Transcript: Stephanopoulos interviews Santorum on ABC's "This Week"
July 31, 2005
Posted on ThinkProgress.org
Stephanopoulos talks with Santorum about Sen. Bill Frist's announcement that he now supports increased federal funding for embryonic stem cell research -- among other topics. More...
Forum: It takes an education
Education might not be a constitutional right, say Ken Gormley and Vanessa Browne-Barbour, but it's a modern-day American responsibility
July 31, 2005
Opinion, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
One of the nuggets buried in the controversial new book written by Sen. Rick Santorum, "It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good," is an offhanded statement that there is no constitutional right to an education in the United States. Sen. Santorum writes that "[We] cannot help noticing that schools are not once mentioned in the federal Constitution." He advocates more home-schooling, as a means of returning to the basics: We should buck up and do as our forefathers intended, sitting on stiff-backed chairs beside our fireplaces and doing our book-learning at home. More...
Sen. Frist sets up stem-cell showdown
His call for expanded federal support puts him at odds with President Bush - and some members of his Republican Party
July 30, 2005
James Kuhnhenn, Philadelphia Inquirer
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's surprising decision to defy President Bush and endorse expanded federal support for embryonic stem-cell research yesterday dramatically changed the politics of an issue that poses the potential for lifesaving medical breakthroughs against deep ethical reservations.
The views of Frist (R., Tenn.), an accomplished heart surgeon, on medical issues carry significant weight with his fellow senators. As the Senate's Republican leader, his stance is also bound to draw attention to the schism on the issue within his party...Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.), asked for comment, said he was "disappointed in Sen. Frist's change in position." Santorum said he continued to "believe in the promise of adult stem-cell research." More...
Senate advances gun-firm shield
Victims of firearms crimes would not be able to sue them. The House has yet to act this year.
July 30, 2005
Mary Dalrymple, Associated Press
Senators from the Philadelphia area who voted for the bill shielding gun makers and dealers from lawsuits were Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) and Arlen Specter (R., Pa.)...voting against the bill were Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D., Del.), Thomas Carper (D., Del.), Jon Corzine (D., N.J.) and Frank Lautenberg. More...
Santorum praises Roberts after meeting
July 29, 2005
Kimberly Hefling, Associated Press
Sen. Rick Santorum on Friday called Supreme Court nominee John Roberts a "tremendous individual" he is happy to support after meeting with him in his Capitol Hill office. More...
French Family Values
July 29, 2005
By Paul Krugman, New York Times
Americans tend to believe that we do everything better than anyone else. That belief makes it hard for us to learn from others. For example, I've found that many people refuse to believe that Europe has anything to teach us about health care policy. After all, they say, how can Europeans be good at health care when their economies are such failures? More...
MSNBC's Matthews let Santorum's fantasy tax claims pass without challenge
July 28, 2005
Media Matters
On the July 27 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, host Chris Matthews affirmed the false claim by Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) that the "average family" currently pays 27 percent of its income to the federal government -- an amount Santorum claimed has increased from 2 percent in 1955. While there are many ways to define the term "average family," studies that attempt to measure the effective federal tax rates paid by typical families contradict both of Santorum's figures. More...
Residency checks a regular procedure
July 28, 2005
Reid R. Frazier, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Long before the cyber schooling of U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum's children became an issue, Penn Hills school officials tracked closely whether attending students live within the district. More...
Presidential bid still possible, Santorum says
July 28, 2005
Brett Lieberman, Harrisburg Patriot-News
U.S. Sen. Rick San torum is walking a political tight rope, neither in nor out of a 2008 presidential race that could over shadow his re-election campaign next year.
Santorum, who has said he doesn't intend to run for president in 2008, yesterday said he might run. More...
For court nominee, judgment is essential asset
July 28, 2005
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, in the Centre Daily Times
The part of the nation that's not on vacation can enjoy this summer's blockbuster reality program, West Wing Live, a Washington conspiracy drama starring Karl Rove. It is currently out-performing The Supremes as newspaper entertainment and pundit fodder. That's because President Bush's nomination of Judge John Roberts to the Supreme Court hasn't yet provoked the partisan pit bulls.
The snarling could begin when a member of the president's party, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., focuses on Roberts' background flaw. Don't tell Santorum, but Roberts spent his formative years getting educated in Boston. At Harvard. More...
Santorum: He's not out of race yet for 2008 presidency
July 27, 2005
Steve Goldstein, Philadelphia Inquirer
Just when he seemed to take himself out, he pulled himself back in.
After saying Monday in an online chat with a newspaper's website that his "intention" is not to run for president in 2008, Sen. Rick Santorum today said that he would not completely rule out the possibility. More...
Santorum Now Open to '08 White House Run
July 27, 2005
Kimberly Hefling, The Associated Press
Two days after saying he had no intention of running for president in 2008, Republican Sen. Rick Santorum said Wednesday there was a slight possibility he could run after all. More...
