I like those Santorum and DeWine numbers. Nice to see Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan doing well.
Santorum's ratings seem to have collapsed in Western PA. Any reason for this?
Cyberschool scandal!
Could you explain that?
Here, brought to you by the magic that is Wikipedia:
In November 2004, a controversy erupted over education costs for the Senator's children. Santorum's legal address is in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, but he lives most of the year at his home in Leesburg, Virginia near Washington, DC. Santorum's five older children received education through the Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School with 80% of tuition costs paid by the Penn Hills School District.
At a meeting in November 2004, the Penn Hills School District announced that it did not believe Santorum met the qualifications for residency status since he and his family spend most of the year in Virginia. They demanded repayment of tuition costs totaling $100,000.
Supporters of the Senator claim that the controversy is politically motivated as the school board is controlled by Democrats and Erin Vecchio, the school board member who first publicly raised the issue, is the chair of the local Democratic Party. They also claim that since Santorum votes in Penn Hills and pays property and school taxes there, he is entitled to the same privileges as any other Penn Hills resident.
After the controversy erupted, Santorum said he would make other arrangements for his children's education, but insists he does not owe the school board any back tuition. In early 2005, both sides agreed to work out a settlement outside the court system. A state appointed hearing officer set a deadline of May 9, 2005 for the parties to submit information relating to the case.
On July 8, 2005, a Pennsylvania state hearing officer ruled that the Penn Hills School District had not filed objections to Santorum's residency in a timely manner and dismissed the complaint, even though the district did follow the guidelines set by the hearing officer in May. Santorum hailed the ruling as a victory against what he termed "baseless and politically motivated charges." He told reporters, "No one's children -- and especially not small, school-age children -- should be used as pawns in the 'politics of personal destruction'."
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Santorum supporters will tell you that this was a cheap ploy by Democrats to make him look bad.
