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Marc Ambinder

Marc Ambinder - Marc Ambinder is the White House correspondent for National Journal and a contributing editor at The Atlantic. More

Marc Ambinder is the White House correspondent for National Journal. He previously served as the politics editor, and is now a contributing editor, for The Atlantic, where he curated the influential Politics channel on TheAtlantic.com and contributed to the magazine. He was also a chief political consultant to CBS News. Earlier, at NJ's Hotline, Ambinder was the founding editor of "Hotline On Call," a pathbreaking political news blog. He also worked as a producer and reporter for the ABC News Political Unit and was one of the founders of ABC's "The Note." Born in New York City, raised in Central Florida, Ambinder is a 2001 graduate of Harvard and lives in Washington, D.C.

Unions Mulling Specter Pressure Thru Dem Challenger

By Marc Ambinder
Apr 28 2009, 4:50 PM ET Comment

The same labor unions which hoped to dog Sen. Arlen Specter in his Republican Primary are now thinking about using the money -- about $100,000 -- to "keep Specter honest" when it comes to the principles of his new party, top Democrats said.  The money might be used to support a Democratic challenger, the Democrats said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. 

Though Specter ruled out voting for cloture on the Employee Free Choice Act, he is now in a position to broker a compromise -- a "new EFCA."

As Ben Smith of Politico reported, a labor 527 polled Pennsylvania and found that Specter's approval ratings were below that of almost any other statewide official. That polling was used to raise money for a planned campaign against him.

Finding a Democrat to challenge Specter will be tough. Several Democrats who were thinking about the race pulled out today. 

A side note: Democrats say three politicians -- Gov. Ed Rendell and Reps. Mike Doyle and Robert Brady -- were in regular contact with Specter as he made his decision.


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