Santorum was born in Winchester,Virginia, and raised inBerkeley County, West Virginia, andButler County, Pennsylvania, the son of Aldo Santorum (born 1923) and Catherine (ne Dughi; born 1918). Both his father and maternal grandfather wereimmigrantsfromItaly.
Both of Santorum's parents worked at the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Butler, and the family lived on the VA hospital post. His father became licensed as a psychologist in August 1974. After attending schools in the Butler Area School District,where he gained the nickname "Rooster",allegedly because healways had a few errant hairs on the back of his head that refused to stay down(because of an orthodontic head brace), and he wasnoisy, showy, dogged and determined like a rooster and never backed down.
Santorum graduated fromCarmel High SchoolinMundelein, Illinoisin 1976.,where his father transferred within the VA hospital system. He lists his residency asPenn Hills, Pennsylvania, and maintains a home inLeesburg, Virginia, for his work inWashington, D.C.
Santorum earned aBachelor of Artsdegree, majoring inPolitical Science, fromPennsylvania State Universityin 1980, and aMaster of Business Administrationdegree from theUniversity of Pittsburghin 1981. He is a member ofTau Epsilon Phifraternity.
In 1986, Santorum earned aJuris Doctor(J.D.) from theDickinson School of Law, was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar, and began practicing law inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While working at thelaw firmofKirkpatrick & Lockhart, he represented theWorld Wrestling Federation, arguing thatprofessional wrestlingshould be exempt from federalanabolic steroidregulations because it was not a sport.Santorum left private practice after first being elected to the House in November 1990.
Santorum and his wife, Karen Garver Santorum, have seven children: Elizabeth Anne (born 1991); Richard John ("Johnny"), Jr. (born 1993); Daniel James (born 1995); Sarah Maria (born 1998); Peter Kenneth (born 1999); Patrick Francis (born 2001); and Isabella "Bella" Maria (born 2008). Bella was subsequently diagnosed withTrisomy 18, a serious genetic disorder which is fatal before birth in 90 per cent of cases.In 1996, their son Gabriel Michael was born prematurely and lived for only two hours (asonogramtaken before Gabriel was born revealed that his posterior urethral valve was closed and that the prognosis for his survival was therefore poor).
Karen Santorum wrote a book about the experience:Letters to Gabriel: The True Story of Gabriel Michael Santorum.In it, she writes that the couple brought the deceased infant home from the hospital and introduced the dead child to their living children as "your brother Gabriel" and slept with the body overnight before returning it to the hospital. The anecdote was also written about by Michael Sokolove in a 2005New York Times Magazinestory on Santorum.
Karen is also the author of a book on etiquette for children.
Santorum and his family usually attendLatin MassatSaint Catherine of Sienachurch, nearWashington, D.C.On November 12, 2004, Santorum and his wife were invested as Knight and Dame of Magistral Grace of theKnights of Maltain a ceremony atSt. Patrick's Cathedral, New York.
Santorum first became actively involved in politics volunteering for the late SenatorJohn Heinz.
After earning his Juris Doctor, Santorum became an administrative assistant to Republican State SenatorDoyle Corman(until 1986). He was director of the Pennsylvania Senate's local government committee from 1981 to 1984, then director of the Pennsylvania Senate's Transportation Committee until 1986.
In 1990, at age 32, Santorum was elected to theU.S. House of RepresentativesfromPennsylvania's 18th District, located in the eastern suburbs ofPittsburgh. He scored a significant upset, defeating a seven-termDemocraticincumbent,Doug Walgren. Although the 18th was heavily Democratic, Santorum attacked Walgren for living outside the district for most of the year. He was reelected in 1992, in part because the district lost its share of Pittsburgh as a result of redistricting. In Congress, as a member of theGang of Seven, Santorum worked to expose congressional corruption by outing the guilty parties in theHouse banking scandal.
A barn painted with Santorum's logo and slogan. The barn was used in a 1994 political ad.
In 1994, at the age of 36, Santorum waselected to the U.S. Senate, defeating the incumbent Democrat,Harris Wofford, who was 32 years his senior. The theme of Santorum's 1994 campaign, as portrayed on his campaign's signs, was "Join the Fight!"[citation needed]Santorum wasre-electedin 2000 defeating CongressmanRon Klinkby a 52.4% to 45.5% margin.
In 1996 he endorsedArlen Specterfor president.
In a 2002PoliticsPAFeature storydesignating politicians withyearbook superlatives, he was named the "Most Ambitious".
As Chairman of theSenate Republican Conference, Santorum directed the communications operations of Senate Republicans and was a frequent party spokesperson. He was the youngest member of the Senate leadership and the first Pennsylvanian to hold such a prominent position since SenatorHugh Scottwas Republican leader in the 1970s. In addition, Santorum served on the Senate Agriculture Committee; the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; the Senate Special Committee on Aging; and theSenate Finance Committee, of which he was the Chairman of the Subcommittee onSocial Securityand Family Policy.
In January 2005, Santorum announced his intention to run forUnited States Senate Republican Whip, the second highest post in the Republican caucus after the2006 election.[16]The move came because it was presumed the incumbent whip,Mitch McConnellofKentucky, was viewed as having the inside track to succeedingBill FristofTennesseeas Senate Republican leader.
During the lame-duck session of the 109th Congress, Santorum was one of only two senators who voted againstRobert Gatesto become Secretary of Defense. He cited his opposition to Gates' advocacy of engagingIranandSyriato solve the problem, claiming that talking to "radical Islam" would be a grievous error.
During his third term re-election campaign for his Senate seat againstBob Casey, Jr., Santorum introduced the term "Islamicfascism", while questioning "his opponent's ability to make the right decisions on national security at a time when 'our enemies are fully committed to our destruction.'"
During most of his tenure in the Senate, Santorum sat at theCandy desk.
He is known for his "confrontational, partisan, 'in your face' style of politics and government."
In September 2005, in an effort to publicly realign himself with the conservative legacy, Santorum gave a speech that outlined the successes and failures but more centrally the future of conservatism, at theHeritage Foundation's First International Conservative Conference on Social Justice. In November 2005, he adapted his speech into anop-edpiece for the political websiteTownhall.comoutlining his vision for "Compassionate Conservatism".
class="templatequote"> What I call "Compassionate Conservatism" has something unique to offer to the shaping of our future.
Compassionate Conservatism relies on healthy families, freedom of faith, a vibrant civil society, a proper understanding of the individual and a focused government to achieve noble purposes through definable objectives which offers hope to all.
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Associated Pressreported that on July 20, 2006, Santorum stated that "Islamic fascism rooted in Iran is behind much of the world's conflict, but he is opposed to military action against the country", in a speech where he "also defended the treatment of prisoners inGuantanamo Bay."The Senator indicated that "effective action against Iran" would require America's fighting "for a strong Lebanon, a strong Israel, and a strong Iraq."
On September 7, 2006, Santorum outlined his views on foreign policy in anop-edpiece for thePittsburgh Post-Gazetteand discussed Islamicfascism, closing with a rally cry:
class="templatequote"> I believe we are at war with Islamic fascists and I singled out Iran and Syria as examples of Islamic fascist regimes. Many Muslims say the same thing, and the editors should, too, for it is undeniable. [...]
I have said time and time again across Pennsylvania these past weeks that the fight against Islamic fascism is the great test of our generation. Leaders are obliged to articulate this threat and to propose what is necessary to defeat it. That is my purpose, and our national calling. The American people have always rallied to the cause of freedom once they understood what was at stake. I have no doubt that they will again.
>
Santorum has referred to his family history of fascism as an inspiration for his 2012 presidential campaign.
Santorum has attracted both support and criticism because of hissocially conservativeand outspoken views, primarily because of his stances onsame-sex marriage,homosexuality, andabortion. His views on social and cultural issues are presented in his 2005 book,It Takes a Family, published by theIntercollegiate Studies InstituteofWilmington,Delaware.
In September 2006, theCitizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington(CREW) included Santorum in their second annual report on members of Congress with ethics issues, titled "Beyond DeLay: The 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and five to watch)".He was also in the first report. According to the report, "Santorums ethics issues stem from the manner in which he funded his childrens education and his misuse of his legislative position in exchange for contributions to his political action committee and his re-election campaign."
After the report was issued,Melanie Sloanwas asked if she could prove that Santorum received money from organizations because of his work with them. She said, "I don't have proof that there's a direct exchange, but the timing of the contributions are enough to warrant an investigation."
