Video: Specter jumps onstage, interrupts Sestak
posted at 4:10 pm on February 1, 2010 by Karl
You stay classy, Senator. Arlen Specter was at it again during a candidate forum over the weekend. This time, the target was his primary rival, Rep. Joe Sestak, who were supposed to be doing separate Q&As:
TPM, which immediately went for the Kanye-esque “Imma Let You Finish…” headline, reports that Specter did not break any rules for the joint appearance. But this episode follows his recent condescending remarks to Rep. Michelle Bachman, for which he was forced to apologize. Arlen Specter is a man seriously in danger of having his report card marked, “Does not play well with others.”
Then again, you might be cranky too, if you were being outpolled and outraised by likely GOP nominee Pat Toomey. But the most recent polls — from Rasmussen and Franklin & Marshall — show Specter besting Sestak in the primary by roughly 20 points.
Is Specter just miffed that he has to go through the motions with Sestak, or are his internal polls telling a different story?
Blowback
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Act like a lady, Joe, and I’ll treat you like one.
BadgerHawk on February 1, 2010 at 4:11 PM
I think Specter has lost his mind.
simkeith on February 1, 2010 at 4:11 PM
Say goodnight Arlen. Enjoy retirement….in another state.
RobCon on February 1, 2010 at 4:12 PM
Palin endorses Rand Paul for Kentucky Senate
commodore on February 1, 2010 at 4:12 PM
Spector is trouble. He is a traitor to his party and civility. He us rude and crude.
seven on February 1, 2010 at 4:12 PM
Arlen! Act like a lady, and stop interrupting. Act like a lady!
capejasmine on February 1, 2010 at 4:12 PM
Some sanitarium just lost an Alzheimers patient.
Fletch54 on February 1, 2010 at 4:13 PM
That’s a good solid B+
FontanaConservative on February 1, 2010 at 4:14 PM
The Dems have to be dreading the possibility of Specter winning a contentious primary battle with Stesak and then getting steamrolled by Toomey.
teke184 on February 1, 2010 at 4:14 PM
what a moran
blatantblue on February 1, 2010 at 4:14 PM
Definitely.
He knows that, after his jumping to the other team, nobody trusts him now.
newton on February 1, 2010 at 4:14 PM
Don’t interrupt him. Act like a gentleman.
Doughboy on February 1, 2010 at 4:14 PM
Once we had an “Act like a lady!” comment this thread was over.
Karl — how did you miss it??
DaydreamBeliever on February 1, 2010 at 4:14 PM
Weasel!
Winebabe on February 1, 2010 at 4:15 PM
Not to criticize your reporting, but I really doubt that Arlen can “jump” anywhere (or anyone).
LASue on February 1, 2010 at 4:16 PM
Beck and Pat destroyed Specter, some of the funniest radio I have ever heard.
Pat’s Specter impersonation cracks me up.
daesleeper on February 1, 2010 at 4:16 PM
commodore on February 1, 2010 at 4:12 PM
So she’s not running for office again, I hope?
funky chicken on February 1, 2010 at 4:16 PM
Is Rand Paul as nuts as his dad?
Specter needs to go. Hope Toomey whips him good, especially after immediately after hearing that Specter was going to switch parties how Toomey doesn’t have a chance!
deidre on February 1, 2010 at 4:17 PM
Glad he’s the Dems’ problem and not the GOP’s.
At any rate, have at it, Arlen.
BuckeyeSam on February 1, 2010 at 4:18 PM
A sad figure in his last days, a cautionary moral tale of a man.
rrpjr on February 1, 2010 at 4:18 PM
I hate to sound anti-old guy but Specter has lost it. He wants a senate seat but he shouldn’t even have the remote control. I’m reminded of Robert Bird:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V95eGgZbrU
MajorKong on February 1, 2010 at 4:18 PM
I can’t watch stuff like this. How do you guys take it?
Without the 30-second skip on my DVR, I would have to watch Liberals speak on the Sunday talk shows, too.
Can you imagine Bill Moyer’s show if you couldn’t skip the drivel? Pretty much left with commercials making the only sense.
Punditpawn on February 1, 2010 at 4:19 PM
And a trip to the rubber room.
