Look up BLR in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

BLR may refer to:

• Base Lending Rate
• Bad Lip Reading, a viral video series consisting of improperly lip-synced videos of famous musicians and politicians.
• Belarus
• Bengaluru International Airport; and previously HAL International Airport. BLR is the IATA code of the primary airport in Bangalore, India
• Beta-lactam Ring Records
• Blacklands Railroad
• Blang language, ISO 639:b language designation
• Breech loading rifle
• Browning BLR, a hunting rifle
• Burkitt lymphoma receptor 1 (BLR1), also known as CXCR5
• Blacklight: Retribution, a free first-person shooter game developed by Zombie Studios

See also[link]

• BLRC (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Herman Cain
Cain in October 2011
Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
In office 1995–1996
Preceded by	Burton A. Dole, Jr
Succeeded by	A. Drue Jennings
Deputy Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
In office 1992–1994
Preceded by	Burton A. Dole, Jr
Succeeded by	A. Drue Jennings
Personal details
Born	(1945-12-13) December 13, 1945 (age 66) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Gloria Cain (m. 1968) «start: (1968-06-23)»"Marriage: Gloria Cain to Herman Cain" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Herman_Cain)[1]
Children	Melanie Cain Vincent Cain
Residence	Sandy Springs, Georgia, US[2]
Alma mater	Morehouse College (BS) Purdue University (MS)
Occupation	Business executive, radio host, columnist
Religion	Baptist[3]
Website	cainconnections.com

	This article is part of a series about Herman Cain	Herman Cain
2012 presidential campaign Political positions 9–9–9 Plan This is Herman Cain!: My Journey to the White House 9-9-9 An Army of Davids

Herman Cain (born December 13, 1945)^[4] is an American author, business executive, radio host, syndicated columnist, and Tea Party activist from Georgia.^[5][6][7] He was a candidate for the 2012 U.S. Republican Party presidential nomination.^[5]

Cain grew up in Georgia and graduated from Morehouse College in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics.^[8] Cain pursued graduate studies at Purdue University, and graduated with a Master of Science in computer science in 1971,^[9] while also working full-time for the U.S. Department of the Navy.^[10][11][12] In 1977, he joined Pillsbury Company where he later became vice president.^[13] During the 1980s, his success as a business executive at Burger King prompted Pillsbury Company to appoint him as chairman and CEO of Godfather's Pizza, in which capacity he served from 1986 to 1996.^[14]

Cain was chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Omaha Branch from 1989 to 1991.^[15] He was deputy chairman, from 1992 to 1994, and chairman, from 1995 to 1996, of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.^[15] In 1995, Cain was appointed by Newt Gingrich to the Kemp Commission,^[16] and was a senior economic advisor to the Bob Dole presidential campaign.^[17] Cain became the CEO of the National Restaurant Association,^[18] in which he served as president and CEO from 1996 to 1999.^[18][19] During the Presidency of Bill Clinton, Cain publicly opposed the Clinton health care plan of 1993, about which he questioned the president at a town hall meeting.^[20] Cain has served as a member of the board of directors of several companies, including Aquila, Inc., Nabisco, Whirlpool, Reader's Digest, and AGCO.^[14][21][22]

In May 2011, Cain announced his presidential candidacy. His proposed 9–9–9 tax plan, along with his debate performances, made him the Republican front-runner in fall of 2011, during which he briefly led President Obama in the polls.^[23] In November his campaign struggled to deal with allegations of sexual misconduct, which resulted in Cain suspending his campaign on December 3.^[24][25][26] The Pew Research Center reported that, of the Republican candidates, "Herman Cain was the most covered candidate in 2011."^[27][28] After suspending his campaign, Cain first endorsed Newt Gingrich,^[29] and then on May 15, 2012 Cain endorsed Mitt Romney.^[30]

Family and personal life[link]

Herman Cain was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to Lenora Davis Cain, a cleaning woman and domestic worker, and Luther Cain, Jr., who was raised on a farm and worked as a barber and janitor, as well as a chauffeur for Coca-Cola Company president Robert W. Woodruff. Cain has said that as he was growing up, his family was "poor but happy." Cain related that his mother taught him about her belief that "success was not a function of what you start out with materially, but what you start out with spiritually". His father worked three jobs to own his own home – something he achieved during Cain's childhood – and to see his two sons graduate.^[12][31][32]

Cain grew up on the west side of Atlanta, Georgia, attending school and Rev. Cameron M. Alexander's Antioch Baptist Church North in the neighborhood now known as The Bluff. Eventually Cain's father saved enough money and the family moved to a modest brick home on Albert Street in the Collier Heights neighborhood. He attended Archer (public) High School, graduating in 1963.^[33]

