SantorumBlog

The Patriot-News Editorial Board has been setting on crazy Bobby Casey’s views on the issues and released them on Saturday. Saturday is a low readership day for newspapers. If the Patriot-News had this information about exactly how lost Casey is, they should have released it sooner. Casey says “bizarre” 4 times to these newspaper people.

Q: You mentioned health insurance and loss of jobs in Pennsylvania earlier. What do you see as the key issue for the state? How would you go about attacking it?

A: I think for Pennsylvania, and I think the same is true for America, it’s the economy, and I think obviously that is the top domestic concern. Internationally, it’s a fight against terrorism in Iraq. When you talk just about the domestic front, I think that most people now understand, like we did have a sense even five years ago, and certainly not 10 years ago, that when you talk about the economy, if you’re not talking about health care and deficit starting with those two, you are not really serious about economic growth of progress.

Unfortunately, what this administration has not done is focus in any way on the crisis that we have in health care. I consider a big fat zero, association health plans and health savings accounts. If they work, you know, fine, but it doesn’t put any dent in the big problem.

That’s why in this campaign I have had two specific ideas, among others, on health care. One is children’s health insurance. There’s a bill in the Senate that specifically targets that to do a number of things. First of all, to allow states to have more resources for the children’s health insurance programs which we know in Pennsylvania has been supported by the last four governors, started by one that I knew well in 1991, supported by Gov. Ridge and Gov. Schweiker and supported in my judgment, not just because I am a Democrat, because I think the evidence shows, supported mightily by Gov. Rendell, who has been trying morning, noon and night to expand the CHIP program. But he needs help with federal dollars, and we should give it to him to make sure that you can expand the number of kids enrolled. We still have kids that are eligible but not enrolled, and we also still have a lot of work to do on Medicaid, which this bill would do as well.

The second part of it, I think, is small business. One of the ideas in the Senate, and it’s a great idea, by Sens. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Dick Durbin of Illinois, to come up with a model or a proposal which is modeled upon the federal employees plan where you have a large and open purchasing pool for insurance, where many entities, in the case of the federal plan employees and in the case of the business world a lot of small businesses, can pool their risk and you want to model it so that they can choose from a lot of different plans, just like federal employees can. My point is, why should members of the House and the Senate get the benefit of this wide and open purchasing pool where they have 10 different plans they can chose from? It is a Cadillac plan that they get to chose from. Beneficiaries of collective bargaining and all of that. Why shouldn’t we have a similar opportunity for small businesses? It’s a really good idea to move the ball down the field, and I think when we talk about …

Q: The federal plan is underwritten by the federal government. Are you suggesting that the federal government should likewise underwrite the health care for employees of small businesses?

A: For starters, absolutely.

Q: Isn’t that going to be a huge amount of money?

A: You’re talking billions of dollars, at least [TRILLIONS]. When I talk about health care for kids and health care for small business, and we talk about investments in education, all of these things I think are important investments. One of the ways you pay for that, if I have my way, is to repeal the tax cut for the top 1 percent. It doesn’t solve all the problems, but unless you are using … I think it’s an abomination, is probably the best way to describe it, that we have a tax cut for the top 1 percent or even further, for people making $200,000 and up, in a time of war. The first time in American history. At a time of record deficits and a time of health care crisis. If there is anything that should happen in the next couple of months and years, job one should be repealing the tax cuts, using some, not all, but using some of those savings to reduce the deficit and to focus on priorities like health care and education.

Q: I’d love to see the numbers on that. If you’re going to spend what would be billions and billions of dollars, why maintain a system that is tied to employment? What about when these people get laid off or shift jobs? Don’t we need a different basic change in the system?

A: Some believe, and a lot of Democrats believe, that we should have a national health insurance plan and it should be funded through the Medicare program. I think the goal has to be to cover every American. We’ve got 46.6 million Americans with no health insurance, more than 8.3 million American children. The goal has to be to cover everyone. The question is, how do you get there in a way that is realistic and achievable? I don’t think some of the proposals that I have heard for the national health insurance are achievable or realistic in the short run. I frankly do not want to wait until some far off time, 2009, where Democrats hope there is a Democratic president. I want to make progress on this issue in 2007, preferably in the first couple of months of 2007.

One of the ways to do that is to focus on children and small business and to make substantial progress. I think it is critically important that these bills get passed in the Senate, which won’t solve the problem, won’t insure 46.6 million Americans, but you are moving down the road to covering more people, just as you are doing deficit reduction.

We can’t wipe out the deficit in one year. This crowd put us in a hole over five years, but you have to commit yourself to a new direction on health care and the deficit and move in the direction of making progress on both. Bullet all of these proposals; every proposal that I have made in this campaign has to be subjected to the discipline of fiscal responsibility and pay as you go, as Democrats in Washington have been pushing for years now.

The Republicans are the ones who voted down pay as you go, over and over again. That may mean that my health care ideas have to be scaled back next year if we are going to make progress on lowering the deficit. It might mean that we have to scale them back over time, but I think you have to put these ideas out there, show how you are going to pay for them, and then get about the business of implementing them. Maybe it will take longer than I wanted. I think the economy is the central challenge in this state and the deficit and health care. I think also work force development is a big part of this, and it’s not a real exciting thing to talk about. It’s dry, but it’s critically important.