Knucklehead on February 1, 2010 at 4:19 PM
1. Specter jumped the shark to get to the stage.
2. Would Chris Matthews we think that this crowd was a wee bit “monochromatic” too?
Branch Rickey on February 1, 2010 at 4:20 PM
Specter has
vinegarformaldehyde coursing through his veins.OmahaConservative on February 1, 2010 at 4:20 PM
That was strange, awkward, and sad…it just shows Senators are not someone you should use as a role model…
right2bright on February 1, 2010 at 4:21 PM
Spector has been a traitor to both parties. Clearly he needs to go away for a rest cure. Immediately.
rbj on February 1, 2010 at 4:21 PM
Karl more than made up for these minor flaws with the “Kanye East” subtitle. I LMAO’d over that one.
UltimateBob on February 1, 2010 at 4:22 PM
I heard this morning that Kanye West was not invited to the Grammys last night. Someone needs to tell Arlen that he just needs to go home and sit on the front porch and enjoy his retirement years.
SC.Charlie on February 1, 2010 at 4:22 PM
Just thinking…spector will retire to Fla so he doesn’t have to pay state income taxes…what a moron!
areseaoh on February 1, 2010 at 4:22 PM
Sestak thinks trying KSM in NYC is a good idea. And to think that makes Specter the less tosser of the two tossers on the democrat side.
Branch Rickey on February 1, 2010 at 4:23 PM
In all seriousness, I think you’re right. He’d have his bad spells even a decade ago, like citing “Scottish Law” in Clinton’s impeachment verdict, but it’s gotten to the point where someone he trusts ought to take him aside and convince him to bow out with whatever little grace he might have left.
notropis on February 1, 2010 at 4:24 PM
Someone needs to put “snarlin’ Arlen” back in his cage. Pronto.
Puddleglum on February 1, 2010 at 4:24 PM
Specter found there is a little known precedent for this in Scottish Law, MacDuff vs. MacBeth. One step closer and Arlen would have dispatched Sistak with his claymore.
JohnBissell on February 1, 2010 at 4:24 PM
I like Sestak, and he seems to be the best the Democrats can field. I wish all their candidates were like this so we could have a real choice instead of the Faustian choice we are constantly offered in every national election.
DFCtomm on February 1, 2010 at 4:25 PM
Two words: senile dementia.
uncivilized on February 1, 2010 at 4:25 PM
I am going to have to agree with the folks who commented above about Sen. Specter’s age and mental wellbeing. I don’t think he is well.
Cindy Munford on February 1, 2010 at 4:25 PM
I’m a little puzzled by some of her recent actions. I know you are a McCain fan but campaigning for him tends to skew her reform image a bit, particularly when she then endorses Paul. She seems to be bouncing around a bit.
a capella on February 1, 2010 at 4:25 PM
commodore on February 1, 2010 at 4:12 PM
If giving a donation to a campaign is what they are passing as an ‘endorsement’ then perhaps he’s in worse trouble than anyone wants to admit?
SP has had no problem publicly and personally endorsing or campaigning for those she thinks are ‘worthy’ – receiving a campaign donation from a PAC, though good for the guy, hardly constitutes a personal endorsement. Reading the little blurb, it sounds more like an attempt to garner support, typical in a campaign, but a bit disingenuous.
catmman on February 1, 2010 at 4:25 PM
One thing I’ve learned blogging is that sometimes you have to leave stuff on the plate for comments.
Karl on February 1, 2010 at 4:26 PM
Arlen is just a cranky old man and needs a rest home.He no longer is capable of being out in public.
tim c on February 1, 2010 at 4:27 PM
Can you say TRAIN WRECK!!!!!!!!
Dread Pirate Roberts VI on February 1, 2010 at 4:27 PM
Nah. He needs to battle Slestak down to the wire.
MarkTheGreat on February 1, 2010 at 4:28 PM
You stay classy Benedict.
jukin on February 1, 2010 at 4:29 PM
Specter is a man without a
chanceofficestatecountrypookie. Yep, he has no pookie left.Yoop on February 1, 2010 at 4:29 PM
What’s so incredibly sad about Specter, and I’m being serious here, is that he sees the loss of his Senate seat as the end of his life. He is so invested in being a U.S. Senator that’s it’s become his entire identity and he can’t imagine life without it. This is what happens to a lot of these guys that have been there since before the Fall of Rome.
Jim-Rose on February 1, 2010 at 4:30 PM
“Once we had an “Act like a lady!” comment this thread was over.
Karl — how did you miss it??”
DaydreamBeliever
I’d vote for “That wasn’t very ladylike.”
parke on February 1, 2010 at 4:32 PM
I still image Specter walking the halls of Congress with a confused and frightened look on his face, going from one locked door to another, mumbling to himself while clutching old and outdated legislation in his hands…
Seven Percent Solution on February 1, 2010 at 4:32 PM
Miffed? No. Senile. Arlen has some serious anger management issues.
