Steve Rodich – 9/28/04

This page was last updated on September 28, 2004.

Santorum flip flops; Steve Rodich; Beaver County Times; September 28, 2004.

In a recent anti-Bush tactic, Democrats are trying to paint President Bush – or any Republican who changes his mind – as a flip-flopper. It’s important to note that “flip-flopping” is not simply changing your mind occasionally. Any reasonable person changes his mind from time to time. A flip-flopper is a person who can rarely make up his mind on any issue and stick with it. We need to remember liberals also refer to President Bush as stubborn because he takes a position and sticks with it. In my mind, you can’t be stubborn and a flip-flopper.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“For months, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum and the Bush campaign have labeled John Kerry as a ‘flip flopper.’

[RWC] Mr. Kerry’s own statements labeled him a flip-flopper, not Santorum or the Bush campaign.

“Lately, we see Bush and Santorum becoming the flip floppers. I guess it is acceptable to change positions as long as you are a Republican.”

[RWC] As noted above, this is a recent tactic for desperate Democrats.

“Santorum publicly blamed four US Airways pilot union officials from Pennsylvania for, as he stated, ‘bringing down US Airways.’”

[RWC] There’s no question Santorum made a stupid and wrong comment. In my opinion, both company and labor union management held nearly equal responsibility. Company management always must take more responsibility because they have the final word, even on labor union management demands.

“Now, after meeting with union officials and U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, he believes there is plenty of blame to go around, including US Airways management. Could it be that Specter asked Santorum to ‘cool it’ because he is in an election battle for his job?

“This is an example of Santorum’s self-righteous, arrogant and disingenuous personality. We now can add, ‘flip flopper’ to it.”

[RWC] I know Specter’s political leanings – not conservative – and I saw the underhanded tactics he used in the primary so I wouldn’t put anything past him. In case you didn’t guess, I’m not a Specter supporter and I’ll write in Pat Toomey come election day. Frankly, though, I suspect Sen. Santorum simply realized he made a stupid comment and corrected it.

I don’t know Sen. Santorum so I don’t know if he has a “self-righteous, arrogant and disingenuous personality.” Does Mr. Rodich know Santorum well enough to make this claim?

“To blame the four union officials for bringing down the airline was ridiculous and asinine. Anyone who has any intelligence and kept up with the events over the past several years knows how much the union’s officials and the members they represent bent and gave to assist the company during its financial crisis.”

[RWC] Mr. Rodich attributes a lot more to Santorum’s comment than I. My opinion is that Santorum was upset that so many Pennsylvania workers could possibly lose their jobs and he spoke in anger without thinking. That’s usually not a smart thing to do, especially for a politician.

Regarding the “bent and gave” comment, that is true. What is also true is that earlier they received so much that US Airways could not compete. At nearly every step of the way for nearly 20 years, company and union management made bad decisions. Once again, though, company management has to take blame for not saying “no.”

“My hope is that the voters in Pennsylvania, particularly all union members, remember well when his term is up in the U.S. Senate. Of course, by the time he is up for re-election, I’m sure he will do a lot of ‘flip flopping’ by then.’”

[RWC] If Mr. Rodich wants his flip-flopper tag to stick to Rick Santorum, Rodich will need to provide a lot more Santorum flip-flops than one. Flip-floppers are not made overnight; it took 30+ years of hard work for Kerry to earn his reputation.