Former Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter Dead at 82. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Former Pennsylvania senator Arlen Specter dead at 82. Senator Specter, who served as a Republican senator from 1980 until 2009 when he switched to the Democratic Party and lost his primary election in 2010, battled Hodgkin’s disease in 2005 and cancer in 2008.
Politico: The longest-serving senator in Pennsylvania’s history was born in Wichita, Kan.., on Feb. 12, 1930, to Harry and Lillie Specter. When Specter was 4 years old, his father — who emigrated from Ukraine — took his youngest son to meet the Wichita sheriff, who told the youngster he would make him a deputy sheriff. Harry Specter sent a photo of Arlen sporting the sheriff’s badge to “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” and in 1934, a picture made it into the publication with the caption that Arlen was the youngest deputy sheriff in history, Specter wrote in his 2000 autobiography “A Passion for Truth.”
Here’s a tweet from Sen. John McCain:
Arlen Specter – a dear friend who served his state and nation with honor and distinction. RIP.
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) October 14, 2012
More on Sen. Specter’s death:
Arlen Specter died of complications from non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, family says. on.cnn.com/QCwR7Z
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) October 14, 2012
RIP Arlen #Specter. Little known fact: as member of the Warren Commission investigating JFK murder, he came up with “magic bullet” theory
— West Wing Reports (@WestWingReport) October 14, 2012
Arlen Specter spoke his mind and his conscience. A principled conservative. One of the last of his breed.
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) October 14, 2012
RIP Arlen Specter. He forced Rahm to put 10B for medical research in the #stimulus. Lieberman called it “noblest shakedown I’ve ever seen.”
— Michael Grunwald (@MikeGrunwald) October 14, 2012
No matter your politics, it was hard not to like Arlen Specter. #RIP
— gwen ifill (@pbsgwen) October 14, 2012
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