Kennedy vs. Santorum

There appears to be a fracas or scuffle in the Senate. At this moment, I feel it necessary to point out that this bickering is causing the approval rating of Congress to steadily drop. As silly as this situation is, this is politics so let's get right down to the nitty-gritty of this situation.

TED KENNEDY

Kennedy led a "phalanx" or troop of senators (Note: Caution to Bush's speechwriters. Do not put this word in any of his speeches because it will definitely come out "pharynx" which is much different from a "phalanx".) on Wednesday in demanding that Rick Santorum apologize for blaming the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal on "liberalism" in Boston. According to the Washington Post, Kennedy noted that more than a dozen current U.S. senators were educated in Boston, including Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), who went to Harvard Medical School. He said that child sex abuse "happens in every state of this great nation -- red states and blue states, in the North and in the South, in big cities and small." Kennedy said that "Boston-bashing might be in vogue with some Republicans, but Rick Santorum's statements are beyond the pale." Massachusett Democrats Edward J. Markey, John F. Kerry (one of the worst Democratic presidential candidates ever), and Barney Frank quickly joined Kennedy in his request for an apology. Markey said Santorum,"should apologize for maligning 'the courageous Boston parishioners who finally stood up to decades of an international Catholic Church coverup', Kerry said,"the families of Massachusetts soldiers who have died in Iraq 'know more about the mainstream American values of Massachusetts than Rick Santorum ever will', and Frank added that Santorum was a "jerk". He apparently felt that was the only thing Markey and Kerry left out. Frank's remark brings Senate speak to a new low. But that's okay. I would like to point out here that Markey, Kerry, and Frank have no idea what they are talking about simply because Santorum was referring specifically to universities in Massachusetts.

RICK SANTORUM

Santorum is under fire for an article that he wrote in 2002 that said "liberalism" in Boston was responsible for the Catholic sex abuse scandal simply because Democrats find his article to be a "sore spot" for Santorum and are bringing attention to this two year old article with the hope that Democratic candidate, Casey, will gain an edge over Santorum in the upcoming Senate race. Contrary to what the Democrats feel, Santorum is sticking by his article saying (according to Science Daily), "I was just saying that there's an attitude that is very open to sexual freedom that is more predominant [in Boston]".

That was the extent of Santorum's response to the mayhem that was created by the Massachusetts Democrats or what I am going to call for now "The Soggy Bottom Boys". ( I don't care if they aren't from Massachusetts. I've always wanted to come up with some cute conservative buzzworthy name like Turban Durbin. Something about it just sounds fitting.)

MY OPINION

At this point, if you want to put some rational thinking into this mess, it's important that you take a look at Rick Santorum's article to see what all the fuss is really about. I read the article. I respect Santorum's right to practice Catholicism and write articles that have to do with the Catholic faith. This article, however, is the product of a religious zealot. And his mentioning of liberalism being a cause of the Catholic abuse scandal is only meant to raise a stir or create shock in the minds of practicing Catholics in America and also deliver a low blow to Democrats. We all know that liberal is akin to Democrat nowadays. By mentioning "liberalism" as a cause of the scandal, Santorum is in essence saying that Democrats played a role in causing the scandal. Santorum is a menace to Democrats who want to embrace religious people across America.

I think the Democrats are correct to call Santorum out. But it would've been better if we could've heard from them in 2002, the year it was written!!! Why wait til now? No matter how right Kennedy may be for bringing this up and pointing out how wrong Santorum is, all a conservative has to say is, "This happened three years ago. Can't we move on and talk about real issues." And you know what? They're right. In fact, Santorum's spokesman is quoted in a Washington Post article saying, "It's unfortunate that the senior senator from Massachusetts, in consort with the extreme left, has chosen to take three-year-old comments out of context and politicize them on the Senate floor."

I understand the Democrats' need to beat Santorum (since he is the third-ranking Republican in the Senate), and I understand what they were doing. Unfortunately, I don't think the Massachusetts Democrats or "Soggy Bottom Boys" are going to gain what they wanted from this little altercation.