I couldn't help but share this little nugget of PA history as related by
Gar Joseph in today's Daily News:
KATE MICHELMAN and Rick Santorum: The perfect couple!
"She's the gal who gave us Rick Santorum," says state House Democratic leader Bill DeWeese. "And now she's doing it again."
Huh? How can the nation's most visible pro-choice activist be responsible for launching the career of the most visible anti-abortion U.S. senator?
An explanation is in order. Santorum first ran for the Senate in 1994. He opposed U.S. Sen. Harris Wofford. As the days dwindled down, it became apparent the race would be decided by just 1 percent or 2 percent of the vote.
Wofford was pro-choice. De-Weese called Michelman, then head of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL), asking her to run radio ads for Wofford in the Philadelphia region.
Michelman refused. Wofford's voting record was below the 80 percent threshold required for NARAL support. Wofford, who favored parental notification and a waiting period for an abortion, wasn't sufficiently pure.
"The result was the razor-thin election of Rick Santorum, an implacable and obdurate foe of women's rights," DeWeese wrote in a letter sent to newspapers last year, a view he holds to this day.
According to
exit poll analysis, "Although Wofford did well among many Democratic groups, including blacks, liberals, union members, and the lowest income groups, he failed to carry two traditionally Democratic constituencies, Catholics and women. White women especially deserted Wofford. In recent times, no Democratic candidate has been successful without a majority of the female vote. Losing these important constituencies, coupled with proportionately low Democratic turnout, was decisive in Wofford's defeat."
Of course, there was one other prominent Pennsylvania Democrat who refused to support Wofford, because he was too pro-choice: Governor Robert Casey, father of . . .
Yeah. And this was despite the fact that Wofford served in Gov. Casey's cabinet, supported his Abortion Control Act (the one which led to the SCOTUS decision in Planned Parenthood v Casey) and was appointed by Casey to fill the vacancy caused by Sen. Heinz's death.
Ms. Michelman did not file petitions for the Democratic primary; if she runs, it will be as a third-party candidate. St. Sen. Connie Williams has joined in the "please don't run!" push.