True enough. Santorum’s support of RINO Specter is most certainly what cost him the election. You wonder what these guys must be thinking.
Pat Toomey didn't cost Santorum the election. Pennsylvania isn't nearly conservative enough for that to have made even a little bit of difference, let alone to account for the 19-point drubbing that he received.
Rick Santorum lost for two reasons:
1) Iraq. Approval for the war in PA was polling under 30% in November, 2006. The Democrats (who won everywhere, mind you) had declared the war lost. The media breathlessly proclaimed it a hopeless "sectarian civil war". Santorum didn't back down, didn't flinch. He supported the war clearly and forcefully until the very end, and he paid a big political price for it.
2) Bob Casey. Pro-life son of a great, beloved pro-life Governor. People in PA love familiarity. And pro-lifers who didn't like the war were given an easy alternative to Santorum.
You can even throw in the fact that Ed Rendell was hugely popular, and Lynn Swann turned out to be a non-existent challenger. It's not like the base -- whatever base still exists in PA -- was motived in Pennsylvania. It was a perfect storm for the Democrats. Santorum never had a chance.