HAHAHAHAHA! Santorum flip flips on DP. Big time!

[Mandate My Ass]

NEW VOICES: U.S. Senator Santorum Rethinking Death Penalty Views

U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, an outspoken conservative Catholic from Pennsylvania, is re-examining his views on capital punishment. In response to the announcement by the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops concerning their new Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty, Santorum said, "I felt very troubled about cases where someone may have been convicted wrongly. DNA evidence definitely should be used when possible. I agree with the pope that in the civilized world ... the application of the death penalty should be limited. I would definitely agree with that. I would certainly suggest there probably should be some further limits on what we use it for." This is a significant shift in opinion on the death penalty for Santorum, who voted against replacing capital punishment with life without parole in 1994 and helped to block a 1996 effort to make it easier for those on death row to appeal their convictions.

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=1385&scid=64

I live in PA and Sanctorum has been an absolutely rabid supporter of the DP. I smell something that stinks like dead fish and I think it's actually upcoming-election desperation.

What a putz!

[Emboldened Chimp]

1. He's going left to appeal to moderates

He's not really reconsidering. Santorum is a political opportunist; a supreme scumbag.

[Tace]

2. The Death Penalty Is An Issue That Many Folks Change Their Views On...

as they mature. Sort of like the way hard-core athiests often change their views as they age. Though, for these politicians, it's doubtlessly just a practical consideration. They'd sell their mother for a nickle if anyone would buy her.

[dad]

3. .

I changed my views TO hard-core atheist as I aged

[aeolian]

10. and I now perform summary executions in the street.

People change.


...er...wait...

[Atman]

4. Whew...I saw "Santorum" and "DP" and immediately assumed...

Well, you know...that Rick Santorum is a pretty freaky guy. It was a natural assumption, I think.

He's a shameless whore, and he smells votes somewhere. You're right, something is up. Or maybe he's thinking about some of the shit he's had to pull for BushCo, and is trying to shore up his future, take certain options off the table, as it were. Y'know?

NEW Toon - "Pachyrus"

[aeolian]

11. BAAAAHAHAHAHA!

That was the first thought that went through my head, as well.

LOL

[Mandate My Ass]

12. Utterly shameless and opportunistic whore. this is a ploy no doubt

"Stop the presses! Will Rick Santorum actually come out against the death penalty? Does that mean Pa. liberals will walk into the voting booth next November and have to choose between a "Democrat" who wants to fry people and a, a, a...Rick Santorum who doesn't? What a mess this election is becoming (via Raw Story):"

http://www.pnionline.com/dnblog/attytood/

[Guaranteed]

5. That's kind of a dumb one to flip-flop on, though.

Can't say I really understand it.

He'd be better off softening on abortion or something else if he's trying to appeal to the left. American support for the death penalty is very strong.

[Bethany Rockafella]

6. And they labeled John Kerry a flip flopper.

There is nothing wrong with changing one's view on topics. There never was but the republicans made everyone believe that was wrong when a Democratic person did it.

[oddmanout]

7. He is sensing defeat

This is a sign that he is sensing the possibility of defeat, this is a time for the Democratic challenger, apparently Bob Casey, Jr. to go after Mr Santorum on his record (which is dubious at best). We need to keep after the Santorum machine and keep them on the defensive.


:dem:

[mattclearing]

8. The frothy mixture smells his demise...

...and is grasping at straws.

Maybe he will unwittingly expose the hypocrisy of the GOP's commitment to "life."

[OneTwentyoNine]

9. Umm,er....well....gotta say the timing of his flip-flop is a bit suspect..

with the Schiavo case and all....

[LdyGuique]

13. Oh, c'mon -- it's because he's Catholic

Catholics really do try to follow Papal Bulls and statements -- many Catholics will be changing their minds on the DP

They have gotten a lot of flak due to their adamant stance on abortion but being pro-DP and pro-War

[Mandate My Ass]

14. The Pope has always been anti-DP

It's just the American bishops who've kept mum on the subject until now so Rick is merely riding the wave of opportunism. He also unfailingly votes against any bill that helps women, workers or the poor.

Anybody who labels him/herself as pro-life, while supporting war and the death penalty, has no reason to whine when they catch flak for it.

[LdyGuique]

15. Well, I'm not Christian in any form -- nor any other religious ism;

so, I evaluate candidates on their stances on issues, their public statements, and their actual voting record. Unfortunately, too many candidates have extremely fluid POVs and/or conceal their real agenda. But, I will respect someone who is consistent to a particular POV across the board.

If a Christian professes their faith and then backs issues that help the poor and disadvantaged both stateside and worldwide, is pro-life consistently throughout all the issues this entails (including being anti-war unless under direct attack) I will respect them. Are there any out there???

I particularly like the site On The Issues. And, when I lived in PA, I found the state to be extremely conservative overall and too religious for my taste.

I moved to Alaska from Harrisburg this last summer.

[MollyStark]

16. Didn't he just LIE about the Pope's position?

When did the Pope say the DP should be used in limited cases? Isn't the Pope against the death penalty in any case?
Maybe some Catholic DU member could enlighten me.

[Mandate My Ass]

17. Pope's official statement

The Pope's Statement

While the vast majority of U.S. Catholics support capital punishment, Pope John Paul II has declared the Church's near total opposition to the death penalty. In his encyclical "Evangelium Vitae" (The Gospel of Life) issued March 25, 1995 after four years of consultations with the world's Roman Catholic bishops, John Paul II wrote that execution is only appropriate "in cases of absolute necessity, in other words, when it would not be possible otherwise to defend society. Today, however, as a result of steady immprovement in the organization of the penal system, such cases are very rare, if not practically nonexistent."

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/angel/procon/popestate.html