owns<\/em><\/a> middle America.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Likewise, his legislative experience is lengthy and substantive. He served as a Representative from Pennsylvania\u2019s 18th district from 1990 to 1995, a Senator for Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007 and as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee for eight of his senatorial years. In 2003, Santorum penned the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act as well as the failed Santorum Amendment to the 2001 No Child Left Behind bill, which promoted the teaching of intelligent design alongside evolution. <\/p>\n
Some other tidbits about Santorum? Despite his contentious remarks on the nature of college, Santorum himself holds both an M.B.A. and a J.D. degree; he wrote a book with the cheeky title “It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good,\u201d ostensibly to contrast Hillary Clinton’s famous 1996 book of a similar name. In spite of the blandness of the sweater vest he regularly dons, he does pack a bit of flavor: his father is an Italian immigrant and at the age of 48, his wife gave birth to their daughter named Isabella “Bella” (homage to Twilight?) who was diagnosed with a very serious genetic disorder called Trisomy 18. Oh, and he has seven children total.<\/p>\n
Santorum on the Issues<\/h2>\n
Despite his extreme conservatism, from the hodgepodge of quotes below it\u2019s easy to see that Rick Santorum is refreshingly articulate and multidimensional.<\/p>\n
On Homosexuality:<\/strong> “I have gay friends.”<\/p>\nOn Don’t Ask Don’t Tell:<\/strong> “They’re in close quarters, they live with people, they obviously shower with people…all the things that are involved in living in the barracks or living out in the field. Those are issues that again…you’re talking about the ability of people to have that unit cohesion, to be able to work together in an efficient, fighting way…And yes, there are people who feel uncomfortable in that environment and as a result, it could hurt our ability to retain and recruit and put the best fighting force in place…And I know that the whole gay community is trying to make this the new Civil Rights Act. It\u2019s not, it\u2019s not the same. You are black by the color of your skin. You are not homosexual, obviously, by the color of your skin.”<\/p>\nOn Iran:<\/strong> “[Iran] is the greatest supporter of terrorism in the Middle East and around the world and is setting up training camps and is working with Venezuela and other countries south of our border to threaten us. Iran is a country that must be confronted.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
On the Death Penalty:<\/strong> “I agree with the Pope that in the civilized world…the application of the death penalty should be limited. I would definitely agree with that. I would certainly suggest there probably should be some further limits on what we use it for.\u201d<\/p>\nOn his Economic Plan:<\/strong> “Supply-side economics for the workingman.” <\/p>\nOn Jobs:<\/strong> “We are still innovating here in America, except we’re not producing what’s being innovated here. And that’s one reason why we see these Wall Street protestors and their concern that the middle of America is being hollowed out, that the wealth is being created by the innovators is not trickling down, if you will, to those who would make those products. So I have actually focused my tax plan on manufacturing.”<\/p>\n