Look, in 10 years, we’re gonna see Carter or Specter (or both) arrested for exposing themselves in public (trenchcoat, boots, hat…the whole nine yards).
BobMbx on February 1, 2010 at 4:33 PM
Sestak seems like a nice man.
It’s like Dennis Prager says, there are many “nice” people on the Left, but their vision for the future of this country is way off.
nickj116 on February 1, 2010 at 4:33 PM
Specter is either a total idiot or is in the last stages of syphilis.
rplat on February 1, 2010 at 4:34 PM
Losing his seat will kill him. Just like mandatory retirement at 65 killed my grandfather and others of his generation…
OmahaConservative on February 1, 2010 at 4:34 PM
only total idiots get syphilis
:P
blatantblue on February 1, 2010 at 4:35 PM
“And I said, I don’t care if they lay me off either, because I told, I told Bill that if they move my desk one more time, then, then I’m, I’m quitting, I’m going to quit. And, and I told Don too, because they’ve moved my desk four times already this year, and I used to be over by the window, and I could see the squirrels, and they were married, but then, they switched from the Swingline to the Boston stapler, but I kept my Swingline stapler because it didn’t bind up as much, and I kept the staples for the Swingline stapler and it’s not okay because if they take my stapler then I’ll set the building on fire…”
CurtZHP on February 1, 2010 at 4:36 PM
This man is suffering dementia. It’s tragic. He needs to get help.
ihasurnominashun on February 1, 2010 at 4:37 PM
Seven Percent Solution on February 1, 2010 at 4:32 PM
Ah, the Tennessee Williams ending.
MajorKong on February 1, 2010 at 4:38 PM
*putting on some more popcorn*
KeepOhioRed on February 1, 2010 at 4:40 PM
Doesn’t Arlen have a wife, children, grandchildren, somebody who cares enough to say enough to him?
OmahaConservative on February 1, 2010 at 4:41 PM
Specter is going nuts. It’s what happens to people when their entire life is wrapped up in their seat on the politburo and they are faced with being thrown out.
tarpon on February 1, 2010 at 4:41 PM
He really does seem like somebody’s crazy uncle. It’s too pathetic to laugh at.
cruadin on February 1, 2010 at 4:41 PM
He looked at his watch, so either he was scheduled to take the stage at a certain time or he was coming up with a time-crunch excuse. Either way, very bad.
paul1149 on February 1, 2010 at 4:42 PM
Arlen snarlin’ at the Specter of defeat. This is how he treats his Dem friends?
Between this and the incident with Michelle Bachmann, this will look GREAT in Toomey ads…
Steve Z on February 1, 2010 at 4:43 PM
Arlen Specter is a man seriously in danger of having his report card marked, “Does not play well with others.”
//
Hmmmm,sounds like his boss.I love it seeing these radicals self-destruct!
ohiobabe on February 1, 2010 at 4:43 PM
Specter really has been a disaster this past year or so, hasn’t he? Geez, I’m glad he’s a Dem now.
CP on February 1, 2010 at 4:44 PM
Arlen who?
Say “Goodnight”, sport.
Yawn.
molonlabe28 on February 1, 2010 at 4:44 PM
Time to get the butterfly net.
Arlen needs to be shipped to the same dog track as Dan Rather. Those two would make a fine pair wandering about the track yelling obscenities at the greyhounds as they threw their loser betting stubs to the ground.
viking01 on February 1, 2010 at 4:45 PM
Well looky here: a Navy lib running as a democratic socialist party candidate. How heroic.
As for the interrupt, so what? I want more blue-on-blue.
Virus-X on February 1, 2010 at 4:46 PM
Dismal old fart.
Bruno Strozek on February 1, 2010 at 4:46 PM
You know Allahpundit is not around when the Palin story is not yet posted.
bridgetown on February 1, 2010 at 4:48 PM
Disagree. He was a tyrant to work for in the Navy (which is why he was retired as a Rear Admiral), and has an unusually high turnover in his House staff.
NaCly dog on February 1, 2010 at 4:48 PM
Actually it reminds me more of a shark trashing about on a ship’s deck.
Hazardous to be near, but doomed never-the-less.
CPT. Charles on February 1, 2010 at 4:49 PM
I am surprised that he did not show up at the Miss America pageant and jump on stage there and start screaming vote for me.
thmcbb on February 1, 2010 at 4:49 PM
Arlen, you’re starting more and more to look like senility is catching up with you. I’d advise you to drop out of the race, but it can only be good for Pat Toomey and the PA and national GOP, so…
Go Arlen Go!!
