In attacking the new South Dakota anti-abortion statute, the Republican Majority for Choice (RMC) last Wednesday took a gratuitous swipe at Republican Sen. Rick Santorum's uphill campaign for re-election in Pennsylvania.
Jennifer Stockman, RMC national co-chairman (and wife of Reagan administration OMB Director David Stockman), called Santorum "the poster child of the religious right." She said "rank-and-file Republicans" in Pennsylvania are "withholding support" from Santorum against Democratic State Treasurer Bob Casey, who also is pro-life.
A footnote: Pro-choice Republican Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania's other senator, wrote Jennifer Stockman five days prior to her attack on Santorum, calling on "the RMC to repudiate and renounce any effort to defeat Sen. Santorum." But a Specter spokesman told this column that Stockman has promised to stop attacking Santorum and that the senator intends to remain on the RMC advisory board.
OBAMA'S APPEAL
Reflecting his status as an instant Democratic superstar, freshman Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois was the main attraction at California Sen. Dianne Feinstein's fund-raiser last Monday
Obama was heralded as a "special guest" for Feinstein's reception in her Washington home. The prices for the event, appealing mainly to lobbyists, were scaled from $1,000 to $5,000.
A footnote: Another unusual fund-raising attraction is being used by House Speaker Dennis Hastert in a fund-raiser at St. Charles, Ill., in his congressional district March 31. The "special guest speaker" for the $100-a-ticket event is Senate Republican Whip Mitch McConnell. House members usually do not use senators for their fund-raising.