Specter criticizes Kagan but says he'll support confirmation
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/07/15/art.specterkagan0715.gi.jpg caption="Sen. Arlen Specter is announcing his support for Elena Kagan's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court."]
Washington (CNN) – Pointing to Solicitor General Elena Kagan's support for televising Supreme Court arguments and her affinity for the late Justice Thurgood Marshall, Sen. Arlen Specter says that Kagan has done 'just enough' to win his support for her high court nomination.
In a largely critical editorial in USA Today, Specter took issue with much of the way Kagan handled herself during her recent confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, a panel on which Specter sits.
"Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan did little to undo the impression that nominating hearings are little more than a charade in which cautious non-answers take the place of substantive exchanges," Specter writes in the op-ed.
The Republican-turned-Democrat criticizes Kagan for failing to provide any real insights to her judicial philosophy in general and her specific views on a number of legal issues, many of which have to do with the basis and extent of congressional authority.
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Durbin: Sestak must come clean about job offer
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/05/25/art.durbin.0525y.gi.jpg caption =" Sen. Dick Durbin said Tuesday that Rep. Joe Sestak should fully explain whether Obama administration officials pressed him to drop his Democratic primary challenge to Sen. Arlen Specter in exchange for a job."]
Washington (CNN) - The number two Democrat in the Senate, who has close ties to the White House, is urging Rep. Joe Sestak to come clean.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin told CNN Tuesday that the Pennsylvania Democrat should fully explain whether Obama administration officials pressed him to drop his Democratic primary challenge to Sen. Arlen Specter in exchange for a job.
Related: CNN's John King on Sestak, the WH
"At some point I thing Congressman Sestak needs to make it clear what happened," Durbin told CNN. Sestak has refused to reveal whom he spoke with at the White House about a job offer.
Sestak made the claim in February when he was still trailing Specter, who had the backing of the White House, in the polls. Sestak captured the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate nomination last week.
Aides to President Obama have acknowledged that conservations took place between White House aides and Sestak during the campaign, but said nothing improper took place. Still, administration officials have also refused to divulge who talked to Sestak.
Biden: Sestak will make a 'wonderful United States Senator'
(CNN) - Vice President Joe Biden released a statement Wednesday praising Rep. Joe Sestak following his victory in Tuesday's Pennsylvania Democratic primary. Biden had backed incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter in the race.
(Full statement after the jump.)
Sestak: 'A win for the people'
(CNN) – Rep. Joe Sestak hailed his victory over Sen. Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania's Democratic Senate primary as "a win for the people."
"This is what Democracy looks like," Sestak told his supporters Tuesday night. "A win for the people - over the establishment, over the status quo, even over Washington, D.C."
Related: After 30 years in Washington, Specter ousted by voters
Specter concedes, will support Sestak in general election
(CNN) – Sen. Arlen Specter capped a hard fought Senate primary Tuesday night with a concession call to Rep. Joe Sestak.
"I have just called congressman Sestak to congratulate him and tell him that I think it is vital that we keep this seat in the Democratic Party, and that I will support him in the election," Specter said.
Related: After 30 years in Washington, Specter ousted by voters
Specter gave a short speech to followers after it became clear that Sestak would carry the night.
"It's been a great privilege to serve the people of Pennsylvania," Specter said. "And it's been a great privilege to be in the United States Senate, and I will be working very, very hard for the people of the Commonwealth in the coming months."
Kaine: Pennsylvania Dems have made their choice
Tim Kaine, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, issued the following statement about the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary.
(read the full statement after the jump)
Menendez: Sestak has 'powerful message of change'
(CNN) - Sen. Robert Menendez, Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, released the following statement Tuesday congratulating Rep. Joe Sestak on his primary victory over incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter.
(Read the full statement after the jump.)
CNN projection: Sestak beats Specter in Pennsylvania
Sen. Arlen Specter speaks to reporters in Philadelphia on Thursday. (PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images)
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(CNN) – CNN projects that Rep. Joe Sestak has won Pennsylvania’s Democratic Senate primary, beating five-term Sen. Arlen Specter.
Lead shifts to Sestak
(CNN) – Rep. Joe Sestak has taken a slight lead over Sen. Arlen Specter in Tuesday’s Democratic Senate primary in Pennsylvania.
With 42 percent of precincts reporting, Sestak had 51.5 percent of the vote. Specter had 48.5 percent.
Rendell weighs in on Obama effect in PA
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/05/18/art.rendellspecter0518.gi.jpg caption="Gov. Rendell, right, huddled with Sen. Specter, left, and Specter's wife on Tuesday in Philadelphia."]
(CNN) - Some political observers have wondered why the White House opted not to send President Obama or Vice President Biden to Pennsylvania to campaign with Sen. Arlen Specter in the final weeks before Tuesday's Democratic Senate primary.
Related: Specter scrambles to keep seat
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat, offered one theory during an appearance on CNN's "Campbell Brown."
Asked about Obama's and Biden's notable absence from the Pennsylvania campaign trail in recent weeks, Rendell said it might be "because their last minute appearances in New Jersey and Virginia and Massachusetts didn't serve too much good."
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