Specter can't win

Timothy McNulty | April 27, 2009

Tough times for Arlen Specter -- now he's even getting blamed for swine flu.

Liberal blogs have been all over the story today of how Republicans stipped flu pandemic preparedness funding from the Obama stimulus bill. Much of it has centered on fellow GOP moderate Susan Collins, like in this story from HuffPost:

Well, as it turns out, volcano monitoring wasn't the only worthwhile public safety program that was deemed extravagant in the stimulus package, funding for pandemic preparation was axed as well. And playing a critical role was Susan Collins -- for whom the necessity of obtaining her vote is in inverse proportion to the intelligence she shows in policy making.

Via The Nation:

Famously, Maine Senator Collins, the supposedly moderate Republican who demanded cuts in health care spending in exchange for her support of a watered-down version of the stimulus, fumed about the pandemic funding: "Does it belong in this bill? Should we have $870 million in this bill No, we should not."

Now they're going after Specter too. On the same day he tried to protect his left flank by writing about warrantless wiretapping, he's getting attacked from the left for similar cuts.

Here's ThinkProgress:

After the funding was stripped, another moderate Republican attempting to appear tough on "unnecessary" spending in the recovery package, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), endorsed Collins' crusade against the pandemic preparedness funding on Fox News:

MS. KELLY: Okay. $780 million for pandemic flu preparedness, in or out?

SEN. SPECTER: Out. Very important projects, I took the lead along with Tom Harkin on some massive funding for pandemic flu, but it belongs in our regular appropriations bill.

And here's SenateGuru, noting that with the flu-tied slide in the stock market, preparedness has its economic side:

I wonder what impact a major health scare will have on the economy, both globally and domestically.  Note to Susan Collins: maybe emergency preparedness funding does belong in an economic stimulus bill if the emergency in question has the potential to massively slow our economy.  Thanks for nothing, Susan Collins.