Video: Specter says he would have cured Kemp if GOP had listened
posted at 8:47 am on May 4, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
Arlen Specter went a bit too far after being asked to justify his party switch yesterday. Specter told Face the Nation that had the GOP listened to him and spent billions more dollars in the “war on cancer,” Jack Kemp would still be alive:
Greg Hengler calls this “demagoguery,” and it’s one of the worst types. Had Kemp’s body even started to cool before Specter exploited his death for his own political gain? Specter certainly could have stuck with his own battles with cancer, and that would have been fair game, but to claim that he could have saved Kemp if only the GOP had spent a little more like drunken sailors between 2001-6 is just despicable.
It’s also a grotesque lie. During Republican control of Congress, federal spending on health research and regulation increased 46% after inflation, from $49 billion a year to $72 billion a year, or about 7% increase each year. That’s almost the same rate of increase as Defense spending got in the same period (48%), when we actually had a real war on our hands, and not a political contrivance for excusing federal spending.
And Specter wonders why he can’t get within 20 points of Pat Toomey in a primary race?
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2 3 Next »
This moron is over the top. It’s like John Edwards saying that if we just go after all the stem cells, Christopher Reeves would walk again. Thank you, Pennsylvania. A state that’s a real shot in the arm for public education. And you thought South Carolina was the prime home for the dumb!
kens on May 4, 2009 at 10:05 AM
When Arlen Specter became a Democrat, the average IQ of both parties went up 10%.
warbaby on May 4, 2009 at 10:06 AM
Just stoopid. You can’t sure stoopid.
tarpon on May 4, 2009 at 10:08 AM
Kemp’s office announced in January that he had been diagnosed with an unspecified type of cancer. By then, however, the cancer was in an advanced stage and had spread to several organs,
Really Mr.Specter. Really?
canditaylor68 on May 4, 2009 at 10:10 AM
Purgatario, eh? I think some Pennsylvanians would agree with you two!!!
Branch Rickey on May 4, 2009 at 10:10 AM
Biden/Specter in 2012! The nation will already be in a smoldering ruins after four years under the filthy liar, might as well get the entertainment value of a team that resembles those cranky old guys on the Muppet show.
highhopes on May 4, 2009 at 10:11 AM
Branch Rickey on May 4, 2009 at 10:21 AM
Spector and his new pals would actually discourage new R&D.
RobCon on May 4, 2009 at 10:23 AM
Let’s see, so he sounds just like John Edwards, and he’s supposed to be the sort of “moderate Republican” that the GOP builds upon? Just more proof that SPECTRE was never on our side, anyway.
Maybe Arlen promised to a cure for the environment if Obama brought him on board the Dem steamroller.
hawksruleva on May 4, 2009 at 10:24 AM
I cannot describe how much this “man” angers me. I was still trying to figure out if he is just plain stupid, blind or whatever reason for all his nonsense. But after I read this I think it’s all of the above, plus one more thing: Dem stronghold tactics. I doubt they had to really try though. He knows they’re his last hope. And I will laugh out loud when they snuff him out of his political seat too. Arrogant selfserving piece of trash…
roopster217 on May 4, 2009 at 10:26 AM
Benedict Arlen, with socialized deathcare coming, all it would have paid for is a hospice or euthanasia. See: Oregon state deathcare. They already do this.
ex-Democrat on May 4, 2009 at 10:28 AM
It appears that you only have to tack a “D” after your name to drain away a handful of IQ points.
He’ll be able to understand his dem colleagues much better now.
caygeon on May 4, 2009 at 10:35 AM
Let go of the hate, Arlen.
argos on May 4, 2009 at 10:40 AM
I will be so happy when Specter is defeated in 2002. Is there anyway that Pennsylvania could recall this moron?
SC.Charlie on May 4, 2009 at 10:43 AM
Where’s Gibbsy to tell us what Specter meant to say?
Christien on May 4, 2009 at 10:49 AM
I was only mildly surprised to read on Wikipedia that Specter was a registered Democrat when he first ran on a Republican ticket. Is that well-known (and also considering the source, is it true)?
DarkCurrent on May 4, 2009 at 10:50 AM
WE DIDN’T LISTEN!!!
alteredbeat on May 4, 2009 at 11:07 AM
This is the man W entrusted to shepherd his judicial nominations. A huge mistake, and if W had consulted the right people he might not have to rely on hindsight for that conslusion. Specter has been a 40-year sleeper agent who just came in from the cold last week. How is it that some people are just finding that out, yet some have known it all along?
curved space on May 4, 2009 at 11:09 AM
Well if it’s cancer you want to bring into the arena Mr Specter, then may I say that I hope you die of it as soon as possible.
