[WOSG]

"There was a time when Santorum was a House member and during his first term in the senate when he either was as conservative as I am or he was an excellent actor (take your pick) but I happen to believe he was conservative because he lives his life that way. When reporters or anyone thought they were nailing him, he answered them with truly conservative answers that they used because they believed they could hurt him with his own words, but most normal people thought what he said was appropriate which made him popular because he not only had the right answer, but he wasn't afraid to give it in an "in your face" manner."

This is correct. The only incorrect part is your assumption that Santorum has changed. No, he hasn't, but what is different is that the media/Democrat complex is smelling blood here due to good poll numbers for Casey jr, and so they are going after Santorum with everything they've got. You may be aware that an article that circulated where Santorum criticized the USSC ruling Lawrence v Texas, that cgot a lot of media play ... That was quite recent. The journalist who did that was married to a Democratic staffer. You are correct, Santorum is unafraid to boldly say the kind of conservative things freepers say every day; and the PC crowd is horrified. The liberals want his head on a pike and will stop at nothing to destroy him.

Rick Santorum is about as pro-life as they come. His advocacy of limited government may never win him any Libertarian votes, but it’s good enough not to lose him conservative votes. The NRA gives Rick an A+. In terms of taxes, he supported Bush’s tax cuts and is one of the few who understand that tax cuts belong to those who pay the most in taxes. In terms of numbers, Rick has a lifetime ACU rating of 87 and a rating over 2002 and 2003 of 95 and 90 respectively. Although an admittedly small sample, these numbers would indicate that he’s improving his track record. Thus, by any objective measure, Rick Santorum deserves the support of conservatives.

This year, Santorum hasn't changed. But the media has, they will be hounding Santorum for the next year until they defeat him.

Annoy the media. Support Rick Santorum in '06.

[penowa]

I wish I could agree with you, but I can't. I KNOW the sharks are swimming around him in a very tight circle getting ready to take a bite and they will spin anything he says that they can, but in addition to some of the statements like the stuff about the war in his speech on Veteran's Day, he has made some abysmal votes lately that look like Specter (or Durbin, or Kennedy) are voting for him.

Last spring I saw a local newspaper at MD's office (Santorum is from my area) and in the A section, there were not more than 5 articles in 8 pp that were not either "trash Santorum" or "Bash Bush." I got into an argument with an old woman in the waiting room when she saw my expression over what I was reading and most in the waiting room took her side that Santorum and Bush were both lower than whale poop! I knew then that the press had been doing some heavy-duty smearing 24/7 and it had already taken hold. These were not p.o.'d conservatives, but nasty greedy old Democrat geezers on S.S. who sleep with their hands out in order to not miss a giveaway. I really think he is in such a panic that everything he does and says is making his situation worse. Apparently he thinks moving left will help him since the pro-life Democrat vote he has always gotten will go to Casey instead and he is seeking the liberal Republican vote around Philly, Specter voters. For every one of them he picks up, he will lose 2 conservative Republicans on top of those that are unable to let the Specter-Toomey thing go IMO.