Santorum: No oval office run
Some backers sought an '08 campaign, but he said: "Absolutely, positively not."
November 17, 2006
Carrie Budoff, Philadelphia Inquirer
Don't expect to see Sen. Rick Santorum's name on the 2008 presidential ballot.
"Absolutely, positively not. Absolutely not," Santorum said yesterday on The Michael Smerconish Show on WPHT-AM (1210). "My wife would throw me out of the house if I do anything in '08." More...
For Santorum, what comes next?
A role in the Bush administration, and even a Pa. run in 2010 were mentioned.
November 9, 2006
Larry Eichel and Carrie Budoff, Philadelphia Inquirer
It's never a good thing for an incumbent senator to spend $27 million running for reelection and lose by 18 percentage points. More...
Back at you, Santorum
October 3, 2006
Brian McGrory, Boston Globe Columnist
Please allow me to offer Senator Rick Santorum a hearty Boston welcome to the world of the depraved. More...
On the bright side, Santorum has more hair
September 25, 2006
Bill White, Allentown Morning Call
''Gentlemen, welcome to my home,'' said Sen. Rick Santorum. ''Isn't this Virginia weather wonderful?'' More...
Santorum and upstart allies now GOP old guard
September 03, 2006
James O'Toole, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Rick Santorum was strolling past a display of highly brightly polished tractors at the Butler Farm Show this summer when he came across an old friend. More...
State agrees to pay Penn Hills schools for Santorum
September 02, 2006
Eleanor Chute and James O'Toole, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The state Department of Education has agreed to pay the Penn Hills School District $55,000 to settle a dispute over whether the school district should have paid for cyber schooling for the children of U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum. More...
John Baer | Odd issue for a TV ad from Santorum
June 26, 2006
Philadelphia Daily News
OPERATION Save Santorum launched over the weekend with its first TV ad, something called "Candles," a 30-second spot about immigration. More...
Mr. Santorum, don't build this wall
June 26, 2006
JERRY BOWYER, Opinion, Philadelphia Daily News
I'VE BEEN interviewing Rick Santorum for almost two decades now. One thing that always struck me about Rick was his willingness to speak openly about his belief in Christianity. More...
Who's that guy?
Santorum is a mean-spirited corporate tool, but he won't play one on TV
June 25, 2006
Sally Kalson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Viewers, grab your remotes. Even though it's only June, a faltering but well-funded Rick Santorum has launched his statewide TV campaign to retain his U.S. Senate seat, vowing to keep it coming until the election. More...
WEAPONS OF MASS DISRUPTION
WHY IS SANTORUM BEATING A DEAD STORY?
June 23, 2006
Editorial, Philadelphia Daily News
YOU HEAR tales of these people: The delusional dreamers.
You normally see them standing by the shores of Loch Ness, hoping for a glimpse of the Monster, or trolling the ocean depths, looking for signs of Atlantis, or peering through telescopes, scanning the heavens for UFOs.
Or in the case of Pennsylvania's Sen. Rick Santorum, near a microphone in Washington D.C. More...
GOP senators rebuff minimum-wage increase
June 22, 2006
David Espo, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The Republican-controlled Senate yesterday smothered a proposed election-year increase in the minimum wage, rejecting Democratic contentions that it was past time to boost the $5.15 hourly pay floor that has been in effect for nearly a decade. More...
Editorial: Cheesesteak politics / On immigrants, Santorum sends a worrisome sign
June 22, 2006
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
It didn't take long for Rick Santorum to sink his teeth into the Geno's cheesesteak imbroglio.
A year after the Republican senator mounted his soapbox outside Terri Schiavo's hospice in Florida, we shouldn't be surprised that he's weighing in on another populist issue for political gain. More...
In plain English, Rick backs Vento
June 20, 2006
CHRISTINE OLLEY, Philadelphia Daily News
INJECTING HIMSELF in the middle of a South Philly controversy as burning- hot as a stainless-steel grill, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (left) made an unscheduled stop at Geno's Steaks last night to wolf down a cheesesteak and stand behind its owner. More...
Women, ordered to leave signing, to sue
The ACLU has filed suit on behalf of several women tossed from a book signing for Sen. Rick Santorum.
May 31, 2006
Randall Chase, Associated Press
DOVER, Del. - The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a group of women who claim their constitutional rights were violated when they were ordered to leave a book signing event featuring Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.). More...
Editorial | Bad math, slick politics: We'll pay, eventually
May 30, 2006
Philadelphia Inquirer
For the past five years, Congress and President Bush have been cutting taxes in the face of huge deficits, all the while peddling a math myth to the public. More...
Capitol Police Visit Santorum's Penn Hills Home
May 24, 2006
WTAE-TV
On Wednesday, Capitol Police agent dispatched from Washington spent nearly 90 minutes doing a security check on Sen. Rick Santorum's Penn Hill's house. More...
Santorum's odd reaction to house story
May 24, 2006
John Baer, Philadelphia Daily News
IS IT THE faint scent of political fear, a touch of crazy or paternal instinct gone wild?
Whatever it is, it's gripped the U.S. Senate race and pushed Rick Santorum close (OK, closer) to the edge. More...
Santorum's window pains
A peek inside his Penn Hills home sparks spat between his and Casey campaigns
May 20, 2006
William Bunch, Philadelphia Daily News
For years, political opponents have accused social conservative Sen. Rick Santorum - in the strictly metaphorical sense - of looking into people's bedrooms through his opposition to gay-rights issues and other things. More...
Santorum and Specter team up on stem-cell bill
The compromise measure would involve creating altered embryos as a source for the material.
May 6, 2006
By Marie McCullough and Carrie Budoff, Inquirer Staff Writers
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) yesterday called for federal funding of research that would involve creating an altered human embryo - one that could yield precious stem cells but not implant in a uterus. More...
The Great Republican Rebranding
May 6, 2006
E. J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post
Sen. Rick Santorum wanted to talk.
His purpose, he said over breakfast earlier this week in the Senate dining room, was to "tell the other side of the story" about his record, which his foes use to cast him as -- these are his words -- "a mean-spirited, hard-right country club Republican." More...
Santorum pushes for new rules, lives by old
The senator took flights sponsored by corporations while arguing against the perk.
May 3, 2006
Carrie Budoff, Inquirer Staff Writer
Speaking from the Senate floor, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) urged his colleagues to curtail a popular perk: private corporate-sponsored flights at bargain rates for members of Congress. More...
Editorial | Slam this sham
March 31, 2006
The Philadelphia Inquirer
It's official: The Senate believes it can fool all of the people all of the time.
Senators on Wednesday approved, 90-8, an ethics bill that should fool nobody. It's a watered-down, toothless attempt to address the recent lobbying scandals that resulted in one ex-congressman being hauled off to prison for taking bribes, and a Justice Department probe into the influence peddling of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff. More...
Lobbyist Reform as a Shell Game
March 22, 2006
Editorial, The New York Times
The political gods had to guffaw when Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania was designated by the Republicans to be their headlined champion in the current reform effort to rein in lobbying abuses. In truth, Mr. Santorum had long been the G.O.P.'s eager point man in courting the lobbyists of K Street. But in January, as the Jack Abramoff scandal nipped at Congress, Senator Santorum swore off further inner-sanctum sessions with lobbyists, just in time for his tight re-election fight. More...
Editorial | Fiscally irresponsible
March 20, 2006
Philadelphia Inquirer
They rail constantly against big government and bloated bureaucracies.
But one of the most startling failures of President Bush and the Republican-led Congress has been their inability to get federal spending under control. More...
Good neighbor to political staff
March 15, 2006
Editorial, Scranton Times-Tribune
Operation Good Neighbor, a charity founded by Sen. Rick Santorum, is a better neighbor to political fundraisers than it is to enterprises it purports to help. More...
Senate G.O.P. Blocks Tight Budget Rule
March 15, 2006
Carl Hulse, New York Times
WASHINGTON -- Senate Republicans on Tuesday narrowly defeated an effort to impose budget rules that would make it harder to increase spending or cut taxes, a move that critics said that showed Republicans were posturing in their calls for greater fiscal restraint. More...
Santorum lauds anti-evolutionist
After backing away from the "Dover" case, he praises a man seen as intelligent design's father.
March 8, 2006
Kimberly Hefling, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) wrote the foreword for a new book praising a retired law professor sometimes called the father of the intelligent-design movement. More...
Text of foreword written Pa. Sen. Rick Santorum
March 8, 2006
Associated Press
The following is the text of the foreword written by Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum for the book "Darwin's Nemesis: Phillip Johnson and the Intelligent Design Movement." More...
Santorum no longer in forefront of efforts to revamp lobbying
March 1, 2006
Maeve Reston, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
WASHINGTON -- Though Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., charged Sen. Rick Santorum with the task of spearheading Republican efforts to tighten rules on lawmakers' contact with lobbyists, Pennsylvania's junior senator is taking more of a backstage role as that legislation begins moving through the chamber this week. More...
BUYER'S REMORSE?
SANTORUM'S HOUSE WOES CONTINUE ALONG WITH THE QUESTIONS
February 23, 2006
Editorial, Philadelphia Daily News
IN THE classic motion picture "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House," Cary Grant and Myrna Loy play New Yorkers who decide to buy a new house out in the country - and get more than they bargained for. More...
Santorum defends his home mortgage
Deflecting accusations of preferential treatment, he says he got the same deal anyone could have gotten.
February 22, 2006
Carrie Budoff, Philadelphia Inquirer
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) provided details yesterday of his $500,000 home mortgage loan after disclosures that he secured it through a bank whose top executives were campaign donors. More...
Sour Charity
Exclusive: Inside Rick Santorum’s charity, which isn’t very charitable and hasn’t filed the required papers with the state.
February 21, 2006
Will Bunch, American Prospect
Ever conscious of political fashion, Rick Santorum wanted to demonstrate that he, too, was a “compassionate conservative” in 2000, when the Bush campaign popularized the phrase. Santorum helped sponsor the Good Neighbor Initiative, a fund-raising drive that netted $700,000, mostly from big corporations, to do good works in Philadelphia. More...
With A Little Help From His Friends
Issue Date: March 10, 2006
Will Bunch, American Prospect
An investigation into the private and public finances of Rick Santorum suggests that the Senate GOP might want to reconsider making him its ethics czar. More...
Larry Schweiger: Oil's spoils
Why is the Bush administration bent on reviving the scheme to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge?
February 17, 2006
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Less than a week after warning in his State of the Union address that our nation is "addicted to oil," President Bush offered the country a proposal to -- of all things -- drill for more oil. More...
Subsidized skies for Santorum and Casey
Like other politicians, they have enjoyed luxury flights paid for in part by firms with an interest in legislation.
February 12, 2006
Carrie Budoff, Philadelphia Inquirer
It's a tempting offer for the time-strapped elected official: fly by private jet, courtesy of a corporation, without the hassle of long lines and lost luggage.
Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) took advantage of the perk 10 times in the last two years, paying more than $18,000 - a fraction of the true cost of the flights - to six companies with legislative interests before Congress, according to campaign-finance documents.
At least six of those flights came at a time when he advocated positions favorable to two of the companies: BellSouth Corp. and UST Public Affairs Inc., a Connecticut smokeless-tobacco company. More...
Santorum warns GOP crowd of coming challenges
February 12, 2006
Brett Lieberman, Harrrisburg Patriot-News
As Republican committee people from across the state ate their dinner, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum offered a confession that silenced the clatter of forks and knives. More...
Is gym owner betraying gays by backing Santorum?
February 9, 2006
Ronnie Polaneczky, Philadelphia Daily News
HERE'S a question:
Given Sen. Rick Santorum's disdain for gays, can someone support his re-election without supporting his anti-gay views? More...
Tom Ferrick Jr. | The two sides of Rick Santorum
February 1, 2006
Tom Ferrick Jr., Philadelphia Inquirer Columnist
As he seeks reelection to another six-year term, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum faces two formidable opponents. More...
Santorum's Denials on K Street Project Don't Ring True
February 1, 2006
Norman J. Ornstein, Roll Call
Like the skunk at the garden party, Jack Abramoff just won’t go away. He--and more important, what he represents--now permeate the atmosphere in Washington, D.C., hovering over Tuesday’s State of the Union message and the coming votes on Republican leadership posts in the House. The stench will not go away with a spasm of narrowly focused lobbying reform, especially if it is the kind of reform that frames lobbyists as victimizers and lawmakers as their victims. More...
Editorial | Santorum and the Lobbyists
'K Street? K Street? Never heard of it'
January 29, 2006
Philadelphia Inquirer
Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) is trying to do an extreme makeover, in broad daylight.
He's trying to paper over his central role in a now-infamous program to boost Republicans' clout among Washington lobbyists. More...
Santorum jobs list is cut from meetings
His gatherings with lobbyists will no longer touch on GOP hires. Critics have painted the relationship as too cozy.
January 27, 2006
Carrie Budoff, Inquirer Staff Writer
Sen. Rick Santorum has eliminated the most controversial element of his Tuesday morning meetings with lobbyists: the jobs list. More...
Santorum denies working with K Street project
January 26, 2006
Jeff Miller, Allentown Morning Call
WASHINGTON | -- The head of the K Street Project said Wednesday that Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum was not involved in its efforts to get companies and trade associations to hire Republican lobbyists. More...
Santorum denies ties to 'K Street Project'
Thursday, January 26, 2006
By Maeve Reston, Post-Gazette National Bureau
WASHINGTON -- With Democrats comparing his ties to lobbyists with "organized crime," Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., yesterday swung back, saying the Democratic criticism amounted to libel and unequivocally denying that he helped shape the GOP's controversial "K Street Project." More...
Editorial: Santorum's war / The senator wants to downplay the casualties
January 16, 2006
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
It would be amusing to watch Sen. Rick Santorum lash around to the left and right as he tries to redefine himself for the voters as the November elections approach, except that sometimes he comes up with something truly ridiculous. More...
Santorum has a few questions, so why can’t others?
January 16, 2006
Editorial, Daily Local News
Senator Rick Santorum made a fine, sensible request of President Bush last week. Through a letter, Pennsylvania’s junior senator asked Bush to put together an independent panel to assess the war in Iraq and recommend how we proceed from here. More...
Senator under scrutiny
Abramoff scandal leads to Santorum?
January 15, 2006
John Latimer, Lebanon Daily News
The corruption scandal involving Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff has already drawn in a few of the nation’s most powerful politicians — from Tom DeLay of Texas to Robert Ney of Ohio — but Abramoff’s influence-peddling was vast, and before prosecutors are done with him, his long, dark shadow may touch many others. More...
Santorum supports Bush SS plan
January 15, 2006
Borys Krawczeniuk, The Times-Tribune
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum supports President Bush’s plan for reforming Social Security by introducing private investment into the system. More...
The party’s in the lobby
January 15, 2006
Gil Smart, Lancaster Online, Sunday News
LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - You might be following the saga of Jack Abramoff, GOP lobbyist extraordinaire, who earlier this month pleaded guilty to defrauding his clients and conspiring to bribe public officials.
In a town where influence peddling is an art, Abramoff was Michelangelo. And maybe you wondered: Did any of my legislators have their snouts in his trough? More...
Is Santorum undermining Bush?
January 13, 2006
Dimitri Vassilaros, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
President George W. Bush says we're winning in Iraq, but he is losing Sen. Rick Santorum. More...
Santorum backs Bush on Iraq
January 13, 2006
Maeve Reston, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
WAYNE, Pa. -- Sen. Rick Santorum yesterday answered questions about his view of the Bush administration's policies in Iraq with a fierce defense of President Bush's course and argued that Americans who are not committed to it don't understand that national security and Western democracy are at risk if the United States fails. More...
Santorum reaps money from lobbyists
January 13, 2006
Maeve Reston, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
WAYNE, Pa. -- Sen. Rick Santorum, who has been tapped by fellow Senate Republican leaders to draft legislation tightening restrictions on lobbyists, has received more money from lobbyists than any other congressional candidate so far in the 2006 election cycle.
Mr. Santorum, R-Pa., received $145,946 from lobbyists in the period from the start of the 2006 election cycle through Oct. 31, 2005, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics based on the most recent data the Federal Election Commission has published. More...
Santorum says liberals, media are undermining war support
January 12, 2006
Kimberly Hefling, The Associated Press
WAYNE, Pa. - Sen. Rick Santorum on Thursday accused the news media and liberals of undermining support for the Iraq war at a time when, he said, Islamic fundamentalists pose a serious threat to national security. More...
Abramoff’s Wake
Forget the lobbyists. If you want political reform, start with the lawmakers.
January 11, 2006
Matthew Yglesias, American Prospect
The hip thing to do this week is to encourage people to adopt lobbying-reform legislation. Conservative writers say the GOP should minimize the damage done by the Jack Abramoff scandal and other sleaze clinging to the congressional party. Liberals writers say the Democrats should lead the charge in order to maximize Republican pain. Other editorialists focus on the need to "clean up" Washington. But while lobbying reform would be nice, it's beside the point. More...
Santorum Rails Against Alito Opposition
January 8, 2006
KIMBERLY HEFLING, The Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- On the eve of Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, conservatives rallied in defense of religious liberty and in favor of reforming the federal courts. More...
Editorial: Asides
January 8, 2006
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
IT'S NOT SMOOTH SAILING for Republican Sen. Rick Santorum this year as he seeks another term. His Democratic opponent is state Treasurer Bob Casey, popular in his own right and the son of a much-admired governor of Pennsylvania. So what's a politician do when he finds himself all at sea and fighting difficult political winds? Why, he tacks, sometimes to port, sometimes to starboard, and this is what Sen. Santorum has been doing -- each wave of news finds him adjusting his sails. Before Christmas, a spectacular course adjustment came when Sen. Santorum, previously a supporter of the concept of intelligent design, withdrew his affiliation with the Thomas More Law Center, which unsuccessfully defended the Dover Area School District's policy of including intelligent design in science classes touching upon evolution. A federal judge ruled that the policy was motived by religious belief -- a statement of the obvious that shocked Sen. Santorum into severing his link with the group. More...
Santorum donating Abramoff money
The Pa. senator, seeking to "set an example," will give away contributions received from the lobbyist.
January 7, 2006
Carrie Budoff, Philadelphia Inquirer
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) will shed the remaining $9,000 of his contributions from tribes connected to lobbyist Jack Abramoff - a decision that Santorum's campaign said was prompted by his plans to take a lead in tightening lobbying rules. More...
Santorum wants non-partisan panel to evaluate Iraq war
January 6, 2006
Maeve Reston, Post-Gazette National Bureau
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Rick Santorum yesterday wrote a letter to President Bush asking him to create an independent, non-partisan commission to objectively evaluate progress in Iraq. More...
Santorum talks tough on dredging
January 6, 2006
Mario F. Cattabiani, Philadelphia Inquirer
HARRISBURG - Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) dove head-first yesterday into the escalating war of words with New Jersey officials over the deepening of the Delaware River's shipping channel. More...
The GOP’s Plan for Post-Abramoff Reform
Senate leaders develop a plan to deal with the scandal.
January 5, 2006
Byron York, National Review Online
Republican leaders in the Senate have had a plan in place for the last two months to "get ahead of" the Jack Abramoff scandal by coming up with a new proposal for lobbying reform. The leadership "decided in November that lobby reform for the Senate was a priority for this session," and Majority Leader Bill Frist placed Pennsylvania Republican Senator Rick Santorum in charge of it, Senate sources tell National Review Online. More...
Editorial: Hey conservatives: Santorum ‘Souljah’ out
December 29, 2005
Delaware County Times
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., has always been known as a man of principle - rock-solid, conservative Republican principle, that is. A staunch abortion foe, he won his first term in the Senate by opposing national health-care reform. He wants to phase out Social Security and replace it with privatized stock market accounts. He blamed the Catholic Church pedophilia scandal on the liberalism of Boston, where the story first broke. More...
