Yesterday the Philadelphia Inquirer printed the following letter from Lisa O'Brien of Swarthmore. Coincidentally, this article from the Swarthmore College Phoenix identifies a Lisa O'Brien as the chairperson of the Swarthmore Republican Committee. If it is the same Lisa O'Brien, we're sure that her defense of Rick Santorum had nothing to do with any political motives that she may have wanted to obscure by not disclosing her role in the Swarthmore Republican Party to the Inquirer.
Santorum's stand
Re: "Budget cuts for hurricane relief: Too painful for the poor," editorial, Oct. 20:
It is unfair of you to assert that Sen. Rick Santorum's vote against deeper cuts in food stamps may be motivated by the politics of the forthcoming election.
Santorum (R., Pa.) is and always has been a champion of the poor. He has a career-long, easily documented record of fighting poverty by empowering individuals and families. He has spearheaded the antipoverty agenda of the Senate Republican Conference. He travels the country to study successful antipoverty initiatives and then supports and promotes these successes.
Santorum works with both Republicans and Democrats to fight poverty. He is sponsoring Senate Bill 595: The Encouraging Work Act of 2005, with Sen. Max Baucus (D., Mont.). It provides greater incentives to employers who hire workers off welfare, replacing welfare with work. He is also sponsoring S.B. 922: The Saving for Working Families Act of 2005, with Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D., Conn.), which provides low-income working Americans with the opportunity to build assets through government-matched savings accounts. He supports S.B. 183: The Family Opportunity Act, sponsored by Sen. Charles Grassley (R., Iowa), to aid parents of severely disabled children to earn higher wages without losing health-care benefits for their children.
The senator's full record is available at www.santorum.senate.gov.
Lisa O'Brien
Swarthmore
Pilt