Kerry goes after Santorum in a fundraising email for Casey

[Mass]

Consider what's at stake in just Democrat Bob Casey's race against Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. Santorum is totally out of touch with the reality facing American families and totally out of touch with mainstream American values. And yet he has become the mainstream within the Republican Party:

* Santorum believes millions of people are uninsured because, "some people don't want - like the Amish."
* Santorum believes child care is a "Washington" issue that ordinary Americans don't care about.
* He said that the environmental movement's days are numbered and that environmentalism is against nature.
* He believes in privatizing Social Security.
* Santorum thinks it's wrong to help single mothers earn a college degree. In his book, It Takes a Family, Santorum said that "The notion that college education is a cost-effective way to help poor, low-skill, unmarried mothers with high school diplomas or GEDs move up the economic ladder is just wrong."

By the time the GOP wraps up its summer summit on Saturday afternoon, we need to have raised $500,000 to support our work to defeat extremists like Rick Santorum. []

[PresidentObama]

1. Like the Amish

What a prick!

College education isn't a cost-effective way to help poor, low skill, unmarried mothers with high school diploams move up the economic ladder? Since when is that true. What kind of logic does Rick use?

I hope Bob Casey creams Santorum, then ruins his Presidential hopes for 2008 or 2012. Kudos to John, for going on the attack. Santorum is weak, and his own biggest weakness is his mouth. Let him keep talking the talk, and in 2006 Bob Casey will be walking the walk right into the United States Senate.

[rox63]

2. I'm glad he's after Santorum

Go get 'em, John! I think the final straw for JK was when Santorum personally blamed Kerry and Kennedy for the pedophile priests.

[Noisy Democrat]

3. I think this fundraiser

is for KAP in general -- presumably he's going to donate intensively to people like Casey, but this isn't a fundraising letter for Casey exclusively.

[Mass]

6. You're right - he is using Casey and Santorum as an example.

Good to read in any case.

[kerrygoddess]

7. It's a fundraiser in general for Dems in 2006...

But he's specifically targeting Santorum! JK wants him gone.

[karynnj]

9. What I still don't understand is what conceivable reason

Santorum could have to think he could gain anything by blaming Kerry and Kennedy for this. The Globe printed the story. At some point people were charged. Senators don't run the courts in MA or the church. I doubt there were a lot of people in MA looking for comments from the Senators, wondering if their Senators were for or against priests molesting boys. It almost seems like Santorum wanted them to condemn the church - then he would attack them for that. Did he say anything when it was PA priests?

At any rate, both MA Senators were great in their responses.

[whometense]

4. I'm loving this.

It greatly simplifies my political donations. I love that I can channel them through Kerry.

Santorum. I trust you guys have been watching his parade of hideous public pronouncements via Crooks and Liars and this other website I stumbled across: http://santorumexposed.com/serendipity I hope his book tour goes on forever. By the end of it he hopefully will have awakened most of the population to who he really is - stupid AND ignorant.

[karynnj]

11. I also like channeling contributions through Kerry

We get so many mailings and there seems so much duplication of effort. I really agree with Kerry's logic and strategies more than any of the others and if this strengths Kerry - so much the better.

I did read the crooks and liars thing - he really is self-destructing. The odd thing is I think he probably believes what he saying. (I would love to read Teresa's opinion of some of these things - she really saw through him years before others. Good judge of character.)

[Mass]

5. Another part of the email - defining what Dems stand for.

The 2006 Congressional election cycle will be a fight between two competing visions of America's future:

# Democrats see an America where everyone has an opportunity to work hard and get ahead. Republicans see an America where the special interests get their way and families get the short end of the stick.
# Democrats see an America that is energy independent and a good steward of the environment. Republicans see an America that continues to send its hard earned paychecks to the Saudis and risks sending our sons and daughters to the battlefields of the Middle East over oil that's beyond our control, in the hands of unstable and undemocratic regimes.

[kerrygoddess]

8. Note in the email ...

That JK's email list has grown from 3 million to 5 million since the election! Who's got influence?

[wisteria]

10. Wow, thats great news! I am so happy to hear that! n/t

[karynnj]

12. 5 Million - That's impressive

I guess all the DU people who say they have "unsubscribed" whenever they whine about Kerry, haven't made a dent in the numbers.

I love reading the things he sends because he really is talking very directly on so many issues. If there are 5 million people getting them - at least 2 million signed up after the election because they liked at least something he has done. More importantly, if even half of them read them, there are many people spread throughout the country who will know where he stands (and stood) on many issues. Also, his personality does come through these emails - he clearly cares and he is not boring! As this hasn't happened before - it's hard to speculate the impact.

The best possibility is that this large group of very informed people could be the people who when people talk politics might be able to explain Kerry's positions on things and -even more inmportantly, describe the philosophy and the man behind them. Couple this with the growing list of "things Kerry was right on" and who know?

[Island Blue]

14. That's great news!

I'd say that if Kerry has 5 million people interested enough to receive his e-mails AFTER the election, he has a big jump on where he started from before the '04 campaign. I'm very happy to hear this!

I never understand it when I hear it said that Hillary Clinton has the highest name recognition of any of the potential '08 Democratic candidates. How is that even possible? Where people asleep last year and don't remember the name John Kerry? I know that's just the media trying to stir the pot, but I wish they would at least test out the logic of what they say before they say it. (Trust me, I'm not holding my breath waiting for that wish to come true.)

[PresidentObama]

13. I totally agree

5 million people is an impressive number. That just proves what we already knew. The Kerry bashers here at DU don't speak for our party, or the American people.