new chance?

times leader ^ | 20.6.2002

[Hellwege]

Experts unsure if Pittsburgh senator's backing will be blessing or burden Santorum travels to unfamiliar territory to aid Barletta By KENNETH P. VOGEL Times Leader Harrisburg Bureau

HARRISBURG - In his first crack at king making outside his home turf of western Pennsylvania, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum has thrown himself full bore behind Hazleton Mayor Louis Barletta's bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski. If Barletta, a 46-year-old Republican who is a relative political newcomer, overcomes long odds to beat the nine-term Democratic incumbent congressman from Nanticoke, it would be a major coup for Santorum, who would deserve much of the credit, analysts say.

However, they caution that heavy involvement by the state's junior senator could end up hurting Barletta and - to a lesser extent - Santorum.

"It's a Catch-22 that Barletta faces," said veteran political analyst G. Terry Madonna of Millersville University. "Right now, Santorum is the best thing he's got going. (Santorum) is taking him under his wing, helping him raise money and generate excitement for his campaign."

For Barletta to be competitive in the heavily Democratic 11th District, Madonna said he will need to lure moderate Democrats across the party line, and Santorum - who is known as a conservative Republican - "is not going to help him with that."

"But if (Santorum) pulls this off, he's got Barletta as a friend in Congress. ...," said Wilkes University political science professor Tom Baldino.

Santorum helped an ally win a congressional election in the Pittsburgh-area in 2000, Madonna said, but Barletta's challenge is the first in which he has played such an active role outside of western Pennsylvania.

Baldino said Santorum, 44, launched a new phase in his career after winning his first re-election in 2000.

He returned to Washington as the third youngest senator, won a leadership role in his caucus, became a leading advocate of President Bush's agenda and last year lobbied in Harrisburg for a congressional redistricting plan that would have pitted Kanjorski against another incumbent Democrat.

The plan was scrapped, but since March Santorum has:

Helped convince Barletta to run.

Introduced Barletta to U.S. Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., chairman of the influential National Republican Campaign Committee, which has backed Barletta.

Given his blessing to his former spokeswoman, who left Washington to run Barletta's campaign.

Watched members of his staff, on their own time, help Barletta collect 1,000 signatures in less than a week to get on the ballot.

Connected Barletta with representatives from national business groups, who will likely endorse him.

Had his political action committee contribute $10,000 to Barletta's campaign, which reaped roughly another $30,000 from a D.C. fund-raiser sponsored by Santorum. If Kanjorski can convince moderate Democrats - and Republicans - Barletta is beholden to Santorum, it could hurt Barletta's chances - and damage Santorum's fledgling status as a fixer, Baldino said.

Ed Mitchell, Kanjorski's media consultant, has already touched on those themes. "I don't think the man is independent. (Barletta) owes his existence to Santorum and Santorum doesn't play with moderates. He'll vote with Santorum and not for the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania."

Barletta said: "The congressman making Senator Santorum an issue doesn't make sense to me. He's running against Lou Barletta, not Senator Santorum. I want to talk about the issues that concern the people of the district."

Because Barletta "does not have to stand by (his) voting record (on national issues)," Madonna said he has the advantage of only taking stands on issues on which he thinks he can pick up support from Kanjorski, 64.

In a recent interview, Barletta revealed he:

Opposes raising the minimum wage.

Supports school vouchers.

Supports President Bush's plan for expanding Medicare coverage to include prescription drug benefits.

Supports "personal savings accounts" - or optional, partial privatization for future social security recipients. Those positions are closer to those held by Santorum than Kanjorski, who:

Co-sponsored a bill to boost the minimum wage by $1.50 over two years.

Voted against school vouchers last year.

Supports a more comprehensive plan to expand Medicare to pay for medicines.

"Strongly opposes" any efforts to privatize Social Security. Kanjorski's stances go well with those of Northeast voters, said Mitchell, who asserted Santorum and Barletta are too conservative for the area.

But Barletta pointed out Santorum did well in the area in the 2000 election. He beat his Democratic opponent, then-U.S. Rep. Ron Klink of Pittsburgh, by nearly 4,000 votes in Luzerne County and by more than 6,600 votes in the area that will comprise the newly realigned 11th District.

"Senator Santorum has served the people of the 11th District well and he wants to see someone representing the district who he can work with," Barletta said.

But state Rep. Kevin Blaum, D-Wilkes-Barre, a Kanjorski backer, said Santorum's efforts on behalf of Barletta smack of a "vendetta" against Kanjorski, who in 2000 chaired Klink's campaign against Santorum.