Post Gazette LTTES on TURKEY Day - with Ricky as the Turkey

<http://www.postgazette.com/pg/04330/417152.stm>

The PG should be well aware of U.S. Senate members' life patterns

Your below-the-belt editorial "Rick Santorum, R-Va." (Nov. 19) brought back a few memories. As press secretary for Mr. Santorum's first congressional campaign in 1990, I wrote and distributed many of the media releases charging that his incumbent opponent, Doug Walgren, spent very little time in the district. After Mr. Santorum's upset victory, I joined his district staff. Mr. Santorum dutifully kept his promise to return to the district whenever the House was not in session, indefatigably visiting with constituents and communities all over Allegheny County.

When Mr. Santorum won election to the Senate in 1994, it was clear that he could no longer spend all his out-of-session time in Allegheny County. Not only is the Senate frequently in session five days a week, but Mr. Santorum's constituency would now be spread over 67 counties and 45,000 square miles, not part of a single county. The families of dozens of House members live in their home district, but the families of Senate members, virtually without exception, live within commuting distance of Washington, D.C.

Philadelphia may be within a daily commute from Washington, but Pittsburgh definitely is not, so leaving the family members in Pittsburgh full-time is impossible for a senator. Nevertheless, we all knew that Mr. Santorum's detractors would conveniently overlook the obvious distinctions between the responsibilities of a House member and a large-state senator and would gleefully accuse him of hypocrisy. So we encouraged him to relocate his family as soon as possible, continue to spend the overwhelming majority of his out-of-session time in his home state (as he still does) and let the unjustified gaggle of criticism come and go six years before he stood for re-election.

Little did we know that, 10 years later, the Post-Gazette editorial board, which ought to know better because it is well aware of Mr. Santorum's regular presence in Pennsylvania and the life patterns of U.S. senators, would use a dispute over cyber-school enrollment as an excuse to trot out the same baseless, uninformed charges.

Rather than insist on his legal rights, Mr. Santorum has agreed to terminate his children's official enrollment in their school. I am not surprised, as through five years of high-pressure activity I found him to be the most gracious and understanding boss I have ever had. Unlike most politicians, he always took personal responsibility for his office's activities, never made scapegoats of his staff when something went wrong and never placed demands on his staff that he was not willing to place on himself.

Happily, the positive free publicity you have granted to Nick Trombetta's wonderful cyber-school and to Pennsylvania cyber-education in general will far exceed any damage to Mr. Santorum. However, rather than bestowing upon Pennsylvania's highly accessible junior senator the laughable epithet of "R-Va.," you should research the standard practices of Senate families and then apologize for your ridiculously fallacious assertion that Pennsylvania has outsourced a Senate seat.

BRUCE BARRON
Bethel Park

Others commute
I cannot express the fury I felt as I learned about the investigation into Sen. Rick Santorum's family's use of the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School and the burden on the Penn Hills Schools District ("Santorum Told Kids Ineligible for School," Nov. 18). My family and I are full-time North Versailles residents, and our four children attend the area's public and charter schools. I commute each week to my job in Chantilly, Va., only a few miles from where Mr. Santorum's family lives.

Although my job pays well, we cannot afford to live in what Virginians refer to as the United States' fastest-growing county. I leave my family each Monday at 4:30 a.m., and don't see them again until I get home Friday night. During the week, I rent a room. It is a difficult way to live, but we are trying our best to make it work.

My family applauds Mr. and Mrs. Santorum's choice to educate their children at home. However, it's disgusting to see a senator living with his family in a house worth more than $750,000 and then abusing a local school district and the charter laws he represents. Many families, in more modest situations, are using respected home-school programs to educate their children.

As a Republican, I would encourage the senator to re-evaluate his decisions and to refund the money that he cost our schools. Should he not rectify this, I will work diligently to oust him from elected office and return him to the state he claims to represent, so his family can use his chosen local school district.

JOEL SCHUNEMAN
North Versailles

Recall Santorum

Rick Santorum said we can decide in two years if he is doing right ("Cyber School Faculty Offers Free Services to Santorum's Five Children," Nov. 19), but why wait two years? I and my wife, both registered Republicans, are ready to sign a petition to recall Rick Santorum now. I will take it around to my neighbors and friends for signatures. What gall.

DONALD E. KOENIG
Bethel Park

Ready and waiting

Thank you, Sen. Santorum, for the invitation to show my displeasure in a couple of years when your term expires. My pencil is sharpened and poised to make the largest, darkest checkmark beside your opponent's name, whomever it might be.

JUDITH A. PUGAR
Ambridge

Mr Barron has had enough koolaid. Nothing here. Move along. Don't you worry. We'll handle everything.

Sorry. We won't move along. When the permamnent ruling class starts to stomp on all of us, we will change them...

Also, there is a blog move begun to redistrict Illinois (a la Texas) to reflect the 70% Dem results of the last election. Perhaps we can play this sort of game here, as well?

and I may now give Thanks on this Thanksgiving day.