It appears that losing his job as Senator from PA by 18% in 2006 was the best thing that ever happened to Rick Santorum. He sold his influence to the highest bidder. He declared during the debate that he got paid by multiple special interests because he had a passion for their causes. LOL. This guy was on the Board of Directors of a massive healthcare company. The Board of Directors of companies in America do nothing. They are chosen lackeys that do whatever the CEO tells them to do. They meet twice per year for one or two days. That is a fact. Santorum got paid $395,000 per year for this? NO. He got paid $395,000 to use his influence in Washington DC. He sold his soul for mammon. He is nothing but a whore, selling his influence to the highest bidder.
Post-Senate career has seen Santorum’s income soar
By ANDREW MIGA, Associated Press
Associated Press January 7, 2012 07:14 AM
Losing his Senate seat might have been the best thing that ever happened to Rick Santorum’s bank account.
In 2006, the Republican presidential hopeful earned about $200,000 from his Senate salary and book royalties. From January 2010 to August 2011, he earned at least $1.3 million as he cashed in on his 16 years in Congress by working as a corporate consultant, political pundit and board member.
The financial disclosure report Santorum filed last August shows how his income has changed. Many voters are taking their first hard look at the former congressman and two-term senator from Pennsylvania following his near-win in the Iowa caucuses.
Santorum’s resume contrasts with campaign rhetoric that casts him as an outsider who would shake up Washington. It also appears at odds with the image that Santorum stresses as a candidate with hardscrabble roots in blue-collar Pennsylvania and as the grandson of an Italian immigrant coal miner.
Much of the money Santorum earned in recent years was for his work as a board member for a large health care company and consulting for a Pennsylvania energy company and a Washington lobbying firm.
Santorum earned a $165,200 Senate salary and $32,245 in book royalties, according to his 2006 disclosure report.
At one time the No. 3 GOP leader in the Senate, Santorum was of comparatively modest means during his two terms. He has followed the same revolving-door path that many former members of Congress pursue when they move to the public sector, trading on his knowledge and political connections as a congressional insider with groups that advocate for corporations and other interests. He was not a registered lobbyist but served as a corporate consultant.
“It’s a well-worn path of former members of Congress using their former position in Congress to cash in,” said Melanie Sloan, director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “It’s ironic that he portrays himself in his campaign as a Washington outsider. He’s a quintessential insider. He’s an incredibly rich, highly paid consultant.”
A Santorum campaign spokesman did not return messages Friday seeking comment.
Santorum’s service on the board of a hospital conglomerate provided much of his income in recent years.
Santorum reported receiving $395,414 in director fees and stock options from Universal Health Services Inc., a hospital management company. He left the board last year as he launched his presidential bid. Santorum listed between $100,001 and $250,000 in Universal Health stock.
Santorum’s consulting work earned him six-figure fees in recent years, his disclosure form showed.
Consol Energy, based in Pennsylvania, paid Santorum $142,500 for his consulting services.
Santorum reported that the American Continental Group, a Washington lobbying group, paid him $65,000 in consulting fees. The firm’s lengthy client list includes Microsoft Corp., Comcast Corp. and the American Gaming Association.
“The senator did general consulting and provided his advice and opinion on which way the Senate may go, based on his record in the Senate and his history in leadership,” said David Urban, president of American Continental Group. “He’s very smart tactically.”
Santorum left the firm last June when he formally began running for president.
Santorum also reported earning $125,000 for consulting work for The Clapham Group, a Virginia-based consulting firm that works with faith-based groups, among others. Clients include the American Bible Society and The Poverty Forum, according to its website.
Santorum’s earnings included payments from a conservative think tank and media outlets.
The Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington paid Santorum $217,385 as a senior fellow.
News Corp. in New York paid Santorum $239,153 for his appearances on Fox News Channel. Salem Radio paid Santorum $83,999 for his work as a radio talk show host. Santorum was guest host for “Bill Bennett’s Morning in America” radio show. The Philadelphia Inquirer paid Santorum $23,000 for columns he wrote for the paper.
Santorum’s income after he left the Senate helped him increase his investments and savings for his family. The disclosures don’t show specific amounts invested, but instead offer a range of values of investments.