Face-off fiasco / Senator battles TV host to a draw
July 27, 2005
Editorial, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Monday night's much vaunted Comedy Central "The Daily Show" face-off between host Jon Stewart and Sen. Rick Santorum turned out to be a dud. More...
Honest: Santorum has no plans for 2008 presidency bid
July 27, 2005
Brett Lieberman, Harrisburg Patriot News
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum wants to be honest: He has no plans to seek the presidency in 2008. Yet he won’t close the door all together. More...
With Santorum out in '08, conservatives up for grabs
July 27, 2005
Geoff Earle, The Hill
Sen. Rick Santorum’s (R-Pa.) announcement that he does not intend to run for president in 2008 has provided an opening for other GOP candidates angling for a piece of the social-conservative vote. More...
Senator in a hole, should stop digging
July 26, 2005
Francis Volpe, Carlisle Sentinel
I will stipulate right from the start that Pennsylvania's junior senator, Rick Santorum, has a constituency.
In two campaigns for the House and two more for the Senate, he's never lost an election. He's now risen to the no. 3 leadership position among Senate Republicans, and if he maintains his winning streak in the 2006 election, he might very well rise to the leadership, since the current leader, Sen. Bill Frist, is not seeking re-election. More...
Top politico filters his interviewers
July 26, 2005
Nancy Eshelman, Harrisburg Patriot-News
Summer doesn't bring relief from Sen. Rick Santorum. Our man in Washington has written a book and is sharing the TV screen with the likes of Brit Hume and Katie Couric. More...
Weather ad blasts Santorum
A bill introduced by the senator would privatize the National Weather Service, the group's union says.
July 26, 2005
Carrie Budoff, Philadelphia Inquirer
A union representing National Weather Service employees took its case against a bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) to the radio this weekend, putting up ads that accuse him of trying to privatize the federal agency.
The commercials extend a debate that began in April when Santorum introduced the bill dealing with the relationship between the weather service and private weather companies. More...
Santorum hits TV talk shows to promote book
July 26, 2005
Maeve Reston, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Sen. Rick Santorum yesterday promoted his new book in a whirlwind tour of the TV talk-show circuit, stirring up speculation about his 2008 presidential ambitions by issuing a non-denial denial and managing to get some laughs (and boos) during his appearance on the fake news program, "The Daily Show with John Stewart." More...
Senator hits the book circuit
Santorum's 'Family' keeps him busy
July 26, 2005
Brett Lieberman, Harrisburg Patriot-News
Whether it takes a family or a village remains open for debate between U.S. Sens. Rick Santorum and Hillary Rodham Clinton, but one thing both might agree on is that it takes publicity.
Santorum, R-Pa., has hit the publicity circuit to tout his new book, "It Takes a Family." Though he attacks "big media," Santorum is using national network TV, major newspapers and talk radio to promote his book. More...
GOP Sen. Santorum Rules Out 2008 Bid
July 25, 2005
The Associated Press
Republican Sen. Rick Santorum said Monday he has no intention to seek the presidency in 2008.
The Pennsylvania conservative, who recently wrote a book titled "It Takes a Family," said he couldn't imagine putting his family through another campaign after his re-election bid in 2006.
More...Santorum: Mrs. Roberts' Work Not Relevant
July 25, 2005
The Associated Press
The fact that Supreme Court nominee John Roberts' wife does free legal work for an anti-abortion group should not be relevant to his confirmation hearing, a Senate Republican leader said Monday.
Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, said Jane Roberts' work for Feminists for Life should have no influence on her husband's decisions as a justice. Santorum is one of the Senate's most outspoken abortion opponents. More...
Santorum book keeps 2008 White House talk alive
July 24, 2005
Patricia Wilson, Reuters
Iowa and New Hampshire, where presidential possibles go to test the political waters, are practically foreign territory for U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum.
But the Pennsylvania Republican's name keeps popping up -- in spite of a tough Senate re-election fight next year -- fed by his "never say never" response to whether he'll be a White House contender in 2008 and publication of his first book, a conservative manifesto on family and values. More...
Senator's new chapter of political risk
July 24, 2005
Carrie Budoff, Philadelphia Inquirer
Advisers to U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) challenged him on the timing. Should he really release It Takes a Family, his new book of prescriptions for curing what he sees as a broken culture, at the outset of a difficult reelection campaign?
Santorum listened, then moved ahead anyway.
The two-term senator seems to thrive on controversy. It's almost a habit for him, talking without a filter and holding firm when his critics start howling. But his latest venture - publishing a book - pushes his political risk-taking to a new level, prompting some allies to question whether it is worth it. More...
Santorum rebuts book criticism
Senator also stands by his controversial remarks about Boston's sexual abuse scandal
July 23, 2005
James O'Toole, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum yesterday defended the observations on women and work in his new book, and stood by his controversial remarks linking Boston's supposedly liberal climate to the scandal of priests and sexual abuse. More...
