Santorum’s competitors are also likely to highlight votes he cast to benefit organized labor, including minimum-wage increases and preserving government wage-setting regulations, that have so far captured little attention on the campaign trail. – Bloomberg.com

 

By Greg Giroux and Heidi Przybyla – Jan 4, 2012 – Bloomberg.com

EXCERPTS:

Santorum’s 16-year congressional career is the area his competitors already are mining for evidence to use against him, ranging from earmarked federal spending to an endorsement of Pennsylvania’s former senior Senator Arlen Specter, who later switched parties to become a Democrat.

 

Lawmakers weren’t required to make public their requests for targeted spending projects, called earmarks, until after Santorum lost in 2006.

 

Davis-Bacon – In 1996, Santorum voted in effect for an amendment by former Massachusetts Democratic Senator Edward M. Kennedy that said the 1931 law shouldn’t be repealed.

 

Although a supporter of most free-trade agreements, Santorum adopted a protectionist profile when it came to his home state’s steel industry.

 

Santorum, who lost in 2006 to Democratic Senator Bob Casey by 18 points, has a lifetime score of 88 percent from the American Conservative Union.

 

Santorum was able to woo Iowans by promoting his “social conservative bona fides,” Dennis Goldford, a political science professor at Des Moines-based Drake University who observed the candidate in person at two appearances, said in an interview. “He’s made the argument that he has served and suffered for family values. He almost projects a sense of martyrdom.”

FULL ARTICLE

Help Make A Difference By Sharing These Articles On Facebook, Twitter And Elsewhere:

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•