Arlen Specter: Scandals, Conspiracies, and Crisis in Focus by Evan Edward Laine, and: Philadelphia Battlefields: Disruptive Campaigns and Upset Elections in a Changing City by John Kromer (review)

Reviewed by: Arlen Specter: Scandals, Conspiracies, and Crisis in Focus by Evan Edward Laine, and: Philadelphia Battlefields: Disruptive Campaigns and Upset Elections in a Changing City by John Kromer John J. Kennedy Arlen Specter: Scandals, Conspiracies, and Crisis in Focus. By Evan Edward Laine. (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2021. 248 pp. Notes, index. Cloth, $40 ; ebook, $38.) Philadelphia Battlefields: Disruptive Campaigns and Upset Elections in a Changing City. By John Kromer. (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2020. 340 pp. Illustrations, notes, index. Paper, $37.95; cloth, $115.50; ebook, $37.95.) Two recent publications add to the growing list of books on topics related to Philadelphia and Pennsylvania politics—one relatively narrow in scope, the other with a much broader focus. Simply titled Arlen Specter, a new biography by Evan Edward Laine, associate professor of history at Thomas Jefferson University and director of the Arlen Specter Center, [End Page 71] examines the complex man who was elected a record five times to the US Senate from the Commonwealth. The book unfolds nonchronologically, exploring Specter's role through various policy debates (the stimulus vote, stem cell research, and LGBTQ rights), interactions with other leaders (Bill Clinton, Yasser Arafat, Fidel Castro, and a particularly poignant section on his relationship with Joe Biden), and political challenges (changing parties—several times). In some of these events, such as Iran-Contra, Specter was only a peripheral figure and not central to the overarching story. However, the author wisely begins the book with two separate chapters that effectively outline his considerable impact on American politics and history, while also highlighting the complexity of the person who at times pleased and infuriated both his supporters and critics. Specter was certainly one of the pivotal figures in the rejection of Robert Bork's nomination to the United States Supreme Court in 1987, with the failed nominee himself later reflecting that Specter had played a key role and "did a great deal" to prevent his confirmation. Specter's opposition so enraged many conservatives that, in its aftermath, one representative from central Pennsylvania recommended that Specter stay out of his area at least through hunting season. Another state representative notified Specter of his thoughts in one succinct letter: "Dear Benedict: Go to Hell!" In the final analysis, Laine makes a strong case that the Bork confirmation hearings represented "a watershed change in the landscape of political battles," moving political conflict from behind closed doors to no-holds-barred public spotlight (15). The following chapter details how the tables turned during Clarence Thomas's nomination battle three years later. Assigned by his Republican colleagues on the judiciary committee as the chief inquisitor of Anita Hill (a former aide to Thomas who accused him of sexual harassment), Specter pilloried her, going so far as to accuse Hill of "flat-out perjury" and boasting that Hill's "credibility has been demolished" by his questioning. In retrospect, the whole episode served as a precursor to the #MeToo movement, and Specter's role in it would be remembered by many, particularly after he switched political parties and lost in the Democratic Party primary in the spring of 2010, a defeat that brought down the curtain to his political career. Despite Laine's attempts, the big question remains unanswered. Why did Specter unleash his considerable prosecutorial skills to sabotage Bork's nomination, then utilize it shortly thereafter to Thomas's benefit? [End Page 72] One explanation, that Specter believed judges should not be denied based upon qualifications but on judicial philosophy alone, seems rather naïve, especially since Thomas (despite his inexperience) made little attempt throughout the proceedings to hide his views, which were not markedly different from Bork's. In the end, the episode reveals the characteristics of a politician who may at times have confounded voters from both sides of the aisle but unquestionably had an extraordinary impact, even for a US senator, on American life. Another book, Philadelphia Battlefields, is a fascinating look at some of the most celebrated and infamous political battles and grudges in the city over the last several decades. The author, John Kromer, is an instructor at the University of Pennsylvania and previously served as director...