He's among senators at center of battle over move to prohibit tactic against judge nominees.
A rhetorical nuclear fallout is beginning to rain down on Pennsylvania.
Advocacy groups on the left and right have unleashed a flurry of ads targeting Sen. Arlen Specter's vote
on the so-called ''nuclear option.''
Specter, a Republican who prides himself on his independence, is one of a handful of senators who haven't
said if they will back Majority Leader Bill Frist in changing Senate rules to prohibit filibusters against judicial nominees.
As chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Specter is being pressured to support his Republican colleagues
and President Bush in stopping Democrats from preventing seven Circuit Court nominees from being considered on the Senate
floor.
Although Specter opposes filibusters, he has repeatedly warned that the rule change Frist has in mind would
have a calamitous effect on the Senate, which does most of its work by unanimous consent.
People for the American Way, a liberal advocacy group that frequently battles the religious conservatives, is running a stark black-and-white ad in Pennsylvania
implying that Specter is ''the last defense'' the Constitution has against attack from ''the radical right.''
The group, founded in 1980 by television producer Norman Lear, is backed by an A-list
of liberal Hollywood stars and frequently does battle against religious conservatives. The group pioneered issue ads on judicial
nominees in 1987, when it led the fight against Judge Robert Bork for the Supreme Court.
In earlier spots, People for the American Way used film clips of actor James Stewart in ''Mr. Smith Goes
to Washington'' to build support for the filibuster, which allows a minority of senators to keep a majority from considering
legislation or nominations.
The ads stopped when a conservative group sought permission to use clips from the same movie and the studio
that owns the rights decided it wanted out of the partisan political fight.
People for the American Way said it's spending $1 million this week on ads in Pennsylvania, Alaska and Maine.
Like Specter, GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine have yet to declare a position on the nuclear
option.
Republican Sens. Mike DeWine of Ohio, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, John Sununu of New Hampshire and John Warner
of Virginia also are on the fence.
On the right, Progress for America is running more generic ads in Pennsylvania and other states telling
voters to urge senators ''to vote, up or down.''
The ads hammer Democrats for blocking two female judicial candidates — California Supreme Court Justice
Janice Rogers Brown and Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen — whom Republicans want to use to break the filibuster.
The ad notes that Brown is the daughter of sharecroppers and says she has ''won praise from Republicans
and Democrats for being fair and honest.'' Owen ''got strong bipartisan support [in Texas] and the [American Bar Association's]
highest rating,'' the ad said.
Progress for America is relatively new. The conservative advocacy group emerged in 2004 as a counterweight
to well-funded liberal organizations fighting President Bush's re-election.
Several of Bush's biggest contributors are behind the group, including two of his fund-raising ''Rangers''
— Alex Spanos, who owns the San Diego Chargers, and Dawn Arnall, wife of the chairman of Ameriquest Capital Corps.
Since Bush's re-election, the group has carried on to help promote his agenda on judges and Social Security
reform.
Progress for America said its current ad campaign is costing $3.3 million. It's also seeking ''free media''
through filibuster opponents like former Boston University law dean Ron Cass, who is scheduled to give radio interviews today
in Philadelphia, Specter's home town.
More ads are coming.
The liberal MoveOn Political Action Fund e-mailed its members Monday seeking $300,000 for commercials in
Pennsylvania and four other states.
The ads, which have run before, show computer-generated elephants — stand-ins for Republicans —
running amok in Washington but stopping on the brink of trampling the U.S. Supreme Court building.
''We see Sen. Specter as a very reasonable, open-minded person who has grave doubts about the nuclear option,''
the PAC's Ben Brandzel said. The ads are intended to give Specter support at home for opposing the nuclear option, Brandzel
said.
The PAC is an outgrowth of MoveOn.org, an Internet-based political organization launched during the impeachment proceedings against President Clinton.
MoveOn's largest donors include Peter Lewis, chairman of the Progressive Corp. insurance company, and billionaire
investor George Soros, founder of the Open Society Institute.
Frist said the showdown over filibusters will begin this week after the Senate finishes work on a highway
bill. But the ''nuclear'' vote might not come until next week.
It only takes 51 votes to confirm a nominee but it takes 60 to break a filibuster to bring the nominee up
for confirmation.
With Vice President Dick Cheney on hand to break a tie, Frist needs the support of 50 senators to change
the filibuster rule...
Specter doesn't like the political advertising surrounding judicial nominees and blames ''extremists'' on
both sides for contributing to the partisan impasse. Since taking over as Judiciary chairman in January, Specter has appealed
to Democrats and Republicans to put aside partisan loyalty for the good of the Senate.
So far, neither side appears willing to back down.
''They call it the nuclear option because it will blow the place up,'' Specter said on the ''Today'' show
last week. ''If the Soviets and the U.S. could find a way to avoid confrontation, why can't senators cross the aisle in the
spirit of compromise?''
