Today's Senate chat

1. The big news is that when Philadelphia's labor unions got together to make an endorsement in the U.S. Senate race, a subset decided to go with Santorum rather than his Democratic opponent. The state AFL-CIO has already endorsed Casey, but some construction firms decided that their interests lie otherwise.

   The alliance with Santorum might seem contradictory - the senator has a 12 percent lifetime congressional voting record with the national AFL-CIO. But Gillespie and the dissident unions decided that, although they might not agree with him on everything, Santorum has brought construction jobs to the city and fought hard for the Delaware River dredging project, which proponents say will boost the region's port economy.

   Or maybe those guys are looking forward to a future in Walmart-style jobs... The Santorum camp is pleased with even a small victory here, as they hope to peel off votes among traditional Dem supporters (they're also courting Jews and environmentalists, among others), as well as depress turnout by creating the impression that support for Casey is lackluster among core groups.

   The goal is to hold down his Democratic opponent's vote margins in the Philadelphia area, where Casey would need to perform well to overcome Republican votes in central Pennsylvania.

   Looks like these guys will have a bit of an uphill push, what with Casey working so hard to alienate his own voters along the way...
   
   
2. Meantime, Santorum apparently resents all the comparison between Abramoff's links and largesse and the machinations of the mob, and he calls for an end to such ethnic slurs. Of course, the comparisons seem pretty apt, whatever Santorum's personal national heritage might be, but painting oneself as a victim is very popular in some circles. The DSCC has already removed some Godfather references from its website in response to these criticisms.