Kennedy Santorum Dust-up...What's going on here.

[Perky]

Kennedy went after Rick Santorum on the Senate Floor today for an op-ed piece Santorum wrote a few years ago linking the Priest Sex Abuse scandal to Boston liberalism.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/K/KENNEDY_SANTORUM?SITE=CATOR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2005-07-13-13-22-19

"Priests, like all of us, are affected by culture," Santorum wrote. "When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected. While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm."

In a speech, Kennedy, a Democrat, called for Santorum to retract his remarks and apologize to the people of Boston and Massachusetts.


"The people of Boston are to blame for the clergy sexual abuse? That is an irresponsible, insensitive and inexcusable thing to say," said Kennedy.

Why was this so late in coming to attention of the Senior Senator. Methinks this is about 2006

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

[blm]

1. Dems dogpiling on Santorum. Here's Kerry's whack at Rick today:

"The families of Massachusetts soldiers who have given their lives for their country in Iraq know more about the mainstream American values of Massachusetts than Rick Santorum ever will.

As a prosecutor in Massachusetts putting criminals behind bars, I saw some of the worst criminals who had abused children and not once did I hear them hide behind Sen. Santorum's bizarre claim that the state was responsible for their acts.

Rick Santorum owes an apology to the families of abuse victims and an apology to the faithful who fill the pews of Massachusetts churches every Sunday." -- Senator John Kerry

[Perky]

4. Geesh

Bothe Senators have now responded.... wonder what the Governor has to say. (hee hee...what fun)

[Mass]

7. Seems that Mittens has released a statement that condemns

somewhat Santorum as well.

Now that he has an election in view, he remembers that he'd better not attack his own state. Too bad this escaped him last year.

[Perky]

9. You have a link? (n/t)

[Mass]

12. Sort of - from the Boston Globe yesterday

This is not a real condemnation of Santorum by name, but at least, his spokewoman has the good sense to refute the argument that it is linked to Boston.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/07/12/in_sanctum_santorum?mode=PF

I asked Mitt Romney about this. He's starting to hang out in this crowd, raising money for a conservative political action committee in Washington just last night.

His spokeswoman, Julie Teer, called back and said: ''What happened with the church sex abuse scandal was a tragedy, but it had nothing to do with geography or the culture of Boston. What we know now is that the sex abuse was occurring around the country and around the world. Boston was just the first to find out about it."

[Perky]

17. Some one will ask Romney directly tonight

[displacedtexan]

23. Santorum blamed Boston (MIT/Harvard) for the pedophile priests.

I blogged about this this morning. The links to the original story and Santorum's response to be questioned are on my blog (blog link is under the burning bush).

The idiot doesn't even know that MIT and Harvard are in Cambridge.

[jackster]

2. InSane-orum refused yesterday to back down from his remarks

and some fine Bay Staters took exception!

Actually, didn't I read that Romney also spoke up against Sen. Nutjob?

[bryant69]

3. Maybe they just think that the culture is turning against

Republicans now - so such charges aer going to fall on more fertile soil. Is Kennedy up for reelection this time around? That would obviously play a role in it as well.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Perky]

6. Kennedy is not up for re-election

He owns the state... he doe not nee to knock around a junior senate colleauge to score points for himself at home.

[cestpaspossible]

15. wtf are you talking about? he is up for reelection in 2006.

http://www.vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=S0410103

[Perky]

18. seems like only yesterday..

Okk I was wrong...but still Kennedy still does not need to beat up Santorum to get votes in his backyard.

[blue neen]

26. Unfortunately, Santorum is the senator from my state,

so I'll beat him up, okay?

He's a bigoted,narrow-minded, and big-mouthed fool. He does nothing if will not benefit him personally in some way.

Santorum has done nothing to help Pennsylvanians with the biggest issues facing us: loss of jobs, lack of health care, an aging population.

What has he done? Well, he's traveled around the country touting Bush's Social Security fiasco, knowing that it would scam many of the citizens of his (supposedly) home state.

He's flown to Florida on a Wal-Mart private jet so he could inject his disgusting self into the Terri Schiavo debacle. While he was there he made sure he made it to several fund-raisers held for him there.

He has basically stolen money from Pennsylvania taxpayers by making us pay for cyber-schooling his children while his family is, in fact, living in Virginia.

When major portions of Western Pennsylvania experienced major flooding from Hurricane Ivan last fall, Ricky stopped by Pittsurgh to frown at the damage. He then announced that the federal government had no funds available for us--in his usual rude and crude fashion.