The most recent form shows a series of new investment accounts, including college savings funds for five of his seven children with investments valued between $25,000 and $375,000; individual retirement accounts with investments ranging between $173,000 and $720,000; and a brokerage account with investments valued in the range of $10,000 to $150,000.
When he left the Senate, he reported retirement accounts with investments valued between $21,000 and $140,000.
His disclosure also shows more than $52,000 in cash in checking accounts.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/01/07/national/w004457S95.DTL#ixzz1isXxcGAC
KaD says:
And the rest of them are more of the same.
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8th January 2012 at 11:48 am
Jay says:
Smoke a joint turn on Green Gay and relax. The hiipies never had a program and never will. They show up late to all elections. Later they are shot for sleeping in.
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8th January 2012 at 1:02 pm
iambic.pentameter says:
wth is your point? all elites are corrupt whores.. why single out one? michelle my belle was some big hospital exec in chi town earning close to 400k, for what?? wasnt for her business credo i can assure u. they all suck…
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8th January 2012 at 3:51 pm
AKAnon says:
“He’s an incredibly rich, highly paid consultant.” Not to defend Santorum, but relatively speaking, no, he is not. Newt is a much richer and better paid “consultant”, as are many of the others. Whether he is sincere or not, Rick can make the case that he truly does feel passionately about the religious & policy outfits who hired him. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, I can’t blame the guy for being paid to appear on Fox or radio. It is a paying gig, and yeah, they wouldn’t want him if he hadn’t been in politics, but that doesn’t make him a whore for taking their money. Director fees for the health services outfit & Consol energy-OK, I concede that is whorish.
Bottom line, sure he sold his name. reputation & influence for money, but not more than many of the rest. If you want a candidate who really is moral, you are left w/ RP.
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8th January 2012 at 4:49 pm
Muck About says:
Let me tell you about Rick Sanatorium.
He has six kids. Gays hate him. He’d put the boot to any gays in the military (top priority).
He’d also ban even civil unions of gays. If they had sax, he’d throw them in prison.
Men and women could not have sex for “fun” but must copulate only to have children.(believe it or not – that what he says!)
He forbid the use of all contraceptives because “the use of contraceptives is a license to do things in a sexual realm that are counter to how things are supposed to be.” (Whatever the fuck that means).
Abortion is nixed in all cases including rape, incest or danger to the life of the woman (just like Ron Paul’s stand – sadly enough). But he’s 4-square for the death penalty. He and his wife took a still born (they knew in advance the baby wouldn’t live and it died within two hours of birth) baby home to be cuddled by his family, named it Gabriel and his wife wrote a book about it (gag).
If you type “Santorum” and “bigot” into Google, you get 5 million search hits.
He firmly believes all the people who live on the West Bank of the Jordan River are Israelites and is 100% for giving tax money to religious charities on the basis of his sure knowledge that charities with God on their side do a better job than any others.
My recommendation for anyone voting for Rick “no contraceptives” Santorum is to be sure and have a secure lock on your bedroom door because if he is elected you will need it to keep his snooping nose out of your business.
MA
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8th January 2012 at 5:17 pm
howard in nyc says:
muck, it gets even better/worse.
his wife’s pregnancy, which ended with delivery of a stillborn dead fetus, was medically terminated. to best protect his wife’s life.
at the end of her high risk 20-week pregnancy, she went into labor, and developed a fever, diagnosed as being caused by an infection in her womb. she was admitted to the hospital, administered a drug to promote labor and to deliver the uterine contents. (oxytocin, for you medical types.) the exact same medication that is used in that instance to abort a 20 week pregnancy.
(it is possible that the fetus was dead prior to the decision to abort her pregnancy. it is also very likely the fetus was alive when the doctor presented the ‘choice’ to mrs. santorum. i would love to hear an explanation of this. i’m gonna bet on hypocrisy–except when it is my wife’s life that is in danger; and we’ll call it something else, and take it home to show our kids. fucking creepy.)
