Santorum's children defend dad in new ad

[deadparrot]

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Sen. Rick Santorum (news, bio, voting record)'s newest ad features unconventional surrogates — his six children — defending his parental judgment amid criticism of his use of Pennsylvania taxpayers' money to pay for their education.

"My dad's opponents have criticized him for moving us to Washington so we can be with him more," 13-year-old Johnny Santorum says in the opening of the 30-second spot, which was filmed last spring in the house that Santorum and his wife own in the Pittsburgh suburb of Penn Hills.

Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth says her father, the Senate's third-ranking Republican, "votes in Washington almost 40 weeks some years," while Peter, who is about to turn 7, says his dad spends much of his other time traveling "all across Pennsylvania."

Summing up, 8-year-old Sarah Marie says, "Being our dad is the most important job he'll ever have."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060908/ap_on_el_se/santorum_childrens__ad

[Kutjara]

1. So he's using his kids as a human shield now? Nice. n/t

[whiterabbit76]

3. Why not...

... he used a pitiful, brain dead woman as a shield, why not his own kids!?!?

[whiterabbit76]

2. WTF

No one criticized Santorum for wanting his family to be with him! He was criticized for fraudulently charging the tax payers of Pennsylvania for his children's non - Pennsylvania education!

That, and the fact that he is a right -wing nut case!

[BOSSHOG]

6. So rickey has his spawns lying for him

hoping upon hope that the lemmings will swallow and move on like a bourbon street whore. Nice parenting rick!

[Solly Mack]

4. that's pretty pathetic

but then, so is Santorum

[w4rma]

5. Soon, he'll have more time to spend on his "most important job". (nt)

[fob]

14. Sounds like a winner of a commercial

VO - We agree with little johnny santorum, he should have more time with his dad. This November vote Bob Casey for Senate. Give sweet sarah marie her wish.

I Bob Casey and all of santorum's kids approve of this ad

[Ian David]

28. He can spend more time stealing from his family. n/t

[CelticWinter]

7. give me a bag

Im gonna be sick. This is one time that I am glad I dont get local channels on my satellite. I dont like it when politicians use their children in the ads. And lets face it this guy doesnt even qualify as a true politician---hes a nut job.

[Proud2BAmurkin]

8. Did they show the fetus and do a voice over?

Not much lower to sink than using his kids as human shields

[frylock]

9. first thought i had as well..

but I have a rather morbid sense of humor.

[Irreverend IX]

23. They could put a motor in the fetus's head to make the mouth move...

And turn it into an animatronic puppet for use in Republican political ads. "This is Freddie the Fetus, reminding you to vote pro-life!"

[Buzz Clik]

10. You can stick a fork in him...

When politicians start invoking their children, it's desparation time.

Santorum recognizes that he's totally screwed. Too bad his opponent is a Democrat in name only -- the GOP still keeps the seat.

[AlCzervik]

11. holy shit! Does it get any more pathetic and desperate than that?

[Thor_MN]

12. Are minors indictable for telling lies?

Is it a lie if an adult tells a minor what to say?

[Joanne98]

13. "We know he's a closet case but we still love him"

[TheCowsCameHome]

15. The voters will see to it he's able to be a stay-at-home dad very soon.

Have no fear, kiddies.

[appleannie1]

16. Gee, the kiddies got to see where they live.

Is that why that location was chosen? Have seen the ad. Find it disgusting to use kids that way.

[young_at_heart]

17. Nixon did a similar thing......"Checkers Speech"

He appealed to the public on TV in 1952 saying, "The kids love the dog and, I don't care what they say, we're going to keep it". (He had been accused of accepting improper gifts).

[raising2moredems]

18. 40 WEEKS????

They work what, maybe 110 days tops? My "poor" rep's wife has cancer. Now too bad when someone gets cancer but:

1 - best medical care available for her
2 - dirt cheap premiums to cover "dependents"
3 - won't lose medical insurance as she won't lose her job
4 - won't go bankrupt as she won't lose her job
5 - guaranteed pension

Ours trots his small litter out too along with letters from wifey on how "raising money is so hard". Yeah, they went from upper middle class to owning a 2nd home in VA. No one held a gun to man-on-dog's head to have a litter of children then take a job requiring him to be "away" from home "so much". Does he release his tax returns? If so, I'd love to see how little he pays versus what the taxpayers (of PA or the US) fund for him. A poster boy for the face of 21st century welfare.

[mitchum]

45. Hell, it's lower than the Checkers speech...

Nixon didn't have Tricia and Julia do the actual shilling

[Joe Bacon]

19. Are they his?

:evilgrin:

[RamboLiberal]

20. I hope Dingbat Santorum has opened the hole for the Casey

campaign to do an ad saying we're not questioning Ricky wanting to be with his kids, we're questioning Ricky for ripping off the taxpayers of poor school district in Penn Hills PA to pay for his children's cyber school education when he lives in Virginia and - cue the MTP statement from Ricky - admits he only spends about 30 days in the Penn Hills house.

[antonialee839]

21. What a cowardly little shit.

I can't wait to finally get rid of this asshole.

[Jamastiene]

22. The kids are probably adept cat killers too.

My question is: Who would let a 15 year old, a 13 year old and a 7 year old sway their vote. Last time I checked, voting age was 18.

[chelsea0011]

24. That's a sick use of family in ads. Chris Gabrielli(D) for Governor

of Mass. had a cute use of his kids in an ad here. They are interviewing his father and one asks if he favors more school work. He says he does. And then the kid asks if that means more school days. His father says, sadly, it does. The kid then says, too bad kids can't vote. LOL An ad implying his kids wouldn't vote for him. It was very funny and somewhat brave.