Cain married Gloria Cain (née Etchison), of Atlanta, soon after her graduation from Morris Brown College in 1968.^[34][35] His wife of 43 years is a homemaker, with experience as a teacher and a librarian.^[34] The couple have two children and three grandchildren.^[34]

In 2006, Cain was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer in his colon and metastases to his liver and given a 30-percent chance of survival. Cain underwent surgery and chemotherapy following the diagnosis, and has since reported that he is in remission.^[36]

Disclosures filed during his campaign in 2011 categorized Cain's wealth as of that time as being between $2.9 to $6.6 million, with Cain's income for both 2010 and 2011 combined being between $1.1 to $2.1 million.^[37]

Cain also serves as an associate minister at Antioch Baptist Church North in Atlanta, which he joined at the age of 10.^[38] The church is part of the National Baptist Convention^[39] and is politically liberal and theologically conservative; the church's senior pastor, Rev. Cameron M. Alexander, does not share Cain's political philosophy.^[40][41]

Education and career[link]

Cain grew up in Georgia^[8] and graduated from Morehouse College in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics.

Accepted for graduate studies at Purdue University, Cain received a Master of Science in computer science there in 1971,^[9] while he also worked full-time as a ballistics analyst for the U.S. Department of the Navy as a civilian.^[10]

After completing his master's degree from Purdue, Cain left the Department of the Navy and began working for The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta as a computer systems analyst. In 1977, he moved to Minneapolis to join Pillsbury,^[42] soon becoming director of business analysis^[43] in its restaurant and foods group in 1978.^[14][44]

Burger King[link]

At age 36, Cain was assigned in the 1980s to analyze and manage 400 Burger King stores in the Philadelphia area. At the time, Burger King was a Pillsbury subsidiary. Under Cain, his region posted strong improvement in three years.^[13][45] According to a 1987 account in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Pillsbury's then-president Win Wallin said, "He was an excellent bet. Herman always seemed to have his act together."^[14] At Burger King, Cain "established the BEAMER program, which taught our employees, mostly teenagers, how to make our patrons smile" by smiling themselves. It was a success: "Within three months of the program's initiation, the sales trend was moving steadily higher."^[46]

Godfather's Pizza[link]

Cain's success at Burger King prompted Pillsbury to appoint him president and CEO of another subsidiary, Godfather's Pizza. On his arrival on April 1, 1986, Cain told employees, "I'm Herman Cain and this ain't no April Fool's joke. We are not dead. Our objective is to prove to Pillsbury and everyone else that we will survive."^[14] Godfather's Pizza was performing poorly, having slipped in ranks of pizza chains from third in 1985 to fifth in 1988.^[13] Under Cain's leadership, Godfather's closed approximately 200 restaurants and eliminated several thousand jobs, and by doing so returned to profitability.^[37] In a leveraged buyout in 1988, Cain, Executive Vice-President and COO Ronald B. Gartlan, and a group of investors bought Godfather's from Pillsbury.^[13]

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City[link]

Cain served as Chairman of the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Omaha Branch from January 1, 1989 to December 31, 1991.^[15] He became a member of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in 1992.^[15] He served as deputy chairman from January 1, 1992 to December 31, 1994, and then as its chairman until August 19, 1996,^[15] when he resigned to become active in national politics.^[47]

National Restaurant Association[link]

Cain left Godfather's Pizza in 1996 and moved to Washington, D.C. From 1996 to 1999 he served as CEO of the National Restaurant Association, a trade group and lobbying organization for the restaurant industry, on whose board of directors he had previously served.^[18] Cain's lobbying work for the Association led to a number of connections to Republican lawmakers and politicians.^[37] Under Cain's leadership, the Association lobbied against increases to the minimum wage, mandatory health care benefits, regulations against smoking, and lowering the blood-alcohol limit that determines whether one is driving under the influence.^[48]

Cain was on the board of directors of several companies, including Aquila, Inc., Nabisco, Whirlpool, Reader's Digest, and AGCO, Inc.^[14][21][22]

After Cain's term with the restaurant advocacy group ended in 1999, he returned to Omaha for about a year, then moved to his hometown of Atlanta in 2000.^[49]

Media work[link]

Cain writes a syndicated op-ed column, which is distributed by the North Star Writers Group.^[50]

Cain appeared in the 2009 documentary An Inconvenient Tax.^[51] From 2008, until February 2011, Cain hosted The Herman Cain Show on Atlanta talk radio station WSB.^[52][53] On January 19, 2012, Cain began working for WSB again by providing daily commentaries, while occasionally filling in for Erick Erickson and Neal Boortz.^[53]

Recognition[link]