Casey does not have a health care plan. Casey has health care sound bites. Bad sound bites I might add. Democrats are all clowns when it comes to health care and Socialism.

Democrats are too bizarre / Vote Swann and Santorum

Cross-Posted at Swannblog

Lost Bobby Casey just loves dangerous over-priced Short Term State health insurance for children and ends his debates with Children Insurance sound bites, exactly like all Democrats from coast to coast.  (They want your children)

   Losing your child’s health insurance can be deadly.

Rendell should just drop out of this campaign.  Rendell could say he had a mild stroke or heart attack and everybody would believe that.  Look at him!!

Rendell signed the dangerous “Cover All Kids” state insurance for Pennsylvania children.  Now, federal taxpayers (Me) will be paying $143 a month to Blue Cross or UPMC for “Short Term” health insurance on Pennsylvania children (If their parents are “OFFERED” a group-employer-based-health-insurance) and pay OVER 600% more than the real cost of coverage with the security of portable INDIVIDUAL HSA Qualifying Health insurance on a child (from America’s oldest health insurance company) in Pittsburgh.  This is too pathetic.  Why are taxpayers paying 600% too much just to put Pennsylvania children in danger?

I talked with Rosanne Placey (717-787-3289) who Rendell lists as the “Contact” for his “Kid Ploy.”  I asked Rendell’s Spokesperson, “If a child gets cancer or breaks their neck at 18 years of age, will their “Cover All Kids” health insurance be terminated when they turn 19 years old?”  Rosanne said, “They Age-Out.”  I said, “My question is a yes or no question.  If a child gets cancer at 18 will they have their state insurance cancel at 19 years of age?”  Rosanne said, “They Age-Out.”  These people are scam artists.

A 30-year-old couple can put their child on HSA Health insurance for $23 a month that the child can keep if they get sick or hurt as a minor.  The whole family (30 year-old couple plus 1 child) can get insurance for $98 a month.  The State should pay the $98 for the [[family’s health insurance]] and then put $44 every month in the families HSA for 1^st dollar coverage for medical, vision and dental expenses.  This way the State saves $1 below the price of paying Blue Cross for just ONE child ($143) with “Cover All Kids”.

Why won’t Rendell pay for private insurance on parents who work for small employers who don’t offer coverage to employees?  Why won’t the State pay for PRIVATE insurance for the self employed?  Why, because Blue Cross wouldn’t like that and the Blues have Rendell on a short lease and always have.  Rendell is like a poodle.
       
It would be easier for Rendell to fake a heart attack and quit than try and explain this corruption after the election.  Putting the children of the Commonwealth in DANGER just to pander to Blue Cross is an indefensible position for Red Rendell in the future.

Vote for sanity / Vote Swann and Santorum

Cross-Posted at Swannblog

Peter F. Rovito, MD and Donna Baver Rovito
Allentown, PA
ROVSPA@aol.com

November 3, 2006

Dear Friend,

Next Tuesday’s election is important for many reasons, but it has special significance for both patients and health care professionals.

One of the candidates for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, Senator Rick Santorum, has proven conclusively that he consistently supports medicine’s efforts to provide quality care - while his opponent, quite simply, has NOT.

As a leader in the Senate, Rick Santorum has been a champion for safety, quality, research, and access to care for every Pennsylvanian and every American. Sen. Santorum has earned the respect of health care professionals throughout the nation, and for good reason.

In addition to the health care leaders listed at the end of this letter, Rick Santorum has been endorsed by the Pennsylvania Medical Society Political Action Committee (PAC), Ob/Gyns for Women’s Health PAC, Pennsylvania Orthopaedic PAC and the Pennsylvania Physicians for the Protection of Specialty Care (3PSC). And because he wants to ensure that patients continue to have timely access to quality health care, Rick Santorum is also supported by The American Association of Neurological Surgeons PAC. His opponent has received little or no support from the medical community, also for good reason.

Rick Santorum is GOOD for doctors, patients and everyone concerned with quality health care. Here’s why:

Fighting Lawsuit Abuse

* As Conference Chairman, Senator Santorum was instrumental in pushing liability reform high on the Senate’s agenda. Without Rick Santorum’s outspoken leadership, the political viability of legal reforms could potentially wither on the vine, particularly since Bob Casey, Jr. opposes virtually all legal reforms.

* Rick introduced the Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies Access to Care Act. New data from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) 2006 Survey on Professional Liability indicates that 69.8% of America’s ob-gyns have made one or more changes to their practice, like eliminating obstetrics, reducing high-risk patients and surgery or increasing C-section births, as a result of the affordability and/or availability of professional liability insurance. Reforms are vitally needed to ensure women’s access to quality care, but a filibuster in the Senate, which Bob Casey, Jr. would have supported, prevented passage of this important measure.

* Rick co-sponsored the Medical Care Access Protection Act, to decrease frivolous lawsuits, and ensure that injured patients, not trial lawyers, receive fair compensation by placing reasonable limits on non-economic damages and a sliding scale for attorneys’ fees.

* Rick sponsored the Community Health Center Volunteer Physician Protection Act and the Expanding Charitable and Volunteer Opportunities Act, which protect volunteer physicians who serve in community health centers.

