What happened to Rick Santorum?

[Landslide Lyndon]

Actually David Frum poses a legitimate question. Maybe Phil as our chief Santorumologist will indulge us with an answer.

http://www.frumforum.com/where-was-santorums-safety-net

Serious question: Why didn’t the Bush administration give Rick Santorum some kind of consolation prize after his defeat in 2006?

Here’s a two-term senator, brought down by no mistake of his own, who had performed well in Congress and stood by the party leadership when called upon–eg, endorsing Arlen Specter in 2004.

Yet when Santorum fell casualty to the wave election of 2006, there was no ambassadorship for him. Nobody conveyed to a DC law firm that it would be appreciated at the White House if an “of counsel” position could be found for him. I don’t want to exaggerate, Santorum made a decent living after his defeat. But in the couple of conversations with him a year or so after his defeat, he projected the air of a man who felt friendless and abandoned. This presidential run seems to emerge from that experience, and of course it won’t end well.

That’s not how political parties normally work. People who take a bullet for the team are looked after. Not Santorum. Why not?

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

look, I am tired of kicking a dead horse, but Santorum ruined his career by being an intellectually dishonest troll.  He needs to come forward and apologize to the American people.

[Badger]

"Updated: The commentators are probably right: it must have been Santorum’s toxicity within the gay community that deprived him of his hope of administration patronage after his defeat in 2006. If so, that’s a fascinating glimpse of the actual balance of power within the GOP as it stood five years ago–as compared to today."

Still, one supposes a cushy law firm job, which would carry zero public limelight, would've been appropriate.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

"Updated: The commentators are probably right: it must have been Santorum’s toxicity within the gay community that deprived him of his hope of administration patronage after his defeat in 2006. If so, that’s a fascinating glimpse of the actual balance of power within the GOP as it stood five years ago–as compared to today."

Still, one supposes a cushy law firm job, which would carry zero public limelight, would've been appropriate.

dude, it wasn't his opposition to homosexuality that turned the GOP base against him

[Badger]

"Updated: The commentators are probably right: it must have been Santorum’s toxicity within the gay community that deprived him of his hope of administration patronage after his defeat in 2006. If so, that’s a fascinating glimpse of the actual balance of power within the GOP as it stood five years ago–as compared to today."

Still, one supposes a cushy law firm job, which would carry zero public limelight, would've been appropriate.

dude, it wasn't his opposition to homosexuality that turned the GOP base against him

It was a lot of things, "dude", but that doesn't mean it ruined his reputation too much among the GOP establishment, base, and the Bush Administration.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

It was a lot of things, "dude", but that doesn't mean it ruined his reputation too much among the GOP establishment, base, and the Bush Administration.

his 2006 WMD press conference was the last straw.  after that, no one wanted to get within 50 feet of him.  it pissed a lot of people off, bigtime, including the jmfcsts.  and we haven't forgotten.

but the jmfcsts are willing to politically forgive, if Rick apologizes.  but he is not fit for office.  period.

[CLARENCE 2015!]

He does not seem to be in poor financial shape... he has a nice house on a big piece of property, has the ability to take a year or more off of working to run for President, and even as he has 7 kids some of whom are nearing college age, he is able to pay for his own travel expenses as he runs- which I read was above 20K so far.

[Keystone Phil]

Santorum took shots at the Bush Administration during the 2006 race. That being said, he was still an ally and made one rather infamous comment during his Meet the Press debate with Casey: "I think he [George W. Bush] is a terrific President, absolutely."

I bet Santorum didn't want to jump on a sinking ship. It would have done him no good to be a member of the administration. He got a few good gigs instead.

I think it's fair to say that he felt a little friendless though. You should see the amount of hacks that I have to deal with that couldn't be torn off Santorum while he was in office but the second he goes down in defeat, they want nothing to do with him and are actually very vicious in their criticism. But, hey, this is nothing new in politics especially with the hack class.

It was a lot of things, "dude", but that doesn't mean it ruined his reputation too much among the GOP establishment, base, and the Bush Administration.

his 2006 WMD press conference was the last straw.  after that, no one wanted to get within 50 feet of him.  it pissed a lot of people off, bigtime, including the jmfcsts.  and we haven't forgotten.

but the jmfcsts are willing to politically forgive, if Rick apologizes.  but he is not fit for office.  period.

