Bill White – 8/8/06

This page was last updated on August 13, 2006.

Santorum sides with lobbyists; Bill White; Beaver County Times; August 8, 2006.

Mr. White had quite a run of anti-Bush and/or anti-Republican letters from August 2004 through April 2005. I believe this is only the second letter from Mr. White since then.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“What’s all the fuss about K Street, and why is U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum up to his eye balls in this ethics scandal?”

[RWC] Until Mr. White’s letter, I wasn’t aware Sen. Santorum was “up to his eye balls in this ethics scandal.” In truth, Mr. White’s letter is nothing more than wishful thinking.

“K Street is synonymous with big lobbying and, of course, Santorum’s friend, Tom DeLay. Santorum works to ensure all top lobbying and trade association jobs are filled by conservatives.”

[RWC] Oh no! A Republican wants lobbyists to support Republican issues. What a surprise!

“In other words, he is promising these groups full access to powerful Senate and House committee chairmen, of which all are right-wing. Billions of dollars are at stake; billions made from this very unethical endeavor.”

[RWC] “Right-wing?” While all chairmen are Republicans because Republicans hold the majority, the only way you could call most of them “right-wing” is if you are to the left of Karl Marx. If Mr. White believes Mr. Santorum is “right-wing,” I have no clue how he would label me, other than spawn of Satan, et cetera. <g>

“What’s in it for Santorum? Big bucks donated to his re-election campaign; big bucks to service his Virginia lifestyle; big bucks for ads refuting this behavior, of which he is actually head honcho.”

[RWC] If Mr. White is going to claim lobbyists are paying off Mr. Santorum, that’s a serious charge and he needs to provide credible evidence.

“So when Santorum says he is for campaign reform, do not believe it. Pennsylvania deserves honesty and moral character, not a senator listed as ‘one of the top 13 most corrupt members of Congress’ by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.”

[RWC] You won’t be surprised to learn CREW is a liberal (CREW calls itself “progressive.”) group. Therefore, it’s no surprise 11 of “the top 13 most corrupt members of Congress” are Republicans. The only two Democrats on the list are Reps. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and William Jefferson (D-LA). I don’t know what axe CREW has to grind against Ms. Waters, but CREW had no choice but to put Mr. Jefferson on the list given he was videotaped accepting a $100,000 bribe and $90,000 of the bribe was found hidden in his refrigerator. I’m sure it’s only a coincidence, but CREW chose two black Democrats to be on its list.

Why is Sen. Santorum on the list, other than because he’s a Republican and it’s an election year? Of the two items “damning” Mr. Santorum, the primary item is the old “Santorum lives in Virginia but used a PA cyber school for his kids.” That Sen. Santorum didn’t do anything wrong in this area has been addressed ad nauseam so CREW is beating a dead horse. Please go here and here for my comments on this “issue.” The second item was the fact he accepted a $2,000 campaign donation from a person that would be affected by a piece of legislation proposed by Sen. Santorum. Apparently, you’re only allowed to accept donations from people who will be hurt by your proposed legislation.