The Picture for Rick

If you hadn't heard, Rick Santorum -- the GOP Senator from Pennsylvania -- perhaps the apotheosis of a politician who is at once demonstrably corrupt and morally dogmatic, is having one hell of an uphill crawl toward securing his third term in office. His challenger, Bob Casey Jr., has had a comfortable lead in the polls that seems to be widening as the race matures. Although Casey, a self-proclaimed "moderate," is not my ideal Democrat, I cannot help but be impressed by the inroads he's made against someone who, three or four years ago, must have been considered a lock to remain a fixture in Pennsylvanian as well as national politics for the foreseeable future. Casey has a good step on the poster-boy for conservative politics in America. There's a long way to go. But if you knock Santorum out of elected office then you've knocked an anterior tooth from the GOP's wicked grin. And you've earned this voter's heartfelt thanks.

Casey/Santorum is a race that, as a native Pennsylvanian, I'll be following closely. I tend to be rather unexcited by the various key campaigns going on around the country until June at the earliest, but this year I'm already feeling the pangs of hope -- especially with regard to this one. So I'm attempting to educate myself. And I'll be weighing in at intervals here about the progress of the race as it gets on track.

Mining for information, I recently found a remarkable site that seems to be about elucidating Santorum's record and keeping track of local and national journalism as it's written about him. It's point of view is critical, but hey -- I'm sure they'd love to say something nice about the guy. It's just that it ain't that easy. For instance, of all US Senators that hold office in a "blue" state, Rick Santorum has the lowest rating from the League of Conservation voters, at ten percent. That statistic says he's adamently anti-environment and pro-auctioning America and its natural resources to the highest corporate bidder -- in a state with environmental values that tilt progressive. But frankly, his disagreement with PA voters is pretty much across-the-board. And as Operation Iraqi Turd Blossom continues to sow shame and sadness at home and virulent anti-Americanism abroad, he's all but lost his ability to play the terror card.

Of course, this is a familiar theme in high-profile races across the country: America is simply wising up to the great scam that is the conservative platform, the conservative vision. When they talk about cutting spending, watch the deficit explode. When they talk about keeping America safe -- watch the ports, think of Katrina, think of Iraq, think of our country -- it's hard to believe -- currently losing a tactical war to a crippled Saudi crime boss who's administering from a hideout somewhere in the mountains of Pakistan. I certainly believe that voters are starting to piece together the picture, and for Republicans, it's worse than "The Scream." It looks a lot like Santorum and his kind -- no longer grinning.