dt57 wrote:
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I hope you are right. I would really love to be able to say President Rick Santorum said......
I do think he is a long shot, and why I am publically supporting Newt Gingrinch for president.
Rick has yet to satisfy me to his loss in PA. Why did he move to Virgina? Why did he use PA. funds to educate his children and then when confronted refuse to pay the state back when he clearly lived somewhere else? Why did the voters sour on him and vote him out by 18 per cent. Those are important questions, and not about being a hater. They need to be answered better. It is not enough to say it was a bad year for republicans, it was NOT that bad. Having said all that Rick is one of the candidates I will get behind and support if he wins the nomination. Newt would be a more engaging and successful candidate against Obama, IN MY OPINION. I think I can still have an opinion. I would like to be wrong.
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I live in Pennsylvania. I don’t claim to know the exact reasons why he lost the state by such a large margin in 2006, but here are some plausible explanations:
1) PA is traditionally a heavily Democratic state and 2006 turned out to be an election that heavily benefited their party nationally. And, yes, it absolutely was a very BAD year for Republicans. After all, the Dems did recapture the House and Senate that election.
2) Many PA conservatives were still upset with Santorum for endorsing liberal establishment “Republican” Arlen Specter in his 2004 re-election bid (Bush endorsed Specter as well) and therefore many conservatives refused to help re-elect Santorum in 2006. Santorum was simply trying to be a loyal “party guy” and he’ll be the first to admit it was a big mistake.
3) Santorum’s 2006 senate opponent was Bob Casey Jr. His father Bob Casey Sr. had long been an immensely popular Democrat politician in PA and his son no doubt tremendously benefited from the association.
Comparing the 2006 elections to the current political climate is apples-to-oranges. These are different times, different worlds. What happened back then is completely irrelevant to the upcoming election.
I appreciate your thoughtful reply. But I disagree with one thing you said: “What happened back then is completely irrelevant to the upcoming election.” I think is maybe the most important thing of all. To understand a loss is too grow and develop as a leader. I do understand all you said. Can you shed more light on two things:
1) How big a role did it play that Rick moved to Virgina with his entire family while he was still representing PA? What role did it play that he used the tax money of PA citizens to educate his children while they lived out of state? What was his reason for not paying that money back when confronted, even though he earn a very high six figure income? These things will get through up in his voice by the opposition. IF I struggle with these things you might imagine what others will do with it.