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8th January 2012 at 5:54 pm
howard in nyc says:
sorry, correction. as muck stated. the non-viable fetus was delivered alive, survived for a matter of minutes/couple of hours.
that is an abortion. by medical definition. that his wife chose to have performed.
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8th January 2012 at 5:57 pm
Sonic says:
@Howard:
It might be creepy, but I think that is out of bounds for a political discussion. Not in the sense that you can’t talk about it; talk about it if you want. What I mean is that a situation like that is so far beyond the pale of what anyone can say that they would do that it is almost meaningless. My wife’s sister had a baby that died a few hours after it was born because she had a previously undiagnosed heart issue. They held that little girl as a family for several hours after she died. Creepy? Maybe to you, but that was their daughter and she carried a huge store of dashed dreams and hopes. One family’s stillborn daughter is a creepy dead baby to someone else. All I know is that the casket was the size of a shoebox and I cried like a little bitch. It was the saddest thing I have ever experienced.
You hold onto what you can while you can. We all die. Make the most of it.
Criticize Santorum for being a douchebag, but I would leave that alone.
Cordially,
Sonic
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8th January 2012 at 6:14 pm
howard in nyc says:
you know, you’re right.
i’ve discussed this with a few friends over the past week. with extensive disclaimers, that i have sincere empathy for that family losing a pregnancy.
not much to be gained by spreading that particular opinion of mine on the internet. i should’ve left it to private discussion with friends.
that’s ok; i got plenty other dumb opinions to broadcast. let me look in my bag of tricks for another, that doesn’t involve imposing my judgment of someone else’s dealing with horrific grief and mourning.
(like this steeler defense that can’t stop the option)
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8th January 2012 at 6:27 pm
Bruce says:
Consider how many people support the likes of Santorum, Romney, Obama, Newt, Perry, and Bachmann. Add them all up. The numbers are really big and freaky. We have a huge problem and apparently it’s the people who are sick. Our political, financial and corporate leadership may be a symptom of things like Terminal Populous Moronitis, Degenerative Consumeritis, Genetic Hardheadness or Severe Everythingaphobia that often leads to Advanced Aggressive Militaritis. The doctors here at TBP may have some idea’s about a cure for these things. Personally the only cure I can think of is a hard whack on the head with a sledge hammer and even that may not help in the majority of cases. We are doomed.
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8th January 2012 at 7:00 pm
Muck About says:
@Sonic: An undiagnosed defect in an unborn is a different story. If you want the child, of course you pull out the stops and give is all you’ve got.
With Santorum, they knew well ahead of time the baby was non-viable and still forced the poor child to suffer through two hours of life before it died.
Do not compare oranges and apples. What the Santorum’s did was, in my opinion, immoral, cruel and unnecessary and should never have happened. I await AWD and HzK’s input on the subject.. howard took the coward’s way out and side stepped it.
MA
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8th January 2012 at 7:51 pm
howard in nyc says:
take a picture, MA. you’ll be waiting a long time to see me take this route again. bout as frequent as halley’s comet.
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8th January 2012 at 8:24 pm
howard in nyc says:
i may have been unclear.
how the santorum family chose to grieve–i defer to sonic and i would keep that opinion to myself.
regarding the hypocrisy of mrs. santorum’s abortion? oh hell yes. as that is not a dumb opinion. that is a medical fact that she chose to undergo a medical termination of pregnancy.
in her book, she describes the decision as that of her and her husband. but he wants no one else to have that same choice.
that ain’t creepy. that is fucked up, wrong, hypocritical. and douchebaggery of the highest order.
well, it’s creepy too.
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8th January 2012 at 8:35 pm
Sonic says:
LOL. I’m not arguing the creepy, hypocritical, ethically weird, and overall questionable nature of what happened. I’m not even suggesting you shouldn’t have a strong opinion about it. All I’m saying is that in weighing the merits (or lack thereof) of any candidate there is absolutely no way you could possibly know what they went through, what the motivations were, and what their choices were. You could probably infer some of it, but you’re speculating at best and as such I would leave it out of the evaluation. That is just me. It is a free country (sort of) so do as you will. I think in this forum though there is plenty enough things in the public record you can use to tear him down without resorting to speculation.
