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Monday, September 11, 2006

PA-Sen: Finally, Casey Shows Some Teeth

Posted by James L.

You remember that saucy book by Rick Santorum? It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good? It was filled with such pearls of wisdom like this one:

Santorum questions whether both parents really need to work:

In far too many families with young children, both parents are working, when, if they really took an honest look at the budget, they might confess that both of them really don't need to, or at least may not need to work as much as they do. And for some parents, the purported need to provide things for their children simply provides a convenient rationalization for pursuing a gratifying career outside the home. [Pg. 94]

It's filled with tons of wingnutty shit, like saying that it's inappropriate for unwed mothers with low levels of eduction to go back to college in order to better their job prospects. And holding it against mothers of any kind to hold a job outside their home in order to support their family. And calling public schools "weird". And supporting Social Security privatization.

Really, his whole book was filled with about two dozen negative ads waiting to be written. I've been waiting for Democratic challenger Bob Casey to release a few, but I guess he felt he didn't need to so far (and, when you've been 10 to 20 points ahead in the polls for months, maybe he had a point). However, in the last few weeks, Santorum's thrown a significant amount of resources into an effective barrage of TV advertising across the state, and the insiders are buzzing about a rumoured Casey internal poll showing Santorum trailing by only three points. It could very well be a b.s. story, but somehow, I wouldn't be surprised if it were true--especially now that I see Casey baring some fangs. A visit to the DSCC's website shows a new attack ad on Santorum prominently on the page, and it goes right for the jugular, attacking Santorum for criticizing working moms for earning the necessary incomes in order to put food on the table for their families. Bob Casey has the ad up on his website here, but the tech genius responsible for the website did a horrendous cropping job with it, so I'd recommend the DSCC version instead.

I'm not sure what kind of excuses Santorum will throw up for his shameless attacks on working families, but who knows, maybe he'll get his kids to defend himself again.

Update: Thanks to Mike at the DSCC, we now have the ad up on YouTube:

Again, good stuff. Casey is starting to hit where he needs to hit.

Posted at 01:22 AM in 2006 Elections - Senate, Pennsylvania | Technorati

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Comments

Considering that the rumored poll is coming to us third-hand in a chain that involves not one, but two unnamed sources, I don't give it much credence. But I'm still glad Casey's running this ad. It's a good one.

Posted by: Craig McLaughlin at September 11, 2006 05:16 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

It is Zogby Interactive that has the Casey race at 3 pts but Zogby also has Webb 6+ pts ahead of Allen which I don't believe.

This is a good, hard hitting ad. I have been waiting for Casey to use the book as well. It is an oppo researchers dream. Thanks for writing it Ricky.

Posted by: John Mills at September 11, 2006 08:38 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Actually, the Zogby poll had Casey leading by approx. 5 points (47-42), not 3. Interestingly, even when Man on Dog polls close, he can't break 45%.

Posted by: Corran at September 11, 2006 09:23 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Thanks for the correction on the Casey spread. I would hope now that Casey is going after Santorum he will be toast.

Posted by: John Mills at September 11, 2006 10:34 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

I can't turn on the tv at my house without seeing Santorum's piggy little eyes in sincere-looking close-ups, so Casey really needs to step up his game. He seems to think he can beat a 3-term incumbent on name recognition and low-energy fuzzy good feelings, and I'm afraid he's throwing a Senate seat to the man-on-dogs by his sleepy approach.

This should have been the easiest flip in the cycle.

Posted by: Christopher Walker at September 12, 2006 02:00 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment