Editing Arlen Specter (section)

==Political views==
According to the ''[[National Journal]]'', Specter voted with Democrats 90% of the time after switching parties, while, as a Republican, he split his votes between both parties.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/04/22/v-print/92706/pennsylvanias-specter-runs-again.html |title=Pennsylvania's Specter runs again like he's the underdog &#124; McClatchy |publisher=Mcclatchydc.com |access-date=June 13, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905153834/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/04/22/v-print/92706/pennsylvanias-specter-runs-again.html |archive-date=September 5, 2012 }}</ref> According to [[FiveThirtyEight]], during January–March 2009 Specter voted with the Democrats 58% of the time. Following the support of the stimulus package and the entrance of [[Pat Toomey]] in the Republican primary, Specter began to vote 16% with Democrats. When switching to become a Democrat, he voted 69% with his new party initially, until [[Joe Sestak]] entered the Democratic primary and Specter started to vote with Democrats 97% of the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZRQKn2hBzE |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/mZRQKn2hBzE |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Arlen Specter's Hypocrisy|date=July 28, 2009 |publisher=YouTube|access-date=June 13, 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Abortion===
Specter stated that he was "personally opposed to abortion", but was "a [[pro-choice|supporter of a woman's right to choose]]."<ref name="Issues/choice">{{cite web|url=http://specter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=IssueStatements.View&Issue_id=bd531be8-7e9c-9af9-74ef-d3a53537ede0|title=Senator Arlen Specter: Key Issues|publisher=U.S. Senate website|access-date=April 28, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430013609/http://specter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=IssueStatements.View&Issue_id=bd531be8-7e9c-9af9-74ef-d3a53537ede0&CFID=12556726&CFTOKEN=20000149|archive-date=April 30, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Specter: I'm pro-choice... But I don't make the decisions|url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/11/08/judy.specter/index.html|date=November 9, 2004|access-date=April 30, 2009|work=CNN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425105724/http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/11/08/judy.specter/index.html|archive-date= April 25, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> He received a 20% rating from [[NARAL Pro-Choice America]] in 2005 based on certain votes related to the regulation of abortion. In 2008, he received 100%.<ref>{{cite web |title=2008 Congressional Record on Abortion |url=http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/2008-congressional-record-on-choice.pdf |work=[[NARAL Pro-Choice America]] |access-date=August 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019081419/http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/2008-congressional-record-on-choice.pdf |archive-date=October 19, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===LGBT rights===
Specter's record on [[LGBT social movements|LGBT rights]] was mixed. He voted to prohibit job discrimination based on [[sexual orientation]] and was a co-sponsor of the [[Matthew Shepard Act|Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:SN00909:@@@P|title=Bill Summary & Status – 111th Congress (2009–2010) – S.909|publisher=[[Library of Congress]]|date=July 6, 2009|access-date=August 31, 2010|archive-date=October 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018154402/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:SN00909:@@@P|url-status=dead}}</ref> Specter was opposed to [[same-sex marriage]], but was also opposed to a federal ban and supported [[civil union]]s.<ref name=SpecterOTIs>{{cite web|title=Arlen Specter on the Issues|url=http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Arlen_Specter.htm|work=On the Issues|access-date=April 30, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425223734/http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Arlen_Specter.htm|archive-date=April 25, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> He also became opposed to the [[Defense of Marriage Act]], which he once supported. Specter voted in favor of repealing "[[Don't Ask, Don't Tell]]" in the lame-duck session of the [[111th Congress]].

===Gun control===
Specter strongly opposed most [[gun control]] measures. He voted against the [[Brady Bill]], background checks at [[gun show]]s, the ban on [[assault weapons]], and [[trigger lock]]s for handguns.<ref name="kdka guns">{{cite news|title=Specter Says No To Automatic Weapons Ban |url=http://kdka.com/local/Specter.gun.control.2.987870.html |last=Delano |first=Jon |author-link=Jon Delano |publisher=CBS |work=KDKA-TV website |access-date=April 28, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503140009/http://kdka.com/local/Specter.gun.control.2.987870.html |archive-date=May 3, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Affirmative action===
He supported [[affirmative action]], and voted for the [[Civil Rights Act of 1991]], receiving a 76 percent rating from the [[NAACP]] in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.naacp.org/programs/bureau-dc/report_card/110th_Congress.FINAL.pdf |title=The Federal Civil Rights Legislative Report Card for the 110th Congress (2007–2008)
|publisher=[[NAACP]] |access-date=July 7, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627041720/http://www.naacp.org/programs/bureau-dc/report_card/110th_Congress.FINAL.pdf |archive-date=June 27, 2009 }}</ref>