Cain received the 1996 Horatio Alger Award^[54] and has received honorary degrees from Creighton University, Johnson & Wales University, Morehouse College, University of Nebraska, New York City Technical College, Purdue University, Suffolk University, and Tougaloo College.^[21]

Political activities[link]

Role in the defeat of 1993 Clinton health care plan[link]

Cain publicly opposed the Clinton health care plan of 1993. As president-elect of the National Restaurant Association, he challenged Bill Clinton on the costs of the employer mandate contained within the bill and criticized its effect on small businesses. Bob Cohn of Newsweek described Cain as one of the primary opponents of the plan:

The Clintons would later blame "Harry and Louise", the fictional couple in the ads aired by the insurance industry, for undermining health reform. But the real saboteurs are named Herman and John. Herman Cain is the president of Godfather's Pizza and president-elect of the National Restaurant Association. An articulate entrepreneur, Cain transformed the debate when he challenged Clinton at a town meeting in Kansas City, Missouri. Cain asked the president what he was supposed to say to the workers he would have to lay off because of the cost of the "employer mandate". Clinton responded that there would be plenty of subsidies for small businessmen, but Cain persisted. "Quite honestly, your calculation is inaccurate," he told the president. "In the competitive marketplace it simply doesn't work that way."^[20]

Joshua Green of The Atlantic has called Cain's exchange with Clinton his "auspicious debut on the national political stage".^[55]

Conservative politician and former Housing Secretary Jack Kemp was so impressed with Cain's performance that he chartered a plane to Nebraska to meet Cain after the debate. Cain credits Kemp with his becoming interested in politics.^[56]

Senior advisor to 1996 Dole campaign[link]

Cain was a senior economic advisor to the Bob Dole presidential campaign in 1996.^[17]

2000 presidential campaign[link]

Cain briefly ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000; he says it was more about making political statements than winning the nomination. "George W. Bush was the chosen one, he had the campaign DNA that followers look for." However, Cain went on to state, "I believe that I had a better message and I believe that I was the better messenger."^[57] After ending his own campaign, however, he endorsed Steve Forbes.^[58]

2004 U.S. Senate candidacy[link]

In 2004, Cain ran for the U.S. Senate in Georgia and did not win in the primaries. He was pursuing the seat that came open with the retirement of Democrat Zell Miller. Cain sought the Republican nomination, facing congressmen Johnny Isakson and Mac Collins in the primary. Cain and Collins both hoped to deny Isakson a majority on primary day in order to force him into a runoff.^{[citation needed]} Collins tried to paint Cain as a moderate,^[59] citing Cain's support for affirmative action programs, while Cain argued that he was a conservative, noting that he opposed the legality of abortion except when the mother's life is threatened.^[60] Cain finished second in the primary with 26.2% of the vote, ahead of Collins, who won 20.6%, but because Isakson won 53.2% of the vote, Isakson was able to avoid a runoff.^[61]

Americans for Prosperity and America's PAC[link]

Starting in 2005, Cain worked for the political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity (AFP) alongside Mark Block. Block would later become campaign manager for Cain's 2012 Presidential run and would be joined in Cain's campaign by several other AFP employees. Cain continued to receive honorariums for speaking at AFP events until he announced his campaign for the Republican nomination.^[62] Cain's senior economic advisor during his 2012 presidential campaign, Rich Lowrie, who helped devise Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan, had served on the AFP board.^[63] In 2006, Cain voiced several radio ads encouraging people of color to vote Republican; the ads were funded by a group called America's PAC and its founder J. Patrick Rooney.^[64]

2012 presidential campaign[link]

Cain speaking at the Ames Straw Poll in August 2011.

In 2010, "Cain addressed more than 40 Tea Party rallies, hit all the early presidential states, and became a YouTube sensation."^[8] On September 24, 2010, Cain announced that he was considering a run for president in 2012 on the Republican Party ticket.^[65] In December, Cain was the "surprise choice" for 2012 GOP nominee in a RedState.com reader poll.^[8] Cain announced the formation of a presidential exploratory committee on January 12, 2011,^[66][67] and officially announced his candidacy on May 21 in Atlanta.^[68]

Straw poll victories[link]

A popular speaker, Cain's addresses to conservative groups were well received,^[69][70] and in late September and early October 2011, Cain won the straw polls of the Florida Republican Party, TeaCon, and the National Federation of Republican Women's Convention.^[71][72] "My focus groups have consistently picked Herman Cain as the most likeable candidate in the debates," says GOP pollster Frank Luntz. "Don't underestimate the power of likability, even in a Republican primary. The more likeable the candidate, the greater the electoral potential."^[71][73]

9–9–9 Plan[link]