Hypocrisy alert: Senator's book at odds with his life
Critiquing Rich's rant is a real blood sport
July 22, 2005
Ronnie Polaneczky in The Philadelphia Daily News
PLEASE excuse the blood drops splattered across my column. I've been reading Sen. Rick Santorum's book, "It Takes A Family: Conservatism and the Common Good," and my blood pressure got so high the veins burst in my eyeballs.
Why am I so agitated by Sen. Opie's book?
It's not, as you might expect, just because it's filled with sanctimonious rants about the right way for families to live. That would be merely irritating.
It's because his dictums are at arrogant odds with how our senator lives his own life. It oughta be titled, "It Takes a Hypocrite." More...
Call hearings on abuse, Senator
July 22, 2005
John Salveson, of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
Philadelphia Daily News
By now, you're probably familar with U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum's comments about the Roman Catholic clergy sex-abuse scandal:
"Priests, like all of us, are affected by culture. When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected. While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm."
Santorum's remarks reflect a profound misunderstanding of this scandal. Those of us who were abused by a trusted, often loved, clergy member could describe in exacting detail the first time we were violated - but few of us knew or cared whether the assailant was a liberal or a conservative. More...
He meets with priest-abuse victims
July 22, 2005
The Associated Press
Sen. Rick Santorum yesterday assured victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy that he would look into why the Justice Department has yet to respond to their request for an investigation.
The meeting between Santorum, who is Catholic, and three members of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) was scheduled after some of its members expressed outrage over a column he wrote in 2002. More...
A Perfect Storm
Privacy. Neutrality. Free Expression.
July 21, 2005
Rick Santorum, National Review Online
I could go further and discuss the cases that touch on pornography and obscenity, also part of our moral ecology. For decades, communities in America have tried to shore up common decency, have tried to guard their collective moral capital, by regulating smut. Congress has likewise responded to Americans’ moral sensibilities by attempting to regulate broadcast media and the Internet. But time and again over the past generation America’s communities and Congress have run up against a Supreme Court intent to side against the American people and with the pornographers. The Court’s doctrine has been that virtually all efforts to regulate smut run afoul of the First Amendment, which the Court says protects all individuals’ “freedom of expression.” More...
Senator Santorum: Secular Extremism's Top Target
July 20, 2005
Michael J. Gaynor, The Conservative Voice
Who do the secular extremist Democrats dread most?
Apparently Senator Rick Santorum, Republican of Pennsylvania. More...
Santorum spares Sherwood the family-values lecture
July 20, 2005
Editorial, Times-Leader
FOR A GUY who just wrote a stinging book about family values, Sen. Rick Santorum sure sounded mealy-mouthed when asked about U.S. Rep. Don Sherwood’s dalliances. More...
Enter “Neutrality”
From accommodating separationism to Everson.
July 20, 2005
Rick Santorum, National Review Online
There is another string of cases that brought forth a second pernicious Court doctrine that has transformed America’s moral ecosystem. These cases concern religion in the public square. The “first freedom” of the First Amendment concerns religious liberty: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. . . .” The first thing to notice is that the phrase “wall of separation,” cited so frequently as an almost sacred text in most of these Supreme Court decisions, is not a phrase used in the U.S. Constitution. It was lifted from a passage in a letter from President Jefferson to the Baptists of Danbury, Connecticut, more than a decade after the First Amendment was added to the Constitution. More...
Santorum praises Pres. Bush's Supreme Court pick
July 19, 2005
The Associated Press
Sen. Rick Santorum praised President Bush's selection of John G. Roberts Jr. on Tuesday to be a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.
Santorum, R-Pa., called Roberts "brilliant" and "head and shoulders above the crowd." More...
Penn Hills to appeal Santorum ruling
July 19, 2005
Reid R. Frazier, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The Penn Hills school board voted Monday to appeal a state hearing officer's decision on whether the district should be reimbursed for the online schooling bills for the children of U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum. More...
Penn Hills district pushes for refund from Santorum
July 19, 2005
The Associated Press
The Penn Hills School District will appeal a recommendation that the state dismiss the district's request for a refund of tax money it paid for Sen. Rick Santorum's children to attend an Internet-based charter school while living in Virginia. More...
GOP Senator in Democrats' Cross Hairs
A conservative favorite, Rick Santorum's blunt take on cultural issues may give ammunition to opponents in the battle for his seat next year.
July 19, 2005
Faye Fiore, The Los Angeles Times
Sen. Rick Santorum, the politician whom the Democrats most want to defeat next year, has long been a lightning rod, owing to his habit of saying exactly what's on his mind. Lately, though, the bolts have been dancing at the Pennsylvania Republican's feet.
