There were no votes in the Senate yesterday. But there were plenty of fireworks. The biggest news of all was Arlen Specter's (R-PA) declaration of war against organized labor (and honor). In 2007 Specter was the only Republican to vote against the Republican filibuster against Employee Free Choice. It didn't do any good because the Democrats only mustered 51 votes, instead of the 60 needed. But one of those votes they needed was the then hospitalized Tim Johnson, a working family supporter from South Dakota who is now ready to vote for Employee Free Choice. And 7 anti-working family Republicans have been replaced by pro-working family Democrats. Instead of Wayne Allard, Colorado elected Mark Udall; Norm Coleman was defeated in Minnesota, although more on that below; Liddy Dole was ousted by Kay Hagan in North Carolina; instead of reactionary Pete Domenici New Mexico has Tom Udall; Oregonians replaced violently anti-labor Gordon Smith with ultra-pro-workers Jeff Merkley; I don't remember if Ted Stevens is in prison or not yet but Mark Begich is the new senator from Alaska; New Hampshire dumped Chamber of Commerce shill John Sununu for Jeanne Shaheen; and Mark Warner replaced John Warner in Virginia.

The math says that if Ted Kennedy is healthy enough to vote and Al Franken gets seated and all the Democrats-- including Evan Bayh's anti-Obama bloc-- all continue to back the bill (even WalMart's cowardly Democrats, Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor), then Employee Free Choice passes if Specter sticks to his guns. With today's craven and cowardly announcement by Specter, more worried about his primary challenger from the fringes of the Republican right than about his own dignity or, more important, Pennsylvania working families, the Democrats will either have to put off the vote until after the 2010 election or persuade either Olympia Snowe (R-ME) or retiring George Voinovich (R-OH), neither of whom is a union-hater, to switch their votes.

Actually, there is another possibility-- however implausible. Everyone in Washington-- and Lexington-- knows there's no love lost between vulnerable Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning and Kentucky's other Republican senator, Miss McConnell, and that Bunning has been threatening to retire and let Democratic Governor, Steve Beshear, replace him with a Democrat-- the 60th vote. According to today's Lousiville Courier-Journal that scenario may actually be moving along. Bunning went nuts today (again), complaining that McConnell is sabotaging his efforts to raise money for his re-election battle.

U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning accused Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell again today of trying to derail his fundraising efforts, this time by trying to raise money for his own campaign account just as Bunning is gearing up his own efforts for his race next year.

...Bunning said his decision on whether to stay in the race will probably made in the next three months.

After earlier setting a goal of raising $2 million by the end of June, Bunning has since scaled that back, saying that McConnell and Sen. John Cornyn, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, have harmed his fundraising efforts.

The third piece of this puzzle is the Republican Party conspiracy to keep Al Franken from taking his Senate seat. They've helped finance idiotic challenges and a frivolous lawsuit by loser Norm Coleman and today Coleman says he'll appeal all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Coleman and the GOP know he has no chance to win but they just want to delay Franken's seating, in no small part because of Employee Free Choice.

Yep, keeping workers from forming unions is that important to the big money behind the Grand Obstructionist Party. Here's the press release from AFL-CIO President John Sweeney:

Today’s announcement by Sen. Specter-- a sponsor of the original Employee Free Choice Act who voted for cloture in 2007-- is frankly a disappointment and a rebuke to working people, to his own constituents in Pennsylvania and working families around the country.

The fact is the Employee Free Choice Act has more support than ever-- large majorities in both houses of Congress, the President and Vice President, 73 percent of the public. We will continue to work with

Democrats and a number of Republicans to create commonsense solutions to the decades of corporate power.

We do not plan to let a hardball campaign from Big Business derail the Employee Free Choice Act or the dreams of workers.

There are deep flaws in our labor laws, as Sen. Specter acknowledged today. The freedom to join together and bargain with employers for fair wages and better benefits is critical to rebuilding our middle class-- and now is exactly the time to do it, as we begin to revive our economy in a way that works for everyone. In the coming weeks, we will be escalating our campaign and finding the best ways forward to a balanced, strong economy.

Andy Stern, president of the SEIU, had a similar statement today:

In the middle of this economic crisis, passing the Employee Free Choice Act is exactly the right thing to do to give workers the chance to level the playing field. Majority Leader Reid said today, and as even Sen. Specter acknowledges, we need strong labor reform. Now more than ever, America's workers need a choice, free from intimidation and harassment, to bargain for job security, better wages and health care. Our President, Vice President and majorities in both houses of Congress share this goal, and we will not stop in our efforts to achieve it.

In an essay Senator Specter recently wrote for the Harvard Law Review, he states that for people like himself, "finding a practical solution is more important than political posturing." That's why we're dismayed by those who say they support the democratic process, yet refuse to allow meaningful debate and a democratic vote on critical legislation like the Employee Free Choice Act.

It's simple: If you support democracy, you should support the right to debate legislation that could improve the lives of millions of working Americans, pump $49 billion into the economy at a time when we desperately need it, and that's supported by the vast majority of the public.

(Cross-posted at Down With Tyranny.)

