Kerry Leads Massachusetts Delegation to Demand Santorum Apology

[kerrygoddess]

Kerry Leads Massachusetts Delegation to Demand Santorum Apology to Abuse Victims
15 July 2005



Today, John Kerry, joined by the entire Massachusetts Congressional Delegation sent a letter to Pennsylvania Senator Santorum demanding an apology to abuse victims. LightUpTheDarkness has received this advance copy:

Washington, DC -- Below is a letter the 12 member Massachusetts Congressional Delegation wrote to Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum today, asking him to apologize for his suggestion that Massachusetts is to blame for the tragic child abuse scandal that has caused immeasurable pain to families in the Bay State, as similar scandals have for countless families in other states including Pennsylvania.

Dear Senator Santorum,

We are writing to request your immediate apology for your outrageous, erroneous and insensitive comments made about victims of abuse in our home state of Massachusetts and the excuses you made for unconscionable acts committed against children.

Three years ago you said, "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," and on Tuesday you reinforced those comments. To place blame on the people of Massachusetts for the sexual abuse scandal is fundamentally wrong, and we believe you owe the people of our state an apology.

MORE - http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/default.asp?view=plink&id=1266

[skooooo]

1. I think Al Franken established..

..the fact that the actual center of child abuse scandals related to the church was Covington KY this morning. Did anyone else hear this?

[noamnety]

3. Yes, I caught that, too (nt)

[kerrygoddess]

5. Any links?

Any more?

[skooooo]

6. No links, it was just broadcast...

...this morning. He said something like there were more problems in Covington if you account for the differences in the sizes of the two cities (Boston and Covington). At least that's how I took it. SOmeone else may have a transcript. I think he was being serious tho.

[blm]

2. I'm glad they're keeping ALL the bad Repubs in the headlines. Santorum

has got to go and this will hound him till the election where we all get to kick his ass goodbye.

Rendell isn't going to let the Repubs steal Pennsylvania.

[NorCalDem]

4. The thing that pisses me off the most

about his comments is this:

He was trying to take a tragedy inside the CATHOLIC Church and turn it into a "liberal Boston" problem. I thought the Republicans were the party of Jesus, and that true Catholics and Christians were Republican. If so, how is this a "liberal" problem Dick Santorum??

Note: I know better than to think that certain religions belong to one party, but apparently the Right doesn't, and now they're trying to lump problems from the church onto liberals too. Jesus F'ing Christ, is anything not our fault?!?

:rant:

[SpiralHawk]

7. Santorum imagines liberalism leads to abuse

When it is really the control, repression and sanctimony of institutions like the Catholic Church, the "Christian" evalgelicals, and the hypocricy of the Republicans that are -- in my view -- what leads to abuse. Liberalism leads, in general, to healthy, informed, mature sexual relationships, not the hidden, pervy shit that the Repubs, like Jeff Gannon and his Bush White House friends are into.

[Totally Committed]

8. I remember when this happened a couple of years ago...

I kept wondering where they were at the time... and then again, during the campaign. This could have won back a lot of the Catholics that went over to Bush if Kerry and the rest of them had made a big deal of this during the campaign.

Oh, well...

TC