===Civil rights and U.S. Supreme Court===
Specter voted in favor of the [[Passage of Martin Luther King Jr. Day|bill]] establishing [[Martin Luther King Jr. Day]] as a [[Federal holidays in the United States|federal holiday]] and the [[Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987]] (as well as to override [[Ronald Reagan|President Reagan]]'s veto).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/98-1983/s293|title=TO PASS H.R. 3706. (MOTION PASSED) SEE NOTE(S) 19.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1988/s432|title=TO PASS S 557, CIVIL RIGHTS RESTORATION ACT, A BILL TO RESTORE THE BROAD COVERAGE AND CLARIFY FOUR CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS BY PROVIDING THAT IF ONE PART OF AN INSTITUTION IS FEDERALLY FUNDED, THEN THE ENTIRE INSTITUTION MUST NOT DISCRIMINATE.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1988/s487|title=TO ADOPT, OVER THE PRESIDENT'S VETO OF S 557, CIVIL RIGHTS RESTORATION ACT, A BILL TO RESTORE BROAD COVERAGE OF FOUR CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS BY DECLARING THAT IF ONE PART OF AN INSTITUTION RECEIVES FEDERAL FUNDS, THEN THE ENTIRE INSTITUTION MUST NOT DISCRIMINATE. TWO-THIRDS OF THE SENATE, HAVING VOTED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE, OVERRODE THE PRESIDENTIAL VETO.}}</ref> Specter voted against the [[Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination|nomination of Robert Bork]] to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]], but voted in favor of the nominations of [[Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination|Clarence Thomas]], [[John Roberts Supreme Court nomination|John Roberts]], and [[Samuel Alito Supreme Court nomination|Samuel Alito]]. Specter described Anita Hill's testimony during Thomas' nomination as "perjurious in its entirety."<ref name=Witcover>[[Jules Witcover|Witcover, Jules]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=qUjxEG3yQ7EC&pg=PA429 Joe Biden: a life of trial and redemption], page 429 (HarperCollins, 2010).</ref>

===Tax cuts and minimum wage===
In 1995, he was the only Republican to vote to limit tax cuts to individuals with incomes of less than one million dollars. He voted against [[CAFTA]]. Specter also supported an increase in the federal [[minimum wage]]. He was a leading supporter of the [[United States Public Service Academy|U.S. Public Service Academy]].

===Illegal immigration===
On immigration, Specter supported a "pathway to citizenship" and a "guest worker program", which opponents call [[amnesty]]. He introduced Senate bill S. 2611 (the [[Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006]]) on April 6, 2006, which was passed by the Senate on May 25, 2006, before reaching a stalemate in the House.<ref>{{cite web|title=S.2611, A bill to provide for comprehensive immigration reform and for other purposes|url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN02611:@@@L&summ2=m&|work=Thomas|publisher=Library of Congress|date=May 25, 2006|access-date=April 30, 2009|archive-date=November 27, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081127205936/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN02611:@@@L&summ2=m&|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Health care reform===

====Public option====
On May 3, 2009, Specter went on ''[[Meet the Press]]'' and was asked, "Would you support health care reform that puts up a government-run public plan to compete with a private plan issued by a private insurance company?" Specter responded with "no."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/14884085/Meet-the-Press-May-3-2009-Transcript-and-Video-Link|title=Meet the Press – May 3, 2009 Transcript and Video Link|publisher=Scribd.com|access-date=June 13, 2010|archive-date=November 3, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103042012/http://www.scribd.com/doc/14884085/Meet-the-Press-May-3-2009-Transcript-and-Video-Link|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/specter_disappoints_democrats_now/|title=Specter Disappoints Democrats Now|publisher=Outsidethebeltway.com|date=May 3, 2009|access-date=June 13, 2010}}</ref> Two months later, he changed his position.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XEQ01HXj2M|title=Hypocrisy Alert: Where Does Arlen Specter Stand?|date=July 15, 2009 |publisher=YouTube|access-date=June 13, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100708185259/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XEQ01HXj2M|archive-date=July 8, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Single-payer====
Specter believed a single-payer healthcare system should not be "taken off the table", according to an interview he had with [[John King (journalist)|John King]] on [[CNN]].<ref>{{cite web|title=State of the Union with John King Transcript – August 9, 2009|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0908/09/sotu.04.html|work=CNN.com – Transcripts|publisher=Turner Broadcasting System|access-date=March 18, 2013}}</ref>

====Votes====
On [[Health care reform in the United States|health care reform]], Specter was a co-sponsor of the [[Healthy Americans Act]], a proposal he supported during both the 110th and 111th Congresses. Specter voted for the [[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]], the healthcare bill passed through the Senate by every Democratic senator, on a party-line vote.<ref>{{cite news|title=Specter faces hostile audience at health care forum|publisher=CNN|date=August 11, 2009|access-date=August 11, 2009|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/11/specter.town.hall/index.html}}</ref>

In May 2012, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University Medical Center, and Weill Cornell Medical College presented Specter with the annual Public Service Award for his work in expanding mental health care.<ref>{{cite news|title=Senator Arlen Specter Honored for his Support to Expand Mental Health Care|url=http://weill.cornell.edu/news/pr/2012/05/senator-arlen-specter-honored-for-his-support-to-expand-mental-health-care.html|access-date=October 8, 2014|publisher=Weill Cornell Medical College|date=May 8, 2012}}</ref>