He has embarrassed this state to no end. Pennsylvania's reputation may never be the same after he gets done with us. If you need any more examples, I'm sure I (and many others) can provide them.

We're done with his sorry ass.

[seabeyond]

5. isnt it because of his new book? n/t

[Perky]

8. perhaps

but why draw attention to it?

If Romeny and Santorum want the WhiteHouse in 3 years this is about knocking both of then down a few pegs andabout intervening elections in both states

[Coastie for Truth]

10. Santorum is a wing nut.

I am originally from Pennsylvania (Allegheny County Democratic County Committee Member, Ivan Itkin "Staffie", 14th Ward Democratic Club Member, 7/11 Democratic Club Member, CMU Young Dems member, etc.).

Santorum is a wing nut.

He won the first time because of massive big bucks spending against Harris Wofford (Wofford was an early supporter of Hillary's Health Plan and ran for re-election on Health Care Reform).

Santorum just mega out spent Wofford. In 2000 the Dems were disorganized - had a major geographical split in the Primary, and ran an unknown against Santorum's Big Bucks campaign - with a Republican Governor (Ridge) controlling the patronage machine.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

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

[merbex]

13. Speaking as a Bay Stater,I'm noticing that the ability to make fun of

Massachusetts in any way such as those in the Repug Party are wont to do is not going to be tolerated this election cycle;our Mass Dem Stae officials are having none of it

It is turning into a campaign issue here against Romney;he likes to go to other states and during the course of his monologue makes fun of the state he happens to be governor of.

It is pissing us off and I guess we've allowed this shit since Bush 1 ran against Dukakis

NO MORE

[MsTryska]

20. hell i've only driven through Mass

and i was pissed for y'all when dubya was slamming you during the campaigns...


heh heh heh Massachusetss Liberals heh *drool, spittle* we should call em, call em TAXachusetts liberals! heh. *looks around waiting for applause*


fuckin' retard. i hate that man. i hate him more everytime i channel him.

[ClintonTyree]

14. I'm willing to bet.............

that a goodly majority of child abusers are Conservative in ideology and many are avowed "christians", as well.
Sphinctorum is the jackass of all jackasses. I certainly hope the good people of Pennsylvania have the good sense to sen this carpetbagger back to Virginia where he belongs. (sorry, Virginians)

[Perky]

16. Hell No Not in my Virginia

Gather ye pitchfork fellow citizens and meet me in on the roosevelt bridg. We must not let Santorum into our beloved commonwealth

[11 Bravo]

30. Hold on there, Governor.

We don't want him. I'm thinking ... maybe Utah?

[MsTryska]

19. I'm glad kennedy Kerry and even

Mitt are actually giving him a whatfor on his liberal-bashing.



also in his original writing i think he missed the point - if anything it was the liberal questioning of authority that was able to bring the darkness into the light.



how many people are being abused in the name of the lord right now in fundamentalist communities?

[Zenlitened]

21. The reporter, Lolita Baldor, works out of AP's Washington Bureau

E-mail them and let them know that Kennedy was not reacting solely to a years-old column, but to Santorum's reiteration of those comments just this week.

We can e-mail the AP bureau at: [e-mail] suggesting they update the story to get it right this time.

Also give them a link to a story that places this in its proper context:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/07/13/santorum_resolute_on_boston_rebuke?mode=PF

Santorum resolute on Boston rebuke
Insists liberalism set stage for abuse

By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff | July 13, 2005

WASHINGTON -- Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, the third-ranking Republican in the Senate, refused yesterday to back off on his earlier statements connecting Boston's ''liberalism" with the Roman Catholic Church pedophile scandal, saying that the city's ''sexual license" and ''sexual freedom" nurtured an environment where sexual abuse would occur.

''The basic liberal attitude in that area . . . has an impact on people's behavior," Santorum said in an interview yesterday at the Capitol.

''If you have a world view that I'm describing . . . that affirms alternative views of sexuality, that can lead to a lot of people taking it the wrong way," Santorum said.

Santorum, a leader among Christian conservatives, was responding to questions about remarks he made three years ago on a website called Catholic Online. In those comments, Santorum said, ''It is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political, and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm" of the clergy sexual abuse scandal.

