U.S. Senator Visits Venezuela, Asks Rumsfeld to Lower Anti-Chavez Rhetoric

[steve2470]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBCDV21LCE.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - A Republican senator asked Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Friday to lower his rhetoric against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to help win Venezuela's support for combating illegal narcotics.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa. who met this week with Chavez, reminded Rumsfeld in a letter that the United States needs Venezuela's help for effective action against drug trafficking in South America.

"In this context," the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman wrote, "it may well be helpful to, at least, have a moratorium on adverse comments on Venezuela."

Pentagon officials said the letter had not been received by late Friday and refused immediate comment.

<snip>

Note, if you will, the word REPUBLICAN.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. Arlen Specter making sense?

What is this world coming to?

[bluestateguy]

2. Sometimes Arlen Specter really impresses me

and other times he makes me madder than hell.

Anyway, I like Hugo Chavez, and while I don't agree with everything he has done, I admire the ways in which he is trying to fight poverty in his country. And, unlike Fidel Castro, he was democratically elected several times.

[TomInTib]

3. Think about it though...

Specter is fighting cancer, so we can safely assume that he is in his last term (wishing the best for him, but if he recovers and makes it through the next six years, I doubt that he would run again).

He is a true conservative (not a neo-con),and is really looking hard at his legacy. I may not agree with him all of the time either (or with many Dems sometimes - Biden comes to mind), but he does seem to have a fundamental integrity.

The guy is going through chemo, running the SCOTUS show, and is willing to tell Rummy to chill. I think that he is acting very much in the best senatorial tradition. I respect him. In fact, I'd invite him to dinner - it would probably be a very interesting conversation.

[Gman]

4. Specter may as well piss in the wind

for all the attention Rumsfeld will pay to him. They don't consider Specter a Republican anyway.

[TomInTib]

5. Sadly, you are probably right (as in correct)...

I know that this runs contrary to everything that DU stands for, but maybe we should establish a "Republican Hall of Fame" here with the mostly sensible folks on the other side of the aisle (Walter P. Jones, George Voinovich, Chuck Hagel, and Arlen Specter) and support them too. Kind of like Democrats for Nixon (I was pretty young then, but I seem to have a memory of that.)

Even if our party is not in charge, maybe we can get some saner, less corrupt (not much of a stretch) folks in charge.

I want the revolution to begin now, but the neocons were very patient and devious, and stole the elections and the agenda right out from under us. Maybe we need to get a little more creative in forwarding a sensible and accountable government of the people, by the people, and for the people - as opposed to one that is of, by and for the whack-jobs and the corporations that rape and pillage.