Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter
Arlen Specterwas an American lawyer and politician who served as United States Senator from Pennsylvania. Specter was a Democrat from 1951 to 1965, then a Republican from 1965 until 2009, when he switched back to the Democratic Party. First elected in 1980, he represented his state in the Senate for 30 years...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth12 February 1930
CountryUnited States of America
justice important sometimes
The solicitor general is sometimes referred to as the 10th Supreme Court justice - a pretty important position.
election
I've been in a lot of elections.
winning cost united-states
It costs about $27 million to win a seat in the United States Senate, so when you win one, you like to sit down.
vote frequency unwelcome
It is with unwelcome frequency that I find myself the deciding vote.
choices happens
It so happens that I'm pro choice.
people privilege pennsylvania
It's been a great privilege to serve the people of Pennsylvania.
lawyer states position
Lawyers advocate more so than state their own positions.
winning squash definitions
My definition of winning at squash is playing and surviving, and I've never lost a match.
party independent labels
My tenure in the Senate was really as an independent and whichever, regardless of party label.
giving mindset never-give-in
'Never give in' was my mindset.
long people pennsylvania
Pennsylvania is a very tough state; people don't last long in Pennsylvania politics.
mean precedent stability
Stability means respecting precedents.
thinking political want
There's nothing in the First Amendment that even remotely talks about spending money for political contests, and to say that an individual can spend as much of his or her own money as he or she wants constitutionally without any limitation, I think is just absurd.
military oil iraq
We are not utilizing the Iraqi oil for U.S. purposes. We are not asking that the Iraqi oil be used to pay our military expenses. We are asking only that the Iraqi oil be used to rebuild Iraq - that is, to rebuild Iraq for the Iraqi people.