Santorum has been active in addressing the issues of welfare reform and government accountability. He is a self-described conservative who favors legislation that would restrict or prohibitabortion. Santorum has said he is personally against abortion and has expressed disapproval ofhomosexuality, issues that he believes should be decided by elected officials rather than theSupreme Court: "what Id like to do is have these kinds of incredibly important moral issues be decided by the American public, not by nine unelected, unaccountable judges."
In 2006, Santorum opposed the Senate immigration reform proposal.Instead, Santorum stated that the US should act to enforce currently existing laws. He has openly stated his strong opposition to amnesty for illegal immigrants. He supports the construction of a barrier along the U.S.-Mexican border, an increase in the number of border patrol agents on the border, and the stationing of National Guard troops along the border. He also believes that illegal immigrants should be deported immediately when they commit crimes, and that illegal immigrants should not receive benefits from the government. Finally, the former senator believes that English should be established as the national language in the United States.
In 2001, Santorum tried unsuccessfully to insert language which came to be known as the "Santorum Amendment" into theNo Child Left Behindbill that sought to promote the teaching ofintelligent designwhile questioning the academic standing ofevolutioninpublic schools.The amendment, crafted with the assistance of theDiscovery Institute,would have required schools to discuss possible controversies surrounding scientific topics, and gave the theory of evolution as an example, opening the door for intelligent design as an opposing theory to be presented in science classrooms.A federal court in Santorum's own state, along with the majority of scientific organizations, including theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science, say the Institute has manufactured the controversy they want to teach by promoting a false perception that evolution is "a theory in crisis", portraying it as being the subject of wide controversy and debate within the scientific community.
Though not included in the final version of the Act made law, the language from the amendment was included in a report attached to the Act known as the Conference Report. The Discovery Institute and many intelligent design proponents, including two Ohio Congressmen, have repeatedly invoked this to suggest that intelligent design should be included in public school science standards as an alternative to evolution.
In a 2002Washington Timesop-ed article Santorum wrote that intelligent design "is a legitimate scientific theory that should be taught in science classes."By 2005 Santorum had adopted theDiscovery Institute'sTeach the Controversyapproach,stating in an interview withNational Public Radio"I'm not comfortable with intelligent design being taught in the science classroom. What we should be teaching are the problems and holes, and I think there are legitimate problems and holes in the theory of evolution",a statement which mirrors the Teach the Controversy strategy, the most recent iteration of theintelligent design movement.The day after theKitzmiller v. Dover Area School Districtdecision that intelligent design is not science and is essentially religious in naturecame down, Santorum announced that he was resigning from the advisory board of theThomas More Law Centerwhich had defended the Dover school board.Most recently Santorum wrote the foreword for the March 2006 book,Darwin 's Nemesis: Phillip Johnson And the Intelligent Design Movementa collection of essays largely by Discovery Institute fellows honoring the "father" of the intelligent design movement,Phillip E. Johnson.
Santorum and U.S. SenatorJohn Kerry, (D-MA), were the lead sponsors of theWorkplace Religious Freedom Act(WRFA), which would require employers to accommodate the religious observances of their employees as long as such accommodations would not impose an "undue hardship" on the employer. Thus, employers would be required to afford employees flexible work shifts so that they could observe religious holidays and to permit employees to wear religiously required clothing at work. Versions of the WRFA have been introduced in 1997, 2000, and 2003, but have failed to be enacted.
Main article:National Weather Service Duties Act of 2005
On April 14, 2005, Santorum introduced theNational Weather Service Duties Act of 2005to "clarify the duties and responsibilities of theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationand theNational Weather Service(NWS), and for other purposes".This legislation, if enacted, would prohibit the NWS from publishing weather data to the public when private-sector entities, such asAccuWeather, a company based in Santorum's home state, perform the same function commercially. Accuweather employees have contributed at least $5500 to Santorum since 1999, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Opponents of this bill contend[citation needed]that weather data is collected at taxpayer expense, and therefore it should be made freely available to the public, and not provided solely to private corporations that will charge fees for access. They also claim that the vague language in the bill is an attempt to prevent the NWS from issuing free forecasts because such functions are currently provided by the private sector and would be considered competition.
The bill was never enacted or voted upon, dying in committee.