* Due to his support for medical liability reform, Sen. Santorum has been identified by personal injury lawyers across the country as their #1 target. To that end, lawyers and law firms have funded the major part of his opponent’s campaign, contributing over $2.4 million, making Bob Casey, Jr. the second-highest recipient of lawyer and law firm political funding in the nation, second only to Hillary Clinton, according to the Center for Responsive Politics at www.OpenSecrets.org.

Health Care Accessibility

* Rick has a meaningful plan to help cover the uninsured, including enhancing and improving Health Savings Accounts (HSA’s) – tax free, portable accounts that empower consumers to make informed choices and take control over their own healthcare expenses.

* Rick introduced the Health Care Tax Relief for the Uninsured Act to provide tax credits to small businesses or uninsured Americans to purchase insurance or health savings accounts.

* Rick is a cosponsor of the Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2005, which would create Small Business Health Plans and establish Association Health Plans (AHP’s), to allow small business employers to join together to obtain better insurance rates.

* Rick supports the Healthy Communities Access Program, which funds community health centers, benefiting about 10.3 million of our nation’s low-income, uninsured and under-insured people by providing effective and efficient primary and preventive health care services.

Support for Medicare

* Rick is a leader in the effort to provide fair Medicare payment for physicians, to prevent the scheduled severe cuts, and help doctors keep pace with the rising cost of staying in practice. Sen. Santorum has supported every key vote backed by the AMA and other supporters in Congress committed to fixing the flawed reimbursement formula used by Medicare.

* The Senate passed, with Rick Santorum’s support and leadership, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, which provides Medicare beneficiaries with a prescription drug benefit and expanded health plan options. He also supports maintaining American production of drugs to guarantee that the FDA’s high quality standards are met. The Act also improves rural access to health care by increasing funding for rural hospitals.

* Rick worked to strengthen and enhance prescription drug coverage for Pennsylvanians in PACE and PACENET and cosponsored legislation that would expand access to Medicare home health care services in rural areas.

Support for Safety, Research and Technology

* Rick supported a budget resolution in 1998 which called for doubling the NIH budget over a period of five years, raising our investment from $13.7 billion in 1998 to $27.2 billion in 2003. Rick recognizes the important role the National Institutes of Health (NIH) plays in supporting biomedical research and development at leading research institutions nationwide, and supports federal funding for basic, clinical, and translational research within the NIH.

* Rick voted for the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act to increase patient safety and improve the quality of health care.

* Rick supports the Access to Emergency Medical Services Act to protect patients’ access to medical care in an emergency.

* Rick authored and has successfully enacted provisions of his Kidney Care Quality and Improvement Act of 2005 so that patients with kidney failure have access to lifesaving dialysis treatment.

* Rick authored and has successfully enacted provisions of his Colon Cancer Screen for Life Act to provide colonoscopy as a covered Medicare Benefit.

* Rick is the author and champion of the bipartisan Combating Autism Act of 2005, which would authorize $860 million over five years to combat autism through research, screening, intervention, and education.

* Rick cosponsored the Ronald Reagan Alzheimer’s Breakthrough Act, to fund Alzheimer’s research and increase public education about prevention.

* Rick Santorum has worked for the last several years to address funding imbalances that prevent accurate detection and treatment for Lyme Disease, America’s most common tick-borne illness

* Rick is a member of the Congressional Medical Technology Caucus, to promote advances in medical technology.

Conversely, although Rick’s opponent SAYS that health care is his “number one priority,” his ideas are all wrong.

Bob Casey, Jr. supports government-run health care plans that would cause great damage to our health care system, as well as outsourcing production of prescription drugs to foreign nations which don’t meet the FDA’s high standards, jeopardizing both Pennsylvania jobs and Pennsylvania patients. He denies that a medical liability crisis exists, even though only 7.8% of residents trained in PA stayed in PA to practice in 2004, and he opposes measures that would improve the legal climate in PA and attract young doctors to practice here. This is a dangerous attitude, as both Pennsylvania’s citizens AND Pennsylvania’s doctors are growing older. Plus, Casey has consistently avoided members of the medical community during this campaign, as well as refusing to answer questions from most medical publications or physician advocacy groups. If health care really is his “number one priority,” wouldn’t he want input from physicians and other health care professionals, as well as from the lawyers who support his campaign?

Bottom line - Rick Santorum has a long record of supporting the medical profession and health care in general. This Tuesday, he needs YOUR support, so he can continue to advocate for patients, physicians and everyone else who cares about quality health care.

Take some time to call family and friends and ask for their support this weekend. Contact your local campaign office or go to www.RickSantorum.com to volunteer. Make sure that you, your family and your office staff VOTE on Tuesday.

Rick Santorum has been YOUR voice in the U.S. Senate….and his opponent has shown that he will be the voice of the personal injury lawyers who support him. Whose voice will be better for America’s health?

Now, more than ever, Rick needs your support so he can continue to do medicine’s work in the U.S. Senate.

Please vote for your patients on Tuesday. Please support Rick Santorum for U.S. Senate.

We do.

