From the HARRISBURG POST-GAZETTE:
…Mr. Specter says Mr. Reid assured him that, upon switching caucuses, he would retain the decades of seniority that boosted his influence on powerful committees such as Judiciary and Appropriations, and, with it, one of the more powerful arguments for his re-election. Speaking to reporters at the time, Mr. Specter downplayed the seniority issue, suggesting that it was a relatively minor complication that would be straightened out after the next election. The manuscript makes clear that behind the serene public facade Mr. Specter was anguished and irate…
The “cannibals” of Mr. Specter’s title are the political extremists of both parties whose influence he blames for an overall erosion in public life and the ability of the federal government to function. He counts his successor, Mr. Toomey, as among that group for his efforts, allied with his former organization, the Club for Growth, to purge the GOP of the endangered species of middle-of-the-road, moderate lawmakers…
Turning to the chamber where he served for three decades, he offers a series of rules changes that he says would serve as an antidote to its current state of gridlock. He says that one improvement would be to prevent the majority from blocking a senator’s ability to offer amendments. That coupled with rules to discourage the current widespread use of filibusters, he believes, would curb some of the Senate’s worst procedural abuses…
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