Santorum Flip-Flops on Intelligent Design
December 27, 2005
Chuck Muth, Human Events Online
I sure hope Sen. Rick Santorum, Pennsylvania Republican, has a good chiropractor. ‘Cause he’s gonna need one by the time this election year is over -- what with all his flip-flops, back-flips and political 180s. Either that, or he’s got a great future as an Olympic gymnast if his senatorial career comes to an end next November. More...
Has Santorum turned a new leaf?
December 26, 2005
John Grogan, Philadelphia Inquirer Columnist
Will the real Rick Santorum please stand up? More...
Group accuses Santorum of switch
Conservative association says senator made '180-degree turn' on intelligent design
December 25, 2005
Lauri Lebo, York Daily Record
A conservative organization that touts itself as a supporter of traditional values blasted Sen. Rick Santorum for his withdrawal of support for the Dover Area School District's unconstitutional intelligent design policy. More...
An idea that provoked, but didn't deliver
December 25, 2005
Kenneth R. Miller, Opinion, Philadelphia Inquirer
If there is such a thing as home-field advantage in a courtroom, intelligent design should have carried the day in the Dover evolution trial.
Advocates of ID had the support of the local school board, a case presented by experienced lawyers from the Thomas More Legal Foundation, expert witnesses with scientific credentials, and a conservative judge appointed by President George W. Bush. That judge gave them all the time they wanted to lay out the scientific case for ID. And lay it out they did.
But that was exactly the problem. More...
Santorum evolves
December 23, 2005
Editorial, Scranton Times-Tribune
Like the famous Galapagos Islands finches that have been observed evolving in a single generation in response to environmental conditions, Sen. Rick Santorum has evolved in a single political season. More...
Santorum's comments a surprise
A Christian law center's counsel blames politics. The senator's rival calls him a "flip-flopper" on Dover case.
December 23, 2005
Amy Worden, Inquirer Staff Writer
The lead defense counsel for the Dover Area School District said yesterday that he was surprised at Sen. Rick Santorum's apparent about-face on intelligent design and questioned the timing of his highly critical comments on the federal lawsuit decided this week. More...
Santorum now critical of Dover case
He denies he is contradicting earlier statements of support for the cause.
December 22, 2005
Carrie Budoff and Paul Nussbaum, Inquirer Staff Writers
Early this year, Sen. Rick Santorum commended the Dover Area School District for "attempting to teach the controversy of evolution."
But one day after a federal judge ruled that the district's policy on intelligent design was unconstitutional, Santorum said he was troubled by court testimony that showed some board members were motivated by religion in adopting the policy. More...
Bush has an ally in Santorum
December 20, 2005
William Bender, Delaware County Times
In the wake of news reports that President Bush authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on American citizens without warrants, U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon thinks the nation’s intelligence agencies are "out of control," the two Democrats who want his seat agree, and U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter is asking Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito where he stands on the issue. More...
Area lawmakers are skeptical of Bush
December 20, 2005
Thomas Fitzgerald, Philadelphia Inquirer
Key members of Congress from the Philadelphia region voiced skepticism yesterday about President Bush's contention that he has the legal authority to eavesdrop on U.S. citizens and others without judicial review.
Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.), though, said the President needed leeway in fighting terrorist threats to the nation. More...
Faith and consequences
What Terri's Law cost the Republicans in Congress.
December 18, 2005
Wes Allison and Anita Kumar, St. Petersburg Times
WASHINGTON - Each December, the Family Research Council grades Congress on how it voted during the year on important conservative social issues, such as gay marriage and abortion. But this year, the group didn't even bother to score the Senate. More...
AFL-CIO report gives Santorum low marks
December 15, 2005
Tom Barnes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
HARRISBURG -- A state labor organization's "report card" on the voting records of Pennsylvania's congressional delegation ranks U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum at the bottom. More...
Smile and say cheese Sen. Santorum
The White House is arm-twisting and sweet-talking the president's 'friends'
December 14, 2005
Howard Fineman, MSNBC
WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush has spoken thousands of words in recent weeks in an effort to re-sell the Iraq war to Americans as Iraqis go to the polls. But one photo-op from Bush’s sales campaign spoke louder than all the words: a picture with Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum in it. More...
The new Santorum disguises the old one
December 12, 2005
Editorial, Citizens Voice
Senator Rick Santorum seems to be in the process of changing his stripes.
After years of alignment with the Bush administration's policies and voting as a hard-line conservative, Santorum seems to be putting some distance between himself and the President and extreme right-wing policy. More...
Get(ting) milk(ed)
December 4, 2005
Editorial, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The Milk Income Loss Contract was a subsidy of most benefit to small dairy farmers such as those who have Sen. Rick Santorum's "udder" attention. More...
Third party group, Santorum campaign use same footage
December 2, 2005
Kimberly Hefling, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - If the grandfather and grandson walking together in Sen. Rick Santorum's Internet ad look familiar, it could be because the same two actors are in a television ad that a third-party group is running in support of Santorum. More...
WHO OWNS YOU, SENATOR?
December 1, 2005
Editorial, Philadelphia Daily News
SO WHO'S giving Sen. Rick Santorum close to a $1 million to help in his re-election campaign? More...
$1M in ad dough boosts Santorum
Funds flow to Pa. via Virginia group
Bob Warner & Catherine Lucey, Philadelphia Daily News
Nearly $1 million from hidden sources is pouring into Pennsylvania to buy television ads supporting U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum. More...
The Conservative Future: Compassion
November 17, 2005
Sen. Rick Santorum, Townhall.com
We live in a time of unprecedented conservative power in the United States. For the last decade, Republicans have controlled both houses of Congress. For 17 of the past 25 years we have controlled the White House. And for the last four-and-a-half years we have controlled both the legislative and executive branches of government. More...
Santorum: Don't put intelligent design in classroom
November 13, 2005
Bill Vidonic, Beaver County Times
BEAVER FALLS - U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum said Saturday that he doesn't believe that intelligent design belongs in the science classroom.
Santorum's comments to The Times are a shift from his position of several years ago, when he wrote in a Washington Times editorial that intelligent design is a "legitimate scientific theory that should be taught in the classroom." More...
Santorum: White House stumbling in war of words
It could do a better job of making the public understand the stakes in Iraq, the GOP senator said at the Union League.
November 12, 2005
Thomas Fitzgerald, Philadelphia Inquirer
Americans have soured on the war in Iraq because they do not understand it as part of a long and necessary fight against "Islamic fascist forces" bent on destroying democracy - and the White House is partially to blame for not articulating the stakes, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum said yesterday. More...
