rights as a citizen of this country. if you don't file income tax, you do not have -- i believe, a stake in the game. >> okay, debbie. >> well, debbie, i don't agree with you. i think people should pay the fair amount of taxes, but if a person is on relief, the system, the government has made a decision that people will get a certain amount of money from the government on welfare. and it is not really very much money. it's barely enough to survive on. and that's a very close question. so i would not make a decision to give people a certain amount of money to live on and then take part of it back. but your general principle about fairness i think is right. and i've addressed that earlier in the program with respect to taxing the 1%. my disagreement with president

obama on extending the tax cuts for the very wealthy. >> richton, new jersey, walter, an independent. good morning. >> caller: good morning, senator specter. how you doing? >> good. >> caller: i want to ask you, what do you think can be done to make local people like yourself and colin powell and republicans that hold a more moderate view? >> the answer to have an aroused, informed electorate. let me tell you some of the details as to what happened to senator lisa murkowski in alaska. she was challenged by the tea party, and they beat her in a primary. and she decided to run as a write-in candidate. now that is unprecedented. strom thurmond did it in 1954

under very different circumstances. but in an unprecedented way, lisa murkowski won a write-in. now, do you know how hard it is to spell murkowski? if you write murkowski and you have ay instead of a i, they throw out your ballot. if you have a o instead of a u, they throw out your ballot. and she beat the system. which means that if you have an electorate which is informed and motivated, and that's what i'm trying to do with the book i wrote, "life among the cannibals" to describe exactly what is happening in washington. i've had the unique perspective to be in both caucuses, both republican and democratic caucuses. and i tell the inside story as to what goes on. now after she won the write-in, the cannibals challenged her in court. and senator demint, whom i

identified earlier advertised for lisa murkowski's opponent on his website to raise money to fight her in court. and they lost. but the lesson is that an aroused, informed electorate can beat the rascals on both sides. >> randy, a republican in river falls, wisconsin. >> caller: yes, good morning. >> morning. >> caller: senator specter. >> morning. >> caller: i have read your book, your first book when you had cancer. i've been a follower of yours ever since. >> well thank you. >> caller: i would like to comment about the lady called in about the senate stuff. if bernie madoff had been in the senate, he would still be walking the streets. and if all the senators and congressmen were with insider trading, they would be in jail. i admire you. you're very fair on your judicial confirmations. i really enjoy listening to you.

you brought out the best in everybody, and it was great. your first book that i read, it was great. but for you coming out with this book here that you got, the reason why you lost or changed because of your -- when you went to a democrat, you knew you were going to get beat in the republican primary in pennsylvania. you went to the democrat, you still got beat. i think it was on account of your vote of the stimulus and the health care bill. and if your look you have coming out now, with your title of it, it is missing one thing. it should have a big teardrop underneath your title, senator specter. i still regard you and you're great. i thank you for your service. >> by the way, i like your question. i thought it was a terrific comment. thank you. thank you very much. thank you for the endorsement of the book. you can order it now, amazon.com. order it and you'll get it on the next tuesday when it's the

official release date. we're promoting it pretty hard. we may have to have a second printing. so order it now if you want to get it. amazon.com. >> march 27th is when the book comes out. woodbridge, democratic caller, good morning. >> caller: good morning, senator specter. >> good morning. >> caller: i want your opinion, because i'm in my 60s. and i watch sometimes your colleagues. i'm a democrat, but there are many republicans who i may have disagreed with, but i always respected them. with the state of the republican party now and towing the party line, they're all talking the same talking points. they're all saying the same thing. i look at some of your colleagues who have been in congress, in the senate for years, and they look like empty suits. they no longer have any independence. they no longer have any clear thoughts of their own. it's all talking points. and they look like they went

from great lions to nothing. >> senator? >> couldn't agree with you more. you said it all. they follow the party line. there is a lot of wisdom in the senate. if the senators would only speak their minds, it would be such -- so much of a better system. when i joined the senate, i'm frequently asked a question, how has it changed. well, it's changed tremendously. when i joined the senate, you had mark hatfield of oregon and mack mathias of maryland, and john chafee of rhode island. the republican caucus was filled and we crossed the aisle and talked. it was so much better. that's why i wrote this book. i wrote the book to tell the american people what happens in the american caucus, what happens in the democratic caucus.

