Rick Santorum

Infobox Senator
name = Richard John Santorum

---

jr/sr = United States Senator
state = Pennsylvania
party = Republican
term = January 4, 1995 – January 3, 2007
preceded = Harris Wofford
succeeded = Bob Casey, Jr.
state2 = Pennsylvania
district2 = 18^th
term2 = January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1995
preceded2 = Doug Walgren
succeeded2 = Michael F. Doyle
date of birth = birth date and age|1958|05|10
place of birth = Winchester, Virginia
dead = alive
occupation= attorney
residence= Penn Hills, Pennsylvania
law school = Dickinson College, 1986
spouse = Karen Garver Santorum
alma_mater = Penn State University
religion = Roman Catholic
footnotes =

Richard John Santorum (born May 10, 1958) is a former United States Senator from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Santorum is a member of the Republican Party and was the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the number-three job in the party leadership of the Senate.

Santorum is usually considered a strong social and fiscal conservative but paleoconservatives and paleolibertarians have accused him of being too reliant upon the federal government. [cite web|url=http://www.lewrockwell.com/vance/vance95.html|title="Santorumism"|author=Laurence M. Vance|publisher=LewRockwell.com|date=November 6, 2006] He also holds strong neoconservative stances in regard to foreign policy, which has further alienated many conservatives of a more traditional nature. [cite web|url=http://www.amconmag.com/2007/2007_07_30/feature.html|title="Santorum Against the World"|author=Michael Dougherty|publisher="The American Conservative"|date=July 7, 2007] He is particularly known for his stances on the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Social Security, intelligent design, homosexuality, and the Terri Schiavo case.cite news|url=http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0110-04.htm|title=The Religious Right Faces its Purgatory|author=Peter S. Canellos|publisher=The Boston Globe|date=January 10, 2006] Santorum was defeated 59% to 41% in the 2006 U.S. Senate election by Democratic candidate Bob Casey, Jr. This was the largest margin of defeat for an incumbent Senator since 1980.

In March 2007, Santorum joined the law firm Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC. He will primarily practice law in the firm’s Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. offices, where he will provide business and strategic counseling services to the firm's clients. In addition to his work with the firm, Santorum also serves as a Senior Fellow with the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., and is a contributor to Fox News Channel.

Early life, education, and legal career

Santorum was born in Winchester, Virginia, and raised in Berkeley County West Virginia and Butler County, Pennsylvania, the son of Aldo Santorum (born 1923) and Catherine Dughi (born 1918). Both his father and maternal grandfather were from Italy. [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~battle/senators/santorum.htm 1 ] ]

Both of Santorum's parents worked at the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Butler, and the family lived on the VA hospital post. His father, Aldo, was an immigrant from Italycite web|url=http://santorum.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=AboutRickSantorum.Biography&CFID=5631024&CFTOKEN=61712707|title="The Senator's Biography"|work=Santorum's Senate website (no longer exists)|accessdate=2006-08-23] , and became licensed as a psychologist in August 1974. After attending schools in the Butler Area School District [Butler Senior High School classbook, "The Magnet", 1975] where he gained the nickname "Rooster", [ [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060616/16santorum.htm Nation & World: 20 things about Rick Santorum - US News and World Report ] ] allegedly because he "always had a few errant hairs on the back of his head that refused to stay down" (because of an orthodontic head brace), and he was "dogged and determined like a rooster and never backed down".

Santorum graduated from Carmel High School in Mundelein, Illinois in 1976. [cite news | author = Tony Scifo | work = Daily Herald | title = Carmel's political alumni return for chat with students Carmel High School | date = November 5, 1996] , where his father transferred with in the VA hospital system. He lists his residency as Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, and maintains a home in Leesburg, Virginia, for his work in Washington, D.C. Santorum earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Political Science, from Pennsylvania State University in 1980, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1981. He is a member of Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity.

In 1986, Santorum earned a law degree from the Dickinson School of Law, was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar, and began practicing law in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While working at the law firm of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, he represented the World Wrestling Federation, arguing that professional wrestling should be exempt from federal anabolic steroid regulations because it was not a sport. [cite web|url=http://citypaper.net/articles/2005-09-29/cover.shtml|title="The Path of the Righteous Man: How Rick Santorum became the nation's evangelical poster boy"|author=Mike Newall|publisher=Philadelphia citypaper.net|date=September 29, 2005|accessdate=2006-08-23] Santorum left private practice after first being elected to the House in November 1990.

Santorum and his wife, Karen Garver Santorum, have six children: Elizabeth Anne (born 1991); Richard John ("Johnny"), Jr. (born 1993); Daniel James (born 1995); Sarah Maria (born 1998); Peter Kenneth (born 1999); and Patrick Francis (born 2001). In 1996, their son Gabriel Michael was born prematurely and lived for only two hours (a sonogram taken before Gabriel was born revealed that his posterior urethral valve was closed and that the prognosis for his survival was therefore poor). Karen Santorum wrote a book about the experience: "Letters to Gabriel: The True Story of Gabriel Michael Santorum". [cite book|title=Letters to Gabriel|author=Karen Garver Santorum|year=1998|publisher=CCC of America|id=ISBN 1-56814-528-4] In it, she writes that the couple brought the deceased infant home from the hospital and introduced the dead child to their living children as "your brother Gabriel" and slept with the body overnight before returning it to the hospital. The anecdote was also written about by Michael Sokolove in a 2005 "New York Times Magazine" story on Santorum. [cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/22/magazine/22SANTORUM.html?ei=5088&en=83d72ed75fbada1d&ex=1274414400&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=all|title=The Believer|author=Michael Sokolove|publisher=The New York Times Magazine|date=May 22, 2005] Karen is also the author of a book on etiquette for children. [cite book|title=Everyday Graces: Child's Book Of Good Manners (Foundations) (Hardcover) |author=Karen Santorum|publisher=Intercollegiate Studies Institute|year=2003|month=April|id=ISBN 1-932236-09-0]

Santorum and his family attend Latin Mass at a Roman Catholic Church near Washington, D.C. Occasionally, when not attending Latin Mass, they attend mass at St. Francis De Sales Church in Purcellville, Virginia. On November 12, 2004, Santorum and his wife were invested as Knight and Dame of Magistral Grace of the Knights of Malta in a ceremony at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York. [cite web|url=http://www.maltausa.org/files/newsletter_hospitallers_04.pdf|format=PDF|title="HOSPITALLERS"|publisher=Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and Malta|work=Volume 1|date=Winter 2004/2005|accessdate=2006-08-25]

Political career

Santorum first became actively involved in politics volunteering for the late Senator John Heinz.

After getting his MBA in 1981, Santorum became an administrative assistant to Republican State Senator J. Doyle Corman (until 1986). He was director of the Pennsylvania Senate's local government committee from 1981 to 1984, then-director of the Pennsylvania Senate's Transportation Committee until 1986.

In 1990, at age 32, Santorum was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 18th District, located in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. He scored a significant upset, defeating a seven-term Democratic incumbent, Doug Walgren. Although the 18th was heavily Democratic, Santorum attacked Walgren for living outside the district for most of the year. He was reelected in 1992, in part because the district lost its share of Pittsburgh as a result of redistricting. In Congress, as a member of the Gang of Seven, Santorum worked to expose congressional corruption by outing the guilty parties in the House banking scandal.

In 1994, at the age of 36, Santorum was elected to the U.S. Senate, defeating the incumbent Democrat, Harris Wofford, who was 32 years his senior. The theme of Santorum's 1994 campaign, as portrayed on his campaign's signs, was "Join the Fight!"Fact|date=May 2008 Santorum was re-elected in 2000 defeating Congressman Ron Klink by a 52.4% to 45.5% margin.

As Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, Santorum directed the communications operations of Senate Republicans and was a frequent party spokesperson. He was the youngest member of the Senate leadership and the first Pennsylvanian to hold such a prominent position since Senator Hugh Scott was Republican leader in the 1970s. In addition, Santorum served on the Senate Agriculture Committee; the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; the Senate Special Committee on Aging; and the Senate Finance Committee, of which he was the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy.

