Not actually the favorite senator of labor, big or small. (Bryan Snyder/Reuters)
Working-class voters
don't like Mitt Romney. Rick Santorum is trying to capitalize on that by positioning himself as the blue-collar, everyman alternative to Rich Uncle Pennybags Mitt. This dynamic is producing a certain amount of comedy, with Romney
attacking Santorum as "big labor's favorite senator" and Santorum deciding he's going to
embrace that for the moment:
“I have no problem with private-sector unions,” the former Pennsylvania senator said. “From my perspective, unions are frankly one of those median institutions and have served in America a legitimate purpose over time in the private sector. I don’t feel quite as warm and fuzzy about public sector unions.”
Simon van Zuylen-Wood takes a look at
Santorum's actual record on labor issues and relationships with union leaders in his former home state of Pennsylvania:
Jack Shea, the head of the Allegheny County Labor Council, said, "I can't remember him being an ally to labor ever,” adding, “Just by voting against the minimum wage twelve times—it was seared in our minds.” [...]
Rick Bloomingdale, the president of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, told me Santorum “will go whatever way the wind blows.” Bill Ehman, a local steelworkers union chief agreed: “I’ll be honest with you. He was pretty much like he is now. A political whore.”
One thing Romney will not be citing to prove that Santorum is "big labor's favorite senator" is Santorum's lifetime rating in the Senate on the AFL-CIO's legislative scorecard—he comes in at the
13 percent mark.