Arlen Specter Quotes

The essence of a democracy is a free electorate.

There's nothing more important than our good health - that's our principal capital asset.

If you are going to have to play defense all the time, you cannot have the kind of ingenuity, assertiveness, independence, and intelligence which is what has made our country strong.

We don't need holy wars. What we need is tolerance and brotherhood and simple humanity.

Strong advocacy for education, health care and worker safety will be indispensable if they are to get their fair share of President Bush's austere budget for the next fiscal year.

I must say I am not pleased to have to arrange the Senate schedule around the availability of Senators who are running for President.

The fundamental purpose of government is to protect its citizens.

I'm battling cancer. It's another battle I intend to win.

As a matter of traditional and sound constitutional doctrine, an amendment to the Constitution should be the last resort when all other measures have proved inadequate.

I don't like labels. I think they conceal more than they reveal, sort of like a bikini.

I knew people were going to see me see deteriorate before their eyes.

As I think through the issue of funding the rebuilding of Iraq, I think about the analogy of a bankruptcy proceeding. There is no doubt that Iraq as a country is bankrupt.

Voting is fundamental in our democracy. It has yielded enormous returns.

We are not utilizing the Iraqi oil for U.S. purposes. We are not asking that the Iraqi oil be used to pay our military expenses. We are asking only that the Iraqi oil be used to rebuild Iraq - that is, to rebuild Iraq for the Iraqi people.

As the Republican Party has moved farther and farther to the right, I have found myself increasingly at odds with the Republican philosophy and more in line with the philosophy of the Democratic Party.

It's inspirational to see someone who is dying smile.

American credibility in the war on terrorism depends on a strong stand against all terrorist acts, whether committed by foe or friend.

When the students are occupied, they're not juvenile delinquents. I believe that education is a capital investment.

There's nothing in the First Amendment that even remotely talks about spending money for political contests, and to say that an individual can spend as much of his or her own money as he or she wants constitutionally without any limitation, I think is just absurd.

I have not taken a position on that nuclear option. My view is I'm not going to do anything until I come to that bridge. I'm not going to jump off the bridge until I come to it

We have people there who do have substantial wisdom and substantial experience. And if they were confident enough to express their own views, that they wouldn't be bushwhacked by the party for casting a single vote like Bob Bennett was or like I was, they'd be willing to speak up and they'd be willing to speak their consciences and put their ideas on the line. But right now, there is timidity, there is fear that if they do that a single votes gonna cost them their job and they're not willing to make that kind of a sacrifice and they're not enough with the people.

When the 14th Amendment, equal protection clause was enacted, the galleries in the Senate were segregated. Now we have integration.

If we had pursued what President Nixon declared in 1970 as the war on cancer, we would have cured many strains. I think Jack Kemp would be alive today. And that research has saved or prolonged many lives, including mine.

But one way or another, judges perform a very vital function in our society. They have a risky job and they are entitled to security.

The extremists took over the primary process.

Americans' addiction to sports, with the NFL at the top, is based on the excitement generated by the potential for the unexpected great play which can only happen with honest competition from great athletes.

Heart disease continues to be the number one killer; cancer, the number 2 killer, not far behind. The tragic aspect of these deadly diseases is that they could all be cured, I do believe, if we had sufficient funding.

The First Amendment freedom of religion is as important today as when the Bill of Rights was first written.

I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans.

Do you believe today that the right to privacy does exist in the Constitution?

I served as Chairman of the Intelligence Committee. Let me tell you, it's tough to find out what the CIA is doing. They led us astray on the weapons of mass destruction that they said Saddam Hussein found. We sent out Collin Powell, Secretary of State, former National Security Counselor, chief of staff, four star general, couldn't find it out. I'd be reluctant to cut into term limits. I think if the voters would become informed and aroused, they could impose the proper limits on the guys who ought to be out.

The passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93, recognizing the potential danger that the aircraft they were aboard posed to large numbers of innocent Americans, American institutions, and the symbols of American democracy, took heroic and noble action to ensure that the aircraft they were aboard could not be used as a weapon.

Beating the tea party gang is more important than who does the beating.

When Pat Robertson says there is no constitutional doctrine of separation of church and state, I say he is wrong.

When I'm asked about legacy, I say it's too early to talk about legacy.

When I supported the stimulus package, I knew that it would not be popular with the Republican Party.

Pennsylvania is a very tough state; people don't last long in Pennsylvania politics.

Stability means respecting precedents.

The solicitor general is sometimes referred to as the 10th Supreme Court justice - a pretty important position.

Whatever my party affiliation, I will continue to be guided by President Kennedy's statement that sometimes party asks too much.

There are conspiracies all over the Senate floor on any day!

There is no doubt that our nation's security and defeating terrorism trump all other priorities.

What I would ask the leaders to do is to better understand the American people. I would insist that the leaders have town meetings and meet the people and listen to them and find out what is on their minds.

When the president acts in absence of a congressional grant of authority, he can rely only upon his own independent powers. When the president takes measures incompatible with the express or implied will of Congress, his power is at its lowest ebb.

No senator's vote, except for the declaration of war or the authorization for the use of force, is more important than the confirmation of a nominee for the Supreme Court for a lifetime appointment.

It has been my experience that the hearings are really, in effect, a subtle minuet, with the nominee answering as many questions as he thinks necessary in order to be confirmed.

I'd make - before I'd elect somebody - I'd make him do town meetings and face the people and then I would insist that the person not run on a platform of no compromising. The meaningful thing that the leaders could do would be to be dedicated to a discussion across the isle, to vote their consciences and not to follow the strict party line. I think that would lead to sensible decisions.

How many members of Congress go face the people in a town meeting and are prepared to answer questions from the floor. That to me is the real litmus test.

The Supreme Court's 5-4 decision rejected Congress' findings and its method of reasoning, .. Is there any real justification for the court's denigrating Congress' 'method of reasoning'?.

If we had pursued the war on cancer which President Nixon declared in 1970, Jack Kemp might be alive today.