JohnGalt23 on February 1, 2010 at 4:54 PM
Karl, you crack me up!
lovingmyUSA on February 1, 2010 at 4:55 PM
Arlen is an accident waiting to be forgotten, sort of like that time when you were three and peed in your diaper.
Isn’t he also the guy who came up with the “Magic Bullet” theory of the killing of JFK, something that denied every postulate of the Science of Physics?
Sure, I’ll believe him. Soon as he shows me a herd of pigs that have wings.
Liam on February 1, 2010 at 4:55 PM
omg. PA needs some blue.
ProudPalinFan on February 1, 2010 at 4:55 PM
I think dementia is setting in. I thought it the minute I heard the audio from the Michelle Bachman episode. I say this without an ounce of joy or sarcasm or malice. I think he’s getting sick and I hope his family id prepared for it. It’s not easy especially with a dominant male like him. You can see the belligerence and aggressiveness coming out. I sincerly hope I am dead wrong.
TheBigOldDog on February 1, 2010 at 4:57 PM
Arlen is one cup short of the drool bucket…His assistant must hate running out to the store to get the Depends…
lovingmyUSA on February 1, 2010 at 4:57 PM
That presumes he had one in the first place.
Liam on February 1, 2010 at 4:58 PM
Imma let you finish but…
The Race Card on February 1, 2010 at 5:06 PM
lolol
thank allah Taylor Swift didn’t have to deal with that d-Bag last night
blatantblue on February 1, 2010 at 5:09 PM
This is your brain…This is your brain on hair dye.
ronsfi on February 1, 2010 at 5:10 PM
yep. That was Arlen.
http://historymatters.com/essays/frameup/EvenMoreMagical/EvenMoreMagical.htm
source from wikipedia (not that that means its true)
Geochelone on February 1, 2010 at 5:12 PM
Two words: Not proven.
Emperor Norton on February 1, 2010 at 5:13 PM
It’s been a rough year on stage for Arlen.
The backlash in Philly (my favorite), Katy from Lebanon, PA, “act like a lady”, and now “Kanye East”.
forest on February 1, 2010 at 5:14 PM
Specter: “Is this the line to the early bird buffet?”
portlandon on February 1, 2010 at 5:16 PM
Pretty soon, Arlen will just be a civilian crazy person, walking down the street, drooling, shouting, and interrupting people at random. Maybe he can still chair hearings at the corner busstop, with homeless guys testifying about the shortage of stray shopping carts.
RBMN on February 1, 2010 at 5:16 PM
Guess I’m not that forgiving. He used a power position to negatively impact the lives of millions, including my kids and grandkids. I have no problem with watching him embarrass himself as he shuffles off the stage.
a capella on February 1, 2010 at 5:18 PM
Specter just can’t stand listen to the voice of anyone other than himself.
hawksruleva on February 1, 2010 at 5:20 PM
Which reminds me of the comedian Steven Wright who says when he’s at a store and sees someone pushing a long line of shopping carts he usually yells to them: “Hey, somebody might want to use one of those.”
viking01 on February 1, 2010 at 5:20 PM
Sestak looked scared of Benedick SnArlen. Graciousness is one thing, but he was a bit too deferential, a bit too Taylor Swift. Then again it was a perfect “Progressive” milquetoast response. B+
Western_Civ on February 1, 2010 at 5:21 PM
Arlen you’re doing great…keep running, re-election is firmly within your grasp!
CCRWM on February 1, 2010 at 5:22 PM
Specter-cle showed his watch to a guy on stage. That would seem to indicate Specter-cle couldn’t contain his displeasure at having Sestak interrupt his schedule. “Man up and get off my stage now” appeared to be in A S’s body language.
chickasaw42 on February 1, 2010 at 5:24 PM
Spector is clearly desperate, and this latest stunt of his may have just sealed his fate.
pilamaye on February 1, 2010 at 5:25 PM
There are quite a few incontinent men ‘representing’ us in Wash. D.C., from both sides. They should learn how to retire in time, with grace.
Why would any party trust Specter? He’s the ultimate liar, right after Obama.
Schadenfreude on February 1, 2010 at 5:32 PM
Y’all gotta give it up for Beyonce. Oops, wrong guy.
Hummer53 on February 1, 2010 at 5:34 PM
May I make this statement?
Specter is the embodiment of the case for term limits.
blatantblue on February 1, 2010 at 5:41 PM
Yeah? Well Specter and Sleestak BOTH suck.
Guardian on February 1, 2010 at 5:44 PM
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