HuffPo:

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), who broke with his party to support President Obama's stimulus package last week, said before the final vote Friday that more of his colleagues would have joined were they not afraid of the political consequences.

"When I came back to the cloak room after coming to the agreement a week ago today," said Specter, "one of my colleagues said, 'Arlen, I'm proud of you.' My Republican colleague said, 'Arlen, I'm proud of you.' I said, 'Are you going to vote with me?' And he said, 'No, I might have a primary.' And I said, 'Well, you know very well I'm going to have a primary.'"

Specter, along with centrist Maine Republican Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, joined with Democrats last week to move the stimulus bill forward. Specter said he doubted there would be any more Republican votes than those three Friday night.

"I think there are a lot of people in the Republican caucus who are glad to see this action taken without their fingerprints, without their participation," he said.

Specter was asked, How many of your colleagues?

"I think a sizable number," he said. "I think a good part of the caucus agrees with the person I quoted, but I wouldn't want to begin to speculate on numbers."

Gutless, gutless wonders....they allegedly agree on the need for the stimulus, but are afraid to stand up for what's right. Ladies and gentlemen, once again, I give you today's GOP. Explain to me why Democrats keep expressing the need for bipartisanship...

DCCC head Chris Van Hollen puts it into perspective (if only the media would actually frame it this way):

“Americans will hold House Republicans accountable for just saying no to saving and creating three to four million jobs and the largest tax cut in American history.

“House Republicans are fast becoming party of No-bama. Americans will hold Republicans accountable for being the party of no – no to President Obama’s economic recovery, no to children’s health care, and no to equal pay for women doing equal work.”

Just a few weeks ago Arlen Specter came out strong against President Obama's nomination of Eric Holder as the new AG for his administration.

Sen. Arlen Specter, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, has just thrown a wrench into the Eric Holder hearings planned for early January, saying Holder's involvement in the Marc Rich pardon is a "red flag" and a "very serious matter.

But Specter is already applying the brakes, indicating that Republicans are going to make a big deal out of Holder at the hearing. Specter said he sees no way in which the Holder hearings could happen before Jan. 26. Specter said he still needs to see thousands of pages of background documents and Holder's FBI background check.

"There are questions that need to be addressed," Specter said in a Senate floor speech.

Suddenly out of the blue, Specter is now going to back Holder.

Eric Holder's confirmation as the first African-American attorney general was assured Tuesday when Sen. Arlen Specter, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he will support confirmation.

"He will have significant Republican backing," the Pennsylvania senator told a news conference.

Specter's said he would not support any Republican filibuster to block the nomination.

d-day has an opinion on why he changed his mind and asks "Is there anyone more pathetic than Arlen Specter?"

There are many that are more pathetic than Specter, but I get d-day's point.

Go Arlen go:

Sen. Arlen Specter, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, has just thrown a wrench into the Eric Holder hearings planned for early January, saying Holder's involvement in the Marc Rich pardon is a "red flag" and a "very serious matter.

But Specter is already applying the brakes, indicating that Republicans are going to make a big deal out of Holder at the hearing. Specter said he sees no way in which the Holder hearings could happen before Jan. 26. Specter said he still needs to see thousands of pages of background documents and Holder's FBI background check.

"There are questions that need to be addressed," Specter said in a Senate floor speech.

And to think, Obama already got reassurances from the GOP before he made the pick a few weeks ago:

President-elect Barack Obama’s transition strategists are now satisfied that Eric Holder will be confirmed as attorney general despite plans by Senate Republicans to ask tough questions at his confirmation hearings, Democratic officials said. Plans to name him to be the nation's top law enforcement officer are now definite after aides took soundings from Capitol Hill, the officials said.

Republican senators plan to grill Holder about his role in President Bill Clinton's controversial last-minute pardon of the international financier Marc Rich. Republican Senate aides said they expect "tough" and "interesting" hearings, but said they know of no plans to try to kill the nomination.

You can always count on Republicans to keep their word. Yeah, right. Obama has just received his first lesson on the meaning of the word "bipartisan" in the Wingnut Dictionary.

It essentially means is that there is bipartisanship only when Conservatives and Republicans are in the majority, the Democratic Party votes with them to pass their laws and they get to block any amendment or bill a Democratic member makes.

And if Democrats do try to speak out against Republicans then they are painted as obstructionists who have no ideas. The media then just nods its head and moves on.

Download | play Download | play (h/t Heather)

Tuesday on The Situation Room, Wolf Blitzer spoke with CNN's Brian Todd about a secret file that Benazir Bhutto was to hand over to Rep. Patrick Kennedy and Senator Arlen Specter before her assassination, which allegedly contained information showing Pakistani intelligence agencies were conspiring to rig the upcoming election. More from McClatchy: (h/t Nate)

Safraz Khan Lashari, a member of the Pakistan People's Party election monitoring unit, said the report was "very sensitive" and that the party wanted to initially share it with trusted American politicians rather than the Bush administration, which is seen here as strongly backing Musharraf.

"It was compiled from sources within the (intelligence) services who were working directly with Benazir Bhutto," Lashari said, speaking Monday at Bhutto's house in her ancestral village of Naudero, where her husband and children continued to mourn her death. Read on...

Enter Jeopardy Think Music:
Wikipedia: "on November 22, 1963, independent sources began reporting that three shots had been fired at the President’s motorcade. At 12:34 p.m., approximately four minutes after the shots were fired, the first wire story flashed around the world..."

Answer: Arlen Specter!

The Single Bullet Theory, called the magic bullet theory by critics, was introduced by the Warren Commission to explain how three shots made by Lee Harvey Oswald resulted in the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy.

The theory, generally credited to Warren Commission staffer Arlen Specter (now a U.S. Senator.), posits that a single bullet, known as "Warren Commission Exhibit 399" (also known as "CE399"), caused all of the non-fatal wounds in both President Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally.

44 years ago tomorrow...

Dick Cheney doesn't recall what Alberto Gonzales doesn't recall about the Ashcroft hospital visit in 2004. Arlen Specter isn't saying yet whether Gonzales lied about NSA domestic surveillance last week. And the NSA's data miners aren't saying what they did with your calls and emails yesterday.

California Republicans are pushing a ballot measure to divvy up the state's electoral votes by Congressional district in 2008. That could put the equivalent of Ohio back in play for the GOP, just in case one Ohio debacle wasn't enough.

First, Rudy Giuliani lied about his record on taxes. Then, Rudy lied again about Democrats' tax plans. And now he's relying on the same Bush tax cut for his recycled health care plan.

Democrats win House passage of ethics reform by 411-8. English speaker and ethically-challenged Alaska Senator Ted Stevens vows to block it.

Rupert Murdoch convinces the Wall Street Journal's Bancroft family that resistance is futile. If only it weren't so.

A Republican unburdens his soul. Meanwhile, President Bush looks into Gordon Brown's soul and concludes that he's not a "dour Scotsman."

Guest blogging the Round Up this week is Jon Perr from Perrspectives. Send your links, recommendations, comments and angst to mbr AT perrs.ectives DOT com.

  The Hill: (h/t pk)

The Senate Judiciary Committee's ranking Republican, Arlen Specter (Pa.), emerged from a crucial Monday briefing and gave the Bush administration 18 hours to resolve the controversy over apparent contradictions in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's congressional testimony.

Gonzales took issue last week with former Deputy Attorney General James Comey's description of internal dissent in 2004 over the legal authority for the National Security Agency's (NSA) warrantless eavesdropping program. Frustrated Democrats called for a special prosecutor to investigate Gonzales for perjury, noting that several officials have publicly echoed Comey's account. Those calls prompted Specter to request a classified briefing to clear up the dispute.

Specter aides released a statement late Monday that suggested a bombshell to come on Tuesday afternoon.

"Given the difficulty of discussing classified matters in public, I think it is preferable to have a letter addressing that question [of Gonzales' veracity] from the administration ... by noon tomorrow, which will be made available to the news media," Specter wrote in the statement. "The administration has committed to producing such a letter."

Specter expects the letter clarifying the attorney general's testimony to be addressed to himself and Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who declined to comment on the matter.

Specter was equally cagey, telling reporters to wait until Tuesday for any further comment from him.

Here's the line up, courtesy of Penndit. I'm encouraged by a little more balance than we normally see on the Sunday bobbleheads.

* Meet the Press: Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM)
* Face the Nation: Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL); Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI); CBS's Kimberly Dozier
* This Week: Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ); Commerce Sec. Carlos Gutierrez; Jim Gilmore (R-VA); roundtable of LA Times' Ron Brownstein, Donna Brazile, Jake Tapper and George Will; voices segment features Beth and Michael Belle (parents of fallen Marine)
* Fox News Sunday: Mike Huckabee (R-AR); Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA); Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX); commencement speeches
* Late Edition: Pakistani PM Shaukat Aziz; Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY); Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA); Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE); Maj. Gen. William Caldwell; Walter Isaacson; roundtable of Candy Crowley, Andrea Koppel and Elaine Quijano.

Tell us what you found clipworthy.

The Sunday Talking Head line-up is ready to go. Quite the interesting mix on the Sunday shows this morning, and all of it says: no one is buying the Alberto Gonzales "Doh!" attempt at avoiding accountability.

Hmmm, let's see...Sen. Pat Leahy vs. Sen. Orrin Hatch on NBC. Sen. Chuck Schumer vs. Sen. Arlen Specter on CBS. Or Sen. Dianne Feinstein vs. Sen. Kit Bond on CNN. This just may add up to some serious peevish teevee this morning.

Especially with the righteous hiding of the Hatch hands in Patriot Act Senate end-run perversion. (Because, honestly, what are the odds that Russert will ask Hatch why so many of the folks involved in this mess worked in his office? And how is it that one Senator has so many fingers in such a naughty perversion of the rule of law pie?)

In case you missed them yesterday, Bob Geiger has some great political cartoons for the reading. And Digby knocks one out of the park with this line: "Apparently blind fealty to Bush and the GOP is the way you show your love for Jesus." Amen to that one.

So, what's catching your eye on the blogs or in the news this morning?