If you watched the debate last night between US Sen. Rick Santorum (R-VA) and Pennsylvania Treasurer Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-PA) you saw a clash of styles more than a deliberation of ideas.
There was no discussion.
On the one side, you had Crackhead Ricky -- the snarling Pitt Bull. He sputtered and barked and damn near foamed at the mouth.
On the side, you had Stoner Bobby -- just a little too amused by the whole show. He fixated on a couple of key themes and was fuzzy around the edges on the other stuff.
Crackhead Ricky came ready to go in for the kill. Down in the polls, he was the dangerous cornered dog taking any advantage in the attack. But in the off election years, Ricky has been all too willing to pee on the legs of the average Pennsylvanian.
Crackhead Ricky
He's said too many crazy things about working moms, public schools and pedophile priests that don't jib with what most voters think. And, he's chained to a sinking administration and holds a top leadership position in one of the most corrupt legislative branches on record -- he just can't get off the pipe.
You almost feel sorry for the guy when he bemoans the fact that all his frantic yelping and hustle for the Far Right and himself have not gotten him further in the polls. He seems genuinely bewildered that he just may lose this election.
Then there's Bob.
Casey can be maddening in his repetition and lack of zeal. He does appear to coast at times, relying on the audience to agree with his look of bemusement at the wild senator when a sharp, pointed response is called for.
The shame is that there is some real differences in these two that aren't about style that may have been missed in all the theatrics of last night's debate. Santorum is off the reservation on so many issues including Iraq, worker's rights, birth control, public schools, and the intrusion of religion into government and private lives. He is also the King of K Street and the friend of every lobbyist in DC.
Casey's positions are just more in tune with what the average Pennsylvanian thinks.
Stoner Bobby
He cares about social security, the environment, a decent minimum wage, and healthcare. He won't claim to have found the "missing" weapons of mass destruction or hold camp outside of Terri Schiavo's bed. He's the mainstream alternative to the rabid extremist that is our Lil Ricky. If only he would show some f*cking energy (we get a little tired of making excuses for him, even if he is our "friend.")
So that's your choice, folks.
This country has headed down a dark and dangerous alley. Ricky is the frantic crackhead against the wall -- twitching and running his mouth off a mile a minute -- trying to get us to believe his shit one mo' time when we already know he's mugged those Penn Hills kids.
It's time for us to get out of the alley, turn the corner, and meet up with Bobby and the rest of our friends on the main street.
It's time we get Pennsylvania (and our country) out of the dark and back into the light.
8 comments:
I agree with a lot of what you say: Santorum has become too conservative for Pennsylvania. He's even managed to piss of us conservatives who have always backed him.
Casey, however, comes across as a borderline simpleton. If Santorum loses, it will because PA is tired of him and wants him fired, as opposed to voting for Casey.
I think that Santorum's off-the-handle debate style hurt him. He has the "crazy."
If you're a partisan you got what you wanted -- but if your undecided you probably turned off the TV. Stalled at 40 percent, that's bad for Santorum.
I think Santorum is really hurt and embarrassed by the obscene definition of his last name that is the first Google hit you get when you search for Santorum. His kids and extended family will be saddled with it for many years after he's gone from politics. That might be one subconcious reason why he kept bringing up Casey's pedigree last night and bemoaning his own humble roots. For the next debate, I pray that Casey makes it clear that he's proud to be a Casey and will work hard as a Senator to bring more honor to the family name. He should also encourage Rick to have some pride in his own family roots.
Maria, you said "Casey's positions are just more in tune with what the average Pennsylvanian thinks."
So you think most of us:
* think Roe v. Wade should be overturned
* consider the USAPATRIOT Act a crucial tool
* oppose embrionic stem cell research
Nah, most Pennsylvanians neither know or care about Casey's positions. If you tried to tell them, they would put their fingers in their ears and sing "La-la-la I can't hear you!" They just have come to hate Rick Santorum (as they should).
Look, Rick Santorum is the devil. Bob Casey is a superior candidate in the short term. But this strategy of running a right-winger just to win an election is a black staining the soul of the Democratic Party.
I fear for the future of democracy in America.
Bob Casey will be a fantastic US Senator. He will always fight on the side of the poor. He will always look for ways to expand access to healthcare. He will be a big supporter of raising the minimum wage. He will be an alert watchdog on government spending and corruption--Washington desperately needs more watchdogs.
He is right to ignore Rick Santorum's desperate rants. Casey knows what he is doing. Again, he is exactly the kind of Senator we need in the Senate.
Bob Casey will vote consistently with the other fundamentalists in suppressing basic constitutional rights. That's not what I call a "fantastic senator," no matter where he stands on the minimum wage.
He'll be a watchdog alright: He supports warrentless spying on innocent civilians.
The man is a neo-con with a "D" in front of his name.
"Rapture Rick" Santorum would make Spiro Agnew shoot up 20% in an opinion poll.
The question isn't why Casey is so popular as much as it is why Santorum ever got elected in the first place.
Ohio looks like it will send Sherrod Brown, who will be a balancing influence in these parts :)
I stand by the letter I sent our junior sentaor 11 years ago informing him that he was nothing less than a carpetbagger who rode the coattails of the elderly vote to get himself elected and then hotassed it out of PA for the greener pastures of NoVA...which was always his larger goal. Certainly NOT serving the folks of PA.
Dude wrote back thanking me for supporting him.
*I* wrote back, and included a copy of my original letter, and asked if he was illiterate???
Santorum = Satan - plain and simple.
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