and it's very similar. the conversations are very similar, except the democrats are way off to the left, and the republicans are way off to the right. and most of america is in the center. and if the electorate is informed and motivated, coming back to senator murkowski, we can turn this country around. >> part of the budget debate is do we cut spending and raise taxes at the same time. this is a tweet from rick who wants to know, senator specter, why didn't the economy tank after president clinton raised taxes? >> why didn't the economy -- >> tank, after president clinton raised taxes. >> well, because of the economic cycle was with him. the raising of taxes was one factor, but there were a lot of other factors, the cyclical on the economy. the economy is very hard to control by external forces.

it has a cycle and it just worked through that we went through a very productive cycle and a very strong economy. >> i want to get your thoughts on bob kerrey, returning to nebraska to run for the senate seat. this is the ap reporting today. the judge has ruled that the former senator will appear on nebraska's primary ballot in may. what are your thoughts on him? >> he is an outstanding man. i work with him very closely in the senate when i chaired the senate intelligence committee in 1995 and 1996. bob was the vice-chairman. i saw him recently. he has been away from nebraska for a while. but he is independent. he is smart, and an outstanding senator. >> let me go back to campaign 2012. do you think rick santorum can win the april 24th primary in pennsylvania? >> it's an open question.

the last time he ran in pennsylvania, he got beaten very badly, 59-41. the people who knew him handed down that verdict. that's what the jury said. in the presidential issue, there is a lot of local pride. my hunch is that it won't be sufficient, that he will not win. the republican establishment is against him, not that that's necessarily significant. but the elected officials would be worried if he was on the ticket, he would hurt the race for state attorney general. and the people who are running for house of representatives. so my hunch is that he will not win. but the local pride could turn that around. >> all right, joan, an independent in california. good morning, joan. >> caller: good morning. good morning, senator. >> good morning. >> caller: i have to praise you for a second. i'm a member of the parkinson's committee. >> oh, take your time. you don't have to do it in a

second. >> caller: okay, great. well, your leadership in increasing federal support for parkinson's research rescued us from the biomedical stone age, and i will be grateful to you every day for the rest of my life. but i also have a question. your leadership in trying to increase understanding of translational research is just as important, or maybe more so, because we can have all the money in the world, but if it's all just been for basic research and never gets to the research that delivers cures, it won't get us anywhere. i'm wondering what the status of that is now. >> well, first of all, thank you for your kind words. on the issue of increasing funding for parkinson's, i did take the lead as chairman of the appropriations subcommittee to raise annual funding from 12 to $30 billion. and then in the stimulus

package, i offered the amendment which carried for $10 billion more. so there have been enormous advances made in parkinson's. i've gotten to know michael j. fox, who is a leading spokesman. but also tremendous advances in combatting cancer, heart disease, autism, really on all of the ailments. when you mentioned transitional, you're on a subject that most people don't know a whole lot about. i introduced legislation on that which would carry it from the bench to bedside, from the bench so to speak in the laboratory to bedside to the patient. and my legislation was included in the affordable health care act known as obamacare, and substantial funds were appropriated there. so that is catching on. the problem is there is no

champion now in the united states congress for nih or that funding. it takes at least a in der just to tread water to maintain the status quo. and last year, not only didn't they add enough to just tread water, but it was cut by $318 million. and it is necessary for the american people. there are 110 million americans who were affectedr indirectly by these maladies to endure political pressure and get congress to when i had the sharp pencil of the subcommittee. >> on another topic, stella tweets in this. ask about fast and furious, do you think holder should resign over that. the fast and furious gun program, the supposedly selling of the guns to drug cartels in mexico that ended up in the loss of life. >> well, that ended up in a

scandal and a misdirected and lack of supervision. the issue is whether it goes all the way to the attorney general himself. but terrible mistakes which have to be corrected. >> if it did good all the way to the attorney general, do you think he should step down, eric holder? >> no. it would depend upon the details of the facts. if he made a judgment knowing better, yes. if he was lax in supervising somebody, he's got a lot to supervise. you can't really sit in a chair at a distance and make a decision about having him step down without knowing much more than i know. >> all right. wilmington, indiana. daniel, republican. >> caller: how are we doing, senator specter? good morning. >> hello. good morning. vote for dick lugar. [ laughter ] >> caller: you know, actually, you raise a good point there.

