Rick Santorum

Richard John Santorum (born May 10 1958), commonly known as Rick Santorum, is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1990 from a suburban Pittsburgh district and to the U.S. Senate in 1994. Santorum is a Republican who currently is chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the number three job in the party leadership of the Senate. In recent years, Santorum's comments and public statements, especially on social issues such as same-sex marriage, have made him a highly controversial figure. He is running for re-election in the November 2006 elections. He announced in 2005 that he would not run for President in the 2008 election.

2006 re-election campaign

Currently, Robert Patrick Casey, Jr., Chuck Pennacchio and Alan Sandals have announced that they will seek the Democratic nomination to face Santorum in the 2006 election. One poll showed that in a hypothetical matchup, Casey would defeat Santorum by 14 percent http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x15431.xml, widening an earlier 5 percent lead http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x11379.xml?ReleaseID=649.

Related Topics:
Robert Patrick Casey, Jr. - Chuck Pennacchio - Alan Sandals

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In March 2005, Santorum criticized Senator Robert C. Byrd for comparing George W. Bush to Adolf Hitler. http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/newssummary/s_309392.html On May 19 2005, Santorum himself invoked the Nazi dictator, making an analogy between Senate Democrats opposing the anti-filibuster bill and Hitler's occupation of Paris. http://rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/santorum_hitler_519 The Anti-Defamation League responded with a letter to Santorum condemning his remark as "utterly inappropriate and insensitive" and demonstrating "a profound lack of understanding." http://www.adl.org/holocaust/Letter_santorum.asp Pennacchio also promptly criticized Santorum, stating that "as an historian of Holocaust-era Germany, I find Rick Santorum's comment to be offensive, divisive, and destructive." http://www.chuck2006.com/blogDetail.asp?id=140 Pennacchio also posted a video on his website showing Santorum making comments in which he compared the New York Times to Communists, Baathists and Nazis. http://www.chuck2006.com/blogDetail.asp?id=143 In at least one letter to a constituent, Santorum admitted that his "words were poorly chosen" and that he "made a mistake," explaining his belief that any judicial nominee presented by the president is entitled to an "up or down vote" on the Senate floor. This is despite the fact that, during the Clinton administration, Santorum blocked or voted to block a number of the president's judicial nominees from receiving such "up or down votes."

Related Topics:
Robert C. Byrd - George W. Bush - Adolf Hitler - May 19 - 2005 - Nazi - Filibuster - Paris - Anti-Defamation League - Holocaust - Germany - New York Times - Communists - Baathists - Clinton administration

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