Sincerely,

Peter F. Rovito, MD, FACS
General and Bariatric Surgery
Full Clinical Professor, Penn State College of Medicine

Donna Baver Rovito
Editor, “Liability Update”
Allentown, PA

Domingo T. Alvear, MD
Founder, World Surgical Foundation
PA Med. Soc. International Medical Graduate Trustee
Pediatric Surgery
Harrisburg, PA

Elena Antonelli, MD
Occupational Medicine/Medical Consultant
Newtown, PA

Terrence E. Babb, MD, FAAFP, FACOG, FACS
Secretary, PA Med. Soc. Board of Trustees
Member, PA ACOG Advisory Council
Obstetrics/Gynecology
and
Kim Babb
Clearfield, PA

Richard D. Baltz, MD
Pediatric Medicine
Harrisburg, PA

George A. Beylouny
Board of Trustees, Schlow Library
Board of Trustees, WPSU
Concerned Citizen
State College, PA

Thomas Bonekemper, MD, JD
Internal Medicine (Retired)
Quakertown, PA

Gary Bonfante, DO
Emergency Medicine
Salisbury Township, PA

Dell R. Burkey, MD
Anesthesia
Philadelphia, PA

William G. Cano, MD
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Pain Medicine Subspecialty
Pottstown, PA

Dave Caucci, MD, FAAOS
Orthopaedic Surgery
Clarks Summit, PA

Elizabeth Kerl Caucci, RPh
Registered Pharmacist
Scranton, PA

Laurie Cohen, DO
Pediatric Medicine
Allentown, PA

Peter M. Daloni, MD
Urology
Sharon, PA

Francis X. DeLone, Jr. MD
Associate Professor, Department of Surgery
University of Pennsylvania Hospital
Philadelphia, PA

Nicholas A. DiNubile, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery
Havertown, PA

Matthew J. Dougherty MD
Philadelphia, PA

Wayne Dubov, MD
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Allentown, PA

Katherine C. Erlichman, DO
Ophthalmology
Everett, PA

Raymond A. Fritz, Jr., DPM
Podiatry
Allentown, PA

R L Furigay, MD, FACS
General Surgery
Windber, PA

Larry Glazerman, MD
Obstetrics/Gynecology
Allentown, PA

Richard T. Goldhahn Jr., MD
Anatomic, Clinical and Dermatopathology
Abington Memorial Hospital
Abington, PA

Marilyn Heine, MD
Emergency Medicine
Hematology Oncology
Bucks County, PA

Carla C. Hess, BSN
School Nurse (Retired)
Whitehall, PA

Margaret Trexler Hessen, MD
Board of Directors, Delaware County Medical Society
Infectious Diseases (prematurely retired due to medical liability crisis)
Bryn Mawr, PA

Charles D. Hummer, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery
Chester, PA

R. Drew Krajeski, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery
and
Robin Krajeski
Langhorne, PA

Helen F. Krause, MD
Past President: International Society of Otolaryngic Allergy and Immunology, American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy, PA Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and the Pittsburgh Otologic Society
Otolaryngology
Pittsburgh, PA

Jeffrey L. Lenow, MD, JD, FAAFP
Assoc. Professor, Family/Community Med.
Jefferson Medical College,
Thomas Jefferson University
Philadelphia, PA

Sal Lofaro, MD
President-elect, Delaware County Med. Soc.
Past President, Delaware Cty. Mem. Hosp.
Nephrology
Drexel Hill, PA

Thomas L. Manzo, MD
Ophthalmology
Pottstown. PA

J. Michael Moses, MD
President, Western PA Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, Inc.
Chairman, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Memorial Medical Center
Chair, Board of the Physicians Health Programs, Foundation of PA Med. Soc.
Secretary, PA Orthopaedic Society
Orthopaedic Surgery
Johnstown, PA

Michael J. O’Donnell, MD
Dermatologic Surgery
Clarks Summit, PA

John J. Pagan MD, FACS
General Surgery
Sellersville, PA

Don Paris, Esquire
(Former NJ, NY, DC Attorney/liability reform supporter)
Delray Beach, FL

Scot Paris, MD
President, Pennsylvania Physicians for the Protection of Specialty Care
General Surgery
Pottstown, PA

Thomas Peff, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery
Montgomery County, PA

Danae Powers, MD
PA Patient Safety Authority Board, 2002-2005
Pa Medical Society Council on Policy, Advocacy and Governmental Affairs
Past President, Centre County Med.Soc.
Anesthesiology
State College, PA

Gary M. Pryblick, DO
Family Medicine
Allentown, PA

Judith R. Pryblick, DO
Family Medicine
Allentown, PA

Gregory J. Radio, MD
Obstetrics/Gynecology
Allentown, PA

James W. Redka, MD
Family Medicine
Williamsport, PA

Robert J. Rienzo, M.D.
Diagnostic Radiology
Allentown, PA

Benjamin Schlechter, MD, FACS
Plastic Surgery
Reading, PA

Richard G. Schmidt, MD
Chief, Orthopaedic Surgery Lankenau Hosp.
Legislative Chair, PA Ortho. Society
Orthopaedic Surgery
Montgomery County, PA

C. Richard Schott, MD, FACC
Vice-chair, PA Med. Soc. Board of Trustees
Cardiology
Delaware County, PA

Peter A. Schwartz, MD
Past Chair, Pennsylvania Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Obstetrics/Gynecology
Reading, PA

