Republican Sen. Arlen Specter spoke Friday about the need to broaden his party's support base and to tone down the ultra-conservatism that divided the party at its 1992 convention.
The Pennsylvanian senator opened his speech, "Agenda for Voters 18-28," with an optimistic statement, saying that, contrary to economic indicators, "the prospect is present to enjoy a life that is more prosperous, more satisfying and more secure than the generations before." He said the principles on which the Republican Party is based will lead the way to this greater prosperity and a "better tomorrow."
Specter said the divisiveness of the 1992 Houston convention is not indicative of the Republican Party. "The strident words that flowed from the Houston podium were as aberrant to real Republicanism as they were abhorrent to real Republicans."
"The centerpiece of Republicanism as a cornerstone of the future is based upon the proposition that Republican ideas are the ideas which have been advocated by [Abraham] Lincoln and Frederick Douglass of the past and more recently by Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan and point the way for the future," he said.
The Republican Party, Specter said, is based on "individual liberty and free enterprise; tough, realistic programs to fight crime; a powerful American presence in the world as a force for peace, freedom and human rights; strong national defense; and civil rights for all Americans."
Specter served in 1964 as assistant council to the Warren Commission that investigated the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and he is credited with developing the "single bullet theory."
In 1965, he was elected district attorney of Pennsylvania and helped restore the death penalty in that state. More recently known for his role in the Clarence Thomas hearings, Specter is now serving his third term in Washington.
Specter, speaking to about 100 people in Rockefeller Center, advocated two institutional changes to improve fiscal responsibility -- a balanced budget amendment and the line item veto.
Specter said the line item veto could help reduce the national debt and the initiative would give the president the ability to constrain rampant porkbarrel projects that exact unbearable stress on the economy.
When asked if the line item veto could become a tool of party politics, Specter said political pressure would prevent the president from using it in such a way.
Specter also discussed President Bill Clinton's health care plan. "I agree with President Clinton's objective of providing comprehensive health insurance to all Americans, but I strongly disagree with the way he is proposing to achieve that result," he said.
The Senator presented a chart that displayed the bureaucratic effects of Clinton's plan. According to the chart, Clinton's plan would create 105 new boards, commissions and agencies, as well as add new responsibilities to 47 existing agencies.
"The differences in approach on health care are characteristic of the differences in approach between a Clinton Democratic proposal and a Republican proposal," he said.
In an attempt to broaden the Republican Party's support base, Specter emphasized the importance of dropping the abortion issue from the platform.
"I believe that abortion is a very personal decision, very much a moral decision, and is one which government really is not suited to deal with," Specter said.
He further added that removing the abortion plank from the platform would be consistent with the Republican principle of less government. "And when you talk about private matters like what goes on in the bedroom," he said, "it's just something that government ought not to be involved in."
Although Specter said he will not run for the presidency in 1996, he later left the door open by saying, "I may come back and give you a fuller answer some other day."
For now, Specter said he is content to focus on the 1994 race for the Senate, which he said he believes the Republican Party can win.
