Republicans Turn on Santorum

Does party loyalty run both ways among Republican senators? That remains to be seen after Republican Majority for Choice (RMC), a pro-abortion caucus within the GOP, began a spirited attack on Sen. Rick Santorum this week.

RMC launched full- and quarter-page ads in nearly every major daily newspaper in Pennsylvania -- mock "Help Wanted" announcements calling for "Real Republican Candidates for Senate." The ad advocates "the Big Tent philosophy Ronald Reagan helped to build," and warns in bold, "Candidates who claim to be Republicans but instead use the Party to further their own personal or religious agenda need not apply." While the ad never names Santorum explicitly, its pro-abortion and anti-religious opposition to him is unmistakable.

With eight days between the launch of the ad campaign and the March 7 petition filing deadline for the Pennsylvania primaries, the search for "real" Republican primary opponents to Santorum appears half-hearted. Two thousand signatures would be required for a challenger to make it on to the ballot. Rather than a search, RMC's ad campaign could signal open hostility among Republican senators. This move comes in the midst of speculation that Kate Michelman, former president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, will run as an independent in the Senate race.

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