Posted on 03/29/2005 6:40:35 AM PST by Conservative Goddess
Some very smart people believe that U.S. Senator Rick Santorum is poised to become ex- Senator Santorum, a casualty of his scheduled re-election contest next year with State Treasurer Bob Casey.
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In fact, a close look at the record suggests that his confrontational style and conservative rhetoric conceals more than it reveals. Too much attention has been spent on Santorum the cultural ideologue and not enough on his pragmatism and political opportunism; inside this raging bull of a conservative is a pragmatist for whom getting re-elected always trumps ideology, which may not make him any different than other politicians.
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The independent and much respected National Journal’s rating system cited here is probably the most highly regarded measure of its kind. What its analysis reveals is that Pennsylvania’s junior senator consistently shifts toward the center in those years just before his reelection. Santorum may continue to talk like a conservative, but he’s voting like a pragmatist. Last year, for example, according to the Journal, Santorum was actually narrowly left of the Republican center, with his votes placing him closer to Arlen Specter than to his more conservative colleagues.
Last year was not the only year he moved left. He did the same in the run up to his 2000 re-election. The year before the election, he supported a decidedly un-conservative sales tax hike in 11 western Pennsylvania counties to build new sport stadiums in Pittsburgh, campaigned for pro choice Christy Todd Whitman, and supported increasing the minimum wage. In 2000, he supported federal funding for several Pennsylvania projects, including money for aquatic habitat. He also fought to save the health care benefits of 560, 000 Pennsylvanians who participated in the Medicare+Choice program. Most revealing of all, he backed off his commitment for the 1997-balanced budget act.
Similarly, this election cycle, Santorum is showing renewed interest in transportation and other Pennsylvania pork barrel appropriations. Indeed, he has now become a key player in bringing the bacon back home. He has also held high profile press conferences with John Kerry promoting a measure that would accommodate workers’ religious practices and with Hillary Clinton for money to study the effects of TV viewing, Internet and other media on children. And he is now rethinking his position in favor of capital punishment.
Santorum even now supports Clinton’s Americorps program that he once ridiculed as a colossal waste of taxpayer’s money for kids to sit around campfires singing kum ba yah.
His conservative talk and moderate walk were on display recently in key congressional budget votes. Initially, the “conservative” Santorum voted against a variety of Senate initiatives to restore budget cuts by the House--from Medicaid to Homeland Security grants, to education, and even Amtrak funding. But then on cue, the “moderate” Santorum, voted with the majority, 51 to 49, on final passage to restore the cuts to education, Medicaid, and the other domestic programs he had previously not supported.
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But this focus on Santorum’s high profile rhetoric has been myopic, causing his adversaries to miss much that is important. In particular, insufficient attention has been paid to Santorum’s unflagging work at his party’s grass roots; how he’s established comprehensive constituency services; how he’s worked tirelessly for Republicans--ask Arlen Specter about this--and how he has joined Specter in the Pennsylvania pork brigade. And far too little notice has been given to how he has blended his conservative zealotry with political pragmatism.
Maybe Democrats will learn the lesson taught here. Maybe they will learn not to underestimate Santorum. Maybe they will learn to watch what he does more closely than what he says. Maybe they will learn to take him less seriously as an ideologue and more seriously as a politician. And maybe they will finally defeat him next year. Maybe!
Here's the political calculation you don't seem to remember or understand. There was no guarantee that the GOP would pick up or retain its numbers in the Senate. So from President Bush on down it was thought best to support every GOP incumbent.
With Arlen voting with the GOP caucus, we have control of the apparatus. With a Senator Hoeffel and a few other losses, we have a tied or diminished Senate.
You all are operating under the assumption that Toomey would win in the general election. That's not a given in any way, especially with Rendell and the Philly machine.
You also operate under the assumption that it doesn't matter what party controls the Senate. You can disagree with 20/20 hindsight that Specter's seat was a "must hold" for the GOP, but in the political reality of the campaign season, to forfeit a seat you control is foolish.
Bush and Santorum calculated that the pro-life cause would be furthered with GOP control of the Senate, including a Specter who was in some way indebted to them, than they would be by impaling themselves in order to please the base.
You are short sighted.
SD
LOL. Reasonable people can disagree. I'm tired of the party telling me that Ricky is the uber conservative...when clearly, he is not. They even dispatched Ken Mehlman to proclaim: "He's a man of convictions." I nearly fell out of my chair laughing when I read it. I was duped for a very long time by his words....I'm only pointing out the fact that Ricky's words and deeds are incongruent. If you chose to vote for him simply because he's the lesser of the evils, great, so be it.
