You Stay Classy, Arlen: 'I Think Jack Kemp Would Be Alive Today'

This is just astonishingly gruesome. If Arlen Specter felt this way in 1970, why was he ever a Republican?

Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Democrat, said part of the reason he left the Republican Party last week was disillusionment with its healthcare priorities, and suggested that had the Republicans taken a more moderate track, Jack Kemp may have won his battle with cancer.

Mr. Specter, responding to a question from CBS's Bob Schieffer over whether he had let down Pennsylvanians who wanted a Republican to represent them, said he felt his priorities were more in line with those of the Democrats.

"Well, I was sorry to disappoint many people. Frankly, I was disappointed that the Republican Party didn't want me as their candidate," Mr. Specter said on CBS's "Face the Nation." "But as a matter of principle, I'm becoming much more comfortable with the Democrats' approach. And one of the items that I'm working on, Bob, is funding for medical research."

Mr. Specter continued: "If we had pursued what President Nixon declared in 1970 as the war on cancer, we would have cured many strains. I think Jack Kemp would be alive today. And that research has saved or prolonged many lives, including mine."

Apparently Specter is unaware he's still alive. Using his own logic, shouldn't he be dead by now?

I hope the Democrats are happy now that he's in the fold. My only advice to them is they should watch their backs.

What's next for Specter, quoting Kemp from the grave?

Update: Bruce in the comments notes:

From the National Cancer Institute:

The President’s Budget proposal for FY 2009 recommended $4.81 billion for NCI.

[...]

NCI’s budget for FY 2008 was $4.83 billion.

Seems to me Specter should be taking Obama to task for proposing a reduction in the NCI funding, instead of blaming the GOP.

If Bush had done that, the headlines would read "Bush hates cancer patients!".

Indeed, they would. Also, Ed Morrissey points out what a despicable lie this is by Specter.

It’s also a grotesque lie. During Republican control of Congress, federal spending on health research and regulation increased 46% after inflation, from $49 billion a year to $72 billion a year, or about 7% increase each year. That’s almost the same rate of increase as Defense spending got in the same period (48%), when we actually had a real war on our hands, and not a political contrivance for excusing federal spending.

And Specter wonders why he can’t get within 20 points of Pat Toomey in a primary race?

Specter should immediately apologize for this. Otherwise I hope the GOP hangs this around his neck and he becomes a liability for the Democrats, who must be so proud to have this punk in their ranks.