Friday, May 1, 2009

Specter's Environmental Record, Opposition to Dawn Johnsen and a Warning from Labor

Missed this Los Angeles Times article from Wednesday -- "Some Democrats skeptical of Specter's party switch." It has a few key points not already covered on this blog:

"As of now, he has about a 68% voting record [in siding with labor], which is good for a Republican, but does not meet the mustard when it comes to getting endorsed as a Democrat," said Bill George, president of the state AFL-CIO.
Neil Oxman, a Democratic strategist who advises Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell, described Specter as a politician who "transforms himself for every election" and is now "disguising the fact he supported Bush 76% of the time and voted for all of these Republican judges." Oxman's criticism previewed a likely attack that the newly minted Democrat will face in a party primary, possibly from another Oxman client, state Board of Education Chairman Joseph Torsella.


(I know, consider the source. But that doesn't mean he's wrong either.)

Specter also said Tuesday that he opposed Obama's pick to head the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, Dawn Johnsen, an outspoken critic of Bush-era interrogation policies. And the incumbent senator will be forced to reckon with a sour rating from environmentalists; last year he earned a 27% rating from the League of Conservation Voters.


(Ouch.)

There's also this at the end, about the Employee Free Choice Act and Specter's meeting with Teamster officials the day before he announced his party switch:

On Monday, Hoffa and Hamilton delivered a stern warning that Specter would lose their support, and thereby the election, if he did not come to their aid on the legislation."If he maintains his position, he won't get the support of labor in Pennsylvania. And if labor doesn't support him, it won't much matter what party he belongs to," Hamilton said. "But Sen. Specter is someone who knows how to compromise. And he certainly didn't shut the door on us."

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