In July 2011, an advisor suggested that his campaign's tax policy plan be called "the Optimal Tax", but Cain rejected the name, saying "[w]e're just going to call it what it is: 9–9–9 Plan."^[74] The plan would replace the current tax code with a 9-percent business transactions tax, a 9-percent personal income tax, and a 9-percent federal sales tax. During a debate on October 12, Cain said his plan "expands the base," arguing that "[w]hen you expand the base, we can arrive at the lowest possible rate, which is 9-9-9."^[75] An analysis released to Bloomberg News by the campaign claimed that the rate for each of the three taxes could in fact be as low as 7.3%, but "poverty grants" — which Cain has described as a lower rate in targeted "empowerment zones"^[76] — necessitated a national rate of 9%.^[75] Paul Krugman has criticized the plan, saying it shifts much of the current tax burden from the rich to the poor.^[77] Arthur Laffer,^[74] Lawrence Kudlow,^[78] the Club for Growth,^[79] and Congressman Paul Ryan^[80] have spoken favorably of "9-9-9". On October 21, Cain told a crowd in Detroit that the plan would be 9-0-9 for the poor, saying that "if you are at or below the poverty level ... then you don't pay that middle 9 on your income."^[81] Cain's 9-9-9 plan attracted skepticism from his fellow candidates at numerous Republican debates.^[82]

Allegations of sexual misconduct[link]

Cain in Scottsdale, Arizona in November 2011.

In late October 2011, Politico reported that Cain had been accused by two women of sexual harassment and misconduct during his time as CEO of the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s.^[19][83] Harassment accusations have since been made by two additional women. Cain denies all allegations of sexual misconduct, while acknowledging that the restaurant organization made financial settlements to the complainants. Two of the four women have come forward publicly: Sharon Bialek and Karen Kraushaar.^[84]

On November 28, 2011, Cain asserted that a woman named Ginger White would be claiming to have had an affair with him, and that the allegation was not true.^[85] An interview with White was aired an hour later on Fox 5 in Atlanta. In the interview, White said the affair lasted 13 years and ended right before Cain announced his presidential campaign.^[86] On November 30, 2011, Herman Cain denounced allegations of sexual harassment and adultery as "character assassination" during an event in Dayton, Ohio.^[87]

Campaign suspension[link]

On December 3, 2011, Cain announced he was "suspending" his campaign for the presidency following allegations of sexual harassment and adultery, which he denied,^[88] but were widely considered responsible for the sharp drop in his poll numbers.^[89]

Cain’s Solutions Revolution[link]

On January 4, 2012, Cain announced the "Cain’s Solutions Revolution". Cain's stated goal is to get commitments from members of Congress to support the 9-9-9 Plan before the 2012 elections.^[90] Cain stated that he started a new movement because the "biggest comment I got when I ended my candidacy was to keep 9-9-9 alive. That's what this is about, and I'm going to keep it alive with what I'm calling Cain's Solutions Revolution."^[91] In order to promote this movement, Cain is using both a bus tour and a new website.^[92] New York magazine stated that "it's Cain's earnest effort to keep 9-9-9 alive and focus on solutions."^[93] On January 20, 2012, Cain spoke at Stephen Colbert's "Rock Me Like a Herman Cain: South Cain-Olina Primary Rally".^[94] The Huffington Post reported that the crowd size was between 3,000 and 5,000 people. It has been called "the largest campaign rally so far during this GOP presidential primary season",^[95] and "the biggest political rally of the primary season".^[94]

State of the Union response[link]

For President Obama's 2012 State of the Union address, the Tea Party Express chose Cain to give its second annual response.^[96] After Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels gave the official GOP response,^[97] Cain delivered his speech at the National Press Club.^[98] The speech was streamed live on the Tea Party Express website.^[97][99] Cain referred to Obama's address as a "hodgepodge of liberal ideas," adding that there were "no big ideas that would impact job growth" and "no big ideas that would stimulate economic growth in this country".^[100]

Bibliography[link]

• "The Intangibles of Implementation" in the technical journal Interfaces (Vol. 9, No. 5, 1979, pp. 144–147), published by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS).
• Leadership is Common Sense (2nd ed.). Tapestry. November 2000 [first published 1997]. ISBN 978-1-930819-02-3. 
• Speak as a Leader. Lebhar-Friedman Books. December 1999. ISBN 978-0-86730-782-5. 
• CEO of SELF. Tapestry. August 2001. ISBN 978-1-930819-04-7. 
• They Think You're Stupid. Stroud & Hall. June 10, 2011 [first published 2005]. ISBN 978-0-9796462-7-0. 
• This is Herman Cain!: My Journey to the White House. Threshold Editions. October 2011. ISBN 978-1-4516-6613-7. 
• 9-9-9 An Army of Davids. Velocity Mascot. May 1 2012. ISBN 978-1-62086-030-4. 