After losing the fight this year to prevent the withdrawal of nutrition and hydration from Terri Schiavo, the Florida woman who doctors said was in a persistent vegetative state, Santorum concluded that she had been "executed" when she died March 31. A tireless defender of marriage, he equated same-sex relationships and bestiality in a 2003 newspaper interview. More recently, he apologized for comparing Democrats who opposed changing Senate rules to block the filibuster for judicial nominees to Adolf Hitler. More...
Santorum's poverty nostrums
July 19, 2005
Editorial, Philadelphia Daily News
CALL IT "Senator Knows Best."
In his bizarre new book, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum writes, "In far too many families with young children, both parents are working when, if they really took an honest look at the budget, they might find they don't both need to."
For those of you young enough to have children at home, "Father Knows Best" was a program on TV long before you were born.
In every episode, Mr. Anderson came home from work, put down his briefcase and solved the little problems of his nuclear family in compassionate black and white. Hovering nearby was Mrs. Anderson, whom we would now refer to as a "stay-at-home." More...
The Constitutional Wrecking Ball
It all started with Griswold.
July 19, 2005
Rick Santorum, National Review Online
How did this all start? Several “strands” of major Supreme Court decisions, bound together, have dismantled older constitutional understandings and enshrined the new morality. On the questions of marriage, family, and sex, that string begins with the 1965 Griswold decision. In that case, a Connecticut law that outlawed the use of contraceptives, even by married couples, was ruled unconstitutional. Now, before you jump to conclusions, let me clearly state that this law was badly written, and I would not have supported it or its intent. Nonetheless, it is in this case that the Court “discovered” a “right to privacy” in the U.S. Constitution. Of course, such a right does not appear anywhere in the text of the Constitution. Rather, the Court’s majority discovered — or invented — such a right from the “emanations” and “penumbras” of rights found in the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments. More...
Santorum calls gay staffer a 'trusted employee'
July 19, 2005
Borys Krawczeniuk, The Citizens Voice
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, who has likened homosexuality to incest, bigamy and polygamy, said Monday that an openly homosexual member of his staff is "a trusted employee" who will continue to "have my confidence."
During a visit to the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Plains Township, Santorum said there's no contradiction between his criticism of homosexuality as a lifestyle and his employment of the gay staff member, director of communications Robert L. Traynham. More...
Moral Capital and the Courts
The Left is destroying traditional morality.
July 18, 2005
Rick Santorum, National Review Online
The village elders (a.k.a. left-wing members of Congress) introduce very few bills — almost none that attract more than one or two cosponsors. There are no hearings where Congress and the public can hear arguments about the merits to society of changing its moral fabric. Did Congress pass a law that said it was illegal to display a Christmas crèche on public property, tell us we could not recite the pledge that we are “one nation under God” in schools, or legislate away displays of the Ten Commandments from public buildings? Did we pass a constitutional amendment that gave anyone a right to marry as many people of whatever gender they want? Did we pass an amendment that gave women the right to abort their children at any time, for any reason, during pregnancy? Did we pass a law that minors could undergo the surgical procedure of abortion without parental consent or notification? The answer to all of these questions is: No! Not in one state legislature, much less in the U.S. Congress, did the democratic branches of government, the people’s branches, pass such amendments or enact such laws. How could the moral fabric of America be so torn apart without so much as a single act of Congress duly signed by the president? More...
Editorial: Santorum and sin / After working mothers, the senator insults Boston
July 18, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum has his own variation of that old excuse for shameful behavior: The devil made me do it. Speaking of the child-abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, the senator has offered this explanation: The liberals made them do it. More...
SANTORUM WHACKS BOSTON
IS PHILLY NEXT?
July 18, 2005
Editorial, Philadelphia Daily News
DOES SEN. Rick Santorum not want to get re-elected?
We ask because lately the commonwealth's junior senator has been acting kinda, well, dorky. More...
The Santorum Crystal Ball
July 18, 2005
Larry Ceisler and Marybeth T. Hagan, Philadelphia Daily News
Santorum wrote the book on ignorance
July 17, 2005
Rochelle Riley, Detroit Free Press
Sometimes, in our pursuit of winning and of being right, we say some stupid things.
That's what happened to Sen. Rick Santorum, who either is gearing up his 2008 presidential campaign and needs to rally his conservative base - or is on drugs. More...
The apostle of bizarre insensitivity
July 17, 2005
Thomas Oliphant, Boston Globe Columnist
WASHINGTON - In the end, I've decided, after a decade of absurdities, Rick Santorum is not funny, just weird. More...
So, Santorum, you don't say...
July 17, 2005
Tom Ferrick Jr., Philadelphia Inquirer Columnist
When it comes to U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, you have to wonder about the Wacko Factor. More...
Banned in Boston
July 17, 2005
Editorial, The Scranton Times
As it turns out, the Catholic Church hierarchy in Boston that turned its back on victims of sexual abuse by priests was not truly to blame for the scandal that rocked the church around the world, it was Boston itself. So says Sen. Rick Santorum: More...