Statements regarding homosexuality
A controversy arose following Santorum's statements about homosexuality in an interview with theAssociated Pressthat was published on April20, 2003. In response to a question about how to preventsexual abuse of childrenby priests, Santorum said the priests were engaged in "a basic homosexual relationship" with "post-pubescent men", and went on to say that he had "[...] no problem with homosexuality. I have a problem with homosexual acts"; that the right to privacy, as detailed inGriswold v. Connecticut,"doesn't exist in my opinion in theUnited States Constitution"; that, "whether it'spolygamy, whether it's adultery, whether it'ssodomy, all of those things are antithetical to a healthy, stable, traditional family"; and thatsodomy lawsproperly exist to prevent acts that "undermine the basic tenets of our society and the family". When the Associated Press reporter asked whether homosexuals should not then engage in homosexual acts, Santorum replied, "Every society in the histor y of man has upheld the institution of marriage as a bond between a man and a woman. Why? Because society is based on one thing: that society is based on the future of the society. And that's what? Children.Monogamousrelationships. In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality. That's not to pick on homosexuality. It's not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be. It is one thing. And when you destroy that you have a dramatic impact on the quality".
Democratic politicians, including2004 Democratic presidential candidates,gay rightsadvocates, and liberal commentators condemned the statements. Republican politicians,religious conservatives, and other conservative commentators supported Santorum and called the condemnations unfair.
Santorum did not retract his remarks, stating that they were intended not to equate homosexuality withincestandpedophilia, but rather as a critique of the specific legal position that the right to privacy prevents the government from regulating consensual acts among adults (such asbigamy, incest, etc.).
In May 2003, syndicated columnistDan Savagehelped coin the sexualneologism"santorum" in protest of the then-senator's controversial stance on homosexuality. Since 2004, the neologism has regularly been the first entry that appears when conducting a search for "santorum" on Google,which Santorum has referred to as a "vulgarity" inRoll Call.
On September 4, 2005, Santorum spoke to aPittsburghtelevision station,WTAE, about the evacuation warnings given forHurricane Katrina:
class="templatequote"> I mean people who don't heed those warnings and then put people at risk as a result of not heeding those warnings [...] There may be a need to look at tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out and understand that there are consequences to not leaving. >
The campaign ofBob Casey, Jr., his Democratic opponent for the Senate, criticized Santorum's remarks.
On September 6, in a follow-up interview with WTAE, Santorum said,
class="templatequote"> Obviously most of the people here in this case, an overwhelming majority of people, just literally couldn't have gotten out on their own. >
On September 8, during an interview withpublic-radiostationWITF-FM, inHarrisburg, Pennsylvania, Santorum said
class="templatequote"> [T]heweather servicegave no warning, or not sufficient warning in my opinion, as to the effects when it came on land inFloridaas aCategory One hurricane[...] Predictions were that it wasn't going to go out to theGulfand affect the western Gulf coast, it was going to sort of head up to Florida or go right off the coast ofFlorida[...] I'm not going to suggest when it comes to Katrina that there were any major errors. I don't know. This is something that I think needs to be investigated. >
Santorum was the sponsor of legislation proposed topreventthe National Weather Service from issuing those warnings, thus competing withprivate-sectorweather services, as discussedabove.
Santorum added asynthetic-fueltax-credit amendment to a larger bill introduced in the Senate byCharles Grassley, theIowaRepublican who headed theSenate Finance Committee.Time Magazinecalled this tax-credit scheme "a multibillion-dollarscam."The amendment was inserted in theTax Relief Actof 2006, which provides aid for Hurricane Katrina victims and sets new policies fortax-exemptgroups.
In June 2006, Santorum declared thatweapons of mass destruction(WMD) had been found in Iraq.The specific weapons he referred to were chemical munitions dating back to theIranIraq Warthat were buried in the early 1990s. The report stated that while agents had degraded to an unknown degree, they remained dangerous and possibly lethal.Officials of the Department of Defense, CIA intelligence analysts, and the White House have all explicitly stated that these expired casings are not part of the WMD threat thatOperation Iraqi Freedomwas launched to contain.