In January 2005, Santorum announced his intention to run for United States Senate Republican Whip, the second highest post in the Republican caucus after the 2006 election. [cite news|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05026/448138.stm|title=Santorum focusing on re-election to Senate, not White House run|author=Maeve Reston|work=post-gazette.com|publisher=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=January 26, 2005] The move came because it was presumed the incumbent whip, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, was viewed as having the inside track to succeeding Bill Frist of Tennessee as Senate Republican leader.

During the lame-duck session of the 109th Congress, Santorum was one of only two senators who voted against Robert Gates to become Secretary of Defense. He cited his opposition to Gates' advocacy of engaging Iran and Syria to solve the problem, claiming that talking to "radical Islam" would be a grievous error.

During his third term re-election campaign for his Senate seat against Bob Casey, Mr. Santorum introduced the term "Islamic fascism". For the first time in his fight, Sen. Santorum directly questioned his opponent's ability to make the right decisions on national security at a time when "our enemies are fully committed to our destruction." "We will have to face this threat because our enemies are fully committed to our destruction," Mr. Santorum said. "They will not stop until they destroy us or we destroy them", apparently due to enemies named later as having a belligerent nationalistic foreign policies.

Santorum said Mr. Casey failed to recognize the danger of a threat that encompasses both "Islamic fascism" and leaders of countries who are "fully committed to our destruction." ["Santorum: Casey lacking on security" http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06300/733425-177.stm] In his speech, Mr. Santorum invoked Winston Churchill, described alleged terror plots and said the United States must pay attention to escalating threats from countries such as Iran, Venezuela and North Korea, one of which is an Islamic nation. Mr. Santorum referred to what he said were multiple forces trying to undermine the United States as "the gathering storm" -- a phrase that is also the title of Winston Churchill's memoir about the causes of World War II.

Political ideology

In September 2005, in an effort to publicly re-align himself with the conservative legacy, Santorum gave a speech that outlined the successes and failures — but, more centrally, the future — of conservatism, at the Heritage Foundation's First International Conservative Conference on Social Justice. In November 2005, he adapted his speech into an op-ed piece for the political website Townhall.com outlining his vision for "Compassionate Conservatism".

cquote
What I call "Compassionate Conservatism" has something unique to offer to the shaping of our future.

Compassionate Conservatism relies on healthy families, freedom of faith, a vibrant civil society, a proper understanding of the individual and a focused government to achieve noble purposes through definable objectives which offers hope to all. [...]

Conservatism is based upon the idea of preserving the good in our society, adding to it the wisdom of experience coupled with the courage and optimism of a new generation. This formula inspired Reagan and Thatcher to hope, and to work together to change the world. Let us build upon their example to be a beacon of hope in this troubled world. [cite web|author=Rick Santorum|url=http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RickSantorum/2005/11/17/the_conservative_future_compassion|title="The Conservative Future: Compassion"|date=November 17, 2005|publisher=Townhall.com|accessdate=2006-08-23]

On July 20, 2006, Sen. Santorum stated that Islamic fascism rooted in Iran is behind much of the world's conflict, but he is opposed to military action against the country ["Santorum says Iran at center of world's conflict" By Kimberly Hefling, The Associated Press. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06202/707588-177.stm] . Santorum said Iran is at the center of the problem because it created Hezbollah and is the driving force behind Hamas. "I believe we must fight for a strong Lebanon, a strong Israel, and a strong Iraq," Santorum said. "That requires effective action against Iran." During this same speech, Santorum criticized the media for printing details of intelligence-gathering programs put into place after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but did not say if he thought journalists who wrote the stories should be prosecuted. "Their behavior certainly deserves scrutiny in my opinion," Santorum said of the American press reporting. He also defended the treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. Santorum said people who had sought to kill Americans are treated "with more civility than any, most prisoners are treated in the United States, or anywhere in the world. I think it says a lot for us as a country."

On September 7, 2006, Santorum outlined his views on foreign policy in an op-ed piece for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and discussed Islamic fascism, and closed with a nationalistic rally cry:

cquote
I believe we are at war with Islamic fascists and I singled out Iran and Syria as examples of Islamic fascist regimes. Many Muslims say the same thing, and the editors should, too, for it is undeniable. [...]

For my part, I have taken great care to distinguish between the Islamic fascists who are trying to destroy us (and dominate and oppress their fellow Muslims) and the hundreds of millions of Muslims who wish to be free to follow the guidance of their own good judgment. [...]

I am proud to have singled out tyrannical and fanatical Islamic regimes and identified them for what they are: Islamic fascist states that are the world's leading supporters of terrorism. It does no service to the great majority of the world's Muslims to appease such regimes, which have killed and tortured hundreds of thousands of decent Muslims for the "crime" of challenging oppression and calling for freedom.

I have said time and time again across Pennsylvania these past weeks that the fight against Islamic fascism is the great test of our generation. Leaders are obliged to articulate this threat and to propose what is necessary to defeat it. That is my purpose, and our national calling. The American people have always rallied to the cause of freedom once they understood what was at stake. I have no doubt that they will again." ["In Rebuttal: Islamic fascists vs. Islam itself" by Rick Santorum, September 07, 2006. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06250/719619-109.stm, in response to In response to the Sept. 1 Post-Gazette editorial "Loose Talk: The Bush Rhetoric on Iraq Is Sounding Desperate"]

Legislation and issues

Santorum has been active in addressing the issues of welfare reform and government accountability. He is a self-described conservative who favors legislation that would restrict or prohibit abortion. Santorum has said he is personally against abortion and has expressed disapproval of homosexuality, issues that he believes should be decided by elected officials rather than the Supreme Court: "what I’d like to do is have these kinds of incredibly important moral issues be decided by the American public, not by nine unelected, unaccountable judges." [cite web|title="George Stephanopoulos Interviews Sen. Rick Santorum"|url=http://thinkprogress.org/santorum-this-week/|publisher=Think Progress|date=July 31, 2005]

Illegal immigration

Santorum opposed the recent Senate proposal that addressed illegal immigration. [cite news|last=Banville|first=Lee|title=Still Trailing in Polls, Santorum Hammers on Illegal Immigration|url=http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/politics/july-dec06/santorum_08-01.html|work=Online NewsHour|publisher=PBS|date=2006-08-01|accessdate=2008-03-13] Instead, Santorum believes that the US should first act to enforce currently existing laws. He has openly stated his strong opposition to amnesty for illegal immigrants. He supports the construction of a barrier along the U.S.-Mexican border, an increase in the number of border patrol agents on the border, and the stationing of National Guard troops along the border. He also believes that illegal immigrants should be deported immediately when they commit crimes, and that illegal immigrants should not receive benefits from the government. Finally, the former senator believes that English should be established as the national language in the United States. [cite web|url=http://www.ricksantorum.com/Issues/Read.aspx?ID=6|title="On the Issues"|publisher=RickSantorum.com|accessdate=2006-08-23]