It takes a controversy: Santorum book could be asset after initial hit, strategist says
July 17, 2005
James O'Toole, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Sen. Rick Santorum took a tactical risk in publishing, "It Takes a Family," his critique of liberalism and conservative prescription for healing families and communities. More...
Nice loophole
July 17, 2005
Editorial, Beaver County Times
Who are we more angry with, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum or the lawmakers who conjured up the cyber charter school regulations? More...
Pittsburgh to host Republican National Committee meeting
July 16,2005
The Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Republican National Committee will hold its summer meeting here in U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum's stomping grounds next month, officials said. More...
A top Santorum aide is gay
The senator, who's been critical of gay rights, said his senior spokesman had his full support.
July 16, 2005
Steve Goldstein, Philadelphia Inquirer
WASHINGTON - The senior spokesman for Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) yesterday confirmed to a Web log that he is gay. More...
Spokesman for antigay senator says he's gay
July 16, 2005
Advocate.com
A top aide to one of the U.S. Senate's leading antigay members has told a Washington blog that he is gay and stands by his boss, Pennsylvania Republican Rick Santorum. More...
The ideologue who squeaked
July 15, 2005
Scot Lehigh, The Boston Globe
ON WEDNESDAY, US Senator Rick Santorum had to answer a fundamental question. Is he a man or is he a mouse?
So how did the Pennsylvania Republican decide the issue? Well, here's an audio clue: Squeak, squeak. More...
Lawmakers Ask Santorum to Apologize
July 15, 2005
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The Massachusetts congressional delegation Friday sent a letter to a Pennsylvania senator demanding an apology for what they called his "outrageous, erroneous and insensitive" comments in a column linking Boston's liberalism to the clergy sex abuse scandal. More...
Senator Rick Santorum must apologize to Catholics
Senator Santorum’s voting record on issues of importance to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is a dismal 40%.
July 15, 2005
ArriveNet
Washington DC -- (ArriveNet - Jul 15, 2005) -- Senator Rick Santorum’s assertion in “Fishers of Men”, published 7/12/02 in “Catholic Online” that “liberalism” is the root of the evil in the Church’s sex scandal is beyond reproach. His accusation that “liberalism” in seminaries led to these scandals is a slap in the face to all good Catholic Priests and Religious that have attended these seminaries and graduated from them. Furthermore, his wild assumption that somehow because the scandal in Boston gained more media attention than other locations, the “liberalism” of the area must be the cause is an affront to all the good Catholics in Boston, not to mention the victims of abuse. More...
Santorum's slur
July 14, 2005
Editorial, Boston Globe
SENATOR RICK Santorum can't be serious when he says that localized liberalism has something to do with the sexual abuse scandal that convulsed the Archdiocese of Boston. But he repeated his three-year-old calumny this week, so a few facts are in order. More...
Kennedy Rebukes Santorum for Comments
Republican Repeats Remark Linking Scandal to Boston 'Liberalism'
July 14, 2005
Alan Cooperman, Washington Post
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) led a phalanx of Massachusetts politicians yesterday in demanding that the third-ranking Republican in the Senate, Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, apologize for blaming the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal on "liberalism" in Boston. More...
ETHICAL ISSUE
July 14, 2005
Editorial, Harrisburg Patriot News
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum no doubt breathed a sign of re lief this week when a hearing officer recommended that he shouldn't have to compensate the Penn Hills School District for paying his children's tuition to attend an Internet-based charter school while living in Virginia. More...
The Santorums get a technicality
July 14, 2005
Editorial, Allentown Morning Call
A lot doesn't feel right with Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., billing a western Pennsylvania school district for cyber charter school tuition for his children. First, the senator used the address of a home he owns in the Penn Hills School District to take advantage of the state law allowing such reimbursements. Second, the fact that questions of the payment were raised by a school board member and local Democratic committee member, Erin Vecchio, in the midst of Sen. Santorum's re-election campaign blurs principles with politics. More...
Santorum should give mothers a break
July 14, 2005
Mike Seate, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Sen. Rick Santorum made a name for himself in 1995 by cosponsoring welfare reform legislation requiring many women to find jobs to continue receiving public assistance. More...
Kennedy slams Santorum for church sex abuse remarks
July 13, 2005
Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press
WASHINGTON --In a rare personal attack on the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy called Pennsylvania Republican Rick Santorum self-righteous and insensitive for his remarks linking Boston's liberal reputation to the clergy sex abuse scandal. More...
Santorum resolute on Boston rebuke
Insists liberalism set stage for abuse
July 13, 2005
Susan Milligan, Boston Globe
WASHINGTON -- Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, the third-ranking Republican in the Senate, refused yesterday to back off on his earlier statements connecting Boston's ''liberalism" with the Roman Catholic Church pedophile scandal, saying that the city's ''sexual license" and ''sexual freedom" nurtured an environment where sexual abuse would occur. More...