Sharke on May 4, 2009 at 11:09 AM
And Obama thought that he is Jesus.
Schadenfreude on May 4, 2009 at 11:11 AM
Wow. Talk about thumbing your nose at the kharma train…
LtE126 on May 4, 2009 at 11:12 AM
And Specter went on to say that if Obama is re-elected, Christopher Reeve will walk again.
drjohn on May 4, 2009 at 11:20 AM
I’d like to say Specter is the poster child for why we should NEVER tolerate RINOs but that title was taken long, long ago by McCain…
CC
CapedConservative on May 4, 2009 at 11:21 AM
Hey Arlen, you know what? People die, you too will die, and probably sooner than you think.
kirkill on May 4, 2009 at 11:23 AM
Time to take this drooling, babbling, senior citizen to the home….
dogsoldier on May 4, 2009 at 11:32 AM
what a low life POS, starting at about 50 seconds, he says that if the research was done, kemp would be alive, then at about one minute, he says that because of that research he is alive, am i wrong, i know one thing im not wrong about, he is a dick/douche bag/POS, whatever, all them old phuckers need to get the F out
cando333 on May 4, 2009 at 11:32 AM
I can’t believe this guy is human much less a senator. What a despicable hunk of flesh. Can’t wait to hear from Mark Levin.
dalec on May 4, 2009 at 11:34 AM
F-U, Specter.
Don’t even reach across the aisle or even look our way.
Wer’e done with your sorry butt
ToddonCapeCod on May 4, 2009 at 11:43 AM
Wow… just wow….
Stupid is as stupid does…
E L Frederick (Sniper One) on May 4, 2009 at 11:44 AM
This guy truly is a democrat. He proves his despicability by making stupid comments about recently deceased people. I thought this POS was fighting cancer himself, and then he makes remarks like this?
And then of course he wasn’t challenged about it either. In the liberal world, anything goes. How degrading.
cjs1943 on May 4, 2009 at 11:46 AM
If Mr. Specter truly believes what he says, then it would be true for every cancer patient, suffering, and struggling thru this disease.
If the facts are, that Mr. Kemps cancer was spread to major organs already, his chances were slim, from the get go. He probably fought, the good fight, and did it with grace, and strength, and dignity. To sit here now, and say you “could have healed” him….is untrue at best, and vile at worst.
Watch what you say Mr. Specter. Anything you say, can , and will be used against you, in a voting booth. I hope!!!
capejasmine on May 4, 2009 at 11:50 AM
When Arlen Specter became a Democrat, the average IQ of both parties went up 10%.
warbaby on May 4, 2009 at 10:06 AM
+10
itsspideyman on May 4, 2009 at 11:53 AM
Wow … Specter certainly has picked up the ‘Dem lingo hasn’t he?
PackerBronco on May 4, 2009 at 11:54 AM
Any RINO’s still going to defend him?
Elric66 on May 4, 2009 at 11:58 AM
What a loon. Good riddance!
n0doz on May 4, 2009 at 12:01 PM
Specter is a certified Democrat now, with all the requisite attributes: Arrogance, stupidity, no sense of responsibility, and a big mouth.
Socratease on May 4, 2009 at 12:11 PM
Naturally, he has been indoctrinated into the “Messiah’s” camp. Now feels like he can “walk on water”, too.
hillbilly on May 4, 2009 at 12:28 PM
Perhaps he should save his healing powers , and use it on his brain!!!
capejasmine on May 4, 2009 at 12:30 PM
I regret having voted for this clown before when I lived in PA in the 90s, but the alternatives were far worse.
gsherin on May 4, 2009 at 12:39 PM
This man needs to be punched at least as many times as he was re-elected, just to even the score.
Cylor on May 4, 2009 at 12:39 PM
He was all those things when he was RINO too. The difference is that he’s among his own kind now. Like Jeffords, he will become irrelevant very quickly when he isn’t “mavericky” but simply one of the bleeting herd of mindless drones that support every single initiative coming out of the filthy liar’s administration. Here’s hoping the rat bastard traitor gets swept up in the firestorm of public outrage that will ulitmately take the filthy liar down a few pegs and send him back to his roots as a Chicago thug.
highhopes on May 4, 2009 at 12:39 PM
That’s way out of line.
therightwinger on May 4, 2009 at 12:50 PM
Ed refers to a Heritage foundation paper about Federal spending in 2001-2006 to say
That’s Fed research and regulation spending on everything from anthrax vaccines to inspecting meat plant for salmonella contamination. Here’s a more relevant number: adjusted for inflation, the budget of the National Cancer Institute grew from $4.33 billion to $4.74 billion between 2001 and 2006, an average increase of just 1.4% per year. This is while defense spending rose at an average clip of 8.2% a year.
