Santorum takes some heat from the right. It would be ironic if Santorum support of Specter cost him his seat.
hillnews.com
Specter flap could hurt Santorum
By Geoff Earle
Sen. Rick Santorum’s (R-Pa.) actions on behalf of his embattled senior GOP home-state colleague, Arlen Specter, have strained relations with some conservative groups that Santorum will need to win reelection in 2006.
Santorum angered some conservatives by backing Specter in his tough primary battle with conservative Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) earlier this year, and by failing to stop Specter from becoming chairman of the Judiciary Committee after he publicly suggested that anti-abortion judges would have a hard time winning Senate confirmation.
“Santorum needs to remember what his base is, and that his base is aware of his role in reelecting Specter,” said Jayd Henricks, director of congressional relations for the
Family Research Council.
A leader of the religious right was even more critical. Accusing Santorum of “putting party over principle,” the Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition told the conservative magazine Human Events online, “We are going to work to see that he’s not re-elected in 2006.”
Nevertheless, most other conservative groups are expected to work for Santorum’s reelection to a third term in 2006.
Santorum was publicly mum throughout the Specter controversy, but sources said he was working behind the scenes to defuse the situation and allow Specter to succeed Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) as head of the powerful panel.
“Everyone knows that he backed Specter,” Hatch said. Asked whether he was referring to Specter’s reelection or his ascension to chairman, Hatch replied, “For both.”
Hatch defended Santorum’s efforts. “We have to do what we have to do,” he said. “If I worried every time about what outside people are going to say, we wouldn’t get anything done around here. You have to do what’s right.”
Republicans said Santorum argued on behalf of Specter at a closed GOP conference meeting last week.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of the judiciary panel, said Santorum was “the one that’s been hurt the most by this. He supported Senator Specter through the election and was criticized by some of his core constituents. He reassured them that Senator Specter was going to be a team player.”
He added, “This has been painful for a lot of people, not just Senator Specter but Senator Santorum. … He made clear he was standing by Senator Specter. He did say the longer this goes on, the more difficult it is for him.”
Specter, who won a fifth term by defeating Democratic Rep. Joe Hoeffel, called Santorum “enormously supportive.” He said he “would not have been reelected without Senator Santorum’s support. My No. 1 priority these next two years is the reelection of Senator Santorum.”
Asked about Santorum’s role in helping him become Judiciary Committee chairman, Specter made clear he appreciated the sensitivity of the issue.
“It may get him into trouble if I say yes,” he said. “Let Senator Santorum speak for himself.”
But a Senate Republican aide downplayed Santorum’s role, saying, “It’s not like he was rounding up votes for Specter.” The aide noted that all incumbent Republicans backed Specter in his reelection and that only Judiciary members could vote on Specter’s chairmanship.
While the Family Research Council’s Henricks credited Santorum for not providing “vigorous support” for Specter, he added, “We were disappointed. We hoped that he might have provided another option.”
Henricks said Santorum was the only Republican other than Judiciary members who was targeted by the “action alerts.”
Meanwhile, there are signs of tension within the Senate GOP after conservative groups deluged Senate offices with thousands of phone calls, letters and faxes opposing Specter.
Several conservative groups known as the Values Action Team met in the office of Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) earlier this month to discuss the Specter controversy.
“One of the folks from the outside groups did stand up and say, ‘I want to talk about the Specter thing,’” a Brownback aide said. But he said members of Brownback’s staff only acted as a conduit for outside groups with the Values Action Team. He also said the meeting was held in Brownback’s office because another office was occupied.
Democratic hopes of defeating Santorum, who won a second term in 2000 with 52 percent of the vote, were raised after Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry carried Pennsylvania 51-49 percent.
One possible Democratic challenger to Santorum is state Treasurer Bob Casey Jr., son of the former governor, who led the state ballot Nov. 2 with 3.3 million votes. Hoeffel could run again, and Kathleen McGinty, the state secretary of environmental protection, is also a possible candidate.
While the controversy over Specter seems to have died down, it could be reignited by a battle over a Supreme Court vacancy, which is likely in the near future.
“I think if Arlen does create a problem in the future with the president’s nominees, it will impact Senator Santorum,” said Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.), who heads the Values Action Team in the House. “The conservative base in Pennsylvania really credits Santorum and the president with saving Specter in the election.”
Santorum has plenty of time to shore up his base, perhaps by helping Toomey win a federal job. Santorum has said Toomey, who gave up his House seat, would make a good director of the Office of Management and Budget, a vacant administration post.
Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) predicted that while conservative voters “may be disappointed with [Santorum] at the moment, when they look at who his opponent is, they’ll recognize that Rick is their guy.” |
