Arlen Quotes & Sayings

The best way to reduce the cost of medical care is to reduce the illness. — Arlen Specter

Was the Vietnam conflict a war which should have, as a matter of constitutional law, required a declaration of war by Congress? — Arlen Specter

You can fight corelings?' he asked.
'You can fight anything, Arlen,' Ragen said. 'The problem with fighting corelings is that more often than not, you lose. — Peter V. Brett

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. — Arlen Specter

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. — Arlen Specter

African-Americans are underrepresented. — Arlen Specter

I am opposed to anybody making a decision for you or me or anybody else about what health care plan we should have. — Arlen Specter

My mother, Lillie Specter, was an angel and totally uninterested in politics. — Arlen Specter

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

You know, a statesman is a dead politician. — Arlen Specter

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

The extremists took over the primary process. — Arlen Specter

She not only expects the worst, but makes the worst of it when it happens. — Michael Arlen

In our social contract, we have provisions that see to it that you take care of people who need some help. — Arlen Specter

Against the advice of my wife, I endorsed Arlen Specter. I should have listened to my wife. — Rick Santorum

I've been in a lot of elections. — Arlen Specter

We're all looking for a plan that will work. The current plan is not working, and 21,500 additional troops
it's a snowball in July. It's not going to work. — Arlen Specter

I do not represent the Republican Party. — Arlen Specter

mama, you taught me to look pretty but i can't anymore, and i am learning that's okay. i am learning to sharpen my teeth and rule kingdoms, instead. — Arlen C.

I don't want to die, Arlen, but I would lay down my life for any of these men, or they for me. That's a real thing, sacrifice, but you will never understand it. — Erika Johansen

I think it's scandalous that we haven't done more to cure cancer. — Arlen Specter

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

Johnny Mercer was my father's best friend and became mine as well. And Harold Arlen, whom I would call Uncle Harry, and Harry Warren: those were ones who I really became close to. — Margaret Whiting

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

You can't help everyone, Arlen," Ragen said, "but you should make every
effort to help those you can. — Peter V. Brett

I will respect the corelings, Arlen thought, but I will never stop fighting them. — Peter V. Brett

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. — Arlen Specter

Stability means respecting precedents. — Arlen Specter

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. — Arlen Specter

If Romney wants to make me responsible for ObamaCare, I've said I would be proud to be responsible for it. — Arlen Specter

It costs about $27 million to win a seat in the United States Senate, so when you win one, you like to sit down. — Arlen Specter

Don't waste your energy on the ugly. Save it for the beautiful. — Harold Arlen

If enough people would come out the right wing, the extremists couldn't dominate. — Arlen Specter

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

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. — Arlen Specter

Resolutions are flying like snowflakes around here. — Arlen Specter

Even officers who don't approve of your lifestyle choices would still take you as backup over Kirkland, or most anyone else. They'd say how you're bad for shaking up with vampires and wereleopards, but in a firefight they'd take your vampire-loving, furry-fucking ass over most anyone else's. — Laurell K. Hamilton

The essence of a democracy is a free electorate. — Arlen Specter

I've never walked out of a room and had a disagreement as to what was said. — Arlen Specter

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

My change in party will enable me to be re-elected. — Arlen Specter

I'm a loyal Democrat. — Arlen Specter

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

Fundraising is very, very time-consuming. — Arlen Specter

I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans, — Arlen Specter

It is with unwelcome frequency that I find myself the deciding vote. — Arlen Specter

Cannibals are devouring senators. — Arlen Specter

People make the world go, and Mothers make people, so they lead the dance. — Peter V. Brett

I really do not make deals. — Arlen Specter

I've been playing squash almost daily for 38 years. — Arlen Specter

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. — Arlen Specter

Hiding isn't always enough, Arlen,' Ragen said. 'Sometimes, hiding kills something inside of you, so that even if you survive the demons, you don't really. — Peter V. Brett

I just was not going to subject my record to the bleak prospects of a primary election. — Arlen Specter

I have been a Republican since 1966. — Arlen Specter

Look, the president can discharge all 93 U.S. attorneys for no reason at all, but not for a bad reason. — Arlen Specter