(snip)

[Hubert Flottz]

22. Why don't Rick look westward to Orrin Hatch's fine state!

POLYGAMIST SENTENCED TO
FIVE YEARS IN PRISON

snip

Tom Green, a modern-day polygamist in Utah, was given a five-year prison sentence on August 25, 2001. Green might never have come to the attention of the state if he had kept a low profile. Instead, he appeared on various television programs and granted numerous interviews, explaining his polygamist life-style. The Salt Lake Tribune reported:

snip>

Incest and Abuse

Two years ago, Yocum's office successfully prosecuted polygamist David Ortell Kingston on two charges of incest-a felony for having sex with a niece in a closed polygamist society. Kingston, a key member of Salt Lake County's largest polygamist clan, was ordered to serve two consecutive terms of up to 5 years in prison and fined $10,000. And Kingston's brother, John Daniel Kingston was sentenced to 7 months in jail for beating his daughter with a horsewhip after she fled the arranged marriage to her uncle. But Yocum did not pursue charges on bigamy. David Zolman, a former lawmaker from Taylorsville who often defended polygamists on Capital Hill, says violent crimes such as the Kingston's should be prosecuted but that consenting adults, such as Green and his five wives, ought to be left alone. He says plural marriage in Utah is here to stay and that Green's trial has galvanized polygamists statewide.

snip>

Another article relating to the Colorado City group told of the escape of a teenage girl:

A 15-year-old girl who ran away from her polygamous family saying she wanted to avoid an arranged marriage maintained she just looks for a chance to live a normal life and get an education….she has not been allowed to attend school since the sixth grade…. The girl believed she would be forced to marry 45-year-old Warren Jeffs, acting church president
snip>

VANCOUVER, British Columbia-A polygamous community in Southern British Columbia is part of a U.S. probe into the arranged marriages of underage American girls. In Utah last week Ron Barton was hired by the state attorney general's office to investigate tax evasion, welfare fraud, and child sexual abuse, domestic abuse and other crimes in "loose" societies, such as tax protest groups, white supremacist organizations and polygamist sects. One of the largest of the polygamist sects is the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located primarily in Hildale, Utah, and neighboring Colorado City, Ariz. it has an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 members. The sect has an enclave at Lister, British Columbia, with 800 to 1,000 members. Ex-members of the sect and a child advocacy group have asked Utah authorities to investigate the movement of young girls between Arizona, Utah and British Columbia. They say the arranged marriages are increasing because the church's leaders have predicted that the end of the world is near. The Lister enclave is headed by businessman Winston Blackmore, 44, who has 30 wives and 80 children, The Vancouver Province newspaper reported.

http://www.utlm.org/newsletters/no97.htm#Incest%20and%20Abuse

Praise the Lord and pass me a copperhead!

[yewberry]

24. I don't think Santorum's remarks were widely publicized

but in the past few weeks a columnist Philadelphia began printing them, thus the late response.

Yeah, Mitt can't win with this particular hot potato.

[October]

28. I think it's in response to Santorum's new book /eom

[AnnInLa]

25. "Victims Group Blasts Santorum"

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Victims Group Blasts Santorum
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis MO, National Director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP)

Abusive clergy and complicit bishops are liberal and conservative. The crimes they commit have nothing to do with political philosophy. It is reckless and dangerous to misdiagnose the causes of this horrific crisis by trying to blame any group of individuals, especially using false assumptions and self-serving ideological blinders. This is a deeply-rooted, long-standing, cultural and structural problem within the church and affects Catholics across the globe. To suggest anything less is deceptive or ignorant.

It is very hurtful when a politician tries to minimize the extent of the clergy sex abuse scandal. It is also very hurtful when a politician implies that some vague, larger societal defects somehow caused priests, nuns and bishops to assault innocent children and vulnerable adults, and then to work hard at keeping the crimes hidden.

We commend the brave abuse survivors and their families in Massachusetts who played key roles in protecting the defenseless, exposing sexual predators, and uncovering deeply-held horrific evidence of cover ups by the church hierarchy. We also applaud the caring Massachusetts Catholics who have patiently prodded the church hierarchy toward even piecemeal reforms.

In 2002, we gave Senator Santorum the benefit of the doubt, assuming he was not aware of the scope of the abuse crisis. In 2005, it's hard to understand how he could repeat and stand by such misguided and harmful comments.


more at http://capitolbuzz.blogspot.com/2005/07/victims-group-blasts-santorum.html

the comments under the story were interesting, too

[The Witch]

27. I have a post on this at last midnight

suggestion for how to reframe it, click away :shameless plug:

[Moderator]

29. Perky

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
paragraphs from the
copyrighted news source.


Thank you.


DU Moderator

[Melynn]

31. It's all the liberals fault

Even though I'm willingly to bet that most of those pedophile priests were conservatives, both in their politics and in church dogma.

But still, its all the liberals fault. :sarcasm: