Posted on 03/16/2012 8:49:42 AM PDT by PSYCHO-FREEP
Arlen Specter survived a 2004 primary challenge with help from Rick Santorum, and now Santorum's former Senate colleague is only too grateful in a forthcoming memoir. Manu Raju got an early look:
According to Specter, Santorum was “vital” in his 2004 primary win against conservative Pat Toomey, tried to provide him with political advice ahead of a career-changing vote in 2009, and lobbied him to quell a conservative rebellion over judicial nominees.
“Santorum’s support and assurances to conservatives, along with President Bush’s, had given a vital boost in my beating Toomey,” Specter said in his new book, “Life Among the Cannibals,” which is slated to be released later this month. An advanced copy was provided to POLITICO.
A Santorum spokesman did not respond to an inquiry seeking comment. ...
In an Arizona debate last month, Mitt Romney whacked Santorum for his 2004 endorsement of Specter, pointing out that, as a Democrat, Specter effectively gave Obama a 60th vote for health care legislation in December 2009.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
This election will be the meanest and nastiest in our history. (It already has been)
This is no time to nominate a light weight, who panders for votes from both sides and then claims the opposite.
Nobody is perfect. Santorum is a decent and honest man. No frills no lies.
This is no time to be bashing the two conservatives left in the GOP race. For just about every flaw that you can point out in Santorum, someone else can dredge up a similar flaw with Newt. And who gains from that circular firing squad approach? Mitt.
Sorry, honesty is not a virtue I would ascribe to Mr. Santorum. Nor integrity. Nor humility.
Exactly. You want the perfect candidate beforehand? There is no such man or woman. There have only been two persons that ever lived on this earth without sin and they are no longer residing with us on planet earth. Jesus and his mother Mary. They are not running for office. We must elect mortal humans warts and all.
When does Deed Scuzzfavor release her book thanking her supporters? :)
We're not electing anyone who's near perfect this fall. That Person isn't running. Santorum is as good and faithful a conservative as there is and is very well qualified to carry the conservative banner.
Santorum, even now, is saying things that will come back to haunt him. He will not win, were he to be the Repub candidate.
Spector promised to support Bush nominees as part of his deal with Santorum.
No doubt many of the Santorum votes/positions that bother FReepers were at the behest of the senior senator (Specter) or the Bush-Rove White House. Like it or not, he was a junior senator and trying to act in the interest of party unity. Some of it might have been voluntarily and some of it might have been coerced (”If you want to be on the x committee, you’ll need to support me on x”). That’s how Washington gets done.
No doubt, had he a chance to do it over again, Santorum might have chosen differently. But you can’t undo votes or endorsements just like you can’t unto taping global warming commercials with Nancy Pelosi or endorsing liberals like Dede Schozzafava.
There’s nobody flawless in this race. It’s a shame that Specter is such a snake with a long career of untrustworthiness and that Santorum had to deal with him constantly as U.S. Senator. At least some of what he did then makes sense in that context. I still see no reason why Newt went out of his way to back Scozzafava.
The facts are what they are. Do you want a candidate like this to get the nomination?
Newt has his flaws, but we all know of his ability to fix this mess.
A Brokered Convention is our last option.
Have you heard Santorum address the reason for his support of Arlan Spector? I’d like to know his answer. Thanks.
From the link:
Brian Hoffman · Top Commenter
George W. Bush was also supporting Specter over Toomey in 2004. Why? Arlan Spector sat as Senate Judiciary Committee Chair. Soon after Spector took his seat, Bush’s nominations to the Supreme Court, both Sam Alito and John Roberts passed through the Senate confirmation without delay. Obama Care will come and go. However now we have two conservative judges, both Alito and Roberts, on the Supreme Court for many many years. Both Santorum and Bush fell behind Spector because of their strong desire to even the Supreme Court with Pro-Life judges.
Obama Care, was birthed by Mitt Romney alone. Quit trying to lay blame on anyone else except the wayward mother.
Santorum was my 3rd choice and I’m damn happy to have him still in the race. If he were perfect he would have been my first and only choice but perfect doesn’t exist among mortals.
Over Gov. Flip Flop or Speaker Ego? Damn right I do.
Your comparison is laughable. Did that support wind up giving us Obamacare?
Are you kidding me? What is decent and honest about supporting a candidate who has repeatedly voted pro choice? This is suppose to be a core value of Santorum’s, yet he looked the other way. Amazing how people buy this guys political bs.
The apologies are flowing like water. That was predictable.
Yeah, I want either Newt, Santorum or some other conservative to win the nomination. Not Romney and not a fill-in from the GOP-E.
Folks can bicker back and forth about Newt's flaws versus Santorum's flaws. I think both are electable against Obama's record. Romney isn't because he would take Obamacare off the table as an election issue.
A Brokered Convention is our last option.
Do you seriously think a Brokered Convention would produce anything but a RINO approved by the GOP-E?
Make the case for Newt. But it's stupid to be ripping into Santorum. You are bashing Santorum for backing Specter. Well, Newt backed Scuzzy. See how easy that is, to form the circular firing squad? And how utterly counterproductive?
Our fire needs to be directed at Romney and Obama. Not at the other conservative.
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