Scott E. Shapiro, MD
Vice-Pres., Montgomery County Med. Soc.
PA Med. Soc.Young Physician Trustee
Co-founder, OnCall Physician Staffing
Cardiology
Abington, PA

Barry J. Snyder, MD
PA Med.Soc. At-Large Specialty Trustee,
Board of Directors, PA Orthopaedic Society
Board of Directors and Past President, Philadelphia Orthopaedic Society
Orthopaedic Surgery
Bucks County, PA

Cory Steiner
Eastern Orthopaedics
Yardley, PA

Julie Ann Them
CEO/President of Worx, Inc. (occupational/environmental health)
Co-Chair, Bradford Child Death Review Team
Ridgebury Township Planning Commissioner
Sayre, PA

Steven T. Voigt, Esquire
Juris Doctorate
Lawyer and Legal Reform Advocate
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
Legal Practice Based in Philadelphia, PA

Jon Walheim, MD
President, Doylestown IPA
Medical Director, Bucks County Physician Hospital Alliance
Internal Medicine
Doylestown, PA

Cynthia E. Weber, M.D., F.A.A.P.
Pediatrics
Bethlehem, PA

Robert C. Weber, M.D., F.A.A.O.
Ophthalmology
Bethlehem, PA

Joseph J. Zaladonis, Jr., MD
Dermatology
Bethlehem, PA

Bob Casey isn’t going to set a New Direction on everything.

On Sunday, New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote that a loss on Tuesday for Sen. Rick Santorum would be “bad for the poor around the world.” Brooks cited Santorum’s work on welfare reform, AIDS in Africa, and Sudan. Santorum’s defeat would of course also be a loss for the country. He is a leader on the protection of life, the defense of marriage, and the preservation of religious liberty. His opponent, Bob Casey Jr., poses as a pro-lifer but has made clear he has no intention of challenging the abortion status quo. Pennsylvania conservatives should do the right thing: Show up at the polls and help reelect Rick.

Productivity

As Pennsylvanian go to the polls on Tuesday, please think carefully about the vote for senator. We currently have a senator who has worked his way to the No. 3 spot in his party.

He has been responsible for helping to save military bases, helped pass farm bills, helped get a coal refinery plant and represent the interest of all people of this state with aggressive action. Think jobs.

I’m sure Bob Casey would be a very nice dinner guest, but he doesn’t appear to have the push and knowledge to fight for the people of this state the way Sen. Rick Santorum has. Why trade a productive, energetic senator for a “nice guy” with no clout? Vote for the betterment of Pennsylvania, not for a “nice guy.”

The Record.

Rick Santorum was co-sponsor of the “Covering Kids Act of 2005,” which gives more kids health insurance, he helped Pennsylvania’s small businesses provide health insurance to their employees, wrote legislation to provide screening for prevention of breast and cervical cancer, helped expand access to home health care and worked to expand research for Parkinson’s disease.

He supported the Patients’ Bill of Rights, a leading advocate for program which funds community health centers, a leader in the fight to cut down frivolous lawsuits that are forcing doctors out of Pennsylvania, fought for prescription drug coverage, was instrumental in adding $1.5 billion emergency funding for veterans. How in the world can anyone say he is bad for regular folks?

Judges

It is interesting that The Patriot-News and others have so widely covered the New Jersey Supreme Court’s forcing of gay marriage, by whatever name, upon the people of New Jersey. The decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court only makes it all the more clear why the appointment of judges is such a critical function and why I am supporting Rick Santorum for re-election to the Senate.

Bob Casey opposes Pennsylvania adopting a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman. He supports civil unions, exactly the same result as the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Casey tries to hide his opinions by refusing to answer questions in debates and by trying to walk a fine line on these critical issues. Whether you always agree with Santorum or not, you know where he stands, and you know that, in the words of Gov. Ed Rendell, he fights for Pennsylvania.

Let’s keep Santorum fighting for Pennsylvania and for the values of Pennsylvanians.

Deserved

Your Oct. 29 editorial endorsed Robert Casey for senator because he will listen and learn? Of course he would. What else can he do? Casey’s a confirmed lightweight; a known quantity in Pennsylvania politics. He hasn’t held an office long enough to become good at any of them.

For that matter, he hasn’t shown much interest in those he has held, preferring to dedicate the majority of his time, as he has done since his last election, to his next opportunity. He’s invisible, stonewalling the voters of Pennsylvania, counting on his supporters in the press to carry his water.

Your endorsement damns Casey with faint praise. If you were to do an article headlined, “Bobby Casey: In his own words,” you’d have trouble finding meaningful content. Rick Santorum deserves re-election. As you fairly noted, Santorum has served the commonwealth effectively. The governor agrees. So should all thinking voters.

Times-Leader

On the War in Iraq

The failure of Santorum and other Republicans to do the same with the Bush administration led to the “disaster” in Iraq – a war Casey says was entered into based on “blatant and deliberate lies” fed to the American people.

Asked if the war was worth getting rid of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, Casey was quick to answer.

“Based on what we know now, no,” he said.

Rape rooms, childrens prisons, a choice between feet first or head first into a plastic shredder.

Not worth it.

Despite his feelings, Casey said he does not believe in setting a time limit to bring troops home. Rather, he supports setting benchmarks for the Iraqi government to achieve, with the most important being the securing of Baghdad.