i actually got a call from his office up in indianapolis a few days ago. what were you going to say, greta? >> daniel, are you planning to vote for senator lugar? >> caller: i am. well, i'm still kind of treading, you know, on the party done very well over his career. and i commend you very much for that, you know. you've proven that bipartisanship is possible in this nation. and it opens up the system for all people to meet their leaders in the center. but -- excuse me, i'm a part of the parkinson's community as well. >> take your time. >> yeah. say i will vote for senator lugar. i can't say yes right now. but i will most likely vote for him. i also called to ask you do you think that the war in afghanistan, do you think that the people in afghanistan are still facing a critical threat

from the taliban, and do you think if we pull out in 2014, that their people will be successful in the fight for protecting domestic -- domestic -- domestic, you know, their domestic future. >> i think they are facing a threat. but there have been negotiations between the karzai government and the taliban. i was part of a congressional delegation which visited in afghanistan less than two years ago and met with president karzai. and i think they can work it out themselves. it may well be that their chances to work it out are improved if the united states is not there. when we're there, it gets the taliban's backup. when we're there, there are incidents which occur like the recent killing of so many

afghanistan civilians by a sergeant who simply broke under the strain of being sent back there so often so that our leaving may actually improve the chances for their working it out. there is another factor, and that is that we cannot be everywhere. we cannot be everywhere where there are feuding factions. that is happening all over the world. you can't get through the morning press without saying what is going on in so many, many places. we have to be where we have a national interest, a national interest for the united states. and time is long past to be out of afghanistan. >> sarasota, florida, gary, democratic caller. >> caller: thank you, senator specter. you have done fantastic work over the years. >> thank you.

>> caller: i was watching since many, many years all this political events. what i'm worried about is the best, the center core like a dole and you and senator simpson. everybody are just giving up. i wish that all the best of from this republican party and the democratic party get together, centrist, which are the majority of this country, come together and form a union and come up again for america. bring america back. because america is divided on both end between super conservative and super liberals. >> senator specter? >> i agree. >> sharon, vermont, richard, a republican. >> caller: good morning. >> morning. >> caller: it seems to me that

the biggest single issue facing our nation is our debt. and piled on top of the debt are the 50 to $100 trillion worth of unfunded liabilities. senator specter, you were part of that problem. the informed, aroused electorate deposed you. then you changed parties and you got beat again. i find it difficult to understand how you qualify for the high road here. the debt is going to terminate our nation. they're spending my grandson's money. they're not spending my money anymore. >> all right. let's get a response. >> well, three times i voted for a constitutional amendment for a balanced budget so that the federal government would have to live within its means, just like the cities and states, and just like ordinary citizens.

and in the senate, i worked very hard to eliminate fraud from my work on the judiciary committee, where we lose tremendous sums of money by fraudulent practices in medicare and medicaid and on department of defense contracts. i did support funding for items like the national institute of health on scientific research. i think money well spent. i did support funding for amtrak to have a major transportation system to get people to and from work. i did support the philadelphia navy yard to bring jobs there in the deepening of the port on what are called earmarks. if you take a look at the earmarks that i supported, they were very well-founded. so that i fought against the debt, the deficit and the

national debt. and my record shows it. >> on foreign affairs, here is the baltimore sun this morning headline. the u.n. security council backs a peace plan for syria. you write in your book about syria and iran, and you write how many times you spoke one-on-one with president obama and encouraged him to talk to syria and iran. do you think if he had done so, the situation there today would be different? >> well, it's pretty hard to change what president obama bashar assad has done. but i think it would have been worth a try. i took a special interest in the mid east. i first went there in the 1984. i made 20 trips to syria. knew bashar assad's father. the only member to attend his funeral. i met the current president there. i believe that dialogue would have had a chance to succeed.

i think dialogue would have had -- still has a chance to succeed in iran. i think the beating of the war drums without exhausting all of the sanctions and all of the diplomatic avenues is not smart. i think you have the israelis, ehud barak used to be prime minister, now defense minister. i think he is engaging with tough psychological warfare with the iranians when they talk about a stride. and i think diplomacy does have a chance to work. it is astounding, though, what bashar assad has done. >> would you call him a dictator? >> i would call him a despot. he is more than a dictator. i would call him a barbarian. he is worse than a cannibal. he is a barbarian.