Santorum blames media, White House for war's unpopularity
November 11, 2005
Kathy Matheson, The Morning Call
PHILADELPHIA | -- Sen. Rick Santorum took a rare swing Friday at President Bush, saying the war in Iraq has been less than optimal and that some blame for that lies with the White House. More...
Goodbye to Goldwater
Rick Santorum’s Republican crusade for big government.
December 2005
Jonathan Rauch, Reason
In 1960 a Republican senator from Arizona named Barry Goldwater published a little book called The Conscience of a Conservative. The first printing of 10,000 copies led to a second of the same size, then a third of 50,000, until ultimately the book sold more than 3 million copies. Goldwater’s presidential candidacy crashed in 1964, but his ideas did not: For decades, his hostility to big government ruled the American right. Until, approximately, now. More...
Blaming schedule, Santorum will miss Bush's visit to Pa.
The senator's aides say he is not distancing himself from the struggling President.
November 10, 2005
Thomas Fitzgerald, Philadelphia Inquirer
When President Bush touches down in Wilkes-Barre to talk about the war on terrorism Friday, the Senate's No. 3 Republican - the vulnerable Rick Santorum - will be 116 miles away in Philadelphia addressing the American Legion. More...
Republican tax plans meet obstacles in the Senate
November 10, 2005
Mary Dalrymple, AP Tax Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republicans started advancing their tax-cutting agenda through the Senate with lingering questions about whether the GOP has enough votes to win support in the tax-writing Finance Committee. More...
Hearing tomorrow on "puppy mill" bill
Supporters: PAWS regulates breeders and online sales
November 7, 2005
Linda Wilson Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A bill that would put more bite into federal regulations governing wholesale dog and cat breeding facilities will come up for discussion tomorrow in the U.S. Senate. More...
Exit Miers, enter politics
November 1, 2005
Chris Edelson, Philadelphia Inquirer
Whatever Harriet Miers and President Bush say publicly, the real reason Miers withdrew her nomination to the Supreme Court was that she was not acceptable to ultraconservatives. More...
Santorum eyes GOP anti-poverty effort
October 26, 2005
Amy Fagan, The Washington Times
Senate Republican leaders -- criticized by Democrats over their policies toward the poor in the wake of Hurricane Katrina -- will push their own anti-poverty agenda this week to encourage marriage, responsible fatherhood and private charitable giving. More...
Santorum, once a Bush booster, now taking a cooler approach
October 26, 2005
Peter Savodnik, The Hill
Sen. Rick Santorum’s (R-Pa.) relationship with President Bush appears to have frayed.
For much of 2004 and 2005, Santorum was one of the president’s biggest boosters in the Keystone State, campaigning for him last year and spearheading his Social Security drive this year even as GOP aides were warning him to not to get involved.
No longer. More...
American Rhythms | It takes something, but not this
Children fare best with a blend of village and family.
October 23, 2005
Jane Eisner, Philadelphia Inquirer
Nearly a decade ago, a certain first lady published a book about how she thought this nation should care for its children. It Takes a Village is its name and its message, summarizing a school of thought in which raising children well is a job that includes both parents and the larger society. More...
Cheney the star at Santorum fundraiser
October 22, 2005
Tim Gullaand and Tom Long, Scranton Times-Tribune
JACKSON TOWNSHIP — Vehicles under $40,000 were in short supply on Sutton Road in Jackson Township, Luzerne County, on Friday.
BMWs, big model Mercedes and even a Bentley were common sights in the upscale neighborhood that played host to a $1,000-a-plate fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum. More...
Cheney visit details are secret
Vice president will attend a fund-raiser this afternoon at Simms home in Jackson Twp.
October 21, 2005
Jerry Lynott, Wilkes-Barre Times Leader
JACKSON TWP. – This much is known: Vice President Dick Cheney will be in the area today to attend a fund-raiser for U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum.
But not much else could be learned about the VIP visit by the VP. More...
Four people who are screwing up the right
To the Point
October 21, 2005
Sal Gentile, The Johns Hopkins News-Letter
The Republican Party and, by virtue of the fact that Republicans control pretty much everything, America are in dire straits. What exactly has driven Republicans to such depths? Or, maybe more appropriately -- who? Here are the four floundering figureheads who lay the most substantive claims to the mantle of having helped screw up America and the Republican Party: More...
The Diddly Awards
The Aaron Burr Award for Constitutional Devotion
November/December 2005 Issue
Jack Hitt, Mother Jones
WINNER! Rick Santorum, for explaining to television interviewer Barry Nolan that America’s “entire culture” was focused on something that was “harming America.” Reaching for just the right words, Santorum boasted of his knowledge of “our founding documents” before hitting upon the precise phrase to describe what is destroying the land: “the pursuit of happiness.” More...
Watch the video of Rick's award-winning performance...
Santorum: kryptonite to liberals
October 20, 2005
Gary J. Andres, Washington Times
Washington political pros think they know why Democrats and liberal interest groups have drawn a bull's-eye on Sen. Rick Santorum's electoral soul. The Pennsylvania Republican faces a challenging re-election bid next year against state Treasurer Bob Casey Jr., the son of a former governor who wields instant name ID and a pro-life reputation. Experts say Mr. Santorum's below-50 percent poll number and his opponent's recent fund-raising success are foreboding signs for his continued legislative employment. More...
Santorum remains confident despite underdog status
October 17, 2005
Carrie Budoff, Philadelphia Inquirer
Sen. Rick Santorum lags behind his leading Democratic challenger in the polls, and holds one of the lowest approval ratings of any senator in the country. More...
Santorum criticizes Bush on court pick
While still undecided on Harriet Miers, he said Americans "deserve better" than the President's "trust me" stand.
October 15, 2005
Thomas Fitzgerald and Carrie Budoff, Philadelphia Inquirer
Americans "deserve better" than President's Bush "trust me" approach to the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers, Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) said yesterday, making his sharpest critique yet amid a right-wing revolt over the pick. More...
Bad news piles up on GOP, Santorum
Should he distance himself from Bush or stay loyal?
October 9, 2005
Maeve Reston, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
WASHINGTON -- At the end of a long stretch of bad news for Republicans, approval ratings for both President Bush and Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., plunged to new lows among Pennsylvania voters this past week -- spelling out new warning signs for Mr. Santorum that winning re-election in 2006 may be a far steeper climb than it seemed even a few months ago. More...
Battle for conservatism's soul
POLITICS: Some Republicans are willing to talk compassionate conservatism again
October 8, 2005
Priya Abraham, World Magazine
The debate is on. Columnist Jonah Goldberg was one of many conservatives late in September attacking Bush administration post-Katrina spending plans by stating, "Here's my silver-lining hope this hurricane season: George W. Bush's compassionate conservatism gets wiped out like a taco hut in the path of a Cat. 5 storm." More...
Santorum, Toomey address party schism
Backing of Specter still haunts senator
October 2, 2005
Brett Lieberman, Harrisburg Patriot-News
WASHINGTON - A lingering feud within the Pennsylvania GOP over last year's heated U.S. Senate primary between Sen. Arlen Specter and former Rep. Pat Toomey is proving costly for Sen. Rick Santorum. More...
Something stinks in America
As a leading Republican prepares to face corruption charges, the fallout will be felt as far afield as Westminster
October 2, 2005
Will Hutton, The Observer
The most important political event last week for Britain did not take place at the Labour party conference in Brighton, but in Travis County, Texas. District Attorney Ronnie Earle charged the second most powerful man in the United States, Tom DeLay, with criminal conspiracy. DeLay resigned as the majority leader of the Republicans in the House of Representatives while he fights the case, a stunning political setback. More...
Contract Killers
October 1, 2005
Matthew Continetti, Opinion, New York Times
This is a political witch hunt," Representative Tom DeLay told reporters on Wednesday, shortly after a Texas grand jury indicted him on conspiracy charges, forcing him to step down as House majority leader. Later he called Ronnie Earle, the district attorney who has investigated Mr. DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority political action committee for two years, a "partisan fanatic." He said the inquiry into his political fundraising was "a sham," and that "Mr. Earle knows it." And he notified his enemies that the indictment would not slow down the Republican agenda, such as it is. More...
The Path of the Righteous Man
How Rick Santorum became the nation's evangelical poster boy.
September 29, 2005, Philadelphia City Pper
Mike Newall
Rick Santorum is taking a piss. He'd been tapping his foot and fidgeting with his suit jacket throughout the awards ceremony, and after draping the last medal around the last neck, he waved to the crowd and quickly disappeared offstage, power-walking the long hallway and curving flight of stairs leading to the men's room here in the lobby of the National Constitution Center. A trio of the senator's aides and I struggled to keep up. Now we putter outside the lavatory, waiting. More...
Rick Santorum’s America
October 2005 Issue, The Progressive
Ruth Conniff
Just so you don’t have to, I actually read ...Rick Santorum’s entire new book, It Takes a FamilySantorum, the conservative, pro-life Republican from Pennsylvania, is up for reelection in one of the most closely watched Senate races of 2006. His opponent, conservative, pro-life Democrat Bob Casey, the Pennsylvania state treasurer, has pulled into a double-digit lead. But Santorum has a strong operation and has come from behind before. He is a national leader of the cultural conservative movement. Thus, his Senate race, his rumored Presidential ambitions, and his current book tour are a kind of barometer of rightwing Christian popularity. More...
Editorial | The New Buzz on Social Security Now, it's Santorum peddling snake oil
September 25, 2005
Philadelphia Inquirer
You know things are getting dicey for Republicans in Washington when a loyal GOP soldier like Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania starts sniping at the Bush administration's strategy for dismantling Social Security. More...
Watchdog group calls 13 Congress's most corrupt; Rick Santorum is on list
Pennsylvania senator is named because of school funding issue.
September 25, 2005
Chuck Neubauer, The Morning Call
WASHINGTON | A watchdog group, naming what it calls ''the 13 most corrupt members of Congress,'' is calling for ethics investigations of some of the most prominent political leaders on Capitol Hill in a report to be released Monday. More...
Social Security reform revisited
September 19, 2005
Amy Fagan, The Washington Times
Sen. Rick Santorum, in an attempt to revive the Social Security debate in the Senate, is pushing a new strategy to combat Democratic criticism and calm seniors' fears by legally guaranteeing that those born before 1950 will receive their promised benefits. More...
Rallying GOP for Santorum
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Bob Novak, Chicago Sun-Times
Sen. Elizabeth Dole, Senate Republican campaign chairman, has assigned fellow Republicans to defend Sen. Rick Santorum from increasingly harsh Democrat attacks on the floor as he faces a tough re-election in Pennsylvania. More...
Editorial: On the mark / The nation owes a debt to the weather service
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Local and national weather forecasters get flack when they fumble a forecast, but little applause for scoring bulls-eyes that save the public's skin. National Weather Service forecasts for Hurricane Katrina warrant accolades for the men and women who put their reputations on the line in the business of second-guessing Mother Nature. More...
Santorum barks but has no bite
September 11, 2005
Tom Ferrick Jr., Philadelphia Inquirer
I hope Sen. Rick Santorum's staff isn't still trolling LexisNexis for their boss, looking for quotes where he questioned the Bush administration's policy in Iraq.
If they are, I wish them bon voyage, because they ain't coming back. More...
Union criticizes Santorum remarks about Katrina forecast
September 9, 2005
Sean D. Hamill, Associated Press
PITTSBURGH -- The National Weather Service Employees union on Friday said U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum should retract statements this week questioning whether the weather service had given sufficient warning of Hurricane Katrina's path and fury.
"There's nobody else in the country saying the weather service didn't do a stellar job," said Dan Sobien, a meteorologist in Tampa, Fla., and vice president of the union. More...
Santorum: Penalize Those Who Don't Evacuate
September 6, 2005
Sean D. Hamill, Associated Press
PITTSBURGH -- Sen. Rick Santorum said in a weekend interview that people who don't heed future evacuation warnings may need to be penalized, but said Tuesday he did not mean people who lack cars or other resources. More...
Breakfast With Rick Santorum
September 5, 2005
Patricia Sheridan, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
With the 2006 election looming, Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., is most likely in for a tough race to keep his seat. But rather than beat around the bush, so to speak, the Republican has decided to lay it all on the line in his book "It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good." His views are definite, if not always PC. He and his wife, Karen, home-school their six children. More...
America's Anti-Reagan Isn't Hillary Clinton.
It's Rick Santorum.
September 2, 2005
Jonathan Rauch, National Journal
In 1960, a Republican senator named Barry Goldwater published a little book called The Conscience of a Conservative. The first printing of 10,000 copies led to a second of the same size, then a third of 50,000, until ultimately it sold more than 3 million copies. Goldwater's presidential candidacy crashed in 1964, but his ideas did not: For decades, Goldwater's hostility to Big Government ruled the American Right. Until, approximately, now. More...
VP to give Santorum local boost
September 2, 2005
Borys Krawczeniuk, Times-Tribune
In a sign of how hotly contested the U.S. Senate race next year will be, Vice President Dick Cheney will raise money for U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum’s re-election campaign next month at the home of a prominent Luzerne County couple who regularly contribute to Republican causes. More...