See also[link]

Conservatism portal

• Political positions of Herman Cain

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Herman Cain on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Images and media from Commons
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote

• Cain's Solution Revolution official website
• Column archives at the North Star Writers Group
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Appearances at the Internet Movie Database
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Collected news and commentary at The Wall Street Journal
• Collected news and commentary at The Guardian
• Works by or about Herman Cain in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Watch Herman Cain Battle Bill Clinton on Health Care, Joshua Green, The Atlantic, January 2011, with Profile

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2012)

Rick Santorum
Santorum at the Values Voter Summit on October 7, 2011
United States Senator from Pennsylvania
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Harris Wofford
Succeeded by	Bob Casey, Jr.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 18th district
In office January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by	Doug Walgren
Succeeded by	Mike Doyle
Personal details
Born	Richard John Santorum (1958-05-10) May 10, 1958 (age 54) Winchester, Virginia, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Karen Garver Santorum
Children	8 (1 deceased)
Residence	Great Falls, Virgina, U.S.[1][2]
Alma mater	Pennsylvania State University (BA) University of Pittsburgh (MBA) Dickinson School of Law (JD)
Occupation	Attorney, politician
Religion	Roman Catholic[3]
Signature
Website	ricksantorum.com

Richard John "Rick" Santorum (born May 10, 1958) is an American author, attorney, and Republican Party politician. He served as a United States Senator representing Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007, and was a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.^[4]

Born in Virginia, Santorum was raised primarily in Butler, Pennsylvania. He obtained an undergraduate degree from Pennsylvania State University, an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh, and a J.D. from the Dickinson School of Law. Santorum worked as an attorney at K&L Gates where he met Karen Garver. They married in 1990, and have seven children; an eighth child died shortly after birth. Santorum was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives on behalf of Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district in 1990, becoming a member of a group dubbed the "Gang of Seven".

Santorum was elected as a United States Senator for Pennsylvania in 1994. He served two terms until losing his re-election bid in 2006. Santorum holds socially conservative positions, and is particularly known for his opposition to same-sex marriage and birth control. While serving as a senator, Santorum was the author of the National Weather Service Duties Act of 2005 and the Santorum Amendment. In 2005, Santorum introduced the Workplace Religious Freedom Act along with Senator John Kerry.

In the years following his departure from the Senate, Santorum worked as a consultant, private-practice lawyer, and news contributor. On June 6, 2011 Santorum announced his run for the Republican nomination in the 2012 U.S. presidential election. Upon announcing his campaign suspension on April 10, 2012, he had won 11 primaries and caucuses and received over 3 million votes. Santorum officially endorsed Mitt Romney on May 7, 2012.^[5]

Early life and education[link]

Rick Santorum is the middle of the three children of Aldo Santorum (1923–2011), a clinical psychologist who immigrated to the United States at age seven from Riva del Garda, Italy,^[6] and Catherine (Dughi) Santorum (b. 1918), an administrative nurse^[6][7][8] of Italian American and Irish American descent.^[9]

Santorum was born in Winchester, Virginia,^[10] and grew up in Berkeley County, West Virginia, and Butler County, Pennsylvania. In West Virginia, his family lived in an apartment provided by the Veterans Administration.^[11] As a Butler Area public schools student, he was nicknamed "Rooster", supposedly for both a cowlick strand of hair and an assertive nature, particularly on important political issues.^{[12][13][14][15]} After his parents transferred to the Naval Station Great Lakes in northern Illinois, Santorum attended the Roman Catholic Carmel High School in Mundelein, Illinois, for one year, graduating in 1976.^[16]

Santorum attended Pennsylvania State University for his undergraduate studies, serving as chairman of the university's College Republicans chapter and graduating in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts with honors in political science.^[17] He then completed a one-year Master of Business Administration program at the University of Pittsburgh's Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, graduating in 1981.^{[citation needed]}

In 1986, Santorum received a Juris Doctor with honors from the Dickinson School of Law.^[18]

Early career[link]

Santorum first became actively involved in politics in the 1970s through volunteering for Senator John Heinz, a Republican from Pennsylvania.^[19] Additionally, while working on his law degree, Santorum was an administrative assistant to Republican state senator Doyle Corman, serving as director of the Pennsylvania Senate's local government committee from 1981 to 1984, then director of its transportation committee.^[18]

After graduating, Santorum was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar and practiced law for four years at the Pittsburgh law firm Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, now known as K&L Gates. As an associate, he successfully lobbied on behalf of the World Wrestling Federation to deregulate professional wrestling, arguing that it should be exempt from federal anabolic steroid regulations because it was entertainment, not a sport.^[20][21][22] Santorum left private law practice after being elected to the House of Representatives in 1990.^{[citation needed]}