[yasmina27]

25. Don't worry Sweetie

Summing up, 8-year-old Sarah Marie says, "Being our dad is the most important job he'll ever have."

You can have him back full-time after November!

[santorumexposed]

26. Watch Santorum disagree with 2/3 of Pennsylvanians on video

Santorum now completely disagrees with 2/3 of Pennsylvanians about George W. Bush and his administration's handling of Iraq. Watch the video:

http://santorumexposed.cf.huffingtonpost.com">http://santorumexposed.cf.huffingtonpost.com

[Ian David]

27. Being exposed to Rick Santorum can't be good for his kids...

the less time they spend exposed to that asshole, the better off they'll be.

Besides, it would also give Ricky more "quality time" with his communications director, aka "Gay Bobby."

[struggle4progress]

37. I dunno: I think he should spend more time with his family.

[Ian David]

42. This is why Repuke kids end up with half-naked drunken photos on MySpace

Spending times with their asshole, Nazi Republicker parents.

It would be better for his children if Ricky spent more of his free time alone with Gay Bobby.

[struggle4progress]

44. A Constitutional Amendment preventin Rs from marryin Rs might end that ..

.. but I'd rather just say Ricky needs to spend more time with his family

[Name removed]

29. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Ilsa]

30. "And we hope we get to visit him every Sunday when he's in the pen." nt

[PittPoliSci]

31. they should be glad.

come november he's going to be spending a whole lot more time with them.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

32. Did the kids have a puppy with them? Was his name

"Checkers"? Sounds like Santorum's now calling plays from the Richard M. Nixon political playbook.

[corporatemedia]

33. BEST analysis of this ad by Pittsburgh blog - "2 Political Junkies".

http://2politicaljunkies.blogspot.com/2006/09/rick-santorums-latest-ad.html

They also have the video of the ad.

We blogged on it also, but Maria nailed it.

[rug]

34. The family dog in the ad looked pissed off too.

[TheCowsCameHome]

39. The dog should have lifted his leg on Rick's foot.

[AngryOldDem]

35. "Being our dad is the most important job he'll ever have."

Let him do it full time, then.

[Lindacooks]

36. That's all they could find to defend him, huh?

Pretty sad when you have to use your kids to prop yourself up.

[drm604]

38. Unfortunately, this is quite clever.

Any response to this has to be done very carefully so that it's not spun as attacking the kids.

[The Wielding Truth]

46. Clever? He is dragging his kids into his dirty illegal actions.

His children are not responsible for his decision to use a cyber school in an area in which he is not a resident. It is an illegal use of that communities funds. He has committed fraud and his young children are forced to think that it is others who are in the wrong. He never ceases to disappoint. He will do anything to serve himself.

[drm604]

52. I didn't say that he was right in doing this, clever doesn't mean right.

I simply meant that any response to this has to be done very delicately so that it can't be spun as an attack against his children. I certainly wasn't defending the ads. I think they're reprehensible. I don't think that my message implied otherwise.

[The Wielding Truth]

53. I guess I wasn't thinking that anyone =wouldn't= see through this .

This is a crazy Rovian world where using children as front-men is clever. It just disgusts me, and I hate to think of evil as clever, but I get your point. We have to counter because people may actually think that someone is criticizing Santy's children's educational choices. Those kids are not responsible for that choice. He and his wife are charged with that tack and his children should not be expected to defend him. It is Political and they are not of age to accept the harsh effects of campaigning. If I were a reactionary I would cry child abuse. I see that is is a slimy tactic.

[citizen snips]

40. Bringing children into politics is just plain rotten.

[gratuitous]

41. He can't pay people enough to say good things about him?

So he has to turn to his own kids. Pathetic.

[blue neen]

43. I saw the ad on a Pittsburgh station this morning and just about hurled.

ALL of PA's taxpayers are paying for his Virginia children's educations.

[CatholicEdHead]

47. Rep Mark Kennedy (R-MN) is also doing this

as he runs for Dayton's US Senate seat against Amy Klobuchar (D).

[krispos42]

50. Conventional wisdom had Kennedy becoming a lobbyist Nov. 8th...

His big "I'm not a Bushie" point is that he voted against No Child Left Behind. His record of voting with Bush has not been lower than 95% since elected in 2000. Kennedy keeps claiming he makes up his own mind. Well, based on his voting record, Kennedy comes to the exact same conclusions as Bush 97% of the time. And that's why Kennedy will lose in November.

In some ways it's worse, because if you keep independently making bad public policy decisions, you have no excuse at all except continuous and ingrained poor judgement. At least if he ran around claiming "party loyalty", then you leave a little fig leaf to hide behind when the shit hits the fan. The folks on Air America Minnesota call him an "empty suit".

I don't worry about Santorum. He'll be able to get a cushy lobbying or 'consulting' job January 4th, just like nearly all of the cronies that used DHS to pad their résumés on the path to career consulting jobs for defense contractors.

I don't particulary care that he has two houses; nearly everybody in Congress does as a practical matter. It's just too friggin' far to commute to Maine, California or Florida. Or even western Pennsylvania. I've driven across Pennsylvania, and it's friggin FAR! But do what everybody else does: buy a nice house in northern Virginia or southern Maryland and send your kids to a private school that caters to high-visibility parents. One that has the extra security and really closemouthed staff. Or hire a full-time tutor for the kids. I'm sure he can afford to turn a spare room into a one-room schoolhouse. Don't put the burden on Pennsylvania taxpayers.

[Erika]

48. Santourm checking out his dead baby

and forcing his children to deal with it says how sick he is.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

49. How much did he have to pay his kids to stick up for him?

I wonder...

[and-justice-for-all]

51. Santorum sucks.