In final Senate speech, Specter slams political ‘cannibalism’

By Holly Bailey holly Bailey
Tue Dec 21, 1:57 pm ET

Arlen Specter isn't leaving Washington quietly.

In his final speech on the Senate floor, the outgoing Republican-turned-Democrat sounded off on the tea party, the rise of partisanship in Congress and the "judicial activism" of the Supreme Court.

"Defeating your own is a form of sophisticated cannibalism," the Pennsylvania senator said of the tea party activists who worked to defeat GOP centrists.

Specter bemoaned the loss of a Senate where both parties seemed to be interested in finding compromise, and he was especially critical of lawmakers who campaigned against their fellow members.

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"That conduct was beyond contemplation in the Senate I joined 30 years ago," Specter said. "Collegiality can obviously not be maintained when negotiating with someone simultaneously out to defeat you, especially within your own party."

He called the increasing lack of civility in politics discouraging. "Civility is a state of mind," Specter said. "It reflects respect for your opponents and for the institutions you serve together." Political polarization, he said, will make civility in the upcoming Congress "more difficult [but] more necessary than ever."

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The former Senate Judiciary Committee chairman then went after the Supreme Court, accusing Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito (both conservatives whom he supported) of "eroding the constitutional mandate of separation of powers."

"The Supreme Court has been eating Congress' lunch by invalidating legislation with judicial activism after nominees commit under oath in confirmation proceedings to respect congressional fact-finding and precedents," Specter said, per CNN's Alexander Mooney.

The former prosecutor jokingly referred to his final speech as more of a closing argument than a farewell. "A closing speech has an inevitable aspect of nostalgia," he said. "An extraordinary experience has come to an end. But my dominant feeling is pride in the great privilege it has been to be a part of this unique body with colleagues who are such outstanding public servants."

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