat Specter in the Republican primary in 2010.
“It’s clear we need a conservative senator who can do the right thing for America,” said Glen Meakem, a conservative talk show host in Pennsylvania.
“It’s over for Arlen. He would do best to retire gracefully,” he said, adding that party leaders across the state have intensified talks about a primary challenge against Specter.
The old GOP adage that it is better to have Specter in the Senate than a Democrat apparently no longer holds true.
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