Enough with the faux outrage, Jm. Seriously. You are one of the few people that still mention that and your "disgust" with it is so overplayed.

[Keystone Phil]

Wow. Analysts seriously think the Bush people avoided Santorum after his loss because of his gay comments? Uh...what? Do they realize those comments came in 2002-2003 when Santorum and the Bush Administration were essentially joined at the hip?

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

It was a lot of things, "dude", but that doesn't mean it ruined his reputation too much among the GOP establishment, base, and the Bush Administration.

his 2006 WMD press conference was the last straw.  after that, no one wanted to get within 50 feet of him.  it pissed a lot of people off, bigtime, including the jmfcsts.  and we haven't forgotten.

but the jmfcsts are willing to politically forgive, if Rick apologizes.  but he is not fit for office.  period.

Enough with the faux outrage, Jm. Seriously. You are one of the few people that still mention that and your "disgust" with it is so overplayed.

the jmfcsts will determine when it is enough:

Supersoulty,

Santorum played the clown too many times.  Just a couple of months ago he held a press conference claiming the US had found WMD in Iraq, though it was only a couple of old mustard gas shells.

As long as he didn’t do something stupid, like Santorum’s 2006 press conference declaring we had found the WMD we were looking for in Iraq, Brownback is a viable candidate.

As far as Santorum goes - I just can't get over Santorum calling a press conference last summer and announcing that the US had found the WMD in Iraq we were looking for.  He lost my respect with that one incident.

I found his WMD press conference highly highly offensive.  1) it was intellectually dishonest – we didn’t invade Iraq because we were looking for some rusty canisters of mustard gas, 2) it belittled the viewing public to think we would buy into such a crap claim, 3) it belittled the service of the soldiers that either had already died in Iraq or who were risking their lives in Iraq.

And even though I am probably aligned with Santorum on 95% of the issues, I can’t remember a politician who has ever made me so angry with a single act, and I am still angry about it today.   I consider Santorum to be the lowest of the low of politicians.  And to top it off, he dresses his kids funny.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Phil must have jinxed Rick's chances.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Phil must have jinxed Rick's chances.

Phil refuses to be believe what I've been telling him for the last 5 years.  But what else explains Rick not getting a turn at flavor of the month?  

Bachmann, Romney, Cain, Perry, and Newt have all been given a chance...and Paul has been given at least half a chance if not more...

the only ones who haven't been given a chance are Huntsman and Santorum, and between the two, Huntsman is outpolling Santorum.

[Keystone Phil]

But what else explains Rick not getting a turn at flavor of the month? 

Certainly not your reasoning because I bet less than 10% of the primary electorate knows anything about the WMD press conference. By the way, there's still one month left - the most important month, mind you - to become "Flavor of the Month."

the only ones who haven't been given a chance are Huntsman and Santorum, and between the two, Huntsman is outpolling Santorum.

Uh, they're polling at basically the same level of support, troll.

[Simfan34]

But what else explains Rick not getting a turn at flavor of the month? 

the only ones who haven't been given a chance are Huntsman and Santorum, and between the two, Huntsman is outpolling Santorum.

Uh, they're polling at basically the same level of support, troll.

No, the last few polls have shown Huntsman above Santorum.

[Keystone Phil]

But what else explains Rick not getting a turn at flavor of the month? 

the only ones who haven't been given a chance are Huntsman and Santorum, and between the two, Huntsman is outpolling Santorum.

Uh, they're polling at basically the same level of support, troll.

No, the last few polls have shown Huntsman above Santorum.

At 2% over 1%? Wow. Also, feel free to cite the polls since the last few I've seen had them both at 1%.

[Stardust]

The real problem Santorum has with the 'jmfcst's of the Party is cultural. He agrees with the hive-mind on most socio-religious issues, but his style - that of the sweater-vested Northeastern high churcher - is so far removed from what they want that they cannot stomach it. The populists need someone just like them, not only insofar as their views go, but also their lifestyle.

[Keystone Phil]

The real problem Santorum has with the 'jmfcst's of the Party is cultural. He agrees with the hive-mind on most socio-religious issues, but his style - that of the sweater-vested Northeastern high churcher - is so far removed from what they want that they cannot stomach it. The populists need someone just like them, not only insofar as their views go, but also their lifestyle.