===Card check===
Specter received a 61% rating from the [[AFL–CIO]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Sen Arlen Specter |publisher=AFL–CIO |url=http://www.aflcio.org/cgi-bin/member.pl?state=PA&pg=2&id=76&year=07&congress=s |access-date=April 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504153511/http://www.aflcio.org/cgi-bin/member.pl?state=PA&pg=2&id=76&year=07&congress=s |archive-date=May 4, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He voted for [[cloture]] on the [[Employee Free Choice Act]] in 2007. In early 2009, Specter announced he would not be voting for cloture on the same act in the 111th Congress.<ref>{{cite web |last=Schor |first=Elana |title=Specter: I'll Vote No on Employee Free Choice Act |date=March 24, 2009 |url=http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/03/specter-ill-vote-no-on-employee-free-choice-act.php |work=[[Talking Points Memo]] |access-date=April 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121206002304/http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/03/specter-ill-vote-no-on-employee-free-choice-act.php |archive-date=December 6, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> After Specter switched parties, he changed his position on the issue again, and wrote a letter to the unions indicating he supported [[card check]] legislation.

===Privacy; computers===
Spurred by the 2010 ''[[Robbins v. Lower Merion School District]]'' case, in which two high schools admitted to secretly taking 66,000 webcam photos and screenshots of students in their homes on school-issued laptops, Specter held a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs on March 29, 2010.<ref name="spark">{{cite web|url=http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/031910-pa-school-spy-case-sparks.html |title=Pa. school spy case sparks fight over money |publisher=Network World |access-date=August 12, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323015539/http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/031910-pa-school-spy-case-sparks.html |archive-date=March 23, 2010 }}</ref> He said: "The issue is one of surreptitious eavesdropping. Unbeknownst to people, their movements and activities were under surveillance."<ref name="spark"/> He said that Lower Merion's use of laptop cameras for surveillance convinced him that new federal legislation was needed to regulate electronic privacy.<ref>{{cite web|author=Maryclaire Dale|url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/29/specter-pushes-in-pa-for-electronic-privacy-laws/|title=Specter pushes in Pa. for electronic privacy laws|publisher=SignOnSanDiego.com|date=March 29, 2010|access-date=August 13, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Rao|first=Maya|url=http://www.philly.com/inquirer/breaking/news_breaking/20100329_Specter_wants_to_extend_U_S__privacy_curbs_to_Web-cam_use.html?posted=n|title=Specter wants to extend U.S. privacy curbs to Web-cam use|publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=March 29, 2010|access-date=August 13, 2010}} [https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/03/29-7 Alt URL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615205038/http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/03/29-7 |date=June 15, 2013 }}</ref>

Specter then introduced legislation in April 2010 to amend the federal [[Wiretap Act]] to clarify that it is illegal to capture silent visual images inside another person's home. He said: "This is going to become law. You have a very significant invasion of privacy with these webcams, as more information is coming to light."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq_ed_board/91743474.html|title=No need for Candid Cameras|publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=April 22, 2010|access-date=August 28, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100426135720/http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq_ed_board/91743474.html|archive-date=April 26, 2010}}</ref> Speaking on the floor of the Senate, he said: {{blockquote|Many of us expect to be subject to ... video surveillance when we leave our homes and go out each day—at the ATM, at traffic lights, or in stores, for example. What we do not expect is to be under visual surveillance in our homes, in our bedrooms, and, most especially, we do not expect it for our children in our homes.<ref name="philly22">{{cite web|last=Martin|first=John P.|url=http://www.philly.com/inquirer/front_page/20100416_1_000s_of_Web_cam_images__suit_says.html|title=1,000s of Web cam images, suit says|publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=April 16, 2010|access-date=August 13, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418043454/http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20100416_1_000s_of_Web_cam_images__suit_says.html|archive-date=April 18, 2010}}</ref>}}

===Other===
The Jewish daily newspaper ''[[The Forward]]'' reported in the wake of the [[Operation Bid Rig|July 2009 organ trafficking scandal in the U.S.]] involving Rabbi Levy Izhak Rosenbaum of Brooklyn that an Organ Trafficking Prohibition Act of 2009, sponsored by Specter, had yet to be officially introduced in the U.S.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://forward.com/articles/111473/|title=Kidney Donation Scandal Sparks New Debate Over Specter's Organ Legislation|date=August 5, 2009|publisher=[[The Forward]]|first=Nathan|last=Guttman}}</ref>

Specter criticized the federal government's policy on cancer, stating the day after [[Jack Kemp]]—the 1996 Republican vice presidential nominee and former congressman—died of cancer, that Kemp would still be alive if the federal government had done a better job funding cancer research.<ref>{{cite news|website=Fox News |date=2009-05-04 |title=Specter Claims Kemp Would Be Alive if Congress Better Funded Medical Research }}</ref>

On February 16, 2011, Specter wrote a letter to President Obama. As Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he stated that [[Jonathan Pollard]] should be pardoned. He stated, "Unfortunately, spying is not an uncommon practice even between allies and friendly nations."<ref>{{cite news |first=Gil Stern |last=Hoffman |title=Arlen Spector says Obama should free Pollard |work=Jerusalem Post |date=February 22, 2011 |url=http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Arlen-Spector-says-Obama-should-free-Pollard |access-date=July 25, 2017}}</ref>