The Specter Saga
Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee seem ready to support Senator Arlen Specter as Judiciary Committee Chairman, despite vigorous opposition from conservatives. I have been reminded, however, that the formal vote won't take place until January, which means it is possible a sustained grassroots campaign and/or another misstatement by Senator Specter could cause the current likely succession to unravel.

Senator Specter is a pro-abortion advocate who opposed President Reagan's nomination of Robert Bork for the Supreme Court, although he did support the Clarence Thomas nomination and opposed Democrat filibusters of President Bush's recent nominees.

It is hard to say at this point whether Senator Specter will remain faithful to his pledge to bring the Preident's future nominees to the floor. However, it shows how much the ground has shifted on the abortion issue that Specter, at least publicly, now refers to 'prolife' nominees. Back in the Nineties, Specter used inflammatory language such as 'anti-choice' and 'intolerant right' in his 1996 announcement of an unsuccessful presidential bid. The fact that a pro-abortion advocate feels compelled to make this shift in language is encouraging indeed.