Intelligent design

In 2001, Santorum tried unsuccessfully to insert language which came to be known as the "Santorum Amendment" into the No Child Left Behind bill that sought to promote the teaching of intelligent design while questioning the academic standing of evolution in public schools.cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32444-2005Mar13.html|title=Battle on Teaching Evolution Sharpens|author=Peter Slevin|publisher=Washington Post|date=March 14, 2005] The amendment, crafted with the assistance of the Discovery Institute, [cite web|url=http://alumniweb.oru.edu/oru%20alumni/right106.html|title="We'd Like Some Answers Origin of man, universe continues to cause debate"|work=Alumni News Stories|publisher=Oral Roberts University Alumni Foundation|accessdate=2006-08-23] would have required schools to discuss alleged controversies surrounding scientific topics, and gave the theory of evolution as an example, opening the door for intelligent design as an opposing theory to be presented in science classrooms. [cite web|url=http://www.issues.org/issues/18.3/hill.html#Language|title=Language on evolution attached to education law|work=Issues in Science and Technology|publisher=National Academy of Sciences|date=Spring 2002|accessdate=2006-08-23] A federal court in Santorum's own state, along with the majority of scientific organizations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, say the Institute has manufactured the controversy they want to teach by promoting a false perception that evolution is "a theory in crisis", portraying it as being the subject of wide controversy and debate within the scientific community."ID's backers have sought to avoid the scientific scrutiny which we have now determined that it cannot withstand by advocating that the "controversy", but not ID itself, should be taught in science class. This tactic is at best disingenuous, and at worst a canard." ] "That this controversy is one largely manufactured by the proponents of creationism and intelligent design may not matter, and as long as the controversy is taught in classes on current affairs, politics, or religion, and not in science classes, neither scientists nor citizens should be concerned." [http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/354/21/2277 Intelligent Judging — Evolution in the Classroom and the Courtroom] George J. Annas, New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 354:2277-2281 May 25, 2006] "Some bills seek to discredit evolution by emphasizing so-called "flaws" in the theory of evolution or "disagreements" within the scientific community. Others insist that teachers have absolute freedom within their classrooms and cannot be disciplined for teaching non-scientific "alternatives" to evolution. A number of bills require that students be taught to "critically analyze" evolution or to understand "the controversy." But there is no significant controversy within the scientific community about the validity of the theory of evolution. The current controversy surrounding the teaching of evolution is not a scientific one." [http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2006/pdf/0219boardstatement.pdf AAAS Statement on the Teaching of Evolution] American Association for the Advancement of Science. February 16, 2006 ]

Though not included in the final version of the Act made law, the language from the amendment was included in a report attached to the Act known as the Conference Report. The Discovery Institute and many intelligent design proponents, including two Ohio Congressmen, have repeatedly invoked this to suggest that intelligent design should be included in public school science standards as an alternative to evolution. [cite web|url=http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view&program=CSC&id=1484|title="Intelligent Design, Freedom, & Education"|author=Phillip E. Johnson, |date=May 9, 2003|publisher=Breakpoint.org and Discovery Institute News|accessdate=2006-08-23] [cite web|url=http://www.discovery.org/articleFiles/PDFs/santorumLanguageShouldGuide.pdf|title="Why the Santorum Language Should Guide State Science Education Standards"|author=Bruce Chapman|coauthors=David DeWolf|publisher=Discovery Institute|format=PDF|accessdate=2006-08-23]

In a 2002 "Washington Times" op-ed article Santorum wrote that intelligent design "is a legitimate scientific theory that should be taught in science classes." [cite news|url=http://www.arn.org/docs/ohio/washtimes_santorum031402.htm|title=Illiberal Education in Ohio Schools|author=Rick Santorum|publisher=The Washington Times|date=March 14, 2002] By 2005 Santorum had adopted the Discovery Institute's Teach the Controversy approach, [cite news|url=http://santorum.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressOffice.View&ContentRecord_id=1111&CFID=13969409&CFTOKEN=89968827|title=Teach the Controversy|author=Rick Santorum|publisher=Allentown Morning Call|date=January 14, 2005] stating in an interview with National Public Radio "I'm not comfortable with intelligent design being taught in the science classroom. What we should be teaching are the problems and holes, and I think there are legitimate problems and holes in the theory of evolution", [cite news|url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4784905|title=Rick Santorum, 'It Takes a Family'|work=Interview with Rick Santorum|publisher=National Public Radio Morning Edition|date=August 4, 2005] a statement which mirrors the Teach the Controversy strategy, the most recent iteration of the intelligent design movement. [cite journal|url=http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/354/21/2277|title=Intelligent Judging — Evolution in the Classroom and the Courtroom|author=George J. Annas|journal=New England Journal of Medicine|volume=354|pages=2277–2281|date=May 25, 2006] The day after the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District decision that intelligent design is not science and is essentially religious in nature [] conclusion came down, Santorum announced that he was resigning from the advisory board of the Thomas More Law Center which had defended the Dover school board. Most recently Santorum wrote the foreword for the March 2006 book, "Darwin's Nemesis: Phillip Johnson And the Intelligent Design Movement" a collection of essays largely by Discovery Institute fellows honoring the "father" of the intelligent design movement, Phillip E. Johnson.

Workplace Religious Freedom Act

Santorum and U.S. Senator John Kerry, (D-MA), were the lead sponsors of the Workplace Religious Freedom Act (WRFA), which would require employers to accommodate the religious observances of their employees as long as such accommodations would not impose an "undue hardship" on the employer. Thus, employers would be required to afford employees flexible work shifts so that they could observe religious holidays and to permit employees to wear religiously required clothing at work. Versions of the WRFA have been introduced in 1997, 2000, and 2003, but have failed to be enacted.

National Weather Service

On April 14, 2005, Santorum introduced the National Weather Service Duties Act of 2005 to "clarify the duties and responsibilities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service (NWS), and for other purposes". [cite web|url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:S.786:|title="National Weather Services Duties Act of 2005 (Introduced in Senate)"|accessdate=2006-08-23] This legislation, if enacted, would prohibit the NWS from publishing weather data to the public when private-sector entities, such as AccuWeather, a company based in Santorum's home state, perform the same function commercially. Accuweather employees have contributed at least $5500 to Santorum since 1999, according to the Federal Election Commission.cite web |url= http://www.beyonddelay.org/summaries/santorum.php|title= Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)|accessdate= 2007-07-17|publisher= Citizens for Ethics]

Opponents of this bill contend that weather data is collected at taxpayer expense, and therefore it should be made freely available to the public, and not provided solely to private corporations that will charge fees for access. They also claim that the vague language in the bill is an attempt to prevent the NWS from issuing free forecasts because such functions are currently provided by the private sector and would be considered competition. Supporters of this bill deny this and say that it does not change the data collection and dissemination functions of NWS.

The bill was never enacted or voted upon, dying in committee.

Other

As a key member of the Gang of Seven (a group of seven freshmen Republican Congressmen), Santorum helped expose a scandal at the House Bank. The Gang of Seven's reform-minded agenda is often cited as a foundation of the 1994 Republican takeover of the House of Representatives.

In 1996, as a U.S. Senator, Santorum served as Chairman of the Republican Party Task Force on Welfare Reform and was the author and key sponsor of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. The legislation passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton.

Though not a named author of the special Terri Schiavo legislation, Santorum played a key role in shepherding the bill through the Senate to a vote on March 20, 2005. Santorum has frequently stated that he does not believe a "right to privacy" exists under the Constitution, even within marriage; he has been especially critical of the Supreme Court decision in "Griswold v. Connecticut" (1965), which held that the Constitution guaranteed the aforementioned right, and on that basis, overturned a law prohibiting the sale and use of contraceptives. [cite news|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/santorum200507190728.asp|title=The Constitutional Wrecking Ball|author=Rick Santorum|publisher=National Review|date=July 19, 2005]

Santorum is also a supporter of partial privatization of Social Security. Since the 2004 presidential election, Santorum has held forums across Pennsylvania on the topic.

