Rick Santorum for President

It seems that former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum is likely to be one of the top three candidates in tonight’s Iowa caucuses. Santorum was a two-term senator from the Keystone State who was defeated in his bid for re-election in 2006.

Photo by Gage Skidmore

I had been amused by Santorum’s dogged but seemingly fruitless pursuit of the Republican presidential nomination  and am now alarmed at his recent surge in the polls.

Apropos of Rick Santorum, I was struck by a column from Jack Kelly in Sunday’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Kelly, who expressed dissatisfaction with all the Republican hopefuls, declared Santorum least objectionable of the lot. He noted, “The knock on Rick is that he got drubbed when he ran for re-election in 2006. That's not a small thing, but it seems trivial when compared to the flaws of the others.”

Not a small thing indeed! Iowan Republicans (and people in the rest of the country) should know that Santorum’s defeat was not a fluke; Pennsylvanians were disgusted with his reactionary positions and outrageous campaign tactics; the 2006 election was nowhere near close. I suspect that neither would be a Santorum–Obama race.

So, Iowa Republicans, cast your vote for Rick Santorum. Better still, vote for Ron Paul. The Democrats will thank you for it.