We appear to be entering that phase of the election cycle that might be described as
"The Moderation of Rick Santorum." During the year prior to an election, the senator backs away from his often extreme positions
and attempts to reposition himself as someone in the political mainstream.
While this ploy worked well for him in 2000, the senator, leaving nothing to chance, is accepting the support
of "Americans for Job Security," a shadowy organization based in Virginia. Apparently dedicated to the senator's job security,
AJS is spending substantial sums to influence a Pennsylvania election while refusing to identify its big-money contributors
("Casey Faults Santorum Over Ads," Dec. 6). We can only assume that they consist of the usual special interests that actively espouse the radical agenda that
the senator puts forth in their service.
In a switch of political tricks, rather than smearing a political opponent, their TV ads saturating the Pennsylvania
market distort the senator's position on Social Security.
The ads suggest falsely that Mr. Santorum is now a defender of this venerable and highly successful social
safety net. The senator was, as we remember, among the most visible and vocal proponents of the Bush administration's ill-conceived
scheme to privatize Social Security, the first step in achieving their actual goal of undermining and ultimately destroying
the system.
That plan has been defeated for now, but it doesn't stop Sen. Santorum from relying on surrogates to help
him represent the opposite of what he believes in a chilling Orwellian fashion.
Allan Seaman, Edgeworth
Letter to the editor, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Dec 13, 2005
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