In 2005, Santorum sponsored the Iran Freedom and Support Act, which appropriated $10 million aimed at regime change in Iran. The Act passed with overwhelming support. However, Santorum nevertheless voted against the Lautenberg amendment which would have closed the loophole which allows companies like Halliburton to do business with Iran through their foreign affiliates. [cite web|url=http://www.pjvoice.com/v16/16105santorum.html|title="Rick Santorum On Iran: His record does not match his rhetoric"|publisher=Philadelphia Jewish Voice|author=Bonnie Squires|coauthors=Dan Loeb|work=Op/Ed|date=September 18, 2006|accessdate=2006-09-22]

Santorum is well known for attracting political enemies on the other side of his aisle. Senator Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, after sharing the floor with Santorum for the first three weeks of his first term in the Senate, remarked, "Santorum — That's Latin for asshole". [cite web|url=http://www.counterpunch.org/stclair05012003.html
title=Santorum: That's Latin for Asshole
author=Jeffrey St. Clair
work=counterpunch
date=2006-05-19]

In reference to the Iraq war in 2006, Santorum drew an analogy with "The Lord of the Rings" in one of his addresses:

:"“As the hobbits are going up Mount Doom, the Eye of Mordor is being drawn somewhere else. It's being drawn to Iraq and it's not being drawn to the U.S. “You know what? I want to keep it on Iraq. I don't want the Eye to come back here to the United States.” "

2006 campaign

In 2006, Santorum sought re-election to a third term in the U.S. Senate. His Democratic opponent was State Treasurer Bob Casey, Jr., the son of popular former governor Robert Casey, Sr.(D) Santorum's seat was a prime target of Democratic efforts to gain Senate seats in the 2006 elections. Casey's candidacy was bolstered by his opposition to abortion, negating one of Santorum's key issues. [cite web|title="Casey Widens Lead Over Santorum In Pennsylvania, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Voters Lean To Pro-Choice Side Of Abortion Debate"|url=http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x11385.xml?ReleaseID=873|publisher=Quinnipiac University|date=February 13, 2006]

Republican strategists took as a bad omen Santorum's primary result in 2006, in which he ran unopposed for the Republican nomination. Republican gubernatorial nominee Lynn Swann, also unopposed, garnered 22,000 more votes statewide than Santorum in the primary, meaning thousands of Republican voters abstained from endorsing Santorum for another Senate term. This may have been partly due to Santorum's support for Arlen Specter, over Congressman Pat Toomey in the 2004 Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. Even though Santorum is only slightly less conservative than Toomey, he joined virtually all of the state and national Republican establishment in supporting the moderate Specter. This led many socially and fiscally conservative Republicans to consider Santorum's support of Specter to be a betrayal of their cause. [cite news| url=http://www.nysun.com/article/41237| title=Outside Santorum's Sanctum| author=Jerry Bowyer| publisher=New York Sun| date=October 10, 2006] [cite news| url=http://www.nationalreview.com/moore/moore200404150838.asp| title=Santorum's Shame| author=Stephen Moore| publisher=National Review| date=April 15, 2004] [cite news| url=http://www.affbrainwash.com/archives/011711.php| title=Betrayal in Pennsylvania| author=Timothy P. Carney| publisher=AFF's Brainwash| date=May 2, 2004]

On May 22, 2006, the polling firm Rasmussen Reports declared that Santorum was the "most vulnerable incumbent" among the Senators running for re-election.cite web|title="Pennsylvania Senate: Casey by 23 Santorum Remains Most Vulnerable Incumbent"|url=http://www.rasmussenreports.com/2006/State%20Polls/May%202006/paSenateMay.htm|publisher=Rasmussen Reports|date=May 31, 2006] However, in August 2006, polling showed Santorum with his highest approval rating in months, 48 percent, a twelve-point jump between July and August. Nearly as many Pennsylvanians, 45 percent, said they had an unfavorable view of the Senator. [cite web|url=http://www.surveyusa.com/50State2006/100USSenatorApproval060817State.htm|title=Approval Ratings for all 100 U.S. Senators as of 08/17/06|publisher=SurveyUSA|accessdate=2006-09-09]

For most of the campaign, Santorum was behind by 15 points or more. Most polls during the summer of 2006 showed the race between Casey and Santorum becoming increasingly competitive, but a poll released by Quinnipiac University on September 26 showed Casey's margin ballooning back to a double-digit lead.cite news|url=http://www.yorkdispatch.com/pennsylvania/ci_4404075|title=Casey Doubles Lead Over Santorum|author=Kimberly Hefling|publisher=York Dispatch|date=September 26, 2006]

One day before the Quinnipiac poll was released, a Pennsylvania state judge ruled against a potential third-party candidate, Carl Romanelli of the Green Party. Romanelli fell about 8,900 petition signatures shy of the threshold needed to be placed on the statewide ballot in November. On October 4, 2006, the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court also rejected Romanelli's legal challenge.cite news|url=http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17296894&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=415898&rfi=6|title=Ousted Romanelli Now Faces Money Problems|author=Elizabeth Skrapets|publisher=Scranton Times-Tribune|date=October 7, 2006] This was a potential blow to the Santorum campaign, as Romanelli was expected to siphon off some Casey voters.cite news|url=http://www.forbes.com/business/businesstech/feeds/ap/2006/09/25/ap3043325.html|title=Pa. Judge to Drop Candidate from Ballot|author=Martha Raffaele|publisher=Forbes|date=September 25, 2006]

There is also some question as to whether Romanelli and Pennsylvania's Green Party violated federal election laws when they accepted tens of thousands of dollars in donations from people also backing Santorum's campaign. [cite news|http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/15167552.htm|title=Santorum donors give to Green Party|author=Carrie Budoff|publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=August 1, 2006] [cite news|http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/pennsylvania/counties/montgomery_county/15524018.htm|title=Lawyer: Green candidate's Senate petition is invalid|author=Martha Raffaele, Associated Press|publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=September 14, 2006]

Santorum found himself mired in controversy over his residency. For many years, he has maintained a modest home in Penn Hills, a suburb of Pittsburgh, which he claims as his official residence. Fact|date=June 2008 However, his family lived in the Virginia suburbs of Washington when the Senate was in session.Fact|date=June 2008 Since this meant Santorum spent most of the year away from Pennsylvania, critics argued it was not unlike the living arrangements he denounced in his 1990 House race against Walgren.Fact|date=June 2008 Santorum accused Walgren of being out of touch with his Pittsburgh-area district, symbolized by his home in the Virginia suburbs.Fact|date=June 2008 On NBC's Meet the Press on September 3, 2006, Santorum admitted that he only spends "maybe a month a year, something like that" at his Pennsylvania residence. [cite news|http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14568263/page/10|title=Meet the Press transcript|publisher=NBC|date=September 13, 2006] Santorum also pointed out in the debate that Walgren lived in a single Congressional district and that Walgren only spent 28 days of the entire year in his district, while he represents all of Pennsylvania.Fact|date=June 2008 As such, he spent much of his time in Virginia but would visit every one of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania every year.Fact|date=June 2008

Santorum also drew criticism for enrolling five of his six children in an online "cyber school" in Pennsylvania's Allegheny County (home to Pittsburgh and most of its suburbs), despite the fact the children lived in Virginia. The Penn Hills School District was billed $73,000 in tuition for the cyber classes. [cite news|http://www.gatewaynewspapers.com/pennhillsprogress/65799/|title=Dems Press Cyber Cost Issue|author=Vera Miller|publisher=Penn Hills Progress|date=September 20, 2006]

At least one of Santorum's television ads called into question his campaign's use of the facts regarding Casey and persons who have donated money to the Casey campaign. According to the ad, some of the persons who have given Casey money are or have been under investigation for various crimes. An editorial in Casey's hometown newspaper, "The Scranton Times-Tribune", points out that all but one of the contributions " [was] made to Casey campaigns when he was running for other offices, at which time none of the contributors were known to be under investigation for anything." [cite news|http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17200385&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=418218&rfi=6|title=Santorum hurls the low hard one|author=Editorial|publisher=The Scranton Times-Tribune|date=September 15, 2006] In fact, two of the persons cited in the Santorum campaign ad have actually given contributions to Mr. Santorum's 2006 Senate campaign. Another died in 2004. [cite news|http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/pennsylvania/counties/philadelphia_county/philadelphia/15512905.htm|title=Santorum ad impugns ethics of Casey "team"|author=Larry Eichel|publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=September 14, 2006] However, the Santorum campaign pointed out that the money the Santorum campaign received from those donors was not kept by the campaign, but rather donated to educational institutions. [cite news|http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/15511495.htm|title=Santorum ad shows Casey "campaign team" behind bars|author=Kimberly Hefling|publisher=Associated Press|date=September 13, 2006]