what they're doing there, and it's a shock to me. i sat as close and you and i are and talked to him in a reasonable way. he is an ophthalmologist. he is british educated. he has a very cultured wife. my wife joan had lunch with her, developed a rapport. and to see what is going on now is just astounding. but listen, greta, you make peace with your enemies, not your friends. there is an old saying keep your friends close and your enemies closer. >> athens, georgia, eva, independent caller. you're next. >> caller: good morning, senator specter. >> morning. >> caller: i can't wait to read your book. >> thank you. >> caller: i would ask have you included anything in there with respect to the confirmation hearing of clarence thomas. i know you're teaching a course now in the law school. and i watched those senate

hearing and the judiciary committee hearings, and you sat on that committee during the time that anita hill was testifying. i wonder if that was included in your book and if you could comment this morning on it, please. >> well, it is included in my book with respect to justice thomas and citizens united, what has happened now. i go into that issue in great length in my first book called "passion for truth," which was published 12 years ago. great, great those hearings. i've actually write three books, passion for truth which includes my work as assistant coci warre investigating the assassination of president kennedy where i developed the single bullet theory, and i talk about my work as d.a. of philadelphia and about my time in the senate,

including the confirmation hearings of justice thomas. and i wrote a book never give in, which is about my battle with hodgkin's cancer, staying on the job, and now the book "life among the cannibals," which updates to the current problems with my suggestions for trying to deal with that. >> about your battle for cancer, can you talk about your health now? are you in good health? >> what you see is what you get, greta. >> still working out as much as you were? >> yeah. i played squash every day last week. played squash on monday, been in washington monday, tuesday and this morning. so we'll be playing squash this afternoon. i consider a trip to the squash court a trip to the health bank. every time i go to the health bank, i make a deposit. and i made big. >> fort collins, colorado, charles, an independent. >> caller: good morning, mr. specter. >> morning. >> i would like you to comment. i sit here every day as an

independent and watch fox news and rush limbaugh. grover norquist, who doesn't believe in economic base multipliers, who came up with this no tax thing, what, in seventh grade? and all these stuff. and i hear these republicans always just parroting exactly what is coming off the media. and it doesn't seem like they have any voice or opinions of their own. and i'm telling my friends who are republicans, this is burying your party, because when you start getting people and listening to people that are so far to the right, you know, you have to win the independents. you're never going to get anywhere. you're going to end up with romney. you're going to end up with santorums. you're not going to end up with jeb bushs in their party, and they're basically eating themselves up doing this, because people like me look at

santorum as you were saying and go what in the world are. are we draconian? i don't know. you help me out with this. >> don't insult the draconians. santorum, you're insulting the draconians when you're comparing santorum to the draconians. listen. we're doing without a lot of people. we just lost olympia snowe. that's a big loss on top of bob bennet. joe lieberman is going. arlen specter is gone. mike cassel is gone. when you say why don't they have opinions of their own, let me tell you something. they do have opinions of their own. you ought to be in the cloakroom right off the senate floor on both sides there are cloak rooms where people go and sit down and have a cup of coffee and smooch,

the yiddish word for converse, talk. you ought to hear the discussions in the cloakroom. there are lots of opinions. when i walked out after my vote on the stimulus package, the first thing that bob bennet said to me, arlen, i'm proud of you. i said will you vote with me? he said no, that might get me a primary. well, he got a primary anyway, and he got beat nene the primary. the thought just occurred to me. they ought to televise the cloakrooms. set up c-span televising the senate chamber which has a quorum almost of the time. all that good valuable time is wasted on a quorum call, not with beautiful greta and some intelligent questions. who knows about the answer. somebody else will have to judge that. we ought to televise the cloakrooms, greta. never mind what goes on on the floor. televise the cloakrooms, be a different america. >> senator arlen specter, thank you very much for being here.

the book is "life among the cannibals." >> hold it up, greta, will you, please? >> we got tonight screen right there. >> oh. >> life among the cannibals, out march 27th. thank you for being here, sir. >> amazon.com. >> and we're going to reair this on book tv as well. on tomorrow morning's washington journal, oklahoma congressman tom cole, a member of the appropriations and budget committees talks about the house gop 2013 gop budget proposal released this week. former tv talk show host phil donahue discusses his film "body of war." and bradley herring looks at how many americans are without health insurance, and how these numbers will be affected by the affordable health care act. washington journal live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. up next on c-span 3, a veterans affairs budget hearing with va secretary eric shinseki.

then from the national health foundation we'll hear from eric schmidt of google and chris wallace of fox news. >> the genetic scientist who finally nailed down a rough date for when the hiv epidemic starts describes tinderboxs and wet moss. he says most of the world is wet moss. in most parts of the world there is not that much hiv. yet in some place there's is a ton, and it's incredibly destructive. so understanding that these two sort of categories exist and allows you to think okay, what are those factors to keep this virus moving, and what can we do as a world to end it.