Specter will discuss Obama administration, stimulus

U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) has had a busy couple of weeks in Washington and is making a stop at Penn to talk about it.

Specter - who is one of the most senior members of the Senate, having served five consecutive terms since his election in 1980 - will address students and faculty at 3:30 p.m. today in Huntsman Hall room F85.

He has recently been in the media for his role as one of the only three Republicans in Congress who supported the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, or the stimulus package.

Specter is expected to talk about the current economic crisis and the stimulus package as well as other current topics.

The event is organized by the Penn College Republicans, and their president, College junior Zac Byer, predicts a big turnout.

Byer said he hopes the senator will talk about the political climate in Washington under the new administration and his experiences as a member of the minority party.

He said that as a Penn alumnus, Specter is especially interested in talking to students.

Fels Institute of Government executive director David Thornburgh, who will introduce Specter at the event today, said the senator's support of President Barack Obama's stimulus bill was no surprise as he has shown "a pretty strong independent streak over the years."

Specter is considered a moderate Republican, Thornburgh said, and his social and fiscal voting record are not as common now in the Republican party as compared to when he took office 28 years ago.

Specter "is not afraid to speak his mind and vote in the best interest of the country," Thornburgh said. "He is disciplined and pragmatic."

He added that during this economic crisis, people prefer practicality to ideological motivations in government.

Some experts believe that moderate Republicanism is making a comeback.

"To get stuff done the government needs to accommodate people like Specter," said Randall Miller, a history professor and political analyst at St. Joseph's University.

The Democrats do not have the "magic 60 votes" needed to ignore moderates, Miller added.

He said Specter should expect further criticism from his own party for being "wrong, in their eyes, on economic and social issues."

However, the Republican Party has little credibility on fiscal policy in light of the current crisis, he said.

He said Specter is not a stereotypical American politician and has been "successful because he is smart," but that in some respects he is a "walking contradiction" and hard to pin down in terms of beliefs.

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