A heated debated between the candidates occurred on October 11, 2006 [Santorum, Casey go toe-to-toe in debate. By Bill Toland, Pittsburgh Post-Gazatte, October 13, 2006. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06286/729698-177.stm] In this debate, sponsored jointly by KDKA and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the issues were secondary to the candidates' verbal sparring and demeanor. The candidates appeared "less statesmanlike than either Gov. Ed Rendell or challenger Lynn Swann, who had debated each other in Pittsburgh the [previous] week".Fact|date=June 2008 During the debate, Mr. Santorum frequently challenged his Democratic foe to "look in the camera" and tell Pennsylvania the truth.Fact|date=June 2008 At least twice, Mr. Santorum asked questions designed to trip Casey up -- first, he wanted to know if Mr. Casey remembered the name of former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami;Fact|date=June 2008 second, he asked Mr. Casey if he knew precisely what percentage of the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System's assets is invested in companies that are notorious for outsourcing jobs (he said the answer was 25 percent).Fact|date=June 2008 Santorum opened the debate wearing a smile, but quickly the smile became a frustrated scowl.Fact|date=June 2008 In his closing statement, Mr. Santorum dialed down his bullying while acknowledging it at the same time.Fact|date=June 2008 "You can see from this debate -- I'm a passionate guy," he said. "I'm tough. I'm a fighter. But you know what? I'm an Italian kid from a steel town. What do you expect from me?"Fact|date=June 2008

In late October, during the Lebanon County Republican Committee’s annual dinner at the Lantern Lodge, Santorum said "If we are not successful here and things don’t go right in the election, there’s a good chance that the course of our country could change."Fact|date=June 2008 "We are in the equivalent of the late 1930s, and this election will decide whether we are going to continue to appease or whether we will stand and fight while we have a chance to win without devastating consequences." [cite news| url=http://www.ldnews.com/news/ci_4541386| title= Santorum issues GOP call to arms| author=Brad Rhen| publisher=Lebanon Daily News| date=October 25, 2006]

Santorum on August 28 gave to Pennsylvania media at the Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon in Harrisburg, a speech he earlier gave to the National Club, claiming that terrorist attacks on America by "radical Islamists" were part of a more than three-century-old plot to restore Shia clerics to power and bring "the 12th Imam" out of hiding.Fact|date=June 2008He said, according to the online news service, Capitolwire: “They believe, as all Shias do, in the Hidden Imam, the 12th Imam," the 12th descendant in a straight line from Mohammed the Prophet, who disappeared in 874, at the age of 5. “The Shia believe that he is the Messiah and he is in hiding and that he will return. … They believe … he will return with radical Islam, when Shia dominates the world. Well, for over 1,000 years, ... the East and West fought, up until 1683 ... In 1683, not that long ago, the Islamists had surrounded the gates of Vienna and were on the verge of toppling it after a siege; ... but the West united, and led by the Poles, [King] John Sobieski and the Polish Hussars defeated [the Arab forces] in a one-day battle on the plains outside Vienna. “What was the high-water mark of this 1,000-year war? It was the day before. What was the date the day before? Sept. 11, 1683.”

This speech eventually led to Santorum launching a tour called "The Gathering Storm," comparing himself to the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who alerted his nation and the world to the Nazi menace in the 1930s, and then fought with America, Russia and others to defeat the Germans, Italians and Japan in World War II in the 1940s.Fact|date=June 2008The Associated Press' Jennifer Yates wrote on Oct. 27 that Santorum said: "This is a moment, a critical crossroads in American history," as she noted that "Santorum, who invoked Winston Churchill's memoir - "The Gathering Storm" - about the causes of World War II" then told her and audiences: "The parallel is so profound."Fact|date=June 2008

Days before, Yates reported, Santorum said: Casey's election and that of other Democrats trying to take over the U.S. House and Senate would be "a disaster for the future of the world."Fact|date=June 2008

On the Sunday before the election, Casey responded to the comment, telling Capitolwire: "Who runs a campaign like that? No one believes terrorists are going to be more likely to attack us, because I defeat Rick Santorum. Does even he believe that?"Fact|date=June 2008

In that same Harrisburg, Pennsylvania speech, Santorum had to deal with a charge that polls showed hurt him badly with women voters.Fact|date=June 2008 In his book, "It Takes A Family: "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.”Fact|date=June 2008

Santorum wrote that many women have disclosed to him that it is more "socially affirming to work outside the home than to give up their careers to take care of their children.... What happened in America so that mothers and fathers who leave their children in the care of someone else - or worse yet, home alone after school between three and six in the afternoon - find themselves more affirmed by society? Here, we can thank the influence of radical feminism."Fact|date=June 2008Polls showed many female voters resented this description of why they worked, especially Republican and independent women whose abandonment of Santorum doomed his campaign, reported the online news service Capitolwire, based in Harrisburg.Fact|date=June 2008In a question-and-answer session on Aug. 28 at the Pennsylvania speech, Santorum tried again to address the issue and said his problem was that federal taxes now consumed 27 percent of family wages, and the second wage earner in most families made only 25 percent of the first's wages.Fact|date=June 2008

“First, I would say, read the book and I think if you read the book, you can answer the question yourself. Because anyone who has read the book instead of the comments pulled out by the Democratic National Committee about the book, which was four sentences, by the way, in a 430-page book, … would tell you I am supportive of families in a variety of different ways. ... What does the average second-earner in the family make? Twenty five percent of the first earner. ... Because of our tax code, we make it virtually impossible to maintain a standard of living and at the same time, be home with your children. ... Number two, look, I believe that women should have choices when it comes to the workforce. And they should be real choices."And look, I came from a family where my mother worked, all her life, made more money than my dad (N.B.: his mother and father were a registered nurse and psychiatrist, respectively). I have more people working in my office who are women, in senior policy positions, than men. So I don’t have a hang-up with women working. I do have a hang-up with the government and others in society not nurturing, supporting and encouraging parents to be home with their kids when they need to be home. And I think we need to do more as a society to help them.”Fact|date=June 2008

In the November election, Santorum lost, with 41% of the vote to Casey's 59%, [cite news| url=http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/11/7/220844.shtml| title=Santorum concedes| author=NewsMax.com staff| publisher=NewsMax.com| date=November 7, 2006 ] [cite news|url=http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2636481|title=Republican Sen. Santorum Loses Seat|author=Kimbrly Hefling|publisher=AP|date=November 8, 2006|accessdate=2006-11-20] statistically the worst defeat ever for an incumbent Republican Senator in Pennsylvania [cite news| url=http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17442994&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=415898&rfi=6|title=Casey Dominated Like No One Before| author=Borys Krawczeniuk|publisher=Scranton Times-Tribune| date=November 9, 2006 ] and the largest margin of defeat for an incumbent Senator since George McGovern lost his reelection bid to James Abdnor in 1980.Fact|date=June 2008

Post-Senate career

Before failing to win reelection in 2006, Santorum had frequently been mentioned as a possible 2008 presidential candidate. Such speculation faded when, during the course of the campaign and in light of unimpressive poll numbers, he declared that, if re-elected, he would serve a full term. After he lost, Santorum once again ruled out a presidential run. [cite news|url=http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/16032443.htm|title=Santorum: No oval office run|author=Carrie Budoff|work=inquirer.com|publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=November 17, 2006]

In March 2007 Santorum joined Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC. He will primarily practice law in the firm’s Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. offices, where he will provide business and strategic counseling services to the firm's clients. He also joined the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a D.C.-based conservative think tank. [cite news|url=http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YzBjNzUxODVjNDczMDkwMmU3YjJmYjM2MzVjODQwYmM=|title=Rick’s Return
author=John J. Miller|work=nationalreview.com|publisher=National Review|date=January 9, 2007] Santorum will also be a contributor on the Fox News Channel. [cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0307/2963.html=|title=Santorum Says Anyone But McCain|author=Carrie Budoff|publisher=The Politico|date=March 1, 2007] Santorum also writes an Op/Ed piece titled "The Elephant in the Room" for the Commentary Page of the Philadelphia Inquirer. [cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Rick Santorum | work = | publisher = Philadelphia Inquirer | date = | url = http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/rick_santorum/ | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-04-15] Santorum told the "Pittsburgh Tribune-Review" that he would address many geopolitical issues, and then joked, "I don't do Anna Nicole Smith, that's all." [cite news|url=http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_495727.html|title=Santorum to contribute to Fox News|author=Salena Zito|publisher=Pittsburgh Tribune-Review|date=March 1, 2007]