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8th January 2012 at 9:49 pm
howard in nyc says:
again, i wasn’t very clear.
sonic, i understand you. i was basically answering muck. and let me try again.
(man, these convos are easier and clearer in person.)
i judged how the santorum family chose to grieve the death of a child, specifically what they did with the corpse after the death. you called me on that; i think you were absolutely correct. my opinion and judgment on that has squat to do with his politics. how they decide to grieve, and how to handle the corpse, has no place in a public discussion of a presidential candidate.
i think muck was going after the broader issue of santorum’s abortion politics, and his wife’s pregnancy that ended early. and that issue, i think, the entire incident and my opinion is absolutely pertinent. for many reasons; not least of which the fact that mrs. santorum discussed the whole thing in her book. including her decision to have the medically intervention that ended her pregnancy.
because his political stance is that this very same medical intervention they chose would be specifically illegal, by constitutional amendment. my inferences are mostly based upon her descriptions, and my medical background. and my inferences do not reflect upon rightness or wrongness of the particular choice; (by the way, medically it is a no brainer to do exactly what the santorums chose); but nothing more than such a choice would result in a jail term for the patient and the doctor if santorum were able to change the law of the land to conform to his campaign and political rhetoric.
but i was wrong to criticize the aftermath, in this context and setting. and i did not mean to criticize the choice she made regarding her medical care at the end of the pregnancy, just that the choice violated rick’s political and religious dogma.
shit, i probably just made it worse. but i think you were 100% right sonic, and it was a mistake for me to bring that aspect up here.
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8th January 2012 at 11:24 pm
Hotrod says:
I think this all boils down to HIPPOCRACY. Santorum would not let other people have the same choice that he and his wife had facing this tragedy. It reminds me of my daughter’s friend who got knocked up one drunken night by a black guy. Being the religious person she is, it was decided to get a secret abortion as the chiurch school she teaches at wouldn’t look kindly on an unwed teacher, especially with a black kid. She is 100% for Santorum now that Bachman is out. By the way, because of their stand on abortion.
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8th January 2012 at 11:30 pm
Sonic says:
@Howard,
No worries. I wonder sometimes if people who experience something like that carry forward a measure of guilt. To assuage their guilt perhaps they decide to compel others not to do what they did themselves. To some extent that would make sense. The problem comes in when you legislate the action as opposed to educate it.
Abortion is a horribly complicated topic anyway. If you believe that a person’s legal life begins at conception (and it makes some sense because the physical life certainly does) then abortion is murder. If you believe that the Woman has a right to control her body (and it makes some sense because pregnancy has a significant physical impact and an element of danger) then she should decide whether or not to carry a baby. In my mind a blastocyst is not a baby; in my mind too I would rather acknowledge that it is impossible to know for sure and thus any action should be limited to the very earliest possible time. For that reason I don’t have an issue with a “morning after pill”. For that reason I think late term abortion is infanticide.
Like any messy topic there is a spectrum that lies in between, but because this topic has murder on one end of the spectrum and slavery on the other it is a tough, tough ask to put a one size fits none law on it. Worse this is just the skin of the onion. There are issues of fairness where the impact is severely biased towards women. There are issues of accountability for one’s actions (irresponsible sex has consequences). There are issues of forced pregnancies (rape, etc). There are religious overtones (banned contraceptives, etc). There are other messy topics embedded like a teenage child getting contraceptives against the parent’s wishes or vice versa. The list of affects is seemingly endless.
All in all I think it is the single messiest topic we face as citizens and moral people.
It is very nice; however, to be able to discuss it in this forum with intelligent and thoughtful people. More impressively with people who can objectively look at their own position and revise it when it seems warranted. I’m deeply impressed with your wisdom.
Cordially,
Sonic
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8th January 2012 at 9:16 am
howard in nyc says:
hey, when i’m wrong, i’m wrong. and i am glad to promptly admit it when i am wrong, and i sincerely appreciate being shown my error. any wisdom i’ve managed to acquire has come through not just being wrong, but accepting and coming to understand the error.
downside of this place (or maybe an upside); being wrong carries an extra price. a fist full of ape feces flung in yo face.
naw, that is def all upside. part of the fun that is TBP.
