What is the connection between Rick Santorum, Arlen Specter, Obamacare and the difference made by ONE VOTE?
Governor Mitt Romney adroitly underscored a very revealing part of Rick Santorum’s political history during CNN’s GOP presidential debate Wednesday evening in Mesa, Arizona…
In 2004, while serving in the United States Senate, Santorum supported and campaigned for incumbent, liberal Senator Arlen Specter over conservative challenger Pat Toomey. Specter would later go on to cast the ONE VOTE DIFFERENCE – the vote that enabled the passage of Obamacare.
Yesterday, FOX News’ Megyn Kelly (host of America Live) conducted a post-CNN debate focus group. Among the debate segments she aired was the one vote difference exchange between Santorum and Romney. The entire video is worth viewing (the general consensus was thumbs-up for Romney!). Note the conversation @ :50 – 1:08:
A look back:
In 2004, conservative Congressman Patrick Joseph Toomey ran for the senate seat in the Pennsylvania primary race against fellow-Republican incumbent Senator Arlen Specter. Toomey’s campaign focused on Specter’s well known non-conservative leanings – especially on fiscal issues. Rick Santorum not only supported Specter, he appeared in a television ad for him. Santorum’s support for Specter proved crucial. In the end, although election results were close, Toomey lost the Republican primary to Specter.
How calamitous was Specter’s victory?
In April 2009, with the Tea Party movement in full swing, Senator Specter sensed he would be defeated at the polls. Working closely and covertly with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Obama was licking his chops), Specter switched political parties. He became a Democrat. In the process, he rewarded liberals with a likely filibuster-proof Senate majority – a 60th vote.
Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum way back when...
They’re nothing if not prompt. Voting has begun on HR 3590, the Senate’s health care bill. It only needs 50 votes to pass; the only suspense is whether or not it will receive all 60 Democratic votes. C-SPAN is using the special running tally it reserves for important votes.
That’s it. Arlen Specter, the former Republican, secures the 50th vote needed for passage.
When Specter won in 2004, given his history, it was easy to predict that he would vote with Democrats on key issues. Had Pat Toomey won in 2004, Democrats wouldn’t have garnered a 60th vote in 2009. Obamacare would not have passed.
Santorum actively labored to defeat Toomey.
More…
“In last night’s debate, Senator Santorum showed his true colors as a Washington insider. From spending and earmarks to supporting liberal Arlen Specter, Senator Santorum described a record of putting aside principles in order to be a ‘team player.’ Americans are looking for a leader, not a career politician who played the same old insider games in Washington.” –Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson
When Santorum endorsed liberal Senator Arlen Specter over conservative challenger Pat Toomey in 2004, he put “the team” first:
Roll Call Headline, 2004 – For Santorum, ‘Team’ Is First:
“Santorum said that once he made the decision to support his home-state colleague, there was only one way for him go about it – full throttle. ‘I don’t do anything with the intent of not winning,’ he said last week. ‘I don’t do anything to lose.’ … Another GOP Senator, requesting anonymity, said Santorum’s efforts demonstrated that he lived up to the ‘team player’ concept that the Republican Conference chairman himself speaks of so frequently – namely, looking out for the best interests of a conference that had long ago agreed that Specter was a better general-election candidate than Rep. Pat Toomey (R), who ran an aggressively conservative race.” (Paul Kane, “For Santorum, ‘Team’ Is First,” Roll Call, 5/11/04)
Senator Santorum even claimed that Specter was a team player – just like him:
Santorum: “There’s no question that Arlen’s an independent guy, but he also understands the concept of team.” “Specter’s Pennsylvania colleague Rick Santorum, a committed conservative, supports Specter over Pat Toomey. ‘There’s no question that Arlen’s an independent guy, but he also understands the concept of team,’ says Santorum. … This party-line loyalty is remarkable, because Specter tried to complicate Santorum’s first Senate primary by recruiting a pro-abortion woman to run against him.” (Editorial, “The Awful Specter of Yet Another Term,” National Review, 3/26/04)
Club For Growth – By endorsing liberal Arlen Specter, “Santorum was willing to jettison conservative principles when it suited him.”
“Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey has called the 2004 Republican U.S. Senate primary in Pennsylvania the start of the Tea Party movement. That race featured arch-RINO incumbent Senator Arlen Specter, who switched to the Democratic Party in 2009, being challenged by pro-growth conservative champion then-Congressman Pat Toomey. … Santorum’s active role on behalf of Specter might have been the difference maker. … What is troubling is the aggressiveness with which Santorum backed the liberal Specter, and the lengths to which he would stoop to mislead Republican voters. … The only explanation that is consistent is political expediency. Santorum was willing to jettison conservative principles when it suited him in 2004, and he wants to try to explain it away when it no longer suits him on the 2012 presidential campaign trail.” (“2012 Presidential White Paper #4: Former Senator Rick Santorum,” Club For Growth, 6/6/11)
(emphasis added)
► Jayde Wyatt
That video was awesome! Megan Kelly kept trying to push the vest and the panel was not having any part of it!! I hope the GOP hurries up and wakes up and votes for Mitt in the primaries and the General Election in Novemeber!!! He’s truely the only one who can take it to Obama. Go Mitt!
A great call out by Mitt Romney with this comments on Santorum’s support for Arlen Specter. This was a definate blow that took the air out of Santorum. Romney needs to continue to hit that home with the public. They need to continue to dig to inform the public that Santorum is two-faced. Loved it when Santorum kept saying, I voted for it but should not have or I did not believe in it but I took one for the team and voted for it. What a flip-flopper. They need to continue to vet those items as well as his illegal charity, the usage of his PAC funds, his relationship with Jack Abramoff and K-street, his voting record, etc, etc. Great job on this forum with the great articles and with offering the chat box – great place. They need to vet the entire K-street relationship – Watch the Gang of Four starring Rick Santorum http://www.youtube.com/user/GichiGumiPress?feature=mhee – There is a reason that Crew listed him as one of the most corrupt politicians in DC. Romney needs to speak with his friend Senator McCain and get the real scoop on Santorum. I read that McCain has yet to release the documents from the K-street scandal – anyone else confirm this?
A great quote I found – And let’s make no mistake about it — when Pennsylvanians sent Rick packing from the Senate, we made him THE BIGGEST LOSER in recent Senate history.
We were unequivocal in our rejection of Santorum. He lost by 18 points, the biggest loss for a sitting U.S. Senator since 1980.
So can Santorum — a politician who engenders such strong and negative feelings in the voters of his home state — truly believe that those home state voters are going to sit quietly on the sidelines while he tries to persuade Republican primary voters in other states that he’s their best choice the be the leader of the free world, when we didn’t even think he was our best choice to represent Pennsylvania in the Senate?
Let’s just cut to the chase here — he’s underestimated our resolve to spread the truth about Rick Santorum’s record and his agenda for America.
Just for starters, we’d like to share a list of the top reasons that Rick Santorum became Pennsylvania’s BIGGEST LOSER (and trust us, we have many, many more to share as this presidential primary season — and Rick’s candidacy — marches on. Santorumexposed
I loved that look on Santorum’s face when Gov. Romney nailed him on this point!
Watch that video!! It’s awesome how that panel schooled the Fox Talking head.
Megyn Kelly so anti-Romney here I was embarrassed for her. Focus groups not your thing Megyn, especially when they don’t say what you tell them to. Santorum out of his league and total failure is hard for folks to deny dear.
Magan say goodbye to your media boss Goerbals I really liked you now you have lost my trust. You are not there to spin or promote propaganda and frankly giggling doesn’t cut it.