In other words: He might be taking orders from The Vatican!

[Stardust]

The real problem Santorum has with the 'jmfcst's of the Party is cultural. He agrees with the hive-mind on most socio-religious issues, but his style - that of the sweater-vested Northeastern high churcher - is so far removed from what they want that they cannot stomach it. The populists need someone just like them, not only insofar as their views go, but also their lifestyle.

In other words: He might be taking orders from The Vatican!

You've made your bed, though. The GOP encourages the hive-mind to vote in lockstep, for men identical to them. And they will not be happy until they have a man identical to them. You do not have my sympathy.

[memphis]

It was a lot of things, "dude", but that doesn't mean it ruined his reputation too much among the GOP establishment, base, and the Bush Administration.

his 2006 WMD press conference was the last straw.  after that, no one wanted to get within 50 feet of him.  it pissed a lot of people off, bigtime, including the jmfcsts.  and we haven't forgotten.

but the jmfcsts are willing to politically forgive, if Rick apologizes.  but he is not fit for office.  period.

Guess what jmfcst, your people may rule the GOP primary contests (maybe) but it's the Tories who decide the general. The base stuck with Santorum. He got 41%. That was the base. You can ask Torie why he didn't get the extra 9% he needed to win.

[Keystone Phil]

You can ask Torie why he didn't get the extra 9% he needed to win.

Because his last name wasn't Casey, because it was 2006, because he basically didn't even try in the final months...





Seriously, though, if he wasn't running against a Casey, he would have lost by a much more respectable 10%.

[angus]

It was a lot of things, "dude", but that doesn't mean it ruined his reputation too much among the GOP establishment, base, and the Bush Administration.

his 2006 WMD press conference was the last straw.  after that, no one wanted to get within 50 feet of him.  it pissed a lot of people off, bigtime, including the jmfcsts.  and we haven't forgotten.

but the jmfcsts are willing to politically forgive, if Rick apologizes.  but he is not fit for office.  period.

Enough with the faux outrage, Jm. Seriously. You are one of the few people that still mention that and your "disgust" with it is so overplayed.

the jmfcsts will determine when it is enough:

Supersoulty,

Santorum played the clown too many times.  Just a couple of months ago he held a press conference claiming the US had found WMD in Iraq, though it was only a couple of old mustard gas shells.

As long as he didn’t do something stupid, like Santorum’s 2006 press conference declaring we had found the WMD we were looking for in Iraq, Brownback is a viable candidate.

As far as Santorum goes - I just can't get over Santorum calling a press conference last summer and announcing that the US had found the WMD in Iraq we were looking for.  He lost my respect with that one incident.

I found his WMD press conference highly highly offensive.  1) it was intellectually dishonest – we didn’t invade Iraq because we were looking for some rusty canisters of mustard gas, 2) it belittled the viewing public to think we would buy into such a crap claim, 3) it belittled the service of the soldiers that either had already died in Iraq or who were risking their lives in Iraq.

And even though I am probably aligned with Santorum on 95% of the issues, I can’t remember a politician who has ever made me so angry with a single act, and I am still angry about it today.   I consider Santorum to be the lowest of the low of politicians.  And to top it off, he dresses his kids funny.

Ah, you do know how to carry a grudge, don't you?

At least you have shed light on the mystery.  Seriously, I was probably posting during that time, and probably noticed your posts, but I'd forgotten.  Now at least I can understand why he's hovering in the single digits after several fairly outstanding debate performances.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

...

Ah, you do know how to carry a grudge, don't you?

At least you have shed light on the mystery.  Seriously, I was probably posting during that time, and probably noticed your posts, but I'd forgotten.  Now at least I can understand why he's hovering in the single digits after several fairly outstanding debate performances.

I can sympathize with jmfcst holding a grudge about a politician for a single stupid comment.  I feel the same way about Gore for the idiotic sucking up he did in the aftermath of the failure of the Clinton impeachment.  It was why in 2000 my choice between who to vote for in the general election was between Nader and Bush.  I eventually decided that since Bush was going to win South Carolina regardless of my vote I would vote for Nader to encourage third parties, but if I had been living in a close state such as Florida, I certainly would have voted for Bush to keep Gore out of the White House.

Even knowing what has happened in the eleven years since, I'd still vote the same way for the same reasons.

