THE NOTE - And as the fight continues to gurgle in Washington, Sen. Specter, the man at the center of the tempest, is scheduled to travel today to New York City along with his Keystone State colleague, Sen. Rick Santorum, for an appearance before the principal Gotham City forum for national conservative politics, The Monday Meeting.
The Monday Meeting, run by top New York conservatives Mallory Factor and James Higgins, is a deliberately low-profile (but extremely influential) group whose off-the-record sessions have become the place where Administration officials, House leadership, and Senators come to demonstrate their conservative bona fides to political organizers, conservative media, and A list donors.
Keen observers of the Judiciary Committee brouhaha will be watching the smoke signals carefully, as this is the only known appearance before a conservative group that Specter — who sources say has turned down invitations to explain his position before numerous conservative groups, including the Federalist Society and Americans for Tax Reform — has scheduled.
Specter's 2003 appearance before The Monday Meeting is credited by many with stopping a conservative stampede to primary rival Pat Toomey and saving Specter's seat. |