Santorum has been mentioned as a candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania in 2010. [cite news|title=Santorum eyes gubernatorial bud|url=http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/whispers/s_530115.html|work=Pittsburgh Tribune-Review|date=2007-09-30|accessdate=2008-03-13] On February 1, 2008, Santorum announced that he would vote for Mitt Romney in the 2008 Presidential Republican primary race, stating: "If you're a Republican, if you're a Republican in the broadest sense, there is only one place to go right now and that's Mitt Romney." [ [http://mittromney.com/News/Press-Releases/ICYMI_Ingraham_Santorum_2.1] ] . He has come out as a strong critic of John McCain, questioning his pro-life voting record and whether Sen. McCain holds true conservative values. However, in September 2008, Santorum expressed support for McCain after all, citing Sarah Palin as a step in the right direction: "Knowing McCain, he's choosing someone in whom he sees a lot of himself...He tries to find people who have a similar head as he does, and if he sees him in [Palin] ...that gives me a better feel for him and a little more confidence in him." [http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/227765 Santorum weighs in on race: Ex-senator changes his stance on McCain] ]

On April 12, 2007, the Federal Election Commission assessed $7,500 fine against Mr. Santorum's political action committee, America's Foundation, when Highmark Inc. agreed to pay a fine of more than $54,000 for using corporate dollars on fundraising events connected to former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. A $20,000 fine was also assessed against a former Highmark vice president. The Pittsburgh-based health insurer voluntarily made the FEC aware of the apparent violations after an internal audit, the commission said. The donations went toward three golf tournaments at the Country Club of Hershey and a private fundraiser, the FEC said [Santorum fundraising brings fine for Highmark, AP, April 13, 2007. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07103/777609-28.stm] .

Controversies

Santorum has attracted both support and criticism because of his socially conservative and outspoken views, primarily because of his stances on same-sex marriage, homosexuality, and abortion. His views on social and cultural issues are presented in his 2005 book, "It Takes a Family", published by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute of Wilmington, Delaware.

In September 2006, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) included Santorum in their second annual report on members of Congress with ethics issues, titled "Beyond DeLay: The 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and five to watch)". [cite web|url=http://www.citizensforethics.org/press/newsrelease.php?view=156|title="CREW Releases Second Annual Most Corrupt Members of Congress Report"|publisher=CREW|date=September 20, 2006|accessdate=2006-09-23] He was also in the first report. According to the report, "Santorum’s ethics issues stem from the manner in which he funded his children’s education and his misuse of his legislative position in exchange for contributions to his political action committee and his re-election campaign."

After the report was issued, Melanie Sloan was asked if she could prove that Santorum received money from organizations because of his work with them. She said, "I don't have proof that there's a direct exchange, but the timing of the contributions are enough to warrant an investigation." [cite web|url=http://www.wjactv.com/news/9894565/detail.html|title="Santorum, Murtha Make Watchdog Group's 'Corrupt List'"|publisher=WJAC TV|date=September 20, 2006|accessdate=2006-09-23]

Controversial statements regarding homosexuality

A controversy arose following Santorum's statements about homosexuality in an interview with the Associated Press that was published on April 20, 2003. In response to a question about how to prevent sexual abuse of children by priests, Santorum said the priests were engaged in "a basic homosexual relationship" with "post-pubescent men", and went on to say that he had "a problem with homosexual acts"; that the right to privacy, as detailed in "Griswold v. Connecticut," "doesn't exist in my opinion in the United States Constitution"; that, "whether it's polygamy, whether it's adultery, whether it's sodomy, all of those things are antithetical to a healthy, stable, traditional family"; and that sodomy laws properly exist to prevent acts that "undermine the basic tenets of our society and the family". When the Associated Press reporter asked whether homosexuals should not then engage in homosexual acts, Santorum replied, "Every society in the history of man has upheld the institution of marriage as a bond between a man and a woman. Why? Because society is based on one thing: that society is based on the future of the society. And that's what? Children. Monogamous relationships. In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality. That's not to pick on homosexuality. It's not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be. It is one thing. And when you destroy that you have a dramatic impact on the quality".cite news|title=Excerpt from Santorum interview|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-04-23-santorum-excerpt_x.htm|work=USA Today|publisher=Associated Press|date=2003-04-23|accessdate=2008-03-13]

Democratic politicians, including 2004 Democratic presidential candidates, gay rights advocates, and liberal commentators condemned the statements. Republican politicians, religious conservatives, and other conservative commentators supported Santorum and called the condemnations unfair.

Same sex unions have, in fact, existed in other societies. Some critics argued that Santorum's position might also affect heterosexuals, in that Santorum said that he did not believe there was a Constitutional right to engage in private consensual sexual acts.cite news|title=Santorum defends comments on homosexuality|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/04/23/santorum.gays/index.html|publisher=CNN|date=2003-04-23|accessdate=2008-03-13]

Santorum did not retract his remarks, stating that they were intended not to equate homosexuality with incest and pedophilia, but rather as a critique of the specific legal position that the right to privacy prevents the government from regulating consensual acts among adults (such as bigamy, incest, etc.).

In addition to the criticism of Santorum's views on homosexuality, there was an effort, led by American humorist and columnist Dan Savage, to coin "santorum" as a sexual slang word in English. cite news
url=http://www.avclub.com/content/node/45150
title=Interview: Dan Savage
author=Tasha Robinson
publisher=The Onion AV Club
date=February 8, 2006
accessdate=2006-12-19] Since its initial appearance in 2003 in Savage's column "Savage Love", this word has been used in its slang sense, but its currency and status as a neologism is unclear.

Comments about the Boston Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal

In 2005, a controversy developed over comments about Boston, Massachusetts, that Santorum made in a 2002 article about the Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal. Santorum wrote:

These comments came to wider attention through an opinion column in the "Philadelphia Daily News" on June 24, 2005. Columnist John Baer cited Santorum's article, stating, "I'd remind you this is the same Senate leader who recently likened Democrats fighting to save the filibuster to Nazis." [cite news|title=A look into Santorum's brain|author=John Baer|publisher=Philadelphia Daily News|date=June 24, 2005]

Santorum's remarks were criticized, especially in Massachusetts. On July 12, 2005, "Boston Globe" columnist Brian McGrory called on Santorum to explain his statement, and reported that Robert Traynham, Santorum's Director of Communications, told him "It's an open secret that you have Harvard University and MIT that tend to tilt to the left in terms of academic biases. I think that's what the senator was speaking to." Julie Teer, a spokeswoman for Governor of Massachusetts, Republican Mitt Romney, said "What happened with the church sex abuse scandal was a tragedy, but it had nothing to do with geography or the culture of Boston."

Later that day, Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) delivered a personal rebuke to Santorum on the Senate floor, saying "The people of Boston are to blame for the clergy sexual abuse? That is an irresponsible, insensitive and inexcusable thing to say." [cite news|title=Kennedy rips Santorum comments: Says senator owes victims apology|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/07/14/kennedy_rips_santorum_comments/|author=Susan Milligan|publisher=Boston Globe|date=July 14, 2005] Santorum has stood by his 2002 article and has not apologized.

