Specter Won’t Reverse Stance on ‘Bitter Pill’ Stimulus

Despite viewing the stimulus package as being rushed and containing poor elements, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said he would not reverse his pledge to support the package.

Specter, one of three Republicans whose support is crucial to the bill’s passage in the Senate, said he would not go back on his word, and would instead work to remove bad elements of the bill — such as centralized healthcare information — during the conference of the House and Senate versions.

“This legislation is a bitter pill to swallow,” Specter said during an appearance Tuesday on Fox News. “But we’re facing a situation where the current economic problems could turn into another depression like 1929.”

The Pennsylvania Senator, whose support of the stimulus could trigger a conservative challenger in the 2010 Republican primary in the state, said he would work to get healthcare provisions “clarified.”

“I’ve made a commitment, and I’m not going to go back on my word and on a commitment,” he said. “But when we find problems of this potential, we can cure them without upsetting the whole apple cart.”

“Whosever idea it is, it’s a bad idea, and we’ll get it corrected,” Specter added. “I just wish we could correct a lot of other things, too.”

One of the other three Republicans to support the package, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), has indicated she may reverse course on the bill if the conference version of the stimulus includes more spending and waste. Collins’s Maine colleage, Sen. Olympia Snowe, is the third Senate Republican to have supported the package.

Watch the interview with Specter below: