"It's not my fault that you're crazy"

Rick Santorum (R-Va) was on the Imus in the Morning show on MSNBC this morning (he's a frequent guest there). I don't know shorthand and didn'trecord it, but this is close until there's a transcript:

On the Abramoff Scandal:

Santorum said that he received no money from Abramoff, but that he did receive money from two Indian tribes and that one of the tribes was being directed from Abramoff and that they were giving the money back to the tribe. They were still investigating the other tribe and would give back that money if it turned out that Abramoff was "directing" them.

Imus: "So there's no chance that we'll see you with a raincoat over your head in handcuffs?"

Lil Ricky: "I know you guys were sort of hoping for that. This is what you guys are all about."

On the Recent Mining Disaster:

Lil Ricky: "These are really good people...They have their faith. They have their families. They have their community."

Imus: "Getting right with Jesus."

While I have no idea what Imus was trying to say, I will tell Little Ricky that there's one thing that the 12 miners who died didn't have: A UNION.

"If it'd been a union mine this never would have happened," said Earl Casto, a former miner whose cousin, Junior Hamner, died in the accident. "This should make all coal miners working open their eyes." Mr. Casto said that his cousin complained frequently about the safety violations that occurred.

They also didn't have the support they needed from their President:

Now, after another bad accident, we find out that since the last accident in 2002, not only did the President ignore calls by Democrats to address the situation seriously, but he actually enacted more cuts to mine safety programs and weakened mine safety regulations.

The 2002 fact sheet and the Chicago Tribune article shows that Bush knew full well that mine safety was suffering - and now we know he didn't do anything about it, to tragic consequences. They can put out GOP hacks and administration spokespeople to deny this reality - but the facts are there. Here's hoping Democrats are able to force an investigation, as requested by Reps. George Miller (CA) and Major Owens (NY) - it's high time the White House answer for its negligence.

On The President Breaking the Law:

Imus: "So what about the President breaking the law?"

Lil Ricky: "I'm sorry, what story are you reporting on?"

Imus: "The wiretaps."

Lil Ricky: "But you said 'breaking the law.'" ..."The president in limited circumstances should be able to...This is not something your average American has a lot of concern about or should have...Who says that some judge who has been appointed -- maybe by this President or other Presidents -- has any better knowledge of or any better concern than the President?"

Note to Lil Ricky: The law he would be breaking is the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). And it's not "who" says a judge is better able to handle this, it's "what." And, the "what" is the US Constitution.

On Being Crazy:

Lil Ricky starts saying something or other about the President "staying above the fray."

Imus: "I love you but you're a crazy person...It's not my fault that you're crazy."

Lil Ricky: "But you're still behind me?"

Imus: "Yes, I am."

Because crazy people make for good TV!