On July 21, 2005, Rush Limbaugh interviewed Santorum about Kennedy's speech. Santorum said that he was being targeted by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which, he said, coordinated with the media to publicize Kennedy's speech. He argued that his statement about Boston was taken out of context from an article he had written three years earlier. Santorum agreed with Limbaugh's summary that it was "no surprise that the center of the Catholic Church abuse took place in very liberal, or perhaps the nation's most liberal area, Boston." Santorum reiterated his broader theme of a cultural connection, saying that it is "no surprise that the culture affects people's behavior. [...] the liberal culture — the idea that [...] sexual inhibitions should be put aside and people should be able to do whatever they want to do, has an impact on people and how they behave." When asked why Boston specifically was mentioned, Santorum pointed out that, in July 2002, the outrage of American Catholics, as well as his own, was focused on the Archdiocese of Boston. [cite web|url=http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/eibessential/eib_interviews/senator_rick_santorum_.guest.html|title=Senator Rick Santorum (Interview)|publisher=RushLimbaugh.com|date=July 21, 2005|accessdate=2006-08-23]

Hurricane Katrina

On September 4, 2005, Santorum spoke to a Pittsburgh television station, WTAE, about the evacuation warnings given for Hurricane Katrina:cquote|I mean people who don't heed those warnings and then put people at risk as a result of not heeding those warnings [...] There may be a need to look at tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out and understand that there are consequences to not leaving. [cite web
url=http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Senator_suggests_penalties_for_survivors_who_stayed_in_flo_0906.html|title="Senator suggests penalties for survivors who stayed in flood zone"|date=September 6, 2005|publisher=The Raw Story|accessdate=2006-08-23]

The campaign of Bob Casey, Jr., his Democratic opponent for the Senate, criticized Santorum's remarks.cite news|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05250/566844.stm|title=Santorum retreats on evacuation penalty remarks|author=Sean D. Hamill|date=September 7, 2005|publisher= [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

On September 6, in a follow-up interview with WTAE, Santorum said,

On September 8, during an interview with public-radio station WITF-FM, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Santorum saidcquote
[T] he weather service gave no warning, or not sufficient warning in my opinion, as to the effects when it came on land in Florida as a Category One hurricane [...] Predictions were that it wasn't going to go out to the Gulf and affect the western Gulf coast, it was going to sort of head up to Florida or go right off the coast of Florida [...] I'm not going to suggest when it comes to Katrina that there were any major errors. I don't know. This is something that I think needs to be investigated. [cite news
url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/09/AR2005090901930.html|title=Some GOP Legislators Hit Jarring Notes in Addressing Katrina|date=September 10, 2005|author=Charles Babington|publisher=Washington Post]

Santorum was the sponsor of legislation proposed to prevent the National Weather Service from competing with private-sector weather services, as discussed above.

Santorum added a synthetic-fuel tax-credit amendment to a larger bill introduced in the Senate by Charles Grassley, the Iowa Republican who headed the Senate Finance Committee. "Time Magazine" called this tax-credit scheme "a multibillion-dollar scam." [cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1167738,00.html|title=A Magic Way to Make Billions|author=Donald L. Barlett|coathors=James B. Steele|date=February 26, 2006|publisher=Time] The amendment was inserted in the Tax Relief Act of 2006, which provides aid for Hurricane Katrina victims and sets new policies for tax-exempt groups.

Pennsylvania residency and tuition controversy

In November 2004, a controversy developed over education costs for Santorum's children. Santorum's legal address is a three-bedroom house in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, which he purchased for $87,800 in 1997 and is located next to Mrs. Santorum's parents. But since 2001, he has lived in Leesburg, Virginia, a town about one hour's drive west of Washington, D.C., and about 90 minutes' drive south of the Pennsylvania border, in a house he purchased for $643,000. The "Penn Hills Progress", a local paper, reported that Santorum and his wife paid about $2,000 per year in property taxes on their Pennsylvania home ($487.20 per year to Allegheny County, 2006 through 2008, based on a 2007 value of $106,000 [ [http://www2.county.allegheny.pa.us/RealEstate/Search.asp Allegheny County Assessment ] ] , plus Penn Hills School District tax). The paper also found that another couple — possibly renters — were registered voters at the same address. [cite news|url=http://www.gatewaynewspapers.com/pennhillsprogress/focus/38358/|title=More questions raised about Santorum residency|author=Vera Miller|date=November 17, 2004|publisher=Gateway Newspapers]

At the time the issue arose, Santorum's five older children attended the " [http://www.wpccs.com/ Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School] ", with 80 percent of tuition costs paid by the Penn Hills School District. [citenews | first=Daniel | last=Reynolds | coauthors= | title= Santorum school flap continues |date=November 19, 2004 | publisher= | url=http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_274635.html | work=Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | pages= | accessdate = 2007-04-25 | language = ] At a meeting in November 2004, the Penn Hills School District announced that it did not believe Santorum met the qualifications for residency status, because he and his family spent most of the year in Virginia. They demanded repayment of tuition costs totaling $67,000.

When news reports showed Sen. Santorum was renting his Penn Hills home relatives a three-bedroom Penn Hills house, Santorum withdrew his five children from the cyber education program that Penn Hills School District paid for. That saved Penn Hills taxpayers about $38,000 a year [Editorial: Home school / Santorum, not the state, should pay Penn Hills. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 11, 2006. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06254/720366-192.stm] . Although Santorum said he would make other arrangements for his children's education, he insisted that he did not owe the school board any back tuition. Once the controversy surfaced, the children were withdrawn from the cyber school and were then home schooled [Santorum tuition OK'd, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 13, 2006. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06256/721451-56.stm ] .

On July 8, 2005, a Pennsylvania state hearing officer had ruled that the Penn Hills School District had not filed objections to Santorum's residency in a timely manner and dismissed the complaint. Santorum hailed the ruling as a victory against what he termed "baseless and politically motivated charges". Santorum told reporters that " [n] o one's children — and especially not small, school-age children — should be used as pawns in the 'politics of personal destruction.'" [cite news|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05193/536563.stm|title=Penn Hills loses bid to charge Santorum for online school tuition|author=Amy McConnell Schaarsmith|publisher=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=July 12, 2005] In the 2006 senate campaign, the politics at that time allowed for Santorum's campaign to portray the Santorum family having two homes a family values-based issue, and ran television commercials with Santorum's son saying "My dad's opponents have criticized him for moving us to Washington so we could be with him more." [Santorum has got to be kidding. By Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06258/722043-153.stm]

In September 2006, the Pennsylvania Department of Education agreed to pay the district $55,000 to settle the dispute over money withheld from the district to pay for the children of U.S. Senator Rick Santorum to attend a cyber charter school.

The matter rose again in May 2006. Santorum has said that his family stays during holidays and at times on weekends at the Penn Hills house. But the "Progress" reported in May that the house appeared unoccupied, and Casey's campaign noted that in a press release. Santorum then accused Casey's campaign of supporting trespassing on his property, saying of Casey "Now that he is a nominee, it is time for him to start acting like a candidate instead of a thug." Casey, in a statement, called the charges "false and malicious." His campaign, in a news release, described Santorum's actions as "weirdness". [cite news|url=http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/pennsylvania/14626414.htm|title=Santorum calls Casey a 'thug' in residency flap|author=Carrie Budoff|date=May 20, 2006|publisher=Philadelphia Daily News|accessdate=2006-08-23]

In September 2006, Santorum formally asked that the county remove the homestead tax exemption from his Penn Hills residence. He said that he had made similar requests to county officials in conversations in 2005 and earlier in 2006, but to no avail. In his letter, Santorum insisted that he was entitled to the exemption, which is worth about $70 annually, but chose not to take advantage of it because of the political dispute. [James O'Toole, [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06270/725348-177.stm "Santorum asks county to drop tax exemption"] , "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette", September 27, 2006] The county offers a $15,000 reduction in assessed property values to homeowners for their primary residence. That results in average savings of about $70 each year. Santorum would not be eligible for the homestead exclusion because Santorum said during a televised debate that he spends about 30 days in his Penn Hills house each year [Santorum campaign: No county tax break. Vera Miller, Staff Writer,Your Penn Hills, A Tribune Review service, September 13, 2006. http://www.yourpennhills.com/pennhillsprogress/article/santorum-campaign-no-county-tax-break] .

