SantorumBlog

I just saw this new ad on Fox News Channel:

Senator John Kerry has finally issued an apology (of sorts) for his anti-troop remarks:

“I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform and I personally apologize to any service member, family member or American who was offended.”

So in other words, he refuses to admit that the words he actually spoke, no matter what he meant to say, were an attack on the troops in the way that he said them. Yesterday he claimed that only “right wing nut jobs” could possibly think he was attacking the troops. Really?

Is Senator Hillary Clinton a right wing nut job?

Is Missouri Democrat Senate candidate Claire McCaskill a right wing nut job?

Is Tennessee Democrat Senate candidate Harold Ford, Jr a right wing nut job?

Is the American Legion a bunch of right wing nut jobs?

While many Democrat candidates for the Senate called on Kerry to apologize, one of them refused to do so. You know him - he’s the spineless Democrat candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania. His name is Bob Casey. And here’s what he had to say about John Kerry’s terrible remarks:

““He botched a joke. He was honest about a mistake that he made,” Casey said after speaking to several hundred students in a packed auditorium at the University of Pennsylvania. “He didn’t make a mistake like this president did” with a failed strategy in Iraq.”

It would seem that Bob Casey is more interested in defending his ultra-liberal fellow Democrat John Kerry than in defending the honor of America’s troops. This is probably what we could expect from Bob Casey as Senator, too.

Bob Casey has a chance to finally show some backbone and demand that Senator John Kerry apologize for his unbelievably insulting remarks about the troops, as Kerry will be in Philadelphia on November 1st for a reception in support of Bob Casey.

Yesterday, John Kerry said of our troops:

“Education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. And if you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”

When the Republicans demanded that he apologize, he pretended that we misunderstood his insults and played the victim:

“My statement yesterday — and the White House knows this full well — was a botched joke about the president and the president’s people, not about the troops. The White House’s attempt to distort my true statement is a remarkable testament to their abject failure in making America safe.”

What nonsense. Stop trying to spin what you said, Kerry!

Tomorrow, we’ll know once and for all if Bob Casey has any integrity at all. Bob Casey, demand an apology for the insult to our troops!

Update: Philly Young Republicans will be “around”

Show YOUR support at a press conference for our troops in light of recent derogatory comments made by Senator John Kerry.

“YOU KNOW EDUCATION, IF YOU MAKE THE MOST OF IT, IF YOU STUDY HARD, YOU DO YOUR HOMEWORK, AND YOU MAKE AN EFFORT TO BE SMART, YOU CAN DO WELL. IF YOU DON’T, YOU GET STUCK IN IRAQ.”

Senator Kerry is visiting Philadelphia on Wednesday, 11/1 in the evening to raise money for Bobby Casey at this location. At that time, Senator Rick Santorum will join veterans and families in rallying in support of our strong and intelligent men and women serving their country with pride and protecting our freedom.

PLEASE JOIN US AT:

5:30PM
18th Street Between Arch and Cherry
PHILADELPHIA, PA 19103

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.“

A letter in The Patriot-News:

“After seeing the Santorum/Casey debate, I’m wondering what Bob Casey stands for. Why doesn’t he talk about what he has done for Pennsylvania? Why doesn’t he respond to the allegation he doesn’t have a good attendance record? Why doesn’t he answer the ad that he is wanting to give illegal immigrants Social Security benefits?

As a senior citizen who receives Social Security after paying into this fund for many years, I’m angry that any candidate would propose such an idea. Why should these people who have broken our immigration laws be rewarded?

Sen. Rick Santorum has a record of being there for the military. In the 2004 election, he and state Sen. Jeff Piccola brought the need to public and the governor to give extended time for the military ballots to be received and counted.

Santorum gives Pennsylvania seniority in the Senate. He cares about our military. He has taken action to ensure that they have the right to have their vote counted when they are serving overseas.

Santorum’s record is clear and positive.“

One of the thugs who protested Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s visit to Pittsburgh as if he is worse than Iranian dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defends herself in today’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

“I was one of the Jeb Bush protesters, along with my 10-year-old sons, and we are definitely not “knuckle-dragging thugs” (”Rude Treatment of Jeb Bush Was Embarrassing,” Oct. 12 letters). In fact, most of the protesters were women and young adults.

This protest was not about Jeb Bush; it was about Rick Santorum. We were there expressing our views about our state’s elected official. Jeb Bush did not come to visit our city; he came to do a fund-raiser for a political candidate. If he chooses to publicly endorse a candidate in our city, then we have the right to protest any political event that he attends. When did expressing your views, especially during election time, become a wrong thing to do?

Rick Santorum is no friend to working people. He has repeatedly voted against increasing the minimum wage, while voting to give himself a raise. He has voted for the Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, which has lost Pennsylvania 181,000 good manufacturing jobs since 2001. He had the nerve to vote for the Iraq war and at the same time voted against an amendment to increase health-care funding for veterans. He has consistently voted with the rich over working men and women of this state more times than I can count.

So I am proud that my sons and I were able to participate in the democratic process by expressing our views about an elected politician. Silence is consent, and I definitely do not consent to what Rick Santorum and Jeb Bush are doing.”

Rick Santorum also repeatedly voted in favor of increasing the minimum wage while voting against pay raises for himself. Rick Santorum has also fought to keep jobs in Pennsylvania by promoting small business and lowering taxes. Rick Santorum has also worked to increase death benefits for the families of veterans and voted for an amendment to increase VA funding. Rick Santorum also supported welfare reforms which have helped the poor get jobs so that they’re no longer poor, and has fought to make housing more affordable for the poor and middle class.

Yet none of this matters to dishonest thugs.