[Stranger in a strange land]

Let's get real here: Santorum's real problem isn't that he's Catholic or that he's from the Northeast or his views on gays: his real problem is that he lost reelection by almost 20 points. If Joe Schmo gets fired from middle management for incompetence, he's not likely to go back to the same company to apply for CEO.

[angus]

I can sympathize with jmfcst holding a grudge about a politician for a single stupid comment.  I feel the same way about Gore for the idiotic sucking up he did in the aftermath of the failure of the Clinton impeachment.  It was why in 2000 my choice between who to vote for in the general election was between Nader and Bush.  I eventually decided that since Bush was going to win South Carolina regardless of my vote I would vote for Nader to encourage third parties, but if I had been living in a close state such as Florida, I certainly would have voted for Bush to keep Gore out of the White House.

Even knowing what has happened in the eleven years since, I'd still vote the same way for the same reasons.

Fascinating post.  Mostly because I can relate.  I, too, remember very well Gore's statements about Clinton, and I remember how disappointed I was.  Honestly, I didn't much care for Gore before that, and didn't want him to win, but that just infuriated me even more.

As long as we're being honest, I did vote for Nader in 2000.  It was the only time I voted for a third-party candidate for president, though I have done so in some gubernatorial and senatorial elections.  I also attended Nader rallies--one particularly memorable one was at the National Guard Armory in Boston the night before the 2000 election in which Michael Moore, that fat bastard who represents all that is wrong with America, and who was ostensibly campaigning for Nader, seem to hedge his bets and tell folks to "do what you gotta do" as though the was still hoping that Gore defeats Bush.  What a bastard--but I digress, in the Nader rallies it was abundantly clear, despite what the newsies said then and still say now, that the Nader voters were not, and I repeat NOT, of the opinion that a Gore victory was preferable to a Bush victory.  You seem to confirm that view with your post.  We may not have particularly liked Bush, but we damned sure didn't like Gore.

Anyway, Santorum seems sane, even though his name sounds, vaguely, like a clinical term for a place where people go who are committed by the state for violent crimes but who are beyond reason.  I only remember two things about him:  the left doesn't like him for his statements for some statements he has made regarding same-sex marriage and the right doesn't like him for some mysterious reasons that I probably learned but can't remember.  Now, I have been reminded, and for that reminder I am grateful to jmfcst.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I can sympathize with jmfcst holding a grudge about a politician for a single stupid comment.  I feel the same way about Gore for the idiotic sucking up he did in the aftermath of the failure of the Clinton impeachment.  It was why in 2000 my choice between who to vote for in the general election was between Nader and Bush.  I eventually decided that since Bush was going to win South Carolina regardless of my vote I would vote for Nader to encourage third parties, but if I had been living in a close state such as Florida, I certainly would have voted for Bush to keep Gore out of the White House.

Even knowing what has happened in the eleven years since, I'd still vote the same way for the same reasons.

Fascinating post.  Mostly because I can relate.  I, too, remember very well Gore's statements about Clinton, and I remember how disappointed I was.  Honestly, I didn't much care for Gore before that, and didn't want him to win, but that just infuriated me even more.

As long as we're being honest, I did vote for Nader in 2000.  It was the only time I voted for a third-party candidate for president, though I have done so in some gubernatorial and senatorial elections.  I also attended Nader rallies--one particularly memorable one was at the National Guard Armory in Boston the night before the 2000 election in which Michael Moore, that fat bastard who represents all that is wrong with America, and who was ostensibly campaigning for Nader, seem to hedge his bets and tell folks to "do what you gotta do" as though the was still hoping that Gore defeats Bush.  What a bastard--but I digress, in the Nader rallies it was abundantly clear, despite what the newsies said then and still say now, that the Nader voters were not, and I repeat NOT, of the opinion that a Gore victory was preferable to a Bush victory.  You seem to confirm that view with your post.  We may not have particularly liked Bush, but we damned sure didn't like Gore.

My views on Gore had changed considerably more over the years.  In 1988 I was actually a Gore delegate at the county convention, which was such a disorganized mess that even if I had been offered the chance to go to the State convention as a delegate, I would have declined.  (I left before they picked the delegates.  I'd been there over five hours on a weeknight and they still hadn't done that!  It was disorganization like that which contributed to the collapse of the Democratic Party in South Carolina.)