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Sen. Rick Santorum: Bob Casey 'Unqualified' for Senate
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, trailing his opponent for months in independent polls, on Thursday accused Democrat Bob Casey of being unqualified for the U.S. Senate "at a very critical time in our nation's future."
In the first of a two-day series of speeches on national security, Santorum said Casey fails to recognize the danger of a threat that encompasses more than what the senator repeatedly has referred to as "Islamic fascism."
"From everything I see, my opponent, Mr. Casey, is unready, unqualified for the office that he seeks at a very critical time in our nation's future," Santorum said in a speech at PRL Industries, a metal-castings supplier that counts the military among its customers.
Invoking Winston Churchill, Santorum said the U.S. must pay attention to escalating security threats from countries such as Iran, Venezuela and North Korea.
Santorum, the No. 3 Republican in the Senate, continued to make the case for the United States to maintain its commitment to fighting terrorism overseas and at home, and reducing the country's dependence on foreign oil.
Story Continues Below Casey campaign spokesman Larry Smar called Santorum's comments "more fear-mongering from a politician who is desperately behind in the polls."
"The people of Pennsylvania are smart enough to see through this," Smar said. "Rick Santorum said North Korea isn't a threat, because Kim Jong Il just wants to watch NBA basketball. He's the same Rick Santorum who compared the war in Iraq to 'The Lord of the Rings.' This isn't the person to take foreign policy advice from."
Santorum referred to what he said were multiple forces trying to undermine the U.S. as the "gathering storm" - a phrase that is also the title of Churchill's memoir about the causes of World War II. Santorum quoted the opening passage, in which Churchill said English-speaking peoples "allowed the wicked to rearm."
"I know we can't drill ourselves, as my opponent likes to say, out of our energy dependence," Santorum said. "But I can tell you that sleepwalking and taking things like that off the table are simply unacceptable. When our men and women in uniform are laboring and sacrifice dying because these countries have oil, they hold us hostage in this critical time."
© 2006 Associated Press.
Editor's note:
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
2006 Elections Inside Cover Stories
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