The winner of the May 16 primary will face NeoCon Rick Santorum in the general election next November.

“Not only has Rick Santorum accepted more money from lobbyists than any other senator this election cycle, he is also the leader of the notorious K Street Project,” wrote Jay Reiff, Campaign Manager for Casey.

The K Street Project is the nefarious Tom Delay/Jack Abramoff plan to place “their hand picked Republican friends into the very lobbying firms that Santorum is now being asked to regulate. The K Street Project and Santorum’s selection to lead ethics reform are indicative of an arrogance of power in Washington that needs to change.”

Meanwhile, the Casey people have mounted a petition drive against the selection of Santorum.

Arbitrator Richard Bloch ruled today in favor of the punishment handed down to outspoken and maligned wide receiver Terrell Owens by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Let me just say that I am SHOCKED. I did not think there was any way that the suspension would be upheld. There was every indication from insiders and experts on the matter that the suspension would be reduced. Moreover, sources familiar with Eagles management believed that the front office didn’t have the stomach for another grievance. These folks indicated that if another grievance was brought by the NFLPA, this time in regards to Owens’ deactivation as a means of suspension, the Eagles would simply release T.O.

But for now all of those thoughts are for naught. Bloch not only upheld the suspension, but also the Eagles right to suspend T.O. “due to the nature of his conduct and its destructive and continuing threat to the team.”

I am THRILLED. T.O. got exactly what he deserved. He was relentless with his verbal attacks on the team, Coach Reid and Donovan. Pushing the limits with his words and his antics, T.O. dug his own grave. He will now pay for his poor judgment with the loss of his salary for four games, a portion of his signing bonus and the remaining 5 years and $35+ million on his contract. Moreover, he has tarnished his image, jeopardizing his chances of finding his way onto a Super Bowl-bound team. Moreover, he may have created a Michael Irvin-esque roadblock toward his bid for Canton.

T.O. approval ratings have actually dipped below that of Ricky Santorum. His actions were a disgrace to himself and the NFL. Now he can spend some time to think about the past six months while chilling on his couch watching the rest of the season on TV. Have fun bud…now you have plenty of time to hang with your boy Drew.

On another note, the Eagles finally rid themselves of the Jose Cortez and Reggie Hodges experiment….ummm, what took so long?

In other Philadelphia sports news, Jim Thome is on his way back to the Midwest, as the Phillies have dealt him to the reigning World Series Champions for center fielder Aaron Rowand….more on this trade later.

Meanwhile this week’s Strategic Vision poll has Santorum trailing Casey by 15 points and facing a mere 38% approval rating. Perhaps it’s because his right wing fundamentalist supporters are angry at him for admitting that “intelligent design” is a load of crap? On Saturday he told the Beaver County Times that ID shouldn’t be taught in schools and that “Science leads you where it leads you.” Problem is he heartily endorsed it two years ago in the Washington Times.

Yeah, Ricky isn’t just a wacko right winger, he’s also plain stupid. To think just a few years ago he was a shining star in the Republican party. [UPDATE: All Spin Zones points out that Santorum was a fan of intelligent design only 10 months ago!]

Amidst all this conservative foundering it’s easy to forget that there is a Democratic primary, and while the party bosses (Rendell, Reid, Schumer) have picked out good ol’ Casey, there is a truly committed progressive running in the race. Chuck Pennacchio is against the war, for universal healthcare, and believes in both abortion rights and worker’s rights. The more I learn about him, the more I like. He’s got a fundraiser at the Warwick Hotel on December 8th if you’re interested in more than the status quo. Also check out Dragonballyee where Albert’s been doing a great job blogging about Chuck and pushing him as a candidate.

Under House rules, this means Delay has to step-down as Majority Leader.

Radical Rick Santorum, get off your cell phone, we’re coming for you next baby.

Good work, everyone.

WJAC Channel 6 in PA ran a brief story highlighting Santorum’s comments on the Iraq War.

As violence in Iraq continues, there are mixed messages from Washington about how long troops will be deployed. Support is mixed among Americans. Recent polls show that support for the President’s Iraq policy has started to dip below 40-percent.

Senator Rick Santorum says we have to carry on, although casualties continue to mount. That’s a concern, but the bottom line is that we have to finish this war in a way that would make that sacrifice a worthy sacrifice.

The number of troops from Pennsylvania killed in Iraq is closing in on 90.

Forget the electoral ramifications of the situation and the dwindling public support. Think about the troops who are deployed over there and think about the families who are living in constant fear of losing their sons or daughters. If the Republican Party really supported the troops, then they would make a plan to bring them home. Comments like, “we have to finish this war in a way that would make that sacrifice a worthy sacrifice” just doesn’t cut it anymore.

Where is the leadership…on vacation???

And the political reality of Radical Rick’s position is that no matter what questions talk show hosts or his opponents throw at him about his out of the mainstream positions on issues– the bottom line is he believes (or at least is in a position to claim that he does) what he believes and is resolute in those beliefs.

Hey, do you remember the 2004 election between John Kerry and George Bush? Well, more Americans disagreed with Bush’s positions on various issues (most notably the war in Iraq, handling of the economy, etc.) and and thankfully those same voters voted against Bush in November 2004 and Kerry won!!

Wait, ok– no. The very same folks who were against Bush’s policies went to their respective polling stations and voted for him. They felt that while Bush didn’t necessarily believe what they believe– he did BELIEVE IT STRONGLY.

Now, we know that Bush believes very little of what he says and is just a really great politician. And, I feel that Radical Rick is in a similar position today.

My advice: watch out! Early polls show that Radical Rick is trailing to Mr. Casey and that’s a good sign. However, as Radical Rick moves quickly towards to the center and away from his radical roots– people will view him (because, well, people ain’t smart) as a moderate guy who isn’t afraid to preach his beliefs and stand by them.

The moral of this story: the average American doesn’t care what politicians believe. All they care is that they believe in something and are willing to fight for those beliefs.

I’m a proud Democrat and I expect great things from Bob Casey. But let’s just all be clear that Radical Rick is in this race to win and his strategy to say whatever he feels, however dangerous or destructive, has been and will continue to be a winning strategy for Republicans.

Thank you for not interrupting my rant.

We are still more than a year out from this crucial election, Santorum has plenty of time to add to his attention-grabbing, out of the mainstream, sometimes hilarious statements. SkaroffBlog will continue to update you on this race and will offer analysis as strategies and campaign tactics emerge.

UPDATE: Santorum Trails Casey by 11 Points—In the race for Senate, a new Strategic Vision poll (R) finds Pennsylvania Treasurer Bob Casey (D) way ahead of Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), 51% to 40%. (thanks to Politicalwire.com for the polling data)

“What the Democrats are doing is the equivalent of Adolf Hitler in 1942 saying, ‘I’m in Paris. How dare you invade me. How dare you bomb my city? It’s mine.’ This is no more the rule of the senate than it was the rule of the senate before not to filibuster.”
Video. Audio.

Chuck Pennacchio, who is running against Casey Jr. in the Democratic party to face Santorum in ’06 responded.

“As an historian of Holocaust-era Germany, I find Rick Santorum’s comment to be offensive, divisive, and destructive. Rick Santorum should immediately issue a public apology, and then retreat with conscience to consider the lasting damage he has done to the United States Senate and to the memory of 12 million Holocaust victims.

“How ironic is it that he would make such an extremist comment, comparing Senate Democrats to Adolph Hitler, while his own political party seeks to consolidate all governmental power in its own hands?”

This SHOULD be a story. Let’s see what the MSM does with it.