Santorum wavers on death penalty
The Hill reported a couple of weeks ago that Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum was “shifting more to the left” in advance on next year’s tough re-election fight in Pennsylvania. It was, to be sure, one of the least believable claims I’ve ever heard.
To back it up, The Hill noted that Santorum proposed a minimum-wage increase, expressed an openness to raising payroll tax rates to bolster Social Security, and he even stood up to White House requests to cut funds for Community Development Block Grants. Proof of a subtle shift? Hardly. Santorum’s minimum-wage proposal was a sham and he doesn’t actually support changing payroll taxes; he only said he’d be willing to let Dems come to the negotiating table with the idea.
On the other hand, this report was rather surprising.
A new poll showing that Catholics are backing off support for the death penalty was no surprise to U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, an outspoken conservative Catholic, who says he has been re-examining his own view.
He has not become an abolitionist, and he believes church teaching against the death penalty carries less weight than its longer-standing opposition to abortion. But he questions what he once unquestioningly supported.
“I felt very troubled about cases where someone may have been convicted wrongly. DNA evidence definitely should be used when possible,” he said.
“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 sounds a bit like changing a position without changing a position. Santorum has always supported the death penalty, but now he’s “troubled” by it. Is he willing to announce opposition to the practice? No. Is he planning to do something in the Senate about his new-found concerns? No. He just wants voters in Pennsylvania, where there is a large Catholic population, to know that the issue is on his mind and he’s now open to some kind of “limits” on the policy’s use.
This could be particularly interesting next year. Bob Casey Jr., like Santorum, opposes abortion rights, but supports the death penalty. Is Santorum trying to go after Casey from the left on this? Or is he trying to make it easier for the archdiocese in Pennsylvania to endorse him over Casey now that abortion is off the table? Hmm.