“I don’t want to abandon this mission, but we must transform this mission,” he said.

That transformation starts with the firing of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, whom Casey said has lost the trust of the American people.

And replace him with….. ??? That transformation apparently ends there, because that’s the last thing they say about it.

Domestic

Casey said the priority must be placed on curtailing the nation’s ballooning budget deficit, to ensuring Americans have access to affordable health care and improving security at home.

Budgets

Reducing the deficit won’t be easy, but Casey is convinced it can be done within eight to 10 years by eliminating some of the tax cuts heaped on the wealthiest Americans and by instituting other controls that would prevent Congress from implementing future cuts unless it’s shown how they will be paid for.

Raising taxes on the rich, while increasing spending on other issues is no way to balance a budget. The rich simply won’t cover the short fall.

Tim Russert laughed in Casey’s face when he proposed that as a solution.

Terror

On the terrorism front, Casey said the Bush administration policies have been woefully inadequate. He’s called for implementation of recommendations contained in the report prepared by the committee that investigated the Sept. 11 attacks.

This came up last night in a coffee-klatch get together I was at with Congressman Jim Gerlach. He said the forty one proposals are implemented. Democrats just disagree with the implementation.

Best answer?

Asked about Santorum’s claims that some state funds have been invested with firms with ties to terrorist nations, Casey put the blame on the Bush administration, which he said has refused his request to release a list of the names of such companies.

This guy can’t do anything on his own?

Donna Baver Rovito guest post…

Recently there have been numerous attacks on Senator Rick Santorum’s support from the “special interest” pharmaceutical industry, as if support from a highly successful industry that employs thousands of PA citizens and pays millions in taxes, is a BAD thing.

While it is factual that Santorum has received about $450,000 from pharmaceutical/health products companies, making that industry Santorum’s SEVENTH largest contributing group, it is ALSO factual that his opponent, Bob Casey, Jr. has received the VAST MAJORITY of his support from another group which might be labeled a “special interest,” i.e., LAWYERS AND LAW FIRMS.

Casey’s campaign has been almost entirely funded by the lawyers whose anti-tort reform agenda he supports - $2.1 MILLION, making that “industry” his largest source of funds, over four times as much as his second highest contributing group which has given him only $482,000, as reported by the Center for Responsive Politics at opensecrets.org.

Santorum’s largest contributing group, on the other hand, is RETIRED persons, contributing $1.1 million. Sen. Santorum supported the Medicare drug benefit AS WELL AS safe drugs for PA residents, so it’s no surprise that retired citizens support him.

It also shouldn’t surprise anyone that the pharmaceutical industry supports Santorum, who recognizes its value to Pennsylvania’s health and economy, over Casey, who supports importation of potentially unsafe or dangerous drugs from other countries which don’t require FDA-level protections.

It should also be no surprise that trial lawyer Bob Casey Jr. is primarily supported by lawyers and law firms, since he opposes any and all measures that would restore some sense of fairness to our civil justice system and help keep doctors practicing in Pennsylvania.

So, if Planned Parenthood goes after Rick Santorum, is that a tacit endorsement of Bobby Casey?

You’d think they’d opt to stay out of the fray.

I mean, Casey being “pro-life” was supposed to be one of the neutralizing factors cited by Democrats.

Maybe it’s because they think that Bob Casey will keep his mouth shut on “their” issues. Abortion, Plan B (I repeat myself), Judges, Feminism(?), Education (?)….

MidnightBlue comments on these billboards seen in the Philly area.

During my lengthy commute this morning, I realized that the author of the sign is partially correct..Santorum is good, but his talents are not limited to the Senate. Obviously, there is not enough billboard space to list all the reasons why Santorum is good for the Senate, AND Pennsylvania. I figured I’d use my blog-space to continue the train of thought initated by the author of these billboards:

Click for the rest of the list…

Kathryn Jean Lopez is angry about Maryland US Senate candidate Ben Cardin’s ridiculous anti-Santorum remark, which I think is just more anti-Catholic bigotry from the left:

““It Was Sponsored in the Senate by Senator Santorum. I Don’t Think I Need to Say Anything Else”

Ben Cardin just used Rick Santorum as a boogeyman in his Meet the Press debate with Michael Steele, to try to defend his vote AGAINST stem-cell research (I wrote about what I think about congressmen like Cardin who voted against alternatives to embryo-destroying research here ).

Few in Congress have done more FOR stem-cell research than Rick Santorum. His working with Arlen Specter to support alternatives to embryo-destroying research was a milestone moment — for educating, for seeing the true colors of those who insist on embryonic-stem-cell research and only embyronic-stem-cell research.

Cardin throwing out Santorum’s name like that is only the tiniest hint of the kind of demagogic glee we’ll see from the Left if Santorum loses. It will be an ugly post-Election Day if Santorm loses — on so many levels.

If you think I’m earnest in my support for Santorum, you ain’t seen nothing.

Lopez went on to say:

“It’s been a few hours since I watched the Cardin-Steele debate but I am still livid about Ben Cardin’s obnoxious Santorum line .

Truth is a lot more needed to be said. The bill in question was co-sponsored by ARLEN SPECTER. Specter, as Santorum is reminded every day of his life, is usually on the polar opposite side of life issues from Santorum. And yet, not only did Santorum get Specter to co-sponsor this alernative bill but every member of the Senate — including both of Maryland’s senators — wound up voting for it.”

