Nasty Little Man

The answers Casey could have given

Yesterday Senator Rick Santorum and Democratic challenger Bob Casey, Jr. faced off in a debate on Meet the Press. Casey did pretty well. Several times, particularly when moderator Tim Russert pressed him on Iraq, Santorum got hot and bothered, so imagine the surprise when the Patriot News today said that Santorum was "sedate and less emotional." That's not what I saw. The Patriot said, "Independent analysts called it a clear Casey victory."

There were a few times, though, when Santorum gave Casey hanging curveballs and Casey failed to knock them out of the park. Here are a few of those situations and what Casey could have said.

Santorum claimed we found WMD in Iraq. This is the continuation of a statement Santorum made on the floor of the Senate, but even the White House admitted these were old weapons that had been buried in a WMD graveyard after the Iran-Iraq war. Casey responded by saying that Russert found the 2% of the time that Santorum disagrees with the president.

What Casey could have said. "The weapons that the senator refers to were found in a WMD graveyeard. They were so old you would do more damage if you dropped them on your foot than if you tried to launch them. But the broader issue here is that this is a clear indication of why we need new leadership in the Senate. Senator Santorum went to the floor of the United States Senate to proclaim this information from the highest mountaintop in order to mislead the American people. It was picked up by the extreme right-wing talkradio hosts and Fox News, and now more Americans believe that we found WMD in Iraq. This country can no longer afford leaders who will manipulate information in this way. I make a promise today to the people of Pennsylvania and the people of this country that as the senator from Pennsylvania I will never mislead you for my own gain of power."

Santorum lambasted Casey for not stopping the state legislative pay raise. Santorum suggested that Casey could have stopped the pay raise by not signing the checks. Clearly, this would have been illegal. Santorum went on to accuse Casey of playing politics with the pay raise by filing an amicus brief in a lawsuit against the raise after the November 05 election, when a state Supreme Court justice lost in a retention vote.

What Casey could have said. Casey did note that if he did not sign the checks, he would be breaking the law. He could have carried that a step further: "Unfortunately, the senator and his party have made clear in recent years that they are perfectly content with government officials breaking the law. I am not comfortable with that and think that it undermines our democracy. I believe in the rule of law. It's unfortunate that the senator and his party do not."

Santorum revived the ghost of Bob Casey, Sr. to criticize Casey on emergency contraception. Santorum said that Casey's late father would be disappointed in him for supporting the FDA's approval of selling emergency contraception over the counter.

What Casey could have said. Surprisingly, Casey did not reply to this, but here's what I suggest. "During the 2004 campaign, members of the senator's party criticized John Kerry for mentioning Vice President Cheney's daughter during a debate. In that situation, Ms. Cheney was working for the Bush campaign. In this debate, Senator Santorum has the gall to super-impose thoughts on my father, who passed away six years ago. This is despicable behavior, and it has no place in politics. I would suggest that Senator Santorum should be ashamed of himself, but if there is one thing that has been made clear over the course of the senator's career it's that he has no shame."

posted by Kinder Gentler Little Man @ 7:57 AM