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| Santorum actually speaks about issues (CNN.com) |
So I’ve been watching this whole Pennsylvania senate race business, and I don’t quite know what to make of it anymore. I’ve been thinking. And I think I’ve lost my faith in the democratic system.
I wrote about this in yesterday’s Daily Pennsylvanian, but I don’t think I went far enough. If the election were held today, Pennsylvania voters would elect State Treasurer Bob Casey by a landslide-like margin. Why? I don’t really know. They don’t seem to know, either. Rick Santorum just gets no respect.
From my own observations, Bob Casey appears to have very little name recognition among people on campus. That said, many are keenly aware of Sen. Rick Santorum, seeing him as a “homophobe,” “warmonger” or, more commonly, “asshole.”
But at the same time, they don’t know who Bob Casey is, either. It seems fairly safe to conclude that many voters don’t know or care who Santorum is running against, but they figure they’ll vote for whoever it is. Bob Casey? Sure. He can’t be worse, right?
Yesterday I attended a fundraiser for Santorum (as press, not a participant) and I was reminded of my frustrations with this race. Santorum speaks his views in plain English, but Casey is too cautious or too shifty to offer up his. He doesn’t feel he has to, because he’ll win anyway. Would he be better on Iraq? Who knows? But I think we have a right to know, and we’re not doing our part if we’re not demanding to know it.
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October 7th, 2006 at 10:11 am
Michelle, in both this post and your column, you have failed to mention a single substantive position held by Sen. Santorum. It’s okay, you don’t have to. Most Pennsylvania residents know what he’s stands for. He wants to continue his blind alliegance to the people who got us into Iraq, even though those leaders have no plan and seem to be determined to run down the clock and dump this mess on the next administration. He wants to insult and stigmatize the loving relationships of gay men and women, and make this state seem like a backwater filled with bigots. That’s enough to make most voters want ANYONE but Santorum, including a bland but competent civil servant like Mr. Casey. Perhaps in a future column you will “demand to know” why the Republicans are so radioactive.
October 7th, 2006 at 9:57 pm
No, Michelle is correct.
Walter Sobchak: Am I wrong?
The Dude: You’re not wrong Walter. You’re just an asshole.
Unlike Walter, Santorum is both wrong and an asshole.
October 9th, 2006 at 2:48 pm
Bob Casey has pledged to support legislation promoting renwable energy, immediate action to reduce global warming and to reduce mercury emissions from power plants (a big issue in PA). Rick Santorum routinely voted against higher fuel economy vehicles, against power plants and factories lowering their greenhouse gas emissions and against stricter mercury limits. On evironmental issues, at least Casey promises to do better- one of the reasons the major environmental advocacy and non-profit groups in Philadelphia are endorsing Casey…