We keep hearing about how the silly ad that the Republicans ran in Tennessee against Harold Ford is “racist”. Of course it isn’t racist, but now we have a candidate for Senate who I think is an anti-Catholic bigot and who is attempting to appeal to other anti-Catholic bigots by implying, Well, you know, that Santorum fellow is a radical Catholic, so of course he’s against science. In reality, as Lopez said, Santorum is one of the strongest supporters of adult and non-embryonic pluripotent stem cell research in Congress! And unlike embryonic stem cell research, adult stem cell research has actually cured people, Michael J. Fox!

I’m tired of the hate-mongers and bigots on the left making these hideous accusations against orthodox Catholics - whether stated or implied. I’m also sick of the media letting them get away with it. Cardin wants to force pro-life Catholics to fund embryonic stem cell research! We’re told that if we disagree with embryonic stem cell research, fine, but we can’t stand in the way of it. Yet at the same time, we’re told that we MUST hand over OUR money to pay for it!

That’s the “pro-choice” side for you - first they tell us that we have no say in what a woman does with her body, so we need to just shut up. Then after they get abortion - or embryonic stem cell research - legal, they demand that we all fund it.

Liberals say that we’re against religious freedom since we stand in favor of optional public prayer and conscientious objection. Yet they want to force pro-life Christians, who believe that abortion and embryonic stem cell research are outright homicide, to allow abortion mills and embryonic stem cell labs in their neighborhoods, and keep those abortion mills and embryonic stem cell labs running with money from their own pockets. Yes, I am repeating myself here, because I can’t believe that something like this is happening in America, where the First Amendment to the Constitution clearly states:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”

With this latest issue, the liberals are continuing their push to destroy the right to free exercise of religion. These liberals will not rest until religious liberty is dead in America.

Vote for religious tolerance and against bigotry, Maryland. Vote for Michael Steele.

For Pete’s Sake, Pete Stark is a Socialist

Pete Stark is a scary congressman. A California Democrat, he’s the ranking member on the Health Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee. If the Democrats win control of the House on Nov. 7, he’ll be chairman of that subcommittee.

The scary thing is that he doesn’t seem to understand financial freedom very well.

Let Americans put money away for something serious — health care or retirement security — and Stark thinks we’ll be all thumbs. How else to explain the panic in his OpEd newspaper column last week?

I saw this Pittsburgh Tribune-Review story last week on Tax Free HSAs and I was hoping somebody somewhere would comment on it before I did. So somebody at the Tribune-Review has not partnered with the Socialist Democrats and said some things that are true. Pete the powerful Democrat said last Sunday:

“Health savings accounts (HSAs) are poised to play the same destructive role for health benefits that 401(k) plans have played in the pension system, replacing comprehensive coverage with an empty account.”

So the Tribune-Review fires back:

Destructive role? Hold on. Surely the rubble-maker on the pension front is how giant companies, notably in steel and airlines, went bankrupt over-promising union members “guaranteed-benefits” for life. Business turned sour, the funding fizzled, and the burden of mailing the checks fell to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., now $30 billion-plus in the red.

Business got the message. It’s switching employees wherever possible to 401(k) plans (which overextended local governments such as Pittsburgh ought to be doing, too).

No question but that 401(k) and HSA plans are designed to head off broken promises in retirement and chronic inflation in health care. So how are they “empty accounts?” This is pure demagoguery, to spook the voters away from solutions that don’t require Big Brother.

A health savings account makes you, the individual or family head, set aside your own money for medical costs up to a certain ceiling. Above that, high-deductible insurance kicks in. You’re protected against financial wipeout by a health disaster but have to pay smallish expenses such as office visits yourself — with a sweetener, however, a tax-sheltered savings account. You use pretax dollars, but since they’re your dollars, you’ll tend to be a more cost-conscious health shopper.

Stark’s big objection: HSAs so far are attracting mostly upper-income insureds. But why not? They’ve got the financial smarts. Lower-income workers should follow their example. It’s a matter of education, Congressman. Schools could teach it. Instead, he dismisses it as a tax break for “the rich.”

Likewise, the 401(k) account. A worker pays into it, tax-deferred, all through a career, augmented at best by matching funds from employers. The growing nest egg moves with the individual — it’s “portable” to retirement. True, the average worker is not an investing genius. An array of conservatively managed mutual funds would pay off nicely over the years, however, and ordinary folks could understand that, too.

But to Congressman Stark, such freedoms of choice “undermine the security on which millions of working families depend.” On which they’ve been conditioned to defend, he should say, by their “friends” in government.

Retired business editor Jack Markowitz writes Sundays and Wednesdays. E-mail him at jmarkowitz@tribweb.com.

I would have said it differently but the Pittsburgh paper did a fine job.

Vote straight Republican because powerful Democrats are too scary!

Cross-Posted at Swannblog

Sunday’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has three (!) pro-Santorum/anti-Casey letters in it. Keep up the good work, folks! The P-G must be getting bombarded by our letters giving a more conservative point of view:

“The PG endorsement of Bob Casey Jr. is no great surprise (”Casey for Senate: Santorum Exemplifies the Worst of Washington,” Oct. 22). However, it is a shame that the hometown newspaper of the third-ranking senator in the United States does not acknowledge what it means to the region to have the third-ranking senator represent this state.