Santorum's declaration was based in part on declassified portions of a classified report from the National Ground Intelligence Center of the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command.Portions were declassified in a summary that made six key points:
In 2005 a coalition ofanimal rightsgroups, spearheaded by theHumane Society of the United States(HSUS) and theDoris Day Animal League(DDAL) mounted a failed effort to push thePet Animal Welfare Statute of 2005(PAWS) through Congress. The bill was proposed by Senator Santorum and sponsored by SenatorDick Durbin(D-IL) andArlen Specter(D-PA). PAWS would have reclassified most small and hobby breeders as commercial breeders subjecting them toUSDAregulations, allowed home inspections and placed fees and compliance expenses on pet breeders. Fellow Congressmen were told that PAWS was "thepuppy millbill". This was Santorum's third failed attempt at pet-related legislation.
In 2005, four teenagers were ejected from a bookstore in Wilmington, Delaware, where Santorum was scheduled for a book signing, after they were overheard expressing critical opinions of the senator.TheAmerican Civil Liberties Unionfiled suit, which was settled in 2007. As a result of the settlement, the Delaware State Police were required to pay legal fees for the plaintiffs and provide training to officers on free speech rights. The Santorum staff members who requested the ejection were required to apologize and to relinquish their salaries for the event$2,500.00to plaintiffs in damages.
Santorum speaking in February 2011 at CPAC.
Before failing to win reelection in 2006, Santorum had frequently been mentioned as a possible2008 presidential candidate. Such speculation faded when, during the course of the campaign and in light of unimpressive poll numbers, he declared that, if re-elected, he would serve a full term. After he lost, Santorum once again ruled out a presidential run.
In March 2007 Santorum joined Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC. He will primarily practice law in the firmsPittsburghandWashington, D.C.offices, where he will provide business and strategic counseling services to the firm's clients. He also joined theEthics and Public Policy Center, a D.C.-based conservativethink tank.Santorum is also contributor on theFox News Channel.Santorum also writes an Op/Ed piece titled "The Elephant in the Room" for the Commentary Page of thePhiladelphia Inquirer.Santorum told thePittsburgh Tribune-Reviewthat he would address many geopolitical issues, and then joked, "I don't doAnna Nicole Smith, that's all."After leaving the Senate, Santorum joined the Board of Directors ofUniversal Health Services, a hospital management company based inKing of Prussia,Pennsylvania.
On February 1, 2008, Santorum announced that he would vote forMitt Romneyin the 2008 Presidential Republican primary race, stating:"If you're a Republican, if you're a Republican in the broadest sense, there is only one place to go right now and that's Mitt Romney.".He has come out as a strong critic of John McCain, questioning his pro-life voting record and whether Sen. McCain holds true conservative values. However, in September 2008, Santorum expressed support for McCain after all, citingSarah Palinas a step in the right direction: "Knowing McCain, he's choosing someone in whom he sees a lot of himself...He tries to find people who have a similar head as he does, and if he sees him in [Palin]...that gives me a better feel for him and a little more confidence in him."
On April 12, 2007, political action committee America's Foundation,Highmarkand a former Highmark vice president were fined by the Federal Election Committee for sponsoring Santorum with corporate money.The problem had been reported by Highmark, which uncovered the matter during an internal review.
Santorum was mentioned as a candidate forGovernor of Pennsylvaniain2010.At one point, he was said to have "quietly but efficiently put his fingerprints on a wide-array of conservative causes in the state."However, Santorum declined to seek the gubernatorial nomination and instead endorsed eventual winnerTom Corbett.
Santorum has said he is considering candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in the2012 presidential election. On September 11, 2009, Santorum spoke to a group of Catholic leaders in Orlando, Florida. He told the leaders, "I hate to be calculating, but I see that 2012 is not just throwing somebody out to be eaten, but it's a real opportunity for success." He also scheduled appearances with political non-profit organizations that took place in Iowa on October 1, 2009.
Santorum re-iterated his consideration of a 2012 run in a e-mail and letter sent on January 15, 2010 to supporters of his Political Action Committee saying, "After talking it over with my wife Karen and our kids I am considering putting my name in for the 2012 presidential race. I'm convinced that conservatives need a candidate who will not only stand up for our views, but who can articulate a conservative vision for our country's future," Santorum also writes. "And right now, I just don't see anyone stepping up to the plate. I have no great burning desire to be president, but I have a burning desire to have a different president of the United States"He formed a presidential exploratory commitee on April 13, 2011.
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