Or here’s another way to look at it:
550,000 Americans die of cancer every year, about 3,300,000 over the 6 years of the Heritage study. Over these same years about 7,000 Americans died due to terrorism/islamist insurgence (3,000 here in the US plus another 4,000 over in the desert). Still, while cancer death outnumber war/terrorism death by a factor of almost 500, we spent $521 billion on defense in 2006, more than a hundred times what we spent on finding a cure to cancer.
factoid on May 4, 2009 at 12:53 PM
Follow this link to learn more about the Party Of Arlen.
LFRGary on May 4, 2009 at 12:55 PM
!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NUTS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
canopfor on May 4, 2009 at 1:25 PM
Arlen: Consider the shark jumped! Have a nice retirement.
Mallard T. Drake on May 4, 2009 at 1:50 PM
So how exactly was this moron elected year after year? This reminds me of John Edwards(who may be going to jail soon, lol) saying if Kerry is elected Christopher Reeves would walk again.
jeffn21 on May 4, 2009 at 2:16 PM
What a reprehensible piece of excrement this character is. The prime belief of any Demodouche is that if you throw money at it, you’ll fix the problem, so Defector is now in perfect ideological company. What a scumbag, I can’t say it enough. After he loses in PA, he can run for Senate in Missouri where they love assisine disease pathos demagoguery.
Western_Civ on May 4, 2009 at 2:33 PM
Talk about their head, up their colon. This idiot should have quit when he was ahead.
byteshredder on May 4, 2009 at 2:33 PM
I feel I must apologize, as a citizen of Pennsylvania. I have no idea why we produce such bad crop sometimes, though our corn and soybean production make this state a beautiful one to live in. Of course, if you are away from Harrisburg.
I can’t wait till we get rid of these twats; though I am torn on Ridge because he is from here and as I understand as PA Gov. he did take care of the west end of the state. He, in fact, introduced Sarah at her impromptu stop in Erie.
At least there is a chance, soon, that all these wrongs can be fixed in ’10. Cannot read posts right now as I am very busy, but since this concerns PA I will be on watch.
Just don’t trash us, the population. I did not vote for that _______________________________________________________.
ProudPalinFan on May 4, 2009 at 2:35 PM
I forgot to add, someone please hand me a 2 by 4, maybe that will speed up retirement.
ProudPalinFan on May 4, 2009 at 2:36 PM
Let’s see if Rick Santorum will give it another shot. Ridge is OK but he sure is not an orator or heavy thinker.
KW64 on May 4, 2009 at 2:36 PM
Jack Kemp would have spent the money defending our freedom and fighting terrorism.
rockmom on May 4, 2009 at 2:48 PM
The issue is not how many people died due to terrorism or foreign invasion. It is how many would have died, how much property would hae been stolen or destroyed, how many people would have been abused or enslaved if we did not spend on defense, intelligence, police etc. Is the money spent on prevention against any peril wasted if the peril does not happen or does the peril not happening show the expenditure was a success?
KW64 on May 4, 2009 at 2:54 PM
LOL
maverick muse on May 4, 2009 at 2:58 PM
Is Specter had listened to Kemp, Specter wouldn’t have voted against the Republicans for Obama’s National Bankruptcy Socialism.
maverick muse on May 4, 2009 at 3:01 PM
Douche-icrat.
jdkchem on May 4, 2009 at 3:08 PM
Whoa, that’s just . . . yeah, you Democrats can have this crass POS.
NoLeftTurn on May 4, 2009 at 3:20 PM
The New Messiah.
Sultry Beauty on May 4, 2009 at 3:41 PM
This must have been part of the Democrats’ deal for taking him in- he had to make X number of ludicrous remarks a week, to make Obama look eloquent. Joe Biden got the same deal. Nancy Pelosi just works that way on principle, for free.
evergreen on May 4, 2009 at 4:01 PM
How did man manage to discover fire without Congress there to allocate the funds for flint and wood?
Terrye on May 4, 2009 at 5:43 PM
Man am I glad I never voted for that jacka$$.
DDT on May 4, 2009 at 6:08 PM
:)
Mark30339 on May 4, 2009 at 7:12 PM
Just when you think this contemptible cretin has reached the bottom of the barrel, he digs a little deeper.
Yesterday, I wouldn’t have believed Specter could do anything to make himself any more repugnant.
