It has been pointed out before that one of the reasons that Santorum lost big in his last Senate election is that he ran as a conservative—in a blue state at that—during a year when most conservatives were running to the center in order to survive.
With people deriding many Republicans (rightly so) as RINO’s, Country Club Republicans, Rockefeller Republicans, or whatever, Santorum should at least be cut some slack for being consistent. That defeat might even be seen as a badge of honor.
He never should have endorsed Arlen Spector.