Pa. state treasurer Bob Casey Jr. announced he's running for Santorum's Senate seat. Like his father, the late governor, Casey is a Democrat and anti-abortion. I'll guess that he's against same-sex marriage although he may try to finesse the issue like other Democrats do (against same-sex marriage but also against amending the Constitution). There may be other candidates but Casey is probably the Democrats' best hope to get rid of Santorum.

As it is with most elections these days, we will have to vote for the lesser of the two evils, and in my opinion, no person is more evil than Rick Santorum!

Down with Santorum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would definitely say we have a dog in this fight.

Just to clarify, before we all get too excited: this Senate race isn't until 2006. wink

One of the scariest things I've read in the past few months is Santorum is one of the possibilities for the Repubican nomination in 2008.

That's just too frightening to even consider... eek!

Never too soon to start dreaming about defeating Santorum

Apparently not -- the two who have been mentioned as possibly running have both officially dropped out. Looks like the party is uniting behind Casey.

Abortion stand could risk votes for Casey, from today's Harrisburg Patriot.

Santorum's last opponent, former Congressman and KDKA (Pittsburgh) anchor Ron Klink, was also pro-life, and Santorum defeated him by about 6%.

Of course, Klink didn't benefit from the three things that are working in Casey's favor: (1) Santorum's high profile and 47% unfavorable rating; (2) very high name recognition stemming from his multiple statewide campaigns for row offices (Governor, Auditor General and Treasurer); and, (3) sharing the same name as his now deceased father, former Gov. Robert P. Casey (the same Casey who was denied the platform at a DNC because of his pro-life stance and was the defendant in Planned Parenthood v. Casey).

Whatever votes Casey, Jr. may lose because of his anti-abortion stand, he may gain among PA's many "Reagan Democrats" (a group that GWB failed to capture in numbers large enough swing PA for him in either 2000 or 2004), particularly in his home area of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where the Casey name is gold.

However, its worth noting that Casey's father never ran well in the Philly suburbs. In his first election in 1986, which he won with barely 50% of the vote (after it was leaked that his opponent LtGov Bill Scranton III, son of another governor and current candidate to take on Rendell, smoked pot in college), he took 39.59% in Bucks County, 39.50% in Delaware County and 33.69% in Montgomery County. In 1990, Casey, Sr. beat Barbara Hafer with a 67.65% of the vote, but with comparatively lesser margins in the Philly suburbs: 58.58% in Bucks, 54.82% in Delaware, and 49.84% in Montgomery.

A May IssuesPA poll found the following:

His VERY high favorable rating in Northeastern PA, the Casey stronghold, is not surprising, but should be of concern to Casey.

I think the race will also come down to how many "RINOs" or Rendell-icans (the moderate Republicans who crossed lines and became Democrats for the sole purpose of voting for Rendell and against Casey in the 2001 Dem primary) stay home or vote Casey out of distaste for Santorum's strong conservative views.

What's interesting here is that many of those Rendell Republicans crossed the line when they saw a very weak Republican candidate in Atty General Mike Fisher (who now sits on the Third Circuit), and a battle of titans looming in the Dem. primary for Governor in Rendell v. Casey. More than any great love for Rendell, most Rendell-icans I know were STRONGLY anti-Casey.

[ June 10, 2005, 08:15 AM: Message edited by: PennState4Ever ]

This idiot Santorum is on "Hardball" right now and Matthews is grilling him on everything while Sanitarium stumbles and bumbles his way through the interview. I love how he tries to explain the left for "big government" talking about Hillary. Oh really Rick, what about Shrubs's current governement!!. What hypocrisy! What the hell is going on here!! This man is intelligence challenged. He should walk down the aisle with Jim West!

The idiot is all over the news programs talking about his stupid book. Yesterday he was on " This Week" with George Stephanopoulos. He gives the exact same answers every time to the same questions asked of him. Like he has nothing else to add. Once again he was aked about his possible run for the WH in '08, and he started squirming in his seat again, refusing to be pinned down and says the "door is shut, but its not locked"....blah, blah, blah. Gosh I hope and pray this man is defeated. He needs to be put out to pasture.

On the heels of saying Boston's "liberalism" contributed to the church sexual abuse scandals, he now has blamed Sens. Kennedy and Kerry. What is he thinking?

Boston Globe


[Post modified for hyperlink format - Outsports moderator]

[ August 17, 2005, 06:36 AM: Message edited by: m1 ]

Governor Casey was NOT denied speaking time because of his abortion stance; he was denied speaking time because he didn't endorse Clinton

Au contraire, theo. Both NARAL and Planned Barrenhood demanded he not be allowed to speak because of his views.

Gotta link for that "fact" MIB?

I hate to admit it, but my memory more closely aligns with MIB's on this one. I don't have a link to any story to back it up, however.

Still, even if my recollection is correct, is Casey Sr.'s dispute with the planners of the DNC 13+ years ago at all relevant to this debate?

My memory also aligns with MIBs. The pro-lifers did not want him speaking. Apparently the "tent" is only so big.

There seems to be alot of "down time" in the federal courts of Chicago, Im sure he'll get that link ASAP.

All together now: OH, THE HYPOCRISY

Ricky's bugging. Casey can't replace him soon enough!

He talks so well out of both sides of his mouth, doesn't he!?

My only comment would be this.

Hey Mrs S!!!

If you're gonna be a human PEZ dispenser, then expect to gain a few pounds. How about jogging with your kids as part of their home schooling!!

Sheesh!

Quote from the Santorum article:

"because she suffered humiliation from weight gain, she no longer had the confidence to help him on the campaign trail. The jury was so moved it voted to award Karen Santorum $350,000."

Brilliant. Now I can sue Arby's for giving me a potbelly which led to my inability to get a date and subsequent depression and alcoholism.

