# RIP Arlen Specter **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 14, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708 "2012-10-14T17:57:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nazarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nazarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nazarene)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708/1 "2012-10-14T17:57:35Z")
[Arlen Specter, longtime GOP Senate moderate, dies](http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-mew-arlen-specter-obit-20121014,0,2996284.story) Taken by cancer at 82. He was one of the [del]good[/del] not that evil ones. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708/2 "2012-10-14T17:59:13Z")
I’ve always wondered; what constitutes a “moderate” Republican and what constitutes a “moderate” Democrat? ---
**Author:** ![Nazarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nazarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nazarene)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708/3 "2012-10-14T18:01:25Z")
Well, Specter was pro-choice, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708/4 "2012-10-14T18:05:16Z")
So whether or not you’re considered a “moderate” hangs on one issue? Mmmkay. ---
**Author:** ![Nazarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nazarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nazarene)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708/5 "2012-10-14T18:09:21Z")
I don’t think there’s any legal mandate to agree. For what it’s worth, Specter did change parties, so becoming a Democrat might easily be perceived by some as a somewhat leftward move for a Republican to make. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708/6 "2012-10-14T18:46:06Z")
Anyone whose resume includes “shoved Clarence Thomas onto the SC” goes down as an indelible scumbag to me. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708/7 "2012-10-14T18:59:41Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > I’ve always wondered; what constitutes a “moderate” Republican and what constitutes a “moderate” Democrat? I don’t think there is a standard definition but my personal one is “votes with the other party at least 25% of the time”. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708/8 "2012-10-14T19:03:20Z")
He was one of the few sane Republicans before he left the dark side. I’m glad he left the world without the stain of the current GOP on his soul. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708/9 "2012-10-14T19:06:40Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > So whether or not you’re considered a “moderate” hangs on one issue? Mmmkay. You’re only pretending to be this stupid, right? ---
**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:** [October 14, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708/10 "2012-10-14T20:10:31Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > I’ve always wondered; what constitutes a “moderate” Republican and what constitutes a “moderate” Democrat? Seems like a weird thing to threadshit a memorial thread about. However, Specter frequently had to worry about being primaried from his right by crazy extremists. He finally had to switch parties. In the modern republican party, that’s about as moderate as you can find. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708/11 "2012-10-14T20:50:25Z")
> [@hrhomer](#): > > You’re only pretending to be this stupid, right? You’re not allowed to insult other posters in this forum. Take it to the Pit or be civil. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708/12 "2012-10-15T00:15:14Z")
Og bless Arlen Specter, and protect his mortal remains from the attentions of Newt Gingrich, Re-Animator. ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708/13 "2012-10-15T00:23:03Z")
RIP Arlen Specter, and whatever anyone thought of his politics, (I think it must be a tough road to be a moderate in extreme times) he was a servant of the people for over 40 years. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708/14 "2012-10-15T01:50:15Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Anyone whose resume includes “shoved Clarence Thomas onto the SC” goes down as an indelible scumbag to me. So you believe Supreme Court justices should be rejected or endorsed based on their politics rather than qualification. Anyways RIP to Senator Specter even if I don’t agree with everything he did. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708/15 "2012-10-15T01:51:20Z")
> [@Jesus of Nazareth](#): > > Well, Specter was pro-choice, I believe. Ironically, as a result Pennsylvania briefly had a pro-abortion Republican and an anti-abortion Democrat (Bob Casey) in the Senate. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708/16 "2012-10-15T02:54:29Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > I’ve always wondered; what constitutes a “moderate” Republican and what constitutes a “moderate” Democrat? Twenty years ago and earlier you could have looked at the voting records and measured the percentages that they voted “Left” or “Right” on key issues. Over time though, the two parties have tended to vote more in lockstep, the Republicans more than the Democrats AFAIK. There really aren’t any more moderate Republicans left in Washington. A fair number of Democrats voted for the Iraq War or the Bush Tax cuts though. In the states, Arnold Schwarzenegger was arguably a moderate Republican and there are presumably others. Back during the 1960s - 1970s there were liberal Republicans. There still are conservative Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708/17 "2012-10-15T03:12:45Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > So you believe Supreme Court justices should be rejected or endorsed based on their politics rather than qualification. That’s why they’re selected by the president in the first place, so why shouldn’t the Senate play the same game? ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708/18 "2012-10-15T03:38:16Z")
Clarence Thomas isn’t qualified to shine my boots. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708/19 "2012-10-15T04:11:14Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Clarence Thomas isn’t qualified to shine my boots. Ugh. **prr** , I hate Thomas’s political orientation. And he may not actually be as qualified as other justices. But that imagery? Really? I hope I know you well enough from this board and others to know that you would never deliberately do that, so I’m just going to say “really unfortunate phrasing, there”. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708/20 "2012-10-15T04:17:10Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > So you believe Supreme Court justices should be rejected or endorsed based on their politics rather than qualification. First; he was put on the Court because of his ideology, not because he was especially qualified. And second, of course politics matters, especially right wing politics. It’s a safe bet that a right winger is going to do anything he can to twist the law in his favored direction, or outright violate it. They do it all the time, after all. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-arlen-specter/637708.md?page=2)