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8th January 2012 at 11:24 am
Clownbucks says:
I’d like to know how in hell are these people going to pull this country out of its terminal dive. I could less abut their views on abortion, contraception and homos.
All this crapola is a media driven smoke screen to keep the real issues from being discussed: Economy, Iran,Oil, Russia, China, Import/Exports, manufacturing, housing, IMMIGRATION, Healthcare idiocy and so on.
This business about Santorum’s child came up nicely plugged by that Democrat Shill and terminal birdbrain on Fox in play to the Republican Shill and terminal birdbrain.
It was further thrown about by the rest of the media.
Nicely played by the Elites!
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8th January 2012 at 1:44 pm
Fred Flintstone says:
I am in favor of whoever has the most realistic and viable plan to deal with the numerous sets of severe problems we find ourselves confronted by. I can only hope that at some future time, a Supreme Court is appointed that respects the Constitution and overrules all the usurpation of our rights that has occurred in the last decade. Realistically, anyone who had the desire or balls to unwind the Patriot Act or any of the other recent intrusive acts is unelectable. This Scrotorum is a squid, not because of the baby issue or his medieval views, but because he wears the gayest sweater vests ever invented by man.
Just went to renew my Driver License today. Fingerprints and proof of residency, as well as the names of two associates to contact ” in case of emergency”. Great way to spend a beautiful morning. Hope it is not a felony to lie about my weight on the damn thing….yet!
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8th January 2012 at 2:12 pm
AWD says:
1. santorum
The sometimes frothy, usually slimy, amalgam of lubricant, stray fecal matter, and ejaculate that leaks out of the receiving partner’s anus after a session of anal intercourse. Named, by popular demand and usage, after legislator Rick Santorum because of his homophobic political statements.
“That move was about as slick as santorum!”
Pretty well says it all.
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8th January 2012 at 2:12 pm
Administrator says:
Rick Santorum quote of the day:
“One of the criticisms I make is to what I refer to as more of a Libertarianish right.They have this idea that people should be left alone, be able to do whatever they want to do, government should keep our taxes down, keep our regulations low, and that we shouldn’t get involved in the bedroom, we shouldn’t get involved in cultural issues. That is not how traditional conservatives view the world. There is no such society that I am aware of, where we’ve had radical individualism and that it succeeds as a culture.”
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8th January 2012 at 2:21 pm
Diogenes says:
Sonic & Howard – Wow
“All in all I think it is the single messiest topic we face as citizens and moral people” – Sonic
“man, these convos are easier and clearer in person” – Howard
I’m awestruck – truly. A transcendent exchange. Thoughtful, decent and kind.
You guys made my day – Thanks
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8th January 2012 at 2:59 pm
Administrator says:
Diogenes
Did you ever meet Smokey? He was the master of the transcendent exchange.
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8th January 2012 at 3:04 pm
Kill Bill says:
“One of the criticisms I make is to what I refer to as more of a Libertarianish right.They have this idea that people should be left alone, be able to do whatever they want to do, government should keep our taxes down, keep our regulations low, and that we shouldn’t get involved in the bedroom, we shouldn’t get involved in cultural issues. That is not how traditional conservatives view the world.”
Santorum represents a enon-order of pseudo aristocrats.
IOW what the framers and forefathers fought to be free of,
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8th January 2012 at 3:17 pm
Kill Bill says:
He was the master of the transcendent exchange. -Admin
By transcendent you mean his love of talking about his penis. Right? =)
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8th January 2012 at 3:19 pm
Diogenes says:
Admin
Sure – he’s priceless – and I do miss his comments. I’ve felt him to be as much a kindred spirit as any of your regulars.
For several years I have had to deal with a family situation somewhat similar to his – though his sounds more severe. I understand how the emotions involved can put a father’s mind into a state of disorder. The situation here has begun to improve. I really hope his does the same.
Y’know, some time ago I decided to never again check comments on any of the sites I visit – way too aggravating (and time consuming) TBP is the only exception. This place is one of a kind; and so is Smokey.
Grateful to you
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8th January 2012 at 3:30 pm