Not to get serious or anything, but do you PA guys know what the poll numbers are for this race? I guess we're still a year away but seems like these two have started the campaign...

I'm not from PA, but this is the latest I've seen:

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/2005/Penns...%20Nov%2010.htm

Poll numbers look pretty good for the Dem. right now for sure. Its going to be interesting to see Sanitarium most likely distance himself from Schrub given Shrub's poll numbers of late. Saw a story on CNN yesterday where the Repug. loser in the New Jersey Gov. race, blamed his loss on Shrub.

The Republicans in NJ are going to cannibalize each other, because the right-wingers believe that Forrester was a sell out and lost to one of the most liberal Democrats in the country (okay, Corzine makes Hillary Clinton look like Al D'Amato), but in the previous election Jim McGreevey beat their choice, former Jersey City mayor turned fanatic-zealot Brett Schundler by 14 points! Going further to the right isn't going to work in New Jersey! Maybe in Texas or Georgia, but not in the Garden State. (And Republicans in Illinois realized this when they got Judy Baar Topinka to enter the race against Blago.)

A moderate Republican--I mean, a truly moderate Republican who didn't stoop to quoting angry ex-wives or using the Swift Boat scumbags, etc.--could defeat a Democrat, but if the GOP "base" has its way, they're going to push for yet another extremist, especially at a time when New Jersey is trending away from the right (and while it has elected Republicans many times, it hasn't been one of the more conservative northern states since the Civil War).

Pennsylvania is probably more moderate in profile than New Jersey, especially outside of the Philadelphia and its suburbs, Pittsburgh and its suburbs, and some larger towns in the state. Santorum was just too far to the right. Were he running in Missouri and tracking to the right, he might win, but Casey basically trumps him on one of the key issues to many Catholics, abortion, while being more moderate on almost every other issue. There are Democrats along Casey's line in the Senate, like Pryor and Baucus, and he's even to the right of Specter on some issues, but at this point, I think even a more liberal Democrat, like Harris Wofford, could defeat Santorum, because Bush is just such a complete, incompetent disaster.

[ November 15, 2005, 06:33 PM: Message edited by: fantomas ]

Interesting that the same poll showing Ricky S behind to Casey has Judge Alito (sp?) being favored for confirmation to the Supreme Court by a large margin. Pennsylvania (I am originally from the Pittsburgh area) is a weird state. Consistently Dem in Prez races but always Repub in Senate races. This time, looks like the conservative will lose to the moderate, anti abortion Dem...

Latest polling

The latest Strategic Vision ® poll shows Bob Casey (D) crushing Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) in the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race, 51% to 36%.

I don't live in Santorum's state, but by God I hope he loses. He is such an anti gay, anti woman radical Catholic. How dare he tell us who to love and how dare he tell women not to have the right to terminate their pregnancies.

FT, I agree with your post except for its reference to the Swifties - I'll abide your views of the wives - and up to its last raging, off-point clause. Sen. Rick is showing he's got what it takes to lose his seat all on his own.

Thanks. But W is an incompetent disaster and proves it more each day.

Second, Forrester did specifically work with the head of the ad firm that was behind the Swift Boat ads. He did, it's on record. The result was a series of extremely harsh anti-Corzine ads that polarized the public and basically destroyed his opportunity to appear reasonable. The effect was particularly noticeable among women, as Corzine won the female vote in New Jersey by 30%. Seriously, had Forrester emphasized that he was anti-corruption and a MODERATE Republican, he probably could have at least made the race much closer.

I don't think Senator Rick's problems, though, are the only reason he's trailing. He is closely identified with the right wing of the Republican Party and President W, who is VERY unpopular in Pennsylvania. In fact, Santorum keeps underlining that he's just too extreme for Pennsylvania and his flipflopping only undermines what little credibility he still has. I know a little about the two Republiicans, Lynn Swann and Bill Scranton, who're running against Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, and neither are as extreme as Santorum or as far behind in the polls as he is, though both are still behind Rendell, in part because of the negative association with the Party of W.

Dick Santorum, ethics hypocrite?

A private bank that deals strictly with wealthy people gave Santorum a mortgage even though his finances aren't in the league of the clients the bank normally deals with. Interestingly enough, they're a major Santorum campaign donor.

A political action committee he founded to give money to other GodOP candidates spends more money on expenditures at fast-food stores, supermarkets, Starbucks, hardware stores, etc., than it does on donations to candidates.

A "charity" he founded spends only about 35 percent of the money raised on actual charitable grants, well below the 75 percent threshold recommended by experts, and over 56 percent on expenses like salaries, travel and conferences. Also, it's required to register with the state if it solicits over $25,000 from PA. In 2002 over $94,000 of contributions came from PA, but they never registered with the state.

What a sleaze. But he's part of the GodOP so he's okay.

Will Kate Michelman get into the Pennsylvania Senate race? From the Legal Times:

She'd get a huge chunk of the women's vote and all of the anti-life vote, which could pose a major problem for Casey. That being said, I don't think she'll run.

I'm sure that you're aware that Santorum's opponent, Bob Casey, Jr., is, as his father, former PA Governor Bob Casey, Sr. of Casey v. Planned Parenthood fame was, pro-life.

[ March 06, 2006, 08:42 PM: Message edited by: PennState4Ever ]

Former president of NARAL Pro-Choice America Kate Michelman for Senate?

From The Nation, via CBS News.

Would Bob Casey have forced children to kiss and cuddle a 20-week old fetus?

That use to be called child abuse.

But I suppose it doesn't matter if you can convince someone that it is Christian. Perhaps Casey could address that in his campaign.

I meant to post this a week or so ago and forgot. It's from the weekly Phila. CityPaper and descibes Bob Casey's appearance at the recent Human Rights Campaign gala.