U.S. House of Representatives (1991–1995)[link]

In 1990, at age 32, Santorum was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district, located in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. He scored a significant upset in the heavily Democratic district, defeating seven-term Democratic incumbent Doug Walgren by a 51%-49% margin.^[23] During his campaign Santorum repeatedly criticized Walgren for living outside the district for most of the year.^[24] Although the 18th District was redrawn for the 1992 elections, and the new district had a 3:1 ratio of registered Democrats to Republicans, Santorum still won re-election with 61% of the vote.^[25]

In 1993, Santorum was one of 17 House Republicans who sided with most Democrats to support legislation that prohibited employers from permanently replacing striking employees.^[26] He also joined a minority of Republicans to vote against the North American Free Trade Agreement that year.^[27] As a member of the Gang of Seven, Santorum was involved in exposing of members of Congress involved in the House banking scandal.^{[citation needed]}

U.S. Senate (1995–2007)[link]

Santorum served in the United States Senate representing Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007.

Tenure[link]

Santorum served in the United States Senate representing Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007. From 2001 until 2007, he was the Senate's third-ranking Republican.^[28] He was first elected to the Senate during the 1994 Republican takeover, narrowly defeating incumbent Democrat Harris Wofford 49% to 47%. The theme of Santorum's 1994 campaign signs was "Join the Fight!" During the race, he was considered an underdog, as his opponent was 32 years his senior.^[29] He was re-elected in 2000, defeating U.S. Congressman Ron Klink by a 52%-46% margin. In his re-election bid of 2006, he lost to Democrat Bob Casey Jr.^[30] by a 41%-59% margin.

In 1996, Santorum served as Chairman of the Republican Party Task Force on Welfare Reform, and contributed to legislation that became the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act. Santorum was an author and the floor manager of the bill.^[31] In 1996, Santorum endorsed moderate Republican Arlen Specter in his short-lived campaign for president. Reporters have observed that though Santorum and Specter differed on social policy, Specter provided him with key political staff for his successful run in 1994.^[32]

The National Taxpayers Union, a fiscal conservative organization, gave Santorum an "A-" score for his votes on fiscal issues, meaning that he was one of "the strongest supporters of responsible tax and spending policies" during his tenure, and ranked fifth in the group's rankings out of 50 senators who served at the same time.^[33]

Legislative proposals[link]

Santorum, Sen. Arlen Specter, and Rep. John Murtha watch President George W. Bush sign the Flight 93 National Memorial Act.

Religious freedom and ideological diversity[link]

Santorum sponsored the Workplace Religious Freedom Act (WRFA) with U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA).^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, Santorum and fellow Republicans heard from Hillel, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Zionist Organization of America about combating anti-Semitism in American colleges.^[34] Santorum drafted language on "ideological diversity," which Race & Class magazine suggested was tantamount to "policing thought".^[35] Inside Higher Ed suggested that he was pandering to David Horowitz and had no deep-seated position on the legislation.^[36]

Teaching of evolution and intelligent design[link]

Santorum added to the 2001 No Child Left Behind bill a provision that would have provided more freedom to schools in teaching about the origins of life, including the teaching of intelligent design along with evolution.^[37][38] The bill, with the Santorum Amendment included, passed the Senate 91-8^[37][39] and was hailed as a victory by intelligent design theory promoters.^{[40][41][42][43]} However, before the bill became law, scientific and educational groups successfully urged its conference committee to strike the Santorum Amendment from the final version. Intelligent design supporters in Congress then preserved the language of the Santorum Amendment in the conference committee report of the legislative history of the bill.^{[40][41][42][43][44]} The Discovery Institute and other intelligent design proponents point to this report as "a clear endorsement by Congress of the importance of teaching a variety of scientific views about the theory of evolution."^[45][46]

In 2002, Santorum called intelligent design "a legitimate scientific theory that should be taught in science classes."^[47] By 2005, though, he had adopted the Teach the Controversy approach.^[48][49] He told National Public Radio, "I'm not comfortable with intelligent design being taught in the science classroom. What we should be teaching are the problems and holes ... in the theory of evolution."^[50] Later that year, Santorum resigned from the advisory board of the Christian-rights Thomas More Law Center after the Center's lawyers lost a case representing a school board that had required the teaching of intelligent design.^[51] Santorum, who had previously supported the school board's policy, indicated he had not realized that certain members of the board had been motivated by religious beliefs.^[51] Santorum critics claimed he was backtracking from his earlier position because he was facing a tough reelection fight for 2006.^[51] When asked in November 2011 about his views on evolution, Santorum stated that he believes that evolution occurred on a tiny, micro level.^[52]

National Weather Service Duties Act[link]