We all know about the 911th Airlift Wing that Sen. Rick Santorum worked to save. Sen. Santorum secured funding for educational programs at the Pittsburgh Symphony, the African American Cultural Center, the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, the National Aviary, the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Sen. Santorum also has secured more than $11 million for adult stem-cell research, helping to transform Pittsburgh from a steel town into a biotechnology research leader.

Additionally, he was instrumental in funding of the renovations to the Pittsburgh Veterans Affairs Hospital, construction of a parking facility at the hospital and increased operational funding, which has resulted in vastly improved patient care.

The PG said Bob Casey Jr. could do those things, also. He may want to do those things but he will not be able to get them done, because he will be a freshman senator. I plan on supporting Sen. Rick Santorum because he has been a true fighter for Pittsburgh and we all have benefited from his efforts.”

LOU NUDI
Vietnam Veteran
Ross

“So the PG endorsed Bob Casey Jr. for senator … what a surprise! And what an endorsement. About 70 percent of your editorial was about Sen. Rick Santorum.

Let’s review what you cite about Mr. Casey. He and Mr. Santorum are about the same on Iraq, pro-gun, pro-death penalty and anti-abortion.

Mr. Casey has no clue concerning Social Security and wants to do something about health care. And, of course, the coup de grace — he wants to increase the minimum wage! That will solve all the nation’s problems.

He has political experience but no legislative experience. Let’s face it: Bob Casey doesn’t have the guts to tell us how he will make a difference. That is probably why the PG endorsed him; he will be a faithful foot soldier for the Democrats.”

ROBERT McGRATH
Wilkins

“Surprise: The PG did not endorse Rick Santorum. But you might have had the decency to acknowledge that the weary slurs trotted out yet again have all been answered. If you find the answers lacking, you have an obligation to acknowledge the answers and identify any weakness. The fact that you did not do so points to the hypocrisy of the PG, not Rick Santorum.

Take, for example, the tired charge that Mr. Santorum’s residence situation as senator is just like Doug Walgren’s. When Mr. Santorum ran against Mr. Walgren for the House, he correctly pointed out that Mr. Walgren did not live in the district, or in Pennsylvania. When Mr. Santorum represented his district in the House, he lived in the district. When he was elected to the Senate, the situation changed: He no longer represented one district but the whole state — and promised to visit every county every year (a promise kept).

There’s another difference: The Senate is in session 70 to 80 days per year more than the House — a huge difference for a family with young children. A weekly commute from Pittsburgh would take a toll on the family and on his commitment to visit every county. The Santorums did the responsible thing as parents: Like many Senate families, they got a second residence in the D.C. area. That residence does not replace the Penn Hills home — where they vote, pay their taxes, serve jury duty and maintain their official residence.

The PG knows these facts and ignores them, yet charges hypocrisy?

Likewise the silliness about using the Pennsylvania cyber school: The Santorums are lifelong residents of Pennsylvania, where they vote and pay taxes. By what state should their children be educated?

It’s bad enough to distort his record. Why make his family a political football?”

JOHN KAUFMANN
Murrysville

And there’s another pro-Santorum letter in Sunday’s Patriot News:

“In recent months there has been a steady drumbeat of criticism directed at Sen. Rick Santorum, ranging from the trivial to the downright dishonest. Most of it is partisan in nature.

Let’s get down to facts. Santorum is the third-ranking senator, has a national following and is considered to be presidential timber. In his position of leadership, he is poised to do more for the state than any newcomer possibly could.

Even if you think his opponent in the current campaign, Bob Casey, has the right values, you might as well be voting for Teddy Kennedy because Casey would vote with Kennedy, as a member of the Democratic caucus, on most issues.

In addition, Santorum is a zealous and outspoken advocate. Casey, on the other hand, gives every indication of being a mild-mannered backbencher. And his work ethic or lack thereof is a matter of record.

We need to keep Santorum working for us in the Senate.”

JOHN SOPENSKY
Mechanicsburg

From the AP:

“Earlier at a hotel on the outskirts of Philadelphia, [First Lady Laura] Bush campaigned for Santorum and congressman Jim Gerlach, along with Swann and Jim Matthews, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor.

Bush cited Santorum’s efforts in the fight against AIDS, as well as his support for historic preservation, tax cuts and greater accountability in schools. She commended Santorum and Gerlach for their support for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“In the next week they will need more of your energy and enthusiasm,” Bush told several hundred supporters. “They need your support and our country needs them.”

Santorum, joined by his wife, six children and a niece, said the country needs Republican leadership to help keep it safe from overseas threats, including those posed by Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Islamic extremists throughout the world.

“No one else is going to stand up against these people but us,” he said. “This election, I fear, will mean a lot in America’s history.”

Sen. Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, also urged the crowd to support Santorum and help the party keep control of the Senate. Without Santorum, Specter said he could have trouble getting more of President Bush’s judicial nominees approved.

“If we don’t have Rick Santorum and a Republican Senate, President Bush will not get another pick,” Specter said.

Earlier in the day, Santorum attended a rally in Lancaster with conservative talk show host Sean Hannity.“