PA Senate Debate in the Works

A Pennsylvania Senate Debate is being negotiated as I write this item. It will happen between Rick Santorum and John Featherman (pictured at the right). It seems inexplicable to me, as Santorum has little to gain from such a debate, but evidently he promised a long time back to debate a qualified primary opponent.

Regardless of Mr. Santorum's motives, this is good for John Featherman, a Republican candidate with very traditional Republican values. He is not the spendthrift Republican, as is Santorum, nor is he a Republican who seeks a government that intrudes into all areas of the lives of citizens. Featherman is more a Goldwater Republican (though he eschews labels and sees himself as his own entirely, both fiscally conservative and socially liberal), and the contrast he can draw is strong. I've mentioned to him that he can begin every answer in the debate as, "I am a Republican and I stand for Republican values, such as (fill in the blank)." The blank can include "fiscal responsibility," "small government," "less intrusive government," "ethical government," etc. That's contrast, as Rick Santorum believes in none of those things, and it's a contrast that can win a debate.

Would that Bob Casey could find the stones to debate Alan Sandals and Chuck Pennacchio, as John Featherman suggests here.

Here's the letter from the Santorum camp to Featherman:

March 9, 2006

Dear Mr. Featherman:

I would like to commend you for your desire to participate in the democratic process and more importantly for your courage to stand up for your beliefs in the most visible way possible - running for public office.

I am sure you agree with Senator Santorum that this election should be about honest and open debate, not about mudslinging and ducking important issues. The voters of Pennsylvania deserve nothing less. When asked by the media in December 2005 if he would debate a primary opponent, Senator Santorum said he would debate any primary opponent that qualified to be on the ballot. With this in mind, Santorum 2006 would like to start negotiations with your campaign on the issue of debates. Hopefully, all of the candidates in the race for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania will agree to debate their primary opponents.

I will contact you next week to go over locations, dates and topics.

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

Vince Galko

Campaign Manager
Santorum 2006

Did you see that bolded sentence? That might be the reason for the Santorum campaign going through with this debate, so that they can tweak the Casey campaign. Yeah, it may have nothing at all with Santorum's sense of "fair play," if he ever had such a thing.