Giving Credit Where it is Due

It has always been the policy of this blog (at least me in particular) to give credit to Republicans when they do something commendable.

Today, as occurs almost every year Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy proposed an increase in the Federal minimum wage. As usual, Republicans voted to reject this measure. Every single “nay” vote of the 51 total came from a Republican mouth.

Similarly, every single Democrat fell in line and supported this measure (a core Democratic value), except for two who were unable to make the vote. This means that there were four brave souls who crossed Republican Party lines and voted with the Democrats to help low-income workers improve their measure in life.

We applaud them all. They were: Chafee of Rhode Island (no surprise – he usually votes with the Dems), DeWine of Ohio, Specter of Pennsylvania, and – get ready for this one – Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. That’s right, Rick Santorum, the bastion of Conservatism, the man who makes Bush look liberal, voted in favor of a measure so core to Democrats that they supported it unanimously. Apparently even though he wants women home “barefoot and pregnant” (perhaps an exaggeration, but he did write that he opposed them working in his recent book), he at least wants to make sure the men who work make enough to survive. I could be cynical and say that he did this because he is running for reelection and is way behind, and PA has a lot of working-class voters. However, I’d rather be more optimistic and believe that Santorum has come to the realization that taking care of the less fortunate is every bit as much of a “moral value” as any of his more right-wing positions, perhaps even more so.

So, while this may be the only time you’ll ever read this on this page - Sen. Santorum, thank you for your stand. The College Democrats at the University of Delaware applaud you for it.