Specter not optimistic about progress from ‘super committee’

The longest serving U.S. senator in Pennsylvania’s history isn’t impressed with the “super committee” assigned to reducing the national debt.

Former Sen. Arlen Specter says the congressional super committee is all but doomed. Specter, who served as both a Republican and Democrat, says the committee’s makeup ensures more gridlock over national spending.

“The issue was not solved, it was an opportunity to restructure government spending but instead they just kicked the can down the road, created a super committee equally divided between Democrats and Republicans,” said Specter. “The prospects are, there’ll be another stalemate.”

Specter says the inability of Congress to raise the debt ceiling in a timely fashion is evidence enough that extremists have taken over both parties.

The only remedy, Specter says, is a more activist electorate.

“The responsibility is up to the non-voters. The current Congress was elected by 37 percent of the American electorate. And the parties have been taken over by the extremists on both sides,” said Specter, who now practices law in Philadelphia.

One of the six Republican members of the super committee is the man who replaced Specter, Sen. Pat Toomey.