My point is simply this: If we continue to tolerate conservatism when convenient, then we'll get more of it. I've voted pragmatically for years, waiting, patiently for them to start acting like conservatives who are in the majority, instead, we've seen explosive growth in government. As a limited government, Libertarian/conservative, I can no longer hold my nose and vote for the lesser of the evils.
If you want to be effective, then oppose the heretic in the primary. That is the proper place for that. Going third party or sitting on your hands is not a viable option.
If you are dissatisfied with the GOP (and who isn't sometimes?), then work to change it. Don't gripe and moan and place unrealistic yokes on its members. If you think Santorum has betrayed you cause he supported his president and senior senator, then find someone in the primary who is better.
Helping to elect a democrat is not the answer.
SD
"You all are operating under the assumption that Toomey would win in the general election."
I operate under no such assumption.
EVERY prognostication that I read or heard in the run-up to the primary indicated that we were likely to pick up seats in the general. This was a PERFECT time to cull a rino, even if you assume, arguendo, that we would have lost the seat to Hoeffel (unlikely in my view).
That Rick allowed the party to dictate his endorsement of Arlen over idealogical soulmate Toomey, is unforgiveable. Demonstrates a comlete lack of, well, I'll be kind and say, SPINE!
And John Kerry was winning in the early exit polls, too. You don't count your chickens...
This was a PERFECT time to cull a rino, even if you assume, arguendo, that we would have lost the seat to Hoeffel (unlikely in my view).
There is never a good time to forfeit control of a Senate seat. You are unreasonable. The time to "cull a rino" is in the primary, and we darn near did it. I voted for Toomey. But I understand why Bush and Santorum did not support him.
That Rick allowed the party to dictate his endorsement of Arlen over idealogical soulmate Toomey, is unforgiveable.
You would rather there be no purebred conservative senators rather than accepting that there are some political realities that must be faced. One of them is supporting the reelection of fellow members of your own party.
Just don't complain when Casey beats Santorum and Specter dies and Rendell appoints a second democrat senator for us.
We would not have forfeited control of the Senate and I believe that Toomey would have won the statewide election. We would have been infinately better off if Santorum had bothered to stand on his professed principles. If Arlen behaves, moves all nominees out of committee, then I'll eat crow. But I'll bet you dollars to donuts that he'll find an obscure provision in Scottish law that will give him a reason to BORK a nominee or two or three. Time will tell, but it is much to early to give Ricky a pass for his complicity in allowing Arlen to ascend.
There's control, and then there's control. Every extra seat gives us more leeway.
And if you think Toomey would have won statewide, you are seriously optimistic. He might have had a chance, but I don't trust much of anything that happens in Philly. Specter, for what little else he is worth, has the support of the Philly labor machine. That ain't nothing.
Time will tell, but it is much to early to give Ricky a pass for his complicity in allowing Arlen to ascend.
The complement to your assuming Toomey would win is more bizarre notion that Santorum "allowed" Spectre to win. I am not convinced that Spectre would not have won regardless of Santorum's actions. Santorum is scertainly not the gatekeeper over Arlen's career.
SD
I don't deny that Santorum is better than the leftists....but I just can't abide the duplicity any longer. When he turned on his pro-life base, that was the last straw for me. I don't know if you've read the entire thread, so please forgive me if this is mindless repetition, but you should probably know that prior to teh release of the Arlen ads, Rick even called some of the people who'd worked tirelessly for him precisely because of his pro-life stance. He did not call me personally, but he called one of the Committee women in my county. He clearly knew and understood that what he was about to do would wound his base severely. That we are angered to the point of refusing to support him should come as no surprise. That we are holding him accountable should likewise come as no surprise. We worked for him because we thought he he shared our principled pro-life views, and that those principles would NEVER be compromised.
I guess the duplicity would be easier to abide if Rick hadn't played the part of "St. Rick" for so long. The fall from grace was swift, and the landing will be hard.
If you want to see REAL damage to the pro life side, imagine this: three SCUSA absences filled with Souter clones. Which is exactly what you'll get out of the Senate if the Dems filibuster tactic isn't stopped. Electing another Dem Senator would insure that reality.
That may be true, but I owe allegiance to my own conscience and I'll not betray that and I'll not reward Santorum with re-election. The English, it is said, get even, very even. Kind of a variation on "He who laughs last".....only in this case, it's "She who laughs last, laughs best."
morning read
Many single issue types (or all political flavors) have convinced themselves that 'sleeping better at night' is preferable to making positive change. It remains unclear how a series of good restful nights moves the status quo in a direction that they want.
Then again, if I were cynical I would just suggest they prefer to talk a mean game rather than actually doing something positive. If you never make change, you can never take a political hit.
But, they can sleep soundly.
PIFFLE
Amen..I am sick of if I can't get everything I want ..I am going to allow a true liberal leftist to take over..That'll show em!
You sleep well and allow the left to take over..
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