Santorum introduced the National Weather Service Duties Act of 2005^[53][54] which aimed to prohibit the National Weather Service from releasing weather data to the public without charge where private-sector entities perform the same function commercially.^[55] The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association was organizing a lobbying effort in opposition to the legislation,^[56] but it never passed committee.^[56] The motivations surrounding the bill were controversial, as employees of AccuWeather, a commercial weather company based in Pennsylvania, donated $10,500 to Santorum and his PAC.^[57] The liberal advocacy group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington cited the bill as one of several reasons for listing Santorum as one of its "most corrupt politicians".^[58] In support of the bill, Santorum criticized the National Weather Service in September 2005, saying its evacuation warnings for Hurricane Katrina were "insufficient".^[55][59][60]

Fuel tax credit[link]

In February 2006 Time magazine described a synthetic-fuel tax-credit amendment that Santorum added to a larger bill as "a multibillion-dollar scam" that benefited "a small group of the politically well connected".^[61] A Santorum aide said a reason the senator pushed the amendment was to "provide parity for the non-conventional fuel tax credit with other energy tax credits and to provide certainty for taxpayers". He added that it would also "allow coke plants" to take advantage of tax incentives, claiming "this is important to the steel industry, which employs thousands of Pennsylvanians – making it more competitive in the global market."^[61]

Foreign policy[link]

Santorum is a supporter of the War on Terror and shares the views of neoconservatives and the Bush Doctrine in regard to foreign policy. He says the war on terror can be won and is optimistic about the U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan for the long-term.^{[citation needed]}

He sponsored the Syria Accountability Act of 2003, which required Syria to end all engagement in Lebanon and cease all support for terrorism. He originally wanted to go further with the bill, asking for the United States to create economic sanctions on Syria if it did not do so.^[62] In June 2006, Santorum declared that weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) had been found in Iraq.^[63] Santorum's declaration was based, in part, on declassified portions of the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command.^[64] The report stated that coalition forces had recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions that contain degraded or vacant mustard or sarin nerve agent casings. The specific weapons he referred to were chemical munitions dating back to the Iran–Iraq War that were buried in the early 1990s. The report stated that while agents had degraded to an unknown degree, they remained dangerous and possibly lethal.^[63] However, officials of the Department of Defense, CIA intelligence analysts, and the White House have all explicitly stated that these expired casings were not part of the WMDs threat that the Iraq War was launched to contain.^[65]

In 2005, Santorum sponsored the Iran Freedom and Support Act, which appropriated $10 million aimed at regime change in Iran. The Act passed with overwhelming support. However, Santorum nevertheless voted against the Lautenberg amendment, which would have closed the loophole that allows companies like Halliburton to do business with Iran through their foreign affiliates.^[66] He said Iran was at the center of "much of the world's conflict" but he was opposed to direct military action against the country in 2006.^{[citation needed]}

Santorum said in July 2006 that "Islamic fascism rooted in Iran is behind much of the world's conflict, but he is opposed to military action against the country", in a speech where he "also defended the treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay."^[67] Santorum indicated that "effective action against Iran" would require America's fighting "for a strong Lebanon, a strong Israel, and a strong Iraq."^[67]

On September 7, 2006, Santorum outlined his views on foreign policy in an op-ed piece for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and discussed Islamic fascism, closing with a rallying cry:

[...] the fight against Islamic fascism is the great test of our generation. Leaders are obliged to articulate this threat and to propose what is necessary to defeat it. That is my purpose, and our national calling. The American people have always rallied to the cause of freedom once they understood what was at stake. I have no doubt that they will again."

—Rick Santorum^[68]

Santorum was one of only two senators who voted against confirming the nomination of Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense. Santorum stated that his objection was to Gates's support for talking with Iran and Syria, because it would be an error to talk with radical Islamists.^[69]

In 2006, Santorum introduced the term "Islamic fascism", while questioning "his opponent's ability to make the right decisions on national security at a time when 'our enemies are fully committed to our destruction.'"^[70]

A supporter of enhanced interrogation, he said in 2011 that John McCain, who was tortured as a prisoner of war, did not understand how the process works.^[71]

Party leadership[link]

In a 2002 PoliticsPA feature story designating politicians with yearbook superlatives, he was named the "Most Ambitious".^[72]

As chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, Santorum directed the communications operations of Senate Republicans and was a frequent party spokesperson. He was the youngest member of the Senate leadership and the first Pennsylvanian to hold such a prominent position since Senator Hugh Scott was Republican leader in the 1970s.^[73][74] In addition, Santorum served on the Senate Agriculture Committee; the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; the Senate Special Committee on Aging; and the Senate Finance Committee, of which he was the chairman of the Subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy. He also sat at the candy desk for ten years.^[73][74]

