Mark Yunt – 11/29/06

This page was last updated on November 29, 2006.

Santorum’s final insult; Mark Yunt; Beaver County Times; November 29, 2006.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“During the campaign, I sent U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum’s office an e-mail telling him why I was voting against him.

“Specifically, when US Airways was struggling to emerge from its second bankruptcy, he chose a warm spring afternoon to step to a microphone and tell the world that US Airways’ struggles were directly the fault of the unions. I became enraged, called his Washington office and screamed in the ear of some poor aide that the good senator had no clue what it was like living on the rollercoaster called US Airways. At the time, my wife was a flight attendant displaced and commuting to Washington, D.C.”

[RWC] Mr. Yunt should know better than I, but my research indicates his facts are off a tad.

Unless Mr. Yunt is referring to another comment I didn’t find, Mr. Santorum made his comment during September 2004, not “a warm spring afternoon” as Mr. Yunt claimed.

Mr. Santorum said, “It seems to me that you have just a very small group of people in the pilots union, unfortunately from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, four people who ultimately decided that they were going to take this airline down into bankruptcy.”

Mr. Santorum was referring to four members of the airline pilot union management who refused to allow union members to vote on a proposal by US Airways to help keep the company from entering bankruptcy. US Airways was trying to stay out of bankruptcy, not “struggling to emerge from its second bankruptcy” as Mr. Yunt claimed. Immediately after pilot union management refused to allow union members to vote on the proposal, US Airways filed for bankruptcy.

It’s clear Mr. Santorum didn’t say “US Airways’ struggles were directly the fault of the unions.” He specifically mentioned four members of airline pilot union management.

“In my e-mail during this campaign, I asked the senator why he would do that. I told him his remarks were an insult to my family and my wife. I told him that I felt I deserved an explanation as a constituent.”

[RWC] Unless there were two incidents, I wonder where Mr. Yunt got his information about Mr. Santorum’s comments.

“About a week after the election, I got a reply e-mail. I was thanked for my letter and told that my questions would be best answered by the Sen.-elect Bob Casey. He also ‘graciously’ gave me the number for the Capitol switchboard.”

“Typical Santorum style: Passing the buck on the working people. And, you know something else, folks? The outgoing senator doesn’t realize that Casey is going to get the same office phone number assigned to him when he (Casey) takes office.”

[RWC] Gasp! Mr. Santorum didn’t know Mr. Casey would get the same phone number. Bring out the tar and feathers!

“Nice going, Rick. Blow off a constituent, don’t answer direct questions and pass the buck to the incoming guy. That’ll be part of the 12 years of a stupid Santorum legacy.”

[RWC] Assuming Mr. Yunt sent Mr. Santorum a note, the question appears to have been based on faulty information. As noted above, Mr. Santorum didn’t say “US Airways’ struggles were directly the fault of the unions.” He specifically mentioned four members of airline pilots union management with respect to allowing union members to vote on a US Airways proposal.

“Maybe the next e-mail I send should have a link to the Virginia Employment Commission (seeing as I don’t know how two adults and six kids can fit into that small house out in Penn Hills). Just a thought.”

[RWC] “Just a thought?” If so, it would be the first in the letter.