Saving 200 base jobs locally may help Santorum
August 27, 2005
Andrew Conte, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
If nothing else, the national base closure commission's decision Friday to keep about 200 jobs in Pittsburgh gives U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Penn Hills, a new line to use on the stump next year...Based on yesterday's results, Santorum can make the case that he fought hard to save jobs in Pittsburgh -- even if it came with mixed results statewide, political experts said. More...
Santorum's office can't find record of his questioning war
August 25, 2005
Carrie Budoff, Philadelphia Inquirer
Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum's office acknowledged yesterday that it cannot locate public statements of the senator questioning the Iraq war, despite the senator's claim last week that he has publicly expressed his concerns.
But Santorum said that doesn't mean he hasn't made the comments. More...
New school year, new battle over evolution
August 25, 2005
Jill Lawrence, USA Today
The high school here looks like American high schools everywhere: flat, featureless and brick, with the requisite athletic field and a billboard advertising "meet-the-teams night."
ut the school term that starts here Tuesday promises to be anything but ordinary. A nationally watched court case and a polarizing local school board election have made this small southern Pennsylvania town a flash point for those who support and oppose intelligent design — the concept that parts of the universe and human life are so complex, they are best explained by an intelligent cause or designer. More...
Movie Lobbyist Reaches Across the Aisle
Donations, Strategic Hiring Help Democrat Glickman Win Over Skeptical Republicans
August 24, 2005
Brody Mullins and Kate Kelly, The Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON -- When the Motion Picture Association of America hired Dan Glickman, an 18-year Democratic congressman from Kansas and a former member of the Clinton cabinet, as president and chief executive, it was viewed by many lawmakers here as the movie industry thumbing its nose at Republican leaders. More...
Hunger advocates seek assistance from Santorum
August 23, 2005
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - A letter signed by more than 240 Pennsylvania organizations asks Sen. Rick Santorum for help in preventing changes to the nation's food stamp program. More...
SurveyUSA Releases Rankings for All 100 U.S. Senators
Snowe of Maine is 1st, Santorum of Pennsylvania is 100th
August 19, 2005
Business Wire
Olympia Snowe of Maine has the highest Net Job Approval of any United States Senator and Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania has the lowest, according to the results of 50 just-completed, separate but concurrent, statewide public opinion polls conducted by SurveyUSA. More...
SMACK- DOWN
August 14, 2005
Stephen W. Stromberg, The Los Angeles Times
Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Rick Santorum's new book, "It Takes a Family," takes a swipe at New York Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton's 1996 bestseller, "It Takes a Village."
Critics say the titles reflect the two high-profile senators' ideological split. But what does it really take to be a party paragon? Here's a look at some of the recent bills and resolutions Clinton and Santorum have pushed. More...
Someone Tell the President the War Is Over
August 14, 2005
Frank Rich, The New York Times
...The priority now is less to save Jessica Lynch (or Iraqi democracy) than to save Rick Santorum and every other endangered Republican facing voters in November 2006. More...
Del. state trooper helps enforce Rick Santorum's 'family' value
August 14, 2005
Al Mascitti, The News Journal
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, the Republican from Pennsylvania, espouses many controversial views -- that women shouldn't work outside the home, that legalizing gay marriage would lead to legalizing polygamy and bestiality, that government should discourage birth control.
He's even written a book, "It Takes a Family," to spread his viewpoint.
Understandably, people who disagree would like to tell him so. But, as several teenagers and some of their parents found out last week, trying to do that in Delaware could land you in jail. More...
District in Santorum flap changes policy
It will pay for cyber schooling for some. But it still seeks repayment by the senator.
August 12, 2005
Associated Press
A school district involved in a dispute with Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) over the cost of his children's education will now pay cyber school tuition for residents who are called out of the district to work elsewhere.
The policy change was approved by the Penn Hills School District board Wednesday night, but the board is still trying to get reimbursed for money it paid to educate Santorum's children at an Internet charter school during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 school years.
The district did not want to pay for the children's education because the Santorums primarily live in Leesburg, Va. Santorum also owns a house next to his in-laws in Penn Hills, where he is registered to vote. More...
How Senator Rick Santorum, In Acting for His Church, Persistently Fails to Consider the Larger Public Good
August 11, 2005
Marci Hamilton, Find Law's Writ
Senator Rick Santorum has been in the news recently, touting his faith-based views on public policy. (Santorum's faith is Roman Catholicism).
In my recent book, God vs. the Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law, I document the harm that comes from elected representatives acting according to the dictate of religious lobbyists, without consideration of the larger public good. This is a severe defect in our representative government -- and Santorum is the best modern example. More...
Santorum Faces Test in 'Must Win' Suburbs
August 11, 2005
Joshua Runyon, The Jewish Exponent
A black sedan rolled along Lancaster Avenue past rows of protesters and turned slowly, almost unnoticeably, into the parking lot in front of the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Bryn Mawr. But not completely - political activist Lani Frank glimpsed the vehicle, and then paused from her shouts out front to reflect on what may be the most closely watched election battle of the coming year: The 2006 re-election race of the car's occupant, Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Rick Santorum. More...
A Liberal's Education
You don't know what it means to be a liberal. Ah, but Rick Santorum does.
August 11, 2005
Rob Garver, American Prospect Online
Dear Senator Santorum,
Until I picked up your book It Takes A Family, I had never really recognized what it means to be a liberal. It turns out I’ve been going about things all wrong. I hadn’t realized that I was supposed to be opposed to everything good, right, or true in America. More...
Santorum bashes liberals in speech
August 11, 2005
Dave Davies, Philadelphia Daily News
Liberals see "France, Holland or Sweden" as their model for America, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum told supporters yesterday at the conservative think tank that published his book, "It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good."
Santorum's thoughts on liberals and culture wars, and his exchange with a working mother questioning his belief in stay-at-home moms were among the highlights of his appearance at the headquarters of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute outside Wilmington. More...
Santorum versus
August 11, 2005
Dan Savage, on AndrewSullivan.com
Rick Santorum, perhaps my favorite Republican U.S. Senator, opened his fool mouth last Thursday on NPR. As Bush has moved his party away from its longtime commitment to fiscal sanity, balanced budgets, and black ink, Santorum (and the wing of the GOP he represents) has moved the GOP away from its historic position on personal freedom. More...
Keep weather forecasts free
August 9, 2005
Editorial, St. Petersburg Times
...AccuWeather, a private weather service located in Pennsylvania, wants to stop the National Weather Service from providing timely weather information directly to the public. Instead, it wants that information to be filtered through AccuWeather and other profit-making weather services that, essentially, repackage national weather data and sell it to the public.
So AccuWeather got Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum to sponsor a bill in Congress that would accomplish the goal. More...