In January 2005, Santorum announced his intention to run for Senate Republican Whip, the second-highest post in the Republican caucus after the 2006 election.^[75] The move came because it was presumed that the incumbent whip, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, had the inside track to succeeding Bill Frist of Tennessee as Senate Republican leader.^{[citation needed]}

K Street Project[link]

Although some sources indicate that Santorum played a key role^[76][77] in the K Street Project, Santorum has denied any involvement,^[78][79] and in January 2012 The Washington Post's "Fact Checker" concluded that "we can’t prove definitively whether or not Santorum collaborated on the K Street Project", saying that it "depend[ed] on how you define the initiative."^[80]

2006 campaign[link]

In 2006, Santorum sought re-election to a third Senate term and ran unopposed in the Republican primaries.^[81] His seat was considered among the most vulnerable for Republicans and was a prime target of the Democratic Party in the 2006 elections. His opponent was Democratic State Treasurer Bob Casey, Jr., the son of popular former governor Robert Casey, Sr. Casey was well known for his opposition to abortion, negating one of Santorum's key issues.^[82]

For most of the campaign, Santorum trailed Casey by 15 points or more in polls.^[83] According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Santorum "encouraged everyone in state politics to help the Green Party earn a spot on the November ballot", with the result that 14 Santorum supporters funded a Green Party petition drive for Carl Romanelli, a railroad industry consultant.^[84][85] Romanelli came up 9,000 signatures short of the total required for ballot access, further hurting Santorum's prospects, as there were no other candidates to siphon away votes from Casey.^[86]

Santorum was mired in a residence controversy after stating that he spent only "maybe a month a year" at his Pennsylvania home.^[87] Critics pointed out that Santorum himself had once denounced his former opponent U.S. Representative Doug Walgren for living away from his House district.^[88] Critics also complained that Pennsylvania taxpayers were paying 80% of the tuition for five of Santorum's children to attend an online "cyber school"–a benefit available only to Pennsylvania residents.^[89] After the Penn Hills school district challenged the Santorum's residency and billed Santorum $73,000, he withdrew the children from the cyber school, and suggested they were being used as political pawns by his opponents.^[89]

Santorum aimed a television ad suggesting that Casey's supporters had been under investigation for various crimes. The negative ad backfired, as the The Scranton Times-Tribune found that all but a few of Casey's contributors donated when he was running for other offices, and none were investigated for anything.^[90] In fact, two of the persons cited in Santorum's campaign ad actually gave contributions to him in 2006, and one died in 2004.^[91] Santorum's campaign countered that those donations were not kept, and had been donated to educational institutions.^[92] Santorum faced controversy for statements against "radical feminism", which he claimed had made it "socially affirming to work outside the home" at the expense of child care.^{[citation needed]}

Toward the end of his campaign, Santorum shifted his theme to the threat of radical Islam.^[70][93] In October 2006 he gave a "Gathering Storm" speech, invoking British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's description of Europe prior to World War II.^[70][93] As evidence that Islamists were waging a more than 300-year-old crusade against the Western world, Santorum pointed to September 11, 1683, the date of the Battle of Vienna.^[94] Casey responded, "No one believes terrorists are going to be more likely to attack us, because I defeat Rick Santorum."^[95] Noting that he had been "even more hawkish" during this time period than President Bush, Santorum later said, "Maybe that wasn’t the smartest political strategy, spending the last few months running purely on national security".^[93]

A heated debate between the candidates occurred on October 11, 2006.^[96] Bill Toland of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette described both candidates' performances during the debate as "unstatesmanlike".^[96]

In the November 7, 2006, election, Santorum lost by over 700,000 votes, receiving 41% of the vote to Casey's 59%, the largest margin of defeat for an incumbent senator since 1980.^[97][98]

Endorsement of Specter[link]

Santorum's endorsements have been identified as factors in his 2006 defeat. Despite President George W. Bush's having a 38% approval rating in Pennsylvania, Santorum said in a debate that "I think he's been a terrific president, absolutely."^[99] Also problematic was Santorum's 2004 endorsement of his Republican Senate colleague Arlen Specter over conservative Congressman Pat Toomey in the 2004 primary for Pennsylvania's other senate seat. Many socially and fiscally conservative Republicans considered the Specter endorsement to be a betrayal of their cause.^[100][101] However, Santorum says he endorsed Specter to ensure that Bush's judicial nominees would make it through the Senate, as Specter was then the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the White House told Santorum that Specter would be more electable than the more conservative Toomey.^[102] Santorum said that Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito would not have been confirmed without Specter's re-election and that those two justices made "a pretty good trade" for the objectionable endorsement.^[103]