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. — Arlen Specter

Lawyers advocate more so than state their own positions. — Arlen Specter

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

Beauvoir lent Maheu a recent English novel she had enjoyed, The Green Hat, by Michael Arlen. She admired its independent heroine, Iris Storm. Maheu did not. 'I have no liking for women of easy virtue,' he told her. 'Much as I like a woman to please me, I find it impossible to respect any woman I've had.' Beauvoir was indignant. 'One does not HAVE an Iris Storm! — Hazel Rowley

The Supreme Court has a very light backlog. They leave a lot of splits among the circuits, a lot of uncertainty. And I think they ought to work a lot harder. — Arlen Specter

Neither this nation nor this party can afford a candidate so captive to the demands of the intolerant right that we end up re-electing a president of the incompetent left. — Arlen Specter

Clementine was thankful her husband understood his mother so thoroughly. She couldn't imagine how difficult it would be if Ralph was one of those men who suffered from an excess of mother-worship. — Tessa Arlen

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

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

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

The fundamental purpose of government is to protect its citizens. — Arlen Specter

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

Arlen welcomed the pain, for it meant he was alive when he had no right to be. — Peter V. Brett

Effective security measures do not come cheap. — Arlen Specter

To me, a world which thinks of itself in terms of puny, squalid, bickering little nations and not as one glorious field for the crusade of mankind is a world in which to succeed is the highest indignity that ca befall a good man, it is a world in which geed men are shut up like gods in a lavatory. — Michael Arlen

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

Because Ragen is kind hearted and strong at the same time, and I know how rare that kind of man is. Because I never doubted that he loved me, and would come back. But most of all, because the moments I had with him were worth all the ones apart. — Peter V. Brett

I don't expect people to agree with all my votes. — Arlen Specter

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

For three decades, Senator Arlen Specter served the people of Pennsylvania with independence, toughness, determination and an unflinching devotion to the best interests of his constituents and our country. From the committee room to the Senate chamber, Senator Specter offered a voice of reason and passion in every debate - always willing to reach across the aisle and work across party lines to get the job done, regardless of political gamesmanship or gain. — Nancy Pelosi

I think if you can get people to laugh, you can get people to listen. — Arlen Specter

I'm ordinarily pretty correct in what I say. — Arlen Specter

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. — Arlen Specter

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

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

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

It's been a great privilege to serve the people of Pennsylvania. — Arlen Specter

And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true. — Harold Arlen

Where the heart is willing, it will find a thousand ways; where it is unwilling, it will find a thousand excuses. — Arlen Price

It so happens that I'm pro choice. — Arlen Specter

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

They follow their hearts. I know it sounds like madness, Arlen, but deep down, men want to fight, like they did in tales of old. They want to protect their women and children as men should. But they can't, because the great wards are lost, so they knot themselves like caged hares, sitting terrified through the night. But sometimes, especially when you see loved ones die, the tension breaks you and you just snap. — Peter V. Brett

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

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

There is no higher value in our society than integrity. — Arlen Specter

Today the Internal Revenue Code constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. A flat tax would be an enormous step forward. — Arlen Specter

My definition of winning at squash is playing and surviving, and I've never lost a match. — Arlen Specter

Surely one of the most visible lessons taught by the twentieth century has been the existence, not so much of a number of different realities, but of a number of different lenses with which to see the same reality. — Michael Arlen

I ran for president in 1996. — Arlen Specter

My tenure in the Senate was really as an independent and whichever, regardless of party label. — Arlen Specter

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. — Arlen Specter

Well, I believe that when you are confirming a United States Supreme Court Justice, that it really isn't Democratic or Republican; it's American. — Arlen Specter

I would suggest respectfully to the president that he is not the sole decider. The decider is a shared and joint responsibility. — Arlen Specter

I think my independence was a big help to getting Judges Roberts and Alito confirmed, and I think that's recognized. — Arlen Specter

Separation of power says the judiciary committee is supposed to confirm qualified judges and then what the Supreme Court does, that is their function, not my function. — Arlen Specter