All political eyes on Santorum
August 8, 2005
Dick Polman, Philadelphia Inquirer
While the power-challenged Democrats try to figure out how they can seize control of the U.S. Senate next year, and while the Republicans try to figure out how they can expand their majority, one fact is indisputably clear: Both parties must first deal with Rick Santorum. More...
Things Santorum should know about Massachusetts
August 8, 2005
Froma Harrop, Seattle Times
Sometimes the wrong people take offense. Take Sen. Rick Santorum's remarks blaming the Catholic Church's sex-abuse scandal on liberal attitudes in Boston. More...
Will bill darken weather sites?
Critics say the bill would force a government agency to disseminate much of its data only to private companies.
August 8, 2005
Tom Zucco, St. Petersburg Times
Chuck Husick talks about NOAA as if it's a person, someone sitting out in cyberspace, always ready to help, no questions asked. More...
A tougher battle for the 'burbs
Santorum easily carried the counties outside Phila. before. But voters are shifting to the left.
August 7, 2005
Thomas Fitzgerald, Philadelphia Inquirer
On Paoli Pike one night last week, dozens of protesters jeered, waved signs and banged pots as an SUV carried Republican Sen. Rick Santorum to an appearance touting It Takes a Family, his book of conservative thought.
Inside Chester County Books & Music Co., about 150 people lined up to have Santorum sign their copies with a Sharpie. Several said they were praying for him. More...
GOP uncompromising on far-right platform
No moderate outreach: Key Republicans say party can expand its political base and still hold fast to a hard-line agenda
August 7, 2005
Marc Sandalow, San Francisco Chronicle
The theme of the Republican Party's summer meeting this weekend was expanding its base. The keynote speaker was a GOP senator who blames radical feminism for wrecking the home, equates same-sex marriage with bestiality, finds public schools suspect and believes that abortion is worse than slavery.
Republicans see no inconsistency. More...
Santorum preaches to choir
Rant over liberal social programs draws donation from GOP parley
August 6, 2005
James O'Toole, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum delivered a scathing indictment of liberal policies yesterday, winning a long ovation, and a large donation, from members of the Republican National Committee. More...
Atrium got Santorum's help
Nursing home won reprieve after senator's intervention
August 5, 2005
Cindi Lash, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Federal officials reconsidered a decision to cut off Medicare and Medicaid funds to a troubled nursing home after receiving an inquiry on its behalf from U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, an official with the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services testified yesterday.
Santorum, R-Pa., contacted CMS officials early in 2001 and asked them to conduct a rare fourth inspection of the Ronald Reagan Atrium I Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Robinson, according to Dale Van Wieren, a CMS certification and enforcement representative. More...
Santorum intervened on behalf of defunct nursing home
August 5, 2005
Jill King Greenwood, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum intervened on behalf of a Robinson nursing home after federal officials threatened to halt the admission of new Medicaid and Medicare patients. More...
Leading Republican differs with Bush on evolution
August 4, 2005
Jon Hurdle, Reuters
A leading Republican senator allied with the religious right differed Thursday with President Bush's support for teaching an alternative to the theory of evolution known as "intelligent design."
Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, a possible 2008 presidential contender who faces a tough re-election fight next year in Pennsylvania, said intelligent design, which is backed by many religious conservatives, lacked scientific credibility and should not be taught in science classes. More...
(Santorum Exposed editor’s note - In 2002, Santorum published an Op-Ed in The Washington Times in which he wrote "intelligent design is a legitimate scientific theory that should be taught in science classes" -- the exact opposite of what he says in the Reuters article above.)
Santorum largesse is being repaid
August 4, 2005
Cynthia Burton, Philadelphia Inquirer
With U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum's rapid rise to power came a brimming war chest that he has used to help Republicans around the country; now it's payback time as he faces a difficult 2006 reelection. More...
Frist, Santorum excellent flip-floppers
August 4, 2005
Marianne Means, Hearst Newspapers
Sen. John Kerry has been dispatched to the political sidelines, but two other senators recently have qualified for Kerry's GOP-anointed label of Mr. Flip-Flop. Both are Republicans, and both are eyeing a 2008 presidential run. More...
Santorum has guts but not much sense
August 4, 2005
Editorial -- Tahlequah, OK Daily Press
...Santorum deserves credit for the courage to subject himself to grilling before TV audiences. Unfortunately, the dialogue suggests his book presents personal opinion as proven fact. His ultra-liberal detractors will flatly accuse him of lying or holding firm to discredited stereotypes, but Santorum doesn't come off as devious. Instead, he just seems sadly out of touch with reality. More...
Time Warner lobbyist causes disquiet on Hill
August 3, 2005
Jonathan E. Kaplan, The Hill
Time Warner’s decision to hire Carol Melton as its top lobbyist has garnered “quiet attention” from House Republican aides who have raised questions about her political affiliation.
“The entertainment industry continues to prove they just don’t get it,” a top House Republican aide remarked...Since Republicans gained control of Congress in 1994, several congressional leaders, including Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Mike Oxley (R-Ohio), have been accused of trying to pressure corporations to hire Republican staffers for their highest-paying and most powerful lobbying posts. More...
Santorum's Mighty Wind
The AccuWeather Protection Act of 2005
August 2, 2005
Timothy Noah, Slate.com
I wish Rick Santorum would make up his mind.
On the one hand, the Republican senator from Pennsylvania says that the free market system is godly: It "not only produces wealth but also virtuous people whose worldly enterprise complements the work of the Creator." Big government, I need hardly add, is an unholy lumbering giant that's "overly intrusive and burdensome." More...
Santorum is confounding the pundits
By writing controversial book, is he committing political suicide or is he crazy like a fox?
August 1, 2005
William Bunch, Philadelphia Daily News
WHAT IN THE WORLD is Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum doing? Is the GOP stalwart aiming to win the presidency in 2008? Or is he somehow trying, with his outspoken remarks, to lose the closely contested race for his Senate seat in 2006. And is he trying to do both at the same time? More...
Santorum blasts Mass. senators over church scandal
Kennedy, Kerry 'did nothing,' he contends
August 1, 2005
Michael Kranish, Boston Globe
WASHINGTON -- Senator Rick Santorum, Republican of Pennsylvania, yesterday alleged that Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry of Massachusetts ''did nothing" about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in 2002. More...
Santorum calls out Hillary on raising children
August 1, 2005
Audrey Hudson, The Washington Times
Sen. Rick Santorum yesterday challenged "radical" Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to a serious debate on who is responsible for raising children --the family, the government or the children. More...
Hil's a radical, GOP pol sez
August 1, 2005
Michael McAuliff, New York Daily News
Now Sen. Hillary Clinton is a radical feminist - at least according to Pennsylvania fire-and-brimstone-breather Sen. Rick Santorum.
"I mean, read her work and what she's done on children's rights. I mean that's radical..." More...