Word: pennsylvania
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...When Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter announced on April 28 that he was switching to the Democratic Party after nearly four decades as an elected Republican, it marked a messy and shocking end to his tumultuous relationship with the GOP. Though Specter says his moderate views are no longer welcomed by the party, Republicans and pundits alike say the real motive for his move is pretty clear: Specter, who plans to run for a sixth term next year, faces long odds in winning the Pennsylvania's Republican nomination (especially considering the state's 200,000 constituents who decided to register...
...Graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1951 - the same year he married Joan Lois Levy. The couple have two sons: Stephen and Shanin. His wife founded a successful pie-baking company in Philadelphia and currently serves as a member of the City Council...
...Following the Warren Commission, Specter joined the Pennsylvania Department of Justice as a special assistant attorney general and, in 1965, he ran against his former boss to become the Philadelphia District Attorney (Though he was a registered Democrat, he ran on the Republican ticket when he failed to secure the Democratic nomination...
...Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1980 after beating eight other candidates for the Republican nomination, despite a lack of support from Pennsylvania's governor or either senator. He once touted his legislative interests as the "big four" - kids, sex, drugs, and violence - and earned a reputation as a a RINO (Republican In Name Only) by bucking the party line: he's pro-choice, pro-stem cell research and against school prayer...
Democrats in Washington were quick to celebrate Republican Senator Arlen Specter's shocking announcement that he was switching parties. But in his home state of Pennsylvania, Specter's news received a much more measured reception from his new party colleagues. Perhaps that isn't all that surprising considering that Specter, a longtime rival, had in one fell swoop effectively won the Democratic nomination for next year's Senate race...