Democracy Has Prevailed.

September 8, 2006

Rick Santorum's Latest Ad

It would be amazing if it weren't so disgusting. He actually get his kids to lie for him.

The ad opens with Santorum's son Johnny (that's how he's identified on the screen) saying:
My dad’s opponents have criticized him for moving us to Washington so we can be with him more.
Well, no. Santorum's opponents have never criticized his family for moving to Washington (actually they live about an hour outside of DC in Virginia - a minor lie, but a lie nonetheless). Indeed, the criticism was that he lived in Virginia and yet still claimed to be a resident of Penn Hills, Pennsylvania.

So it's not about his residency, but his honesty. And framing the discussion that way is another lie.

Rick got his son to lie on TV.

Johnny is followed up by son Daniel who says:
And they criticized us for attending a Pennsylvania public school over the internet.
Again, no. The issue was not that his kids were attending the PA Cyberschool, but that as residents of Virginia (where the ad just admitted they live - "to be closer to him") they weren't entitled to attend the Pennsylvania school - at least not without Rick paying for it himself. So Rick and his family lived out of state and, claiming to be state residents, took advantage of a taxpayer funded Pennsylvania school program - all without paying for it. That is the issue.

Rick got another one of his children to lie for him.

Next there's Elizabeth who says:
And he votes in Washington almost 40 weeks some years and when he’s not voting
This sentence is completed by son Peter:
Dad’s traveling all across Pennsylvania - 67 counties.
And then son Patrick comments:
That’s a lot!
No. That's exactly what Rick should be doing - attending to business in the Senate and then spending time in the state that elected him - it's what every senator should be doing. That's the job. How that's something to brag about, I don't understand. Woo-hoo! I did my job today.

The ad continuess with Johnny, again. He says:
Our dad works hard for the people of Pennsylvania. But one thing he’s made very clear to us
And daughter Sarah Maria finishes:
Being our dad is the most important job he’ll ever have.
Well, he should have a lot of time to do it, after January.

The ad ends with the obligatory
I’m Rick Santorum, your Senator, and I approved this message.
But take a look at that, and listen for it when you watch the ad. He's emphasizing "your senator" as if to remind us you know, in case we've forgotten.

We here at 2PJ had to wonder, however, where was the commercial shot. The last scene looks to be the property in Penn Hills. By filming the whole family in and around the house isn't the implication that they live there? But if the ad admits that the family is living "in Washington" to "be closer" to the Senator, then it's it another huge (if unspoken) lie to film the commercial where the family doesn't live? And another thing - are the interior shots actually inside the Penn Hills residence? I thought that place was empty - with no furniture.

How many lies did Rick Santorum get his family to echo - all for his political future?

This is almost as creepy, though not quite, as bringing a dead child home and sleeping with it.

But that's another story, I guess.

Rick Santorum - such a loving father that he has his kids lie for him.

Take a look at the ad.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

applause, applause, applause

Ol' Froth said...

I was gonna do a post on this as well, but you did a much better job, so I'm just gonna redirect people here. BTW, another issue to raise is that Little Ricky, as a US Senator could live ANYWHERE in Pennsylvania. He could have bought a spread in Fulton County, Chambersburg, or even Philadelphia (as many Pennsylvanians who work in DC do, thereby remaining within the Commonwealth and still able to easily commute. And of course, there is that little matter of HIS using Walgren's residency as his ticket to DC in the first place.

Anonymous said...

It's easy to criticize the details and to overlook the meaning. The unfortunate thing about what you have written is that by doing so you have fallen victim to politics just as the people you are criticizing. Too bad we can't focus on what is important instead of these silly details and arguments. Such a waste.

Maria said...

Ummm, what was the meaning of this ad other than:

My daddy's in deep doo-doo so he's brought me out to defend what he can't defend himself
??????????????????????????????

Anonymous said...

I wonder what the Walgren children would say about Santorum attack against their father, Congressman Doug Walgren, for taking his (Walgren's) family to Virginia so he could be close to his 10 year old and his 8 year old twins. Little Ricky didn't say Walgren was just a caring father, Santorum ATTACKED and ATTACKED, not caring how the Walgren kids felt.

Too bad Ricky - You get what you sow. And, the Walgren didn't try to rip off the PA taxpayers in the process

Anonymous said...

Using your distorted definition of a "lie", it would seem you told more lies in your story than anyone involved in the story!!! Of course, it is OK for dingbats like you to see into other people's intent.