Unbelievable.
cruadin on May 4, 2009 at 8:07 PM
Neither party has done enough for Cancer but then that’s the goal. Do you realize how much money depends on victims of this illness staying consistent.
I got a dose of reality watching a documentary a few years ago about clinical trials. (I was interested because my mom was dying from breast cancer.) It showed a clinical trial of children who had a rare version of childhood leukemia and the medication they were being given seemed to be curing several of the children. The doctor was so excited and called the pharmaceutical company requesting more of this medication…it showed her literally crying because the rep told her that they decided to stop making this medication. They explained that since it wasn’t a common type of leukemia…they’d lose money. They put shareholders over some dying children…that they had a cure for.
beekiller on May 4, 2009 at 8:19 PM
This is the dumbest comparison I’ve heard in a long time.
We did not spend all those billions so that 7,000 Americans WOULD die from terrorism. We spent them so that millions WOULD NOT die from terrorism.
What a bunch of morons these lefties are.
seanrobins on May 4, 2009 at 8:22 PM
Do you mean the first time he became a democrat 1960′s? You must because he was never really a true republican. He ran on the republican ticket because it was convenient for him to do so. Not out of any conservative conviction.
Paco on May 4, 2009 at 10:01 PM
Specter is now officially a Democrat in thought, word and deed.
AaronGuzman on May 4, 2009 at 10:15 PM
And this is the sort of guy that we should be afraid of losing from the “Big Tent?”
If you listen to the RINOs, it’s guys like this that we need to keep us from the political wilderness for the next 40 years.
I say, whatever. I’d rather not have a majority in congress for the rest of my life than have garbage like this infest the party.
12thMonkey on May 5, 2009 at 12:46 AM
Yep, and President Kerry and Edwards can make the cripple walk. These folks take themselves just a tad too serious.
On the campaign trail this week, John Edwards said this: “We will do stem cell research. We will stop juvenile diabetes, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and other debilitating diseases. America just lost a great champion for this cause in Christopher Reeve. People like Chris Reeve will get out of their wheelchairs and walk again with stem cell research.”
DanaSmiles on May 5, 2009 at 8:07 AM
TERM LIMITS~~~NO OTHER CHOICE.
volsense on May 5, 2009 at 8:48 AM
Latest from the Corner on Ridge. If Ridge runs against Toomey, the party is more fractured than ever. How the party could support Ridge over Toomey is almost as puzzling as how the party supported Specter over Toomey in 2004. As always, the only thing worse than a liberal democrat is a moderate republican.
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Y2M3YWUxZWE5YTZlNzI5MGRkYzM5YmQ4NDkwMTAzNDA=
Tom Ridge in Congress [David Freddoso]
We keep hearing again and again that Tom Ridge is a supporter of abortion rights and that he’s less conservative than Pat Toomey. Both statements are correct. But just what kind of Congressman was he?
Fact is, it really depends on what year you’re looking at. He moved from left to right over time. Near the end of his congressional career, as he prepared his gubernatorial run, Ridge was a 60-70 percent voter on the American Conservative Union’s issues. Earlier on, he voted like a moderate Democrat, with ratings as low as the 30s.
A few key votes that Ridge took: He voted to expand welfare eligibility (1984), to fund abortions with public money, and in favor of the fairness doctrine (in 1987). Ridge voted against an early school choice program in 1992. He also voted for a number of union priorities — in 1988, he voted to re-hire the air traffic controllers who had gone toe-to-toe with President Reagan seven years earlier and lost. Ridge voted against SDI repeatedly, and against some tax cuts.
The bottom line is that as a member of Congress, Tom Ridge had a liberal streak that goes far beyond abortion. But his record still puts him to the right of Arlen Specter.
Angry Dumbo on May 5, 2009 at 10:23 AM
Honestly, can the GOP afford to have Pa. pro-lifers stay at home? This is beyond stupid. That Ridge is even under consideration shows how little shame the losers who run the party have.
Angry Dumbo on May 5, 2009 at 10:25 AM
Arrogant and Stupid is always fun to watch…
sabbott on May 5, 2009 at 10:48 AM
Arlen…step away from the hole and put down the shovel!
sabbott on May 5, 2009 at 10:49 AM
Fun to watch if you are a Democrat. The marketplace of ideas requires that in a two party system there have to be two schools of thought. Republicans do not win being Democrat lite. Fiscal conservative, social liberal is liberal. Honestly, how many Democrats market themselves as fiscal liberals? Wake up and grow a set. Being Conservative means dealing with an antagonistic media, not seeking their approval.
Angry Dumbo on May 5, 2009 at 12:34 PM
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2 3 Next »