PA-Sen: Shamefully Out of Touch

In his book “It Takes a Family,” radical right-wing Senator Rick Santorum stated:

“In far too many families with young children, both parents are working, when, if they really took an honest look at the budget, they might confess that both of them really don't need to, or at least may not need to work as much as they do” (Rick Santorum, It Takes A Family, Page 94)

Today, Democratic candidate Bob Casey has launched a new ad featuring Debbie Balcik, a working wife and mother, taking Senator Santorum to task for his radical, out-of-touch ideology.

There’s a reason why Americans can’t afford to spend more time with their families—politicians like Rick Santorum have spent their careers voting for special interests and against working families. For example, Senator Santorum’s shameful record on the minimum wage:

“Santorum has voted to stop increases in the minimum wage six times since 1995… feeling the political heat as another election draws near, Santorum tossed his own proposal to increase the minimum wage on the table – but one that would exempt up to 10 million workers from coverage by minimum wage and overtime laws and would even prohibit local and state governments from raising the base pay for employees receiving tips.”

And his shameful record on jobs:

“On March 16, Santorum voted against a [Senator Robert] Byrd (D-WV) amendment to the 2006 Congressional Budget Resolution to preserve Amtrak funding by closing corporate tax loopholes. That would have saved Amtrak and its 3,000 Pennsylvania employees from budget cuts. But with Rick Santorum’s help, the Byrd amendment failed 46-52”

And don’t forget his failed attempts to privatize Social Security:

“Santorum has not only been at the forefront of the effort to replace guaranteed benefits with ‘Wall Street Roulette’ for retirees, he’s been ahead of the pack in the push to slash Social Security benefits under the current system. In 1994 he made his view of the options clear:

‘You can raise taxes, you can cut benefits or you can push back the retirement age in the future…It is ridiculous that we have a retirement age in this country at age 65 today. ...Push it back to at least age 70… I'd go even farther if I could, but I don't think I could pass it.

Then, in 2002, he moved his goal from ending all benefits for retirees under the age of 70 to the goal of privatizing the system, claiming this:

‘There are three alternatives--raise taxes...cut benefits or...we could establish personal retirement accounts.’

Meanwhile, Senator Santorum voted to raise his own pay by $37,000 since he first took office, from $125,100 to $162,100. In addition, he stuck Pennsylvania taxpayers in Penn Hills with a $55,000 dollar tuition bill, even though he didn’t even live in their district and pulled his children out of their schools.

Then there is the fact that while Senator Santorum enjoys world-class health care — courtesy of the American taxpayer — he voted for President Bush’s 2007 budget, which will hike health care costs for Pennsylvania’s 2.2 million Medicate beneficiaries and jack up veteran’s health care premiums by 50%.

There’s a reason why Bob Casey is leading in the polls — while Rick Santorum’s radical conservatism has led him to vote against Pennsylvania’s working families time and time again, Bob Casey is standing up for the people of Pennsylvania:

“He has been a fiscal watchdog who made nursing homes safer, child care more affordable [and] government more accountable… Casey aggressively fought to stop waste and fraud involving tax dollars and improve the effectiveness of government services and agencies. His efforts directly resulted in changes that have saved Pennsylvania taxpayers more than $1 billion. He'll fight to end no-bid contracts, sweetheart deals, and wasteful spending…he will work to hold the administration accountable rather than being a rubber stamp for failed economic, fiscal, and foreign policies."

It’s time for a new direction in America: Bob Casey for Senate