State Treasurer Bob Casey, Jr. and Senator Rick Santorum were both "criticized" in mailing from Republican mailing purported to have come from the "Progressive Policy Council".

A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing
The "Progressive Policy Center".

-- Dr. Daniel E. Loeb

Yesterday, I received yet another political flier in the mail. This one attracted my attention it part because they quoted a local newspaper I support, but mostly because it criticized both candidates: quoting Santorum's conservative social policies from Santorum's website, and Casey's similar view from an interview in the Philadelphia Jewish Voice. I was curious. Most advertisement clearly suggest some course of action, but what did these people want me to do?

The flier claims to have been produced by the Progressive Policy Council "a not-for-profit organization seeking to educate the public and to advocate for progressive public policy solutions for contemporary issues." I wanted to find out more, but the web address they provide on the flier does not work. I then conducted a Google search and found absolutely no leads. The return address is a post office box in Arlington, Virginia, but the Virginia "Yellow Pages" provide no leads either.

Apparently, the Republican National Committee has concluded the only chance Santorum has is to suppress the Democratic vote. Thus, they have embarked on a program of targeted mailings to liberal voters painting Casey and Santorum with the same brush hoping that the recipients will then somehow be too discouraged to vote. 

While many liberals may have preferred a different Democratic nominee, they also understand that there are several important differences between Casey and Santorum:

• Most importantly, Casey would caucus for the Democrats which might give them the Senate majority they need to provide oversight, investigate allegations, and help shape the political agenda. 
• Casey would not sell out national security as Santorum has done allowing his friends at Halliburton to use a loophole to continue trading with Iran. 
• While US loan guarantees were reduced by $289,000,000 during Santorum's term in office as a sanction for construction of its security fence, Casey has shown his support for the only Democracy in the Middle-East by increasing the Pennsylvania Treasury Department's investment in Israeli bonds to nearly $50,000,000.

The supposed "Progressive Policy Council" that sent the flier attacking Casey and Santorum does not exist. Some "progressive" organization: the Republican National Committee!

One wonders if such duplicity violates any campaign finance laws.