I'd gladly trade Santorum for Steele in any election.

I can find more uses for an iron alloy than anyone ever could for the frothy mixture that is Santorum.

Go Casey.

I've been getting a little tired of Mr. Santorum for a while, so I'm glad to see the good folks of PS getting tired of him also.

Social conservatism is a concept that works well for individuals but doesn't scale up well into politics. People get weary of sermons after a while.

Whoops... PA, not PS. It's good to actually READ the content after pressing the preview button.

Good riddance to Santorum. A continual embarrassment for those of us PA transplants.

I wish him well, but I don't think Steele has much of a chance here in Maryland. 60/40 Dem/Rep split in the electorate. The only reason we have a R governor is the Dems ran the abysmal Kathleen Kennedy Townsend against a well-liked Congressman, Bob Ehrlich, and the stench of the Glendenning administration had to be aired out. Piles of out-of-state money didn't hurt either. Basically a Rep. can only win statewide office in Maryland against a weak D candidate. Last R gov was Spiro Agnew. Senate similar....Mikulski and Sarbanes are old as dirt...and also have the distinction of being among the group of Senatorial pairs from MA and CA who *both* voted against the Roberts confirmation...a lefty/blue state litmus test if there ever was one.

Only hope is that the Dems screw up and nominate someone else who Steele/Ehrlich can beat in their respective elections. Maybe via a vote-splitting/dilution scenario like the one that got O'Malley elected mayor. Otherwise, Cardin will get the Senate seat, and O'Malley will be next Gov.

You & me both, Stephen. Santorum's my senator, what fun. I went from Feinstein-Boxer to Schumer-Clinton, to Specter-Santorum in the last 5 years. I gotta pick my new states a bit more carefully!

Feh. Casey wishes he was half the man his father was. Give me Sanctimonious Santorum any day over Empty Suit.

If Rick loses, though, it'll be his own darn fault. He and Bush should've just stayed out of the primary and let Toomey take Snarlin' Arlen to the woodshed. We could have had a genuine fiscal conservative from the Commonwealth with Kyl in the Judicial Committee chair, but Bush and Santorum just had to lift poor old Specter up.

That still chaps my hide.

/Hoping for a Swanny landslide.

Santorum needs to go...regardless of whether he's replaced by a Rep or a Dem.

And considering how well he's come across in his recent public outings (Schiavo, his book promotion, cyber-school controversy), he's working harder for his own ouster than anyone else.

Somehow I don't think he'll be able to rely quite as much on his social conservative following in Pennsylvania's "T" region to put him over the top this time around.

The idea of Guvn'r O'Malley is petrifying, to say the least. He is one of the most political animals I have ever encountered. And he's got his eye on the big prize, too. Being Governor is just a stepping stone for him and, unfortunately, it seems to be well within his reach. The Democratically run State Houses here in Maryland have done absolutely everything they can to thwart Governor Erlich's agenda, knowing full well that if they stifle him enough, then O'Malley walks into Annapolis without much of a fight. It's been infuriating to watch. I really like Erlich, and know someone who is working for him and who loves him completely.

My dream combination would be to have Erlich be re-elected and have Steele become our Senator. I'm not holding my breath.

Not to get too off-topic here. ;)

Nukem,
Yep. Martin "Slick Willy" O'Malley. He's way too much like Clinton.
I agree with everything else you said too.
I know a guy who just started working on O'M's gov campaign. This particular IndividualWhoShallRemainNameless fervently believes Jimmy Carter was the best President in recent history.

Stephen:
Is there any hope for CO, or has it devolved into a rearguard action against the Californicators? Trends aren't looking good from here. I'm looking at my next State, and CO, MT, WY are high on the list. Any thoughts?

Santorum is toast, I raised money for him in '94 and '00 and he won't even get my vote this time. He's become a typical PA political hack on his good days, no more reform agenda. Even his constituent service record is not up to standard.

Most of the time he just drives people nuts with ill-considered remarks and crabbed, obsessive, Catholic right preoccupations. And his family is a piece of work, as anyone who knows the Santorums can tell you.

He has turned into a big disappointment, and even dull, klutzy Bobby Casey will stomp him statewide, even in the Pittsburgh area.

Y'all leave little Ricky alone. He's OK by me. At least he says what he believes. I was mad as hell at him for going into the tank for Arlen, sure. But given the choice between him and the empty suit with a famous name, give me Mr. Virtuous anytime. Or do y'all really want another Kennedy dynasty?