Editorial: Untidy ruling / The Santorum residency case is unresolved
July 13, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Are students who live in another state residents of Pennsylvania for education purposes and should Pennsylvania taxpayers fund their schooling? The ruling in the Santorum residency case said less than the U.S. senator claimed but more than the Penn Hills School District bargained for. More...
Editorial: Senate’s ‘moral compass’ points to money
July 13, 2005
Delaware County Times
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., has no problem painting himself as the leader of morality and ethics on Capitol Hill. The third-ranking Republican in the Senate, Santorum tried, unsuccessfully, to insert language in the No Child Left Behind bill that would have changed the teachingof evolution in public schools to include "intelligent design." More...
Hillary Clinton gives Santorum her two cents
July 13, 2005
The Associated Press
It may take a village to raise a child. Or it may take a family. But it definitely takes two senators to argue the merits of either. More...
In sanctum Santorum
July 12, 2005
Brian McGrory, Boston Globe Columnist
Today, I'd like to take a few moments to express profound thanks to Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, the third-ranking Republican in the US Senate. In fact, all Bostonians should thank him for sharing his incredible wisdom and insight about this city and its depraved ways. More...
Editorial: His own words / Sen. Santorum plays the scold in a new book
July 10, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Like an old-fashioned mother, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania knows best -- and he has written a book to show the rest of us in the American family the error of our ways. Of course, there's nothing wrong with him becoming an author, and it's helpful to be reminded of what he believes. To some extent, the problem with his book is less what the senator says and more how he chooses to say it. More...
Family values, Santorum-style
July 8, 2005
Bill Press, WorldNetDaily
Whenever I hear Republican politicians pontificate about "family values" – most often asserting that Republicans have 'em, but Democrats don't – I'm never sure what they're talking about. Do they mean Newt Gingrich's cheating on his wife? Or Dan Burton's illegitimate son? Or Henry Hyde's "youthful indiscretion"? Or Rush Limbaugh's serious drug abuse? More...
Senator's book puts blame on liberalism
July 7, 2005
Carrie Budoff, Philadelphia Inquirer
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum confronts liberalism as the primary source of America's troubles in his first book, It Takes a Family, an account of his conservative philosophy that has already become a campaign football. More...
Santorum's book urges more moms stay home
July 6, 2005
Maeve Reston, Post-Gazette National Bureau
WASHINGTON-- Sen. Rick Santorum's bid for re-election in 2006 is already the most closely watched race in Washington and the "never say never" part of his answer to whether he'll run for president in 2008 only keeps those rumors flying. More...
Santorum compares abortion to slavery in new book
July 6, 2005
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Rick Santorum compares abortion to slavery in his new book "It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good," which is being promoted as an alternative to the views of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. More...
Santorum Criticizes Views of Sen. Clinton
Sen. Rick Santorum Criticizes Views of Sen. Clinton, Compares Abortion to Slavery in New Book
July 6, 2005
Kimberly Hefling, The Associated Press
Sen. Rick Santorum compares abortion to slavery in his new book "It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good," which is being promoted as an alternative to the views of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. More...
Santorum predicts limits on abortions
July 2, 2005
Chris Osher, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum predicted Friday the next Supreme Court justice could make it easier for conservatives to curb some abortions. More...
A look into Santorum's brain
He Said Schiavo Was 'Executed'
June 24, 2005
John Baer, Philadelphia Daily News
I've been thinking lately about Rick Santorum's brain.
It is, and I don't care where your politics lie, something to think about. More...
Santorum defends Schiavo visit
June 18, 2005
Tom Barnes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
HARRISBURG -- Regardless of what his critics say, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum insists he did the right thing by visiting brain-damaged Terri Schiavo in Florida before she died March 31. More...
The two faces of the stem-cell debate: Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum
Santorum leads foes of Specter's bill to fund research
May 29, 2005
Maeve Reston, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
WASHINGTON - In the years they have served together, Sen. Arlen Specter, one of the Senate's leading moderates, and Sen. Rick Santorum, one of the body's leading conservatives, have found themselves on the opposite sides of a number of substantive issues. More…
Critics question timing of AccuWeather donation, Santorum's Weather Service bill
May 27, 2005
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - Two days before Sen. Rick Santorum introduced a bill that critics say would restrict the National Weather Service, his political action committee received a $2,000 donation from the chief executive of AccuWeather Inc., a leading provider of weather data. More…
Santorum uses NYT cover piece to raise money!
May 25, 2005
William Bunch, Attytood – Philadelphia Daily News Weblog
Earlier this week, we told you about how the New York Times Magazine missed the boat in its lengthy cover article about Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum. We said it failed to hit hard on the contradictions between his avowed interest in fighting poverty and his real record of supporting big business against workers, and how his close ties to K Street lobbyisys were ignored and his cynical Florida fundraising trip was underplayed. More…
Editorial: Hitler bombs / Santorum's filibuster analogy crosses a line
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Sen. Rick Santorum is not a subtle man. Pennsylvania's junior senator has strong beliefs that he refuses to mute out of deference to people, institutions or conventional wisdom. More...
