GOP senator's son supports Dems

Shanin Specter's law firm didn't give any money to President Bush.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- While Sen. Arlen Specter is relying on White House support to help push him past his Republican primary challenger, his son's law firm is financially supporting a Democrat who wants to replace President Bush.
Federal Election Commission records show that attorneys at Philadelphia law firm Kline & amp; Specter, headed by the senator's son, Shanin Specter, have contributed $36,000 to Democratic presidential contender John Edwards over the last two years. Edwards, a North Carolina senator who won South Carolina's Democratic primary Tuesday, is a former trial lawyer who has culled wide financial support from other attorneys.
The firm members also gave $2,000 to Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, who dropped out of the Democratic presidential race two weeks ago, and $25,000 over the last three years to Specter, who currently is up for re-election, the FEC records show.
But none of the Philadelphia attorneys contributed to Bush -- whose support has been vital in Specter's GOP primary race against conservative Rep. Pat Toomey, R-Pa.
Response
"I'm glad to hear they contributed that much to me -- I didn't know that they had," Specter said. "But I guess they like what I do in the Senate. And John Edwards is a former trial lawyer himself, so they like his approach.
"I'm going to have to ask them why they gave so much money to Gephardt -- that seems out of line to me," Specter said.
Reached Tuesday, Shanin Specter said his firm's support in the Democratic presidential campaigns should not carry any weight in Pennsylvania's Republican primary, and noted that he gave Bush $1,000 during the 2000 race for the White House.
"John Edwards is a friend of mine, and he's a trial lawyer, as are members of my firm," Shanin Specter said. "He's running in a Democratic primary for president and he's gotten support around here, not surprisingly. But the support for Sen. Edwards is in the context of a Democratic primary -- not in the context of a fall election against President Bush."
Republican primary
But Democratic and Republican critics alike said the contributions underscore the balancing act Specter is trying to achieve as he faces Toomey in the April 27 Republican primary and, if he wins that race, Democratic Rep. Joe Hoeffel in November's general election.
"It's not surprising that these trial lawyers would support both liberal Sen. Arlen Specter and Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards," said Toomey campaign manager Mark Dion. "These two senators have been allies in opposing medical malpractice and other tort reforms, and both voted to shrink the Bush tax cut and, overall, push a liberal agenda on social and cultural issues."
Kline & amp; Specter also gave $12,500 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee during the 2000 election cycle, the FEC records show. DSCC spokesman Brad Woodhouse said, "perhaps Shanin could write a check to Joe Hoeffel while he is at it."
Specter "just can't catch a break," Woodhouse said. "In a year when he is doing the two-step to the right to appeal to arch conservatives in the Republican primary, his son is giving money to a Democratic presidential candidate. The conversation around the family dinner table must be quite interesting."