Another letter in today’s P-G defends Santorum:

“When standing in the voting booth this November, voters from this area must ask themselves one important question: Which candidate for U.S. Senate has the clout, the knowledge, the experience and the history with Western Pennsylvania so that our best interests are served? Let’s look at the facts: Which candidate saved Veterans Affairs hospitals from closure? Rick Santorum. Which candidate saved the 911th Military Airlift Wing from closure? Mr. Santorum. Which candidate helped keep the Sony plant going? Mr. Santorum. Time and time again, as Ed Rendell has said, Rick Santorum has delivered for Pennsylvania. The recent debates have shown that even if you disagree with Mr. Santorum, he’s extremely intelligent and knowledgeable on the issues, both foreign and domestic, and is looking out for us at every turn.

As I write this letter, the Dow just passed the 12,000 mark, as 6.6 million new jobs have been created in the past three years, thanks to the tax cuts that Sen. Santorum voted for and Bob Casey Jr. has said he will vote to roll back. Is that a “new direction” that people really want?“

Tribune-Review has a bunch of Letters to the Editor.

One.

After watching both debates between Sen. Rick Santorum and Bob Casey, I am firmly convinced that Pennsylvania needs to return Santorum to the U.S. Senate.
In both debates, Casey didn’t have the slightest understanding of the critical issues that we face today.

When asked about the upcoming Social Security crisis, Casey said that we could grow the economy by raising taxes.

When asked about the Middle East, Casey was unable to name Khatami as the president of Iran, who just visited the United States.

When asked about his support of amnesty for illegal immigrants, Casey couldn’t even define amnesty.
Thankfully, Santorum spoke with poise and confidence and was able to look into the camera and tell me what he believes. Santorum has worked on reforming Social Security, opposed the Bush administration’s handling of Khatami’s visit and is fighting for better immigration laws.

This election is not about a conflict between Republicans and Democrats. This is an election between a famous name without substance and a U.S. senator who is working for Pennsylvania.

Two

As the debates between Rick Santorum and Bob Casey rage on, I keep hearing Sen. Santorum say, “We must stay the course in Iraq” and “We cannot abandon the cause.” Santorum goes on to blast Casey for not offering a plan on how he would get us out of Iraq.
As with most recent wars, it is far easier to step into the quicksand than it is to get out of it. It will require a lot of forethought and prolonged effort to extract our troops from this deadly morass.

As long as Casey says, “I will not stay the course; I will do something different,” he will get my vote.

What’s the different course though?

Three.

The debate between Sen. Santorum and Mr. Casey was an eye-opener for me as a Iraq war combat veteran.

I am a registered Democrat but usually split my vote, as there are good people of all political views and ideals.

My view, as a soldier, was that Santorum came off as the tested leader and Mr. Casey, as much as he is a likeable guy, came off as the soldier who always complains and wants to go home and gripes about any mission handed him.

It seems that this election is more about “I hate Bush” than it is about getting serious and fighting this war how it should be fought. That goes for both political parties.

But then again I am only a retired soldier.

Four.

I am an 18-year-old freshman at Carlow University and have decided to vote for Bob Casey. Although Bob Casey is pro-life and I am pro-choice, Casey’s Bible, unlike Santorum’s, seems to have all its pages intact. Casey hasn’t torn out the chapters where prophets demand leaders take care of the poor.

Casey is Catholic and shares his church’s beliefs on abortion but he also shares its belief in protecting the dignity of working people by supporting an increase in the minimum wage. This is clearly something Santorum opposes. [except when he votes for it.ed]

Casey wants to support and protect programs like Social Security and has the strong support of unions across the state. Lastly, Casey understands that Pennsylvania is a huge hunting state, but recognizes the importance of keeping the environment healthy. Casey favors healthy forests to hunt in, unlike Santorum.

If you believe in helping the poor, protecting Social Security and in a clean environment, I strongly urge people of all ages to vote on Nov. 7 for Bob Casey!

I’m not a biblical scholar, but I’m wondering where government’s involvment in poverty programs is listed. I did not know that Rick Santorum was anti-tree and pro-dead forests. I’ll have to keep that in mind.

Five

While you’ve gotta hand it to Rick Santorum for sticking to his guns of staunch conservatism mixed with Christian activism, that also may explain his sagging poll numbers.
Independents and conservative Democrats (many of whom voted for Bush) don’t like Santorum and many feel the Religious Right has too much influence over the Republican Party.

I tend to agree. I go to church on Sunday but not to hear about foreign policy. Benchmark Goldwater pillars like individual freedom have a populist appeal that middle-of-the-road voters aren’t seeing in Santorum, and the reverberations of this could signal a potential schism within the GOP.

Free-market capitalists have long tolerated the Religious Right as a means to an end, but how many Wall Street bankers wish to have Katherine Harris making policy decisions?

Crazy idea here. Indepedents and conservative Democrats aren’t Republicans. Who cares what they think about who influences the Republican Party? It’s a free association of people.

That would be like saying conservatives say the baby-killer caucus has too much influence in the Democrat Party.

Yeah. That’s why we’re not a Democrats. That and creeping socialism.

Delco Times

Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum received strong support for his re-election bid Friday from Anthony Principi, former secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans As

As the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, Santorum is the third-ranking member of the Republican Party, seeking his third term in office this year.

His supporters gathered at American Legion Post 926 in Aston to drive home the point that Santorum “has been a great friend to veterans” and “understands the critical issues facing veterans,” according to Principi.

“From (Santorum’s) earliest days in office he has always been there to direct his time and attention to veterans affairs,” Principi said, noting that the senator has worked to restore $1.5 billion in funding for the Veterans Administration.

“And it should come as no surprise. Rick Santorum grew up in a small home in Butler, near a V.A. medical center. He and his parents were dedicated to fighting for rights for those veterans.”