The Believer
May 22, 2005
Michael Sokolove, New York Times Magazine
Rick Santorum, the boyish-looking 47-year-old senator from Pennsylvania, could not, in more decorous political times, have risen to a position of much power in Congress. He has been impatient and sometimes impertinent -- the political equivalent of the too-rough kid on the playground who either doesn't know the rules of the game or just doesn't care to follow them. More…
Santorum tax rebate questioned
May 14, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. has asked the county manager's office to see if U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum is improperly receiving a $70 per year tax rebate on his Penn Hills home. More…
Santorum school case filings exchanged
May 11, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Attorneys are exchanging briefs in the case involving the cyber charter school bills the Penn Hills School District paid for five of the children of U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum. More…
Editorial: Eye of the storm / Sen. Santorum's weather bill should blow by
May 6, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum confounds the saying, often attributed to Mark Twain, that everybody talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it. Of course, the Republican senator doesn't actually want to do anything about the weather -- that would require a faith-based initiative directly involving the Almighty -- but the way it is reported. More…
Incumbency acts as Santorum shield
April 25, 2005
John Baer, Philadelphia Daily News
THERE'S lots of buzz about Rick Santorum getting knocked out of the Senate next year.
And why not? He's a big deal: third-highest Republican, potential presidential candidate; he'd be political payback for Tom Daschle.
And he seems to be slipping. More…
Santorum upfront over Outback?
Backed bill, got campaign funds
April 21, 2005
By William Bunch
Executives for Outback Steakhouses chain hosted a Florida fund-raiser for GOP Sen. Rick Santorum just days after the Pennsylvanian pushed in the Senate for the donor's pet issue: Blocking higher minimum pay for restaurant workers. More…
Group says Santorum gets improper tax break
April 20, 2005
By Tribune-Review
A political action group Tuesday presented Allegheny County Council with a petition saying U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum is improperly receiving a tax exemption for a house he owns in Penn Hills. More…
Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Outback) -- no rules, just (far) right
April 20, 2005
William Bunch, Attytood- Philadelphia Daily News Weblog
Sen. Rick Santorum's "culture of death/culture of cash" tour of Florida last month is the gift that just keeps on giving.
As our colleague John Baer first told us last week, Pa. junior GOP senator mugged for the TV cameras outside a dying Terri Schiavo's hospice on his late March tour of the Sunshine State and cancelled a Social Security town hall meeting "out of respect" -- but went ahead with a series of political fundraisers aimed at raking on $250,000 for his 2006 campaign. More..
Father First, Senator Second
For Rick Santorum, Politics Could Hardly Get More Personal
Mark Leibovich, Washington Post
April 18, 2005
In his Senate office, on a shelf next to an autographed baseball, Sen. Rick Santorum keeps a framed photo of his son Gabriel Michael, the fourth of his seven children. Named for two archangels, Gabriel Michael was born prematurely, at 20 weeks, on Oct. 11, 1996, and lived two hours outside the womb. More…
Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Wal-Mart)
April 14, 2005
William Bunch, Attytood- Philadelphia Daily News Weblog
We hear that Pa. Sen. Rick Santorum hasn't been spending much time of late in his adopted hometown of Penn Hills near Pittsburgh, the town that spent nearly $34,000 to educate the senator's five kids while they were living in a luxury home in Virginia.
So Santorum probably doesn't even know that his neighbors are upset that a new Wal-Mart is coming to Penn Hills, so upset they held a meeting last night to complain about everything from traffic to the mom-and-pop stores that will likely be driven out of business. More…
Hats off to Santorum, he understands politics
April 11, 2005
John Baer, Philadelphia Daily News
My Hat’s off to Rick Santorum.
I mean it. Say what you want, this is one pol who works it.
Whether it's flying off to Rome to the pope's funeral, or putting out news he personally met with the pope five - count 'em, five times - he knows how to touch his bases. More…
Sen. Rick Santorum: I Draw No Line Between My Faith and My Decisions
March 28, 2005
Interview by Stan Guthrie, Christianity Today
Rick Santorum, Pennsylvania's junior U.S. senator, was first elected to the Senate in 1994. It has been widely reported that the Catholic Republican and outspoken pro-life advocate will face challenge from another pro-life Catholic, Democrat Bob Casey Jr.
