This is politics. He has to try to appeal to the voters of Pennsylvania. Specter's problem is that he is duplicitous, he is a back-stabber, he is amoral, he is dishonest and uncompromising. The fact that he's liberal is almost an afterthought. Santorum is none of those things.
I've got a better idea. Require colleges receiving federal funds (which they all do) to establish free scholarships for low-income children. Otherwise, you're just feeding the leftist factories with tax dollars. There's precedent for this: in my city, anyone who wants to build residential housing is forced to build "low-income" units in order to get a permit. Let's just extend the concept to something the liberals cherish, like colleges and universities.
We already give, give, give to the poor. Like schools, it's a bottomless pit and never enough. And, a middle-income family is just as likely as a poor one not to have enough money to send their little precious to college; the gubmint is busy taking 40% of what they make.
The 'ownership society' will be built at the expense of the liberal welfare state.
What's important about these ideas to encourage savings is that they cost far less than direct 'aid' programs and they encourage the low-income people to think like investors instead of like dependents.
We see the same struggle in the social security arena, with the democrat opposition to personal accounts ...
Govt aid to help create personal savings will drive a stake through the heart of the democrat coalition.
Santorum will have a tough race against Casey, but can win, if he convinces blue-collar social conservatives that he is the right man for them.
But .. why don't people realize that in order for Santorum to remain in the Senate where he can be supportive of conservative issues .. HE HAS TO GET ELECTED. Part of his constituency is not conservative.
Why don't people try to realize that instead of suspecting Santorum is caving or catering .. it has nothing to do with that .. it has to do with winning elections. You have to represent ALL THE PEOPLE .. not just the conservatives.
His voting record tells the real story.