Why Does Business Love Santorum?

by Scott Shields, Mon Jan 02, 2006 at 05:30:50 PM EST

I have real trouble taking Santorum '08 seriously, but it's still something that some are still talking about. Abramoff co-conspirator and anti-government radical Grover Norquist is one of those people, though he does admit that losing re-election to his Senate seat could put a crimp in Santorum's White House hopes. Somewhat predictably, in this American Spectator article, Norquist posits that the only way Santorum could lose is if there's Democratic voter fraud in Philadelphia, which ignores the statewide polling that indicates widespread dissatisfaction with Santorum.

Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum looks very good on paper - Catholic, Big State, GOP Senate leadership - if he can get past the very serious challenge of getting re-elected in 2006. Voter fraud in Philadelphia in November 2006 could cost Santorum a very real shot at the Republican nomination in 2008.

Ignore the blustering, stupid and easily debunked conspiracy theory about voter fraud. There is a lot of love for Santorum among grassroots rightists. Which is why I find it somewhat strange that Santorum would also find love among big business Republicans. Sure, Republicans in corporate America have always looked the other way as their handpicked candidates have pandered to the anti-science, anti-libertarian right. But Santorum is a creature of the religious right, not a corporate Republican who panders to them.

This is why I find the item in the latest issue of BusinessWeek (subscription only). In the piece, "Santorum: The New Favorite Of Business," writer Richard Dunham openly admits that Santorum isn't an obvious first choice for corporate Republicans. But it seems that their loyalty to the GOP knows no bounds of logic or reason. He points out that Santorum has "become the top recipient of campaign checks from the seven most generous economic sectors, including health-care companies, Wall Street, and commercial banks." He explains why.

Polls show Santorum trailing his 2006 Democratic challenger, Bob Casey, and he's calling in all his chits. Business clearly prefers a tax-cutting GOP populist to an old-school economic liberal. What's more, if the embattled incumbent survives Casey's challenge, business lobbyists know that Santorum could well run for President -- and nobody wants to get on his bad side by sitting out the Senate race.

This is somewhat worrisome to me as it indicates that the alliance between pro-business Republicans and radical social conservatives hasn't weakened as much as I had hoped it would. But in a way, this is actually good news for us. If the Republicans' corporate paymasters are willing to tie their hopes to the likes of Rick Santorum, their confidence in the GOP's bench for 2008 is pretty weak.

Tags: General 2008 (all tags)

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Because the machine delivers

Republicans making accusations of voter fraud -- now that's rich.

But more to the point of the post, based on my own anecodatal experience, I don't see any movement of pro-business, libertarian Republicans away from guys the likes of Santorum or Brownback.

All my Republican friends from college are of the northeastern, libertarian set -- anti-tax, anti-regulation, but also anti-religous and pro-privacy pro-civil liberties. And yet, over the past 5 years, their resolve and committment to the GOP has only strengthened.

And it's pretty simple why -- just look at the GOP's track record over the past 5 years. Has the Religous Right won anything meaningful? Anything at all? The RR hasn't gotten anything.

And yet look at what the business lobby and the wealthy have been rewarded with: numerous tax cuts, CAFTA, weakened environmental standards, bankruptcy "reform". The gravy train never ends for these guys under the GOP.

As much as Santorum huffs and puffs about moral values, he's part of the GOP machine -- the same machine that has delivered results for business and rich, the same machine which hasn't delivered anything to the Religious Right. That's why these guys will continue to back Little Ricky.

by LiberalFromPA 2006-01-02 05:56PM | 0 recs

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He who smelt it, dealt it. n/t

by Robert P 2006-01-03 02:38AM | 0 recs

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Re: Because the machine delivers

Agreed. I admit that I am in many ways pretty close ideologically to a northeastern country club Repub, but it should be easy for anyone to give money to the candidate running against the unmitigated disaster that is Rick Santorum.

It's sad to me that so many of my fellow travelers remain in a party that no longer has a place for them. Regardless of how much one may agree on the issues with the Snowe/Chafee/Bass/etc "axis of so-called moderation", it's irresponsible to support anyone who regularly supports the current GOP leadership.

by TomGilpin 2006-01-03 04:20AM | 0 recs

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Santorum is one of the GOP mafia bosses

that run the K Street Program. In this "pay to play" era lobbyists and their respective employers have to be supportive of these mafia bosses and the other made-men in the GOP congress. And Grover Norquist also is part of the K Street nonsense. See my latest diary for links. Also, Norquist is a college buddy of Jack Abramoff and managed Abramoff's successful campaign to be National President of the Young Republicans back when they were younger.

by Mike Pridmore 2006-01-02 06:51PM | 0 recs

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Voter Fraud Backstory

The voter fraud accusation is a key part of the GOP voter suppression strategy, and it goes back farther than 2004.

As I wrote in the runup to that election, in an article for Random Lengths News, "The War on Democracy--
Cheated at the Ballot Box: Voter Suppression and the 2004 Election":

One report, from People for the American Way and the NAACP, "The Long Shadow of Jim Crow: Voter Intimidation and Suppression in America Today," provides a survey of recent voter-suppression incidents, explaining the rationale for plans to put 3,000 observers into precincts in 17 states this November. One example cited in the report involved the organizing of a fleet of 300 cars cruising minority precincts during Philadelphia's mayoral race in 2003. The cars, driven by men with clipboards, had insignias similar to those of federal law enforcement agencies. The American Prospect magazine called it a "test run" for 2004.

"There is an increasing pattern of similar voter suppression and voter intimidation tactics over the last several years," said Steve Carbo, Director of Demos' Democracy Project, which is just finishing work on its own report.

by Paul Rosenberg 2006-01-02 07:15PM | 0 recs

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It's all good

My biggest fear was the GOP would STOP dumping money into this race.

Let's face it: short of bludgeoning a kitten live on TV, Casey, Jr will have a hard time losing this race.

A lot of folks on both sides of the aisle would rather do without Rick Santorum.

The Casey name is solid in PA, particularly from a moral-ethical standpoint. Even people who oppose Casey concede he's a good human being.

And Ed Rendell at the top of the ticket just about has Republicans in tears, because he's unassailable on any of the standard GOP talking points (taxes and guns) that really sway fence-sitting moderates and Republicans.

If the GOP wants to waste money on a losing horse, ENCOURAGE them.

You figure, that's probably at least $10 million dollars that could go to a more competitive race.

Odss are that means one or two more pickups for Dems if we don't get overly frisky trying to level-peg with Santorum.

by jcjcjc 2006-01-03 06:01AM | 0 recs

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gchraj@yahoo.com

Unless Dems screw up big time (which they have done in the past) or some pro-choice moron decides to be a third party candidate, Santorum will loose.

Interesting Grover Norquist is pro immigration (all kinds legal as well as illegal)..and he would be going to bed with social conservatives..although I do not know where Santorum stands on immigration. His fellow Italian American, Tom Tancredo (Il Duce) is very anti immigrant, particularly anti Hispanic and anti-Asian.

by Boilermaker 2006-01-03 07:17AM | 0 recs

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These anti-immigrantion

clowns all seem to be saying, "If it ain't white, don't invite".

by Rimaroka 2006-01-03 08:21AM | 0 recs