Policy Over Party: The Legacy of Senator Arlen Specter

How does crossing party lines change politics and influence policy?

While it will be long debated whether former Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter’s complex and controversial political legacy merits mainly praise or criticism, there can be no doubt that this complicated man was a major force in America. In his decades-long career, Specter often broke rank with his party in order to do what he felt was right for the country, becoming “one of the few true wild cards of Washington politics.” (PhillyMag 2006)

In this exclusive talk for Jefferson, Textile, and Philadelphia University alumni, Faculty Director of the Arlen Specter Center at Thomas Jefferson University and faculty member Evan Laine, JD, shares an examination of Specter’s career through storytelling and photographs. He is joined by special guest, Senator Specter's son, Shanin Specter, Esq., during the discussion.

You can learn more about this political trailblazer and the legacy Laine explores in his new book, “Arlen Specter: Scandals, Conspiracies, and Crisis in Focus.”