Santorum has been registered to vote in Penn Hills since April 1998, five months after purchasing the Penn Hills home. However, records at the Allegheny County Election Office show had voted by absentee ballot since 1995 [Santorum bills for children's school $100K
District pays, though family lives in Virginia. Vera MillerStaff Writer, Your Penn Hills, A Tribune Review service, October 20, 2004. http://www.yourpennhills.com/pennhillsprogress/article/santorum-bills-childrens-school-100k-br-district-pays-though-family-lives-] .

The only way for Santorum to not pay for his children's private education was to enroll them in the Penn Hills School District. Virginia state law only requires local school districts to pay for private school tuition when a student has disabilities and enrolls in a school that can satisfy his or her needs, according to Charles Pyle, Virginia Department of Education spokesman. Otherwise, children in Virginia must attend their local public schools [Santorum bills for children's school $100K
District pays, though family lives in Virginia. Vera MillerStaff Writer, Your Penn Hills, A Tribune Review service, October 20, 2004. http://www.yourpennhills.com/pennhillsprogress/article/santorum-bills-childrens-school-100k-br-district-pays-though-family-lives-] .

Santorum's supporters have said that the controversy is politically motivated because the school board is controlled by Democrats (Erin Vecchio, the school board member who first publicly raised the issue, is the chair of the local Democratic Party). They also have said that since Santorum votes in Penn Hills and pays property and school taxes there, he is entitled to the same privileges as any other Penn Hills resident and should not be deprived of these privileges as a result of his service in the U.S. Senate. [citenews | first= | last= | coauthors= | title= State Pays Penn Hills Schools In Santorum Dispute
date=September 13, 2006 | publisher= | url=http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/9837498/detail.html?rss=pit&psp=news&synd=myabc | work=WTAE-TV | pages= | accessdate = 2007-04-25 | language = ]

The issue of Santorum's non-residence in Pennsylvania is rooted in his slamming of Rep. Doug Walgren 16 years prior for moving to Washington, D.C. and not being present in his congressional district. "The hypocrisy got worse when Mr. Santorum, the alleged champion of taxpayers, stuck the public for the bill to educate his children in a cyber school when his residence in Penn Hills is just a legal fiction" [Casey for Senate: Santorum exemplifies the worst of Washington, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 22, 2006. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06295/732138-192.stm] .

Declaration regarding WMD in Iraq

In June 2006, Santorum declared that weapons of mass destruction (WMD) had been found in Iraq.cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200499,00.html|title=Report: Hundreds of WMDs Found in Iraq|publisher=Fox News|date=June 22, 2006|accessdate=2006-09-12] The specific weapons he referred to were chemical munitions dating back to the Iran–Iraq War that were buried in the early 1990s. The report stated that while agents had degraded to an unknown degree, they remained dangerous and possibly lethal. Officials of the Department of Defense, CIA intelligence analysts, and the White House have all explicitly stated that these expired casings are not part of the WMD threat that Operation Iraqi Freedom was launched to contain. [cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/21/AR2006062101837.html|title=Lawmakers Cite Weapons Found in Iraq|date=June 23, 2006|publisher=Washington Post|author=Dafna Linzer]

Santorum's declaration was based in part on declassified portions of a classified report from the National Ground Intelligence Center of the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command. [cite web|title=Report on Iraqi Chemical Munitions|url=http://santorum.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=1078|date=June 21, 2006|accessdate=2006-09-13|format=PDF] Portions were declassified in a summary that made six key points:

* Since 2003, Coalition forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded or vacant mustard or sarin nerve agent casings.
* Despite many efforts to locate and destroy Iraq’s pre-Gulf War chemical munitions, filled and unfilled pre-gulf War chemical munitions are assessed to still exist. They have no viable military capability, however.
* Pre-Gulf War chemical munitions could be sold on the black market. Use of these weapons by terrorists or insurgent groups could have implications for Coalition forces in Iraq.
* The most likely munitions remaining are sarin and mustard-filled projectile casings.
* The purity of the agent inside the munitions depends on many factors, including the manufacturing process, potential additives, and environmental storage conditions. While agents degrade over time, the residue could be hazardous upon dermal contact.
* It has been reported in open press that insurgents and Iraqi groups desire to acquire and use chemical weapons.

Animal rights

In 2005 a coalition of animal rights groups, spearheaded by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the Doris Day Animal League (DDAL) mounted a failed effort to push the "Pet Animal Welfare Statute of 2005" (PAWS) through congress. The bill was proposed by Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) and sponsored by Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Arlen Spector (R-PA). PAWS would have reclassified most small and hobby breeders as commercial breeders subjecting them to USDA regulations, allowed home inspections and placed fees and compliance expenses on pet breeders. Fellow Congressmen were told that PAWS was "the puppy mill bill".

This was Santorum's third failed attempt at pet-related legislation.

ACLU suit

The American Civil Liberties Union affiliates of Delaware and Pennsylvania settled a lawsuit filed over a 2005 incident in which four teenagers were ejected from a bookstore where then-U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum was to appear for a book-signing. Delaware State Police were to adopt a training program on free-speech constitutional rights of protesters and pay $15,000 in plaintiffs' legal fees. The Santorum staffers paid $2,500 in damages -- the amount they were paid to assist Mr. Santorum on his book tour -- and send the plaintiffs a letter of regret.

The four young women alleged that Santorum staffers overheard them discussing their opposition to Mr. Santorum's views and got a Delaware state trooper to remove them from the store, in a mall in Wilmington, Del [ACLU settles lawsuit stemming from 2005 Santorum event, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Friday, June 29, 2007 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07180/798038-85.stm] .

Bibliography

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Footnotes

External links

CongLinks
congbio = s000059
fec = S4PA00063
opensecrets = N00001380
ontheissuespath = Senate/Rick_Santorum.htm
* [http://townhall.com/columnists/RickSantorum/ TownHall.com — Rick Santorum] archived columns from 2005 and 2006

Articles

* [http://www.lewrockwell.com/vance/vance95.html LewRockwell.com] , Vance, Laurence. "Santorumism"
* [http://www.amconmag.com/2007/2007_07_30/feature.html "The American Conservative"] , Dougherty, Michael. "Santorum Against the World"
* [http://www.antiwar.com/barry/?articleid=10585 Antiwar.com] , Barry, Tom. "Rick Santorum, American Crusader"
* [http://townhall.com/columnists/RickSantorum/2005/11/17/the_conservative_future_compassion The Conservative Future: Compassion by Rick Santorum] "TownHall.com", November 17, 2005
* [http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Fox_executives_donate_generously_to_Santorum_0228.html Fair and slanted: Fox executives funnel cash to Santorum, GOP] "Raw Story", February 28, 2006
* [http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-04-23-santorum-excerpt_x.htm Excerpt from Santorum interview] "USA Today", April 23, 2003
* [http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=11174 With A Little Help From His Friends] Will Bunch, "The American Prospect", cover story March 10, 2006
* [http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1300271 Lawsuit Abuse Critic Explains Suit] "ABC Primetime", November 10, 2005
* [http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/13996378.htm Big donor to Santorum's charity was seeking federal aid]
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/06/AR2006030601798.html Editorial: Charities on the Hill] "Washington Post", March 7, 2006
* [http://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/2007/01/diddly_awards.html Diddly Awards] "Mother Jones", Jan/Feb 2007
* [http://www.spanieljournal.com/ccooke.html Spaniel Journal] , Cooke, Cindy. "Is PAWS Justified?: Examining the Claims"
* [http://www.spanieljournal.com/20lbaughan.html Spaniel Journal] , Baughan, Loretta. "PAWS: Federalizing Pet Breeding"
* [http://www.spanieljournal.com/bkane.html Spaniel Journal] , Kane, Bob. "Senator Santorum Muzzles PAWS Opponents"

USRepSuccessionBox
before=Doug Walgren
state=Pennsylvania
district=18
years=1991 – 1995
after=Michael F. DoyleU.S. Senator box
before=Harris Wofford
state=Pennsylvania
class=1
years=1995 – 2007
alongside=Arlen Specter
after=Bob Casey, Jr.