Pennsylvania Politics -- Santorum is Kryptonite to Liberals

Gary Andres, writing in the Washington Times, thinks that things will soon be looking up for Santorum. His argument is that so far Rickey has been running against the memory of beloved former Gov. Bob Casey, but as the public begins to learn more about little Bobby Casey Jr., his actual opponent, they will become disenchanted.

For starters, [Santorum's] opponent has the luxury of being all things to all people — more of a myth than a true candidate. As the campaign unfolds and Mr. Casey faces the inevitable increasing demands of liberal, secular interest groups within the Democratic Party, the fabled Casey name, built by his father, might become less attractive. At a joint appearance last week in Pennsylvania, several observers noted a stark stature gap, with the challenger not looking ready for prime time. Pressure on Mr. Casey to move left is already mounting, too. MoveOn.org will play a major role trying to elect him, already telling supporters in June that he was "part of our larger plan to win key seats and elect progressives in 2006." According to the American Spectator, a Democratic leadership staffer said "everyone was assured Casey was going to hang tough with us on reproductive rights and judges." He also has opposed other compassionate conservative ideas like school choice and welfare reform. All of this will create mounting cross pressure on his presumed supporters and lead to non-traditional defections. Arthur C. Brooks, writing in the fall 2004 issue of the Public Interest, underscores these risks, demonstrating that religiously oriented Democrats are much more likely to switch parties than faith-oriented Republicans. "As a practical matter, the rapidly secularized Democratic Party should probably view religious blacks as an "at-risk population," he writes.

Read the whole thing here.

Andres has a point. As Casey starts to lay out his positions, he will inevitably alienate some of his current supporters. But will it be enough to close an eighteen-point gap in the polls? That remains to be seen.

Stay tuned....