Senior associate news editor Stan Guthrie spoke with Santorum. More…
Amtrak Op-ed
Congress Must Stay on Track with Amtrak Funding
March 25, 2005
By Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA)
As our nation’s premier passenger rail service, Amtrak plays a crucial role in our transportation infrastructure. Keeping the rail lines open and the trains running should be one of Congress’ priorities in the upcoming budget discussion. At a time when Amtrak is setting ridership records and as congestion at our airports and on the highways continues to increase, it would be a grave mistake to cut the federal funds that keep Amtrak operating. More…
(Santorum Exposed editor’s note - Just 9 days before the preceding op-ed was written, on March 16, Santorum voted against a Byrd (D-WV) amendment to the 2006 Congressional Budget Resolution to preserve Amtrak funding by closing corporate tax loopholes)
Santorum, Kennedy duel over minimum wage hike proposals
March 8, 2005
Maeve Reston, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
WASHINGTON - Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum yesterday dueled over proposals to increase the minimum wage, with Republicans arguing that Kennedy's $2 increase would cripple the economy and Democrats arguing that Santorum's $1.10 increase was a thinly-disguised giveaway to business. More…
Op-ed Appearing in The Hill Newspaper on Social Security Reform
March 1, 2005
by Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA)
As President George W. Bush said in his State of the Union address on February 2, 2005, one of America’s most important institutions—a symbol of trust between generations—is in need of wise and effective reform. More…
Higher Social Security cap a two-edged sword for GOP
Fixing Social Security
March 1, 2005
Maeve Reston, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
WASHINGTON -- As Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum traveled around Pennsylvania last week trying to convince voters that the Social Security system's financial problems must be addressed this year, he was repeatedly asked the same question: Why not solve at least part of the problem by lifting the income cap that lets America's wealthiest workers stop paying Social Security taxes on wages they earn above $90,000? More…
Santorum finds many minds made up on Social Security
Senator on tour seeking support for Bush plan
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
By Maeve Reston, Post-Gazette National Bureau
JOHNSTOWN -- Sen. Rick Santorum launched a 10-stop tour of Pennsylvania yesterday to advocate for changes to the Social Security system, but landed -- even at his very first stop -- at the center of an already-roiling debate about the proposals. More…
Santorum focusing on re-election to Senate, not White House run
January 26, 2005
Maeve Reston, Post-Gazette National Bureau
WASHINGTON -- Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who holds the No. 3 leadership post in the Republican-controlled Senate, said yesterday that while he would not rule out an eventual run for the presidency, he is focused on winning re-election to the Senate in 2006 and making a bid to become his party's majority whip. More…
Teach the Controversy
January 14, 2005
Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA)
This editorial first appeared in the Allentown Morning Call
One of the most basic questions that children ask is, “Where did we come from?” When it comes to science education policy, however, the more relevant question is, how do we best prepare our teachers to answer the student who inquires about our origins and the origin of other living things? The answer is at the heart of a contentious debate regarding the teaching of evolution in the science classroom. More…
Mister Right
December 27, 2004
Howard Fineman, Newsweek
Rick Santorum: The No. 3 man in the Senate leadership is hard at work spreading the GOP gospel. Will his crusades take him all the way to the White House? More…
Editorial: Santorum, R-Va. / Is the senator an 'inhabitant' of Pennsylvania?
Friday, November 19, 2004
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Penn Hills School District asked Sen. Rick Santorum a $38,000 question. That is whether his children are residents of the municipality to the point that their educations should be paid for by Penn Hills taxpayers.
On Wednesday he gave his answer and it was no. More…
Welcome to the Machine
How the GOP disciplined K Street and made Bush supreme.
July/August 2003
Nicholas Confessore, Washington Monthly
When presidents pick someone to fill a job in the government, it's typically a very public affair. The White House circulates press releases and background materials. Congress holds a hearing, where some members will pepper the nominee with questions and others will shower him or her with praise. If the person in question is controversial or up for an important position, they'll rate a profile or two in the papers. But there's one confirmation hearing you won't hear much about. It's convened every Tuesday morning by Rick Santorum, the junior senator from Pennsylvania, in the privacy of a Capitol Hill conference room, for a handpicked group of two dozen or so Republican lobbyists. Occasionally, one or two other senators or a representative from the White House will attend. Democrats are not invited, and neither is the press. More…
Excerpt from Santorum interview
April 7, 2003
The Associated Press
An unedited section of the Associated Press interview, taped April 7, with Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa. Words that couldn't be heard clearly on the tape are marked (unintelligible). More…
Sen. Santorum's wife wins lawsuit
December 11, 1999
Jack Torry, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
WASHINGTON -- A Virginia jury last night awarded the wife of Sen. Rick Santorum $350,000 in damages after she charged in a lawsuit that a Virginia chiropractor's negligence caused her permanent back pain. More…
Santorum defends vote for military base closings
May 29, 1999
Jessica D. Matthews, Pocono Record
Rounds of military base closings would become too partisan a process under the Clinton administration, said U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum.
However, a round of base closings in the year 2001 could occur under a new non-partisan administration, once Clinton leaves office, said the Republican senator.
Santorum defended Thursday to the Pocono Record his vote in favor of a new round of base closings in 2001 as part of an $288.8 billion defense spending bill. The proposal was rejected Wednesday 60 to 40 in the Senate. More...