# Arlen Spector - "Gentleman" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 18, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arlen-spector-gentleman/357286 "2006-05-18T17:56:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arlen-spector-gentleman/357286/21 "2006-05-18T22:38:12Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > While I tend to agree with you in this particular case, I wouldn’t generalize. I can imagine instances when a Senator might not favor a particular measure, but still, in good conscience, vote for it in committee in order do allow the entire Senate to vote on it. Doesn’t that sort of defeat the purpose of debating it in commitee in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arlen-spector-gentleman/357286/22 "2006-05-18T22:44:07Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > He says he’s opposed to the amendment, but wanted to let the full Senate vote on it. We heard some of the same bleating from Gop House members voting to impeach Clinton. Still as lame a rationalization as ever. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arlen-spector-gentleman/357286/23 "2006-05-18T22:46:22Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I was suggesting Fox wouldn’t denigrate such an obvious conservative ploy. But you guys are right, it’s an AP story anyway and I missed the phrase in the Fox link. So who is more biased: you or Fox? > [@Miller](#): > > Doesn’t that sort of defeat the purpose of debating it in commitee in the first place? Why? Everything isn’t black and white. Or, you might have a gentleman’s agreement with another Senator that you generally don’t block each others’ proposals in committee. Think of the actions of the “gang of 14” concerning judicial appointments. That was a classic example of compromise that averted what might have been a real disasster. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arlen-spector-gentleman/357286/24 "2006-05-19T03:06:51Z")
Maybe Specter wanted to be able to say he was for it before he was against it. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arlen-spector-gentleman/357286/25 "2006-05-19T03:38:46Z")
The only difference being Fox’s (incorrect) use of the em dash where CNN employs a double hypen. [/QUOTE] What’s the difference (in usage) between an em dash and a double hyphen? ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arlen-spector-gentleman/357286/26 "2006-05-19T03:53:44Z")
It’s Specter, with two ‘e’ letters. Spector is Phil, the rock producer. Get it right, will ya? Arlen is the magic bullet asshat who should retire from politics, as his 15 minutes of fame is so stale the yellow parts are extra yellow. Jaysus :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arlen-spector-gentleman/357286/27 "2006-05-19T03:58:01Z")
So…you want Specter to be a spectre? ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arlen-spector-gentleman/357286/28 "2006-05-19T04:28:07Z")
I don’t think that “gentleman” is the word that I would choose. He lost some of my confidence in his statesmanship when he questioned Anita Hill. But, damn, I like his spunk and his nerve. He’s not one to sit on his hands and let the world go by or turn a blind eye to evil. I wish we had Senate full of women and men like that! Besides, the [_the National Review_](http://www.nationalreview.com/carney/carney200411031005.asp) had this to say in November of 2004: > [@](#): > > Arlen Specter owes Bush and Santorum his career, but he isn’t acting like it. After such praise, what’s not to love? I wish him full speed recovery to good health. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arlen-spector-gentleman/357286/29 "2006-05-19T11:45:17Z")
His vote of “present,” or whatever it was, to remove Clinton from office was the very model of integrity. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arlen-spector-gentleman/357286/30 "2006-05-19T15:40:26Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Doesn’t that sort of defeat the purpose of debating it in commitee in the first place? Not entirely - you could make the case that the committee was on the fence, and thought it best to get the whole senate’s input. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arlen-spector-gentleman/357286/31 "2006-05-19T16:08:52Z")
> [@bup](#): > > …thought it best to get the whole senate’s input. For the senate to act on it, they’ll first need to decide whether to hold the debate in [Spanish or English.](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060519/ap_on_go_co/immigration_104) English is nice, because it’s a “national” or “common and unifying” language, but if the senators argue in Spanish, most of their constituents won’t be able to figure out what a clueless and meanspirited bunch of loons their representatives are. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arlen-spector-gentleman/357286/32 "2006-05-19T16:10:19Z")
As I lamented, if only he would stop posing as a champion of civil liberties and actually behave like one, he would be respectable. From [Daily Kos](http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/5/19/103212/134), citing [The Hill](http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/051606/news1.html): > [@](#): > > Specter has mollified conservative opposition to his bill by agreeing to drop the requirement that the Bush administration seek a legal judgment on the program from a special court set up by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978. > > Instead, Specter agreed to allow the administration to retain an important legal defense by allowing the court, which holds its hearings in secret, to review the program only by hearing a challenge from a plaintiff with legal standing, said a person familiar with the text of language agreed to by Specter and committee conservatives. Specter is just another “straight talker.” He’s just a tool with no real integrity. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arlen-spector-gentleman/357286/33 "2006-05-19T16:12:15Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Not entirely - you could make the case that the committee was on the fence, and thought it best to get the whole senate’s input. I tend to agree. If it was a case where I was against a particular law, but I thought it deserved a full vetting in the entire Senate, I would vote to pass it out of committee. Of course, I don’t think this is appropriate in every case, and, in this one, I disagree with Specter. When the law is designed to deny equal rights to an entire section of the population, I’d have no compunction about killing it in committee. Specter should be ashamed for letting this crap out of committee. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arlen-spector-gentleman/357286/34 "2006-05-19T17:01:50Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > So…you want Specter to be a spectre? Would you like to ba s spectator? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arlen-spector-gentleman/357286/35 "2006-05-19T17:13:26Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#): > > The remainder of the article is word-for-word, too. The only difference being Fox’s (incorrect) use of the em dash where CNN employs a double hypen. Not surprisingly since they’re both taken from AP. 😕 A double-hyphen is what you used when you can’t make an em-dash, such as when using a standard typewriter. > [@](#): > > Before word processing, we had to type an em dash by typing two hyphens. Now, many word processing software programs will automatically turn those two hyphens into an em dash (if we correctly leave NO space before or after them). [This page](http://www.getitwriteonline.com/archive/091502.htm) (whence the above quote) explains the correct usage of hyphens, en-dashes and em-dashes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arlen-spector-gentleman/357286.md?page=1)