# Santorum is a shithead. Sun also rises in east. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 26, 2006, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291 "2006-05-26T05:18:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291/21 "2006-05-26T17:55:10Z")
If he wants to live in DC, he should live in DC. He doesn’t. He lives in Leesburg, VA, which is at least an hour outside of DC. 2 to 3 more hours, and he’d be “home” to Penn Hills. The bottom line is that I, along with my fellow citizens, get to decide in a few months whether it’s cool for Virginia to have 3 senators and Pennsylvania only one or not. And whether Senator Man on Dog is unfit to represent us for a large number of other reasons. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291/22 "2006-05-26T18:06:19Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] Hey, **Bricker** , do you have a comment on Santorum’s false accusations of trespassing or are you just here to defend the right of the rich to force taxpayers to pay for their kids’ private schools? [/QUOTE] It seems to me that there are two seperate arguments going on here. I agree with Rick on the topic of residency. I think he was an idiot not to think some hypocrasy would come back to bite him since he used it against his opponant. And I think a wiser man would have made at least a half assed attempt, with furniture and the acoutrments of daily life, in the vacant home. But beyond that, I see nothing wrong with it. The school issue seems to be a seperate one, and one that was caused a dustup in PA in the past, but isn’t really related to the latest dustup. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291/23 "2006-05-26T18:08:21Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] Then he shouldn’t be expecting taxpayers to foot the bill for his kids’ school tuition, goddammit. And it’s not like he can’t afford it. [/QUOTE] If the taxpayers of Pennsylvania provide that benefit for other state residents that live out of state, there is no reason that Senator Santorum’s family should not also get it. If the taxpayers wish to limit it with some sort of needs-based test, they certainly can. Right now, they don’t. So I see no reason whatsoever that Senator Santorum should not avail himself of this benefit. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291/24 "2006-05-26T18:08:23Z")
Dear gawd. I kan spel. I kan spel reel gowd. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291/25 "2006-05-26T18:10:03Z")
[QUOTE=Hentor the Barbarian] If he wants to live in DC, he should live in DC. He doesn’t. He lives in Leesburg, VA, which is at least an hour outside of DC. 2 to 3 more hours, and he’d be “home” to Penn Hills. The bottom line is that I, along with my fellow citizens, get to decide in a few months whether it’s cool for Virginia to have 3 senators and Pennsylvania only one or not. And whether Senator Man on Dog is unfit to represent us for a large number of other reasons. [/QUOTE] Plenty of people that live in Leesburg work in DC. Rt 7 is packed every morning, eastbound, with commuter traffic and every evening westbound with commuter traffic. There is no reason to force a congressman to live within the DC city limits, when less expensive housing is available in the suburbs. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291/26 "2006-05-26T18:11:35Z")
[QUOTE=MsRobyn] The beef about the educational tax credit is that the Santorum children attend(ed) a cyber school paid for with Penn Hills School District funds. Unlike at a bricks-and-mortar school, parents who reside outside the district cannot pay tuition at this cyber school, so if the Santorums are not residents of PA, then they are not eligible to use the cyber school, which costs the district about $7500 per student per year. Basically, then, the argument runs that since the Santorums don’t reside in the district that provides their kids’ education, they’re abusing the PA school system since they should be sending their kids to school in Virginia, where they actually live. (Article [here](http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04319/411623.stm).) Oh, yeah. And Santorum is the backwash from a douchebag. Robin [/QUOTE] Except that members of Congress have always been considered to live in their home states and districts. For you to say they 'actually live" in Virginia is to ignore that fact. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291/27 "2006-05-26T18:11:39Z")
[QUOTE=Bricker] If the taxpayers of Pennsylvania provide that benefit for other state residents that live out of state, there is no reason that Senator Santorum’s family should not also get it. [/quote] From what I gather, you have to live in this state. At least, that’s what I read-I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291/28 "2006-05-26T18:14:00Z")
[QUOTE=Maureen] And it would probably be a non issue had he not used the exact same argument against another congressman in order to win his seat in 1990. It’s pretty obvious that congressmen are required to remain as close to DC as possible; they work there. But don’t denounce someone as being out of touch with the people of Pennsylvania because _horrified shock_ “he doesn’t even LIVE here!” and then turn around and do the exact same thing yourself. People tend to remember things like that. Causes them to feel like fools for being fished in by such a stupid assed argument, and nobody likes being made a fool of in public. Especially if they end up paying the guy who made them look like fools. [/QUOTE] Then his earlier argument was similarly flawed. That doesn’t make the argument valid now. It means that Santorum was wrong for making those charges in 2000, and whoever is making them now against Santorum is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291/29 "2006-05-26T18:17:28Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] From what I gather, you have to live in this state. At least, that’s what I read-I could be wrong. [/QUOTE] I checked the article-you must be a local resident to attend said school. They do NOT allow it for anyone out of state. Sorry, **Bricker** , you’re wrong on this one. And so is Senator Fecal Slime. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291/30 "2006-05-26T18:18:51Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] From what I gather, you have to live in this state. At least, that’s what I read-I could be wrong. [/QUOTE] > [@](#): > > Under state law, the district in which the pupil resides must pay for each resident who attends a charter school. While the fee varies by district, Penn Hills must pay $7,551 for each pupil. Residency for congressmen and thier families has always been rooted in their home districts and states. There is nothing unusual or complex about that. It’s irrelevant if he and his family spend the vast majority of their time in their house in Leesburg. when you are a Congresscritter, residency is not a matter of where you spend the majority of your time. ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291/31 "2006-05-26T18:18:58Z")
[QUOTE=Bricker] The spirit of the law is that members of Congress are entitled to be treated as residents of their home state and district. They have a job that requires them to maintain two residences. Any argument that starts out, “He really lives in DC, not here,” is a non-starter in my book. [/QUOTE] Not the law I’m referring to. Your referring to the Senate ethics rule; I’m referring to the educational tax credit – or as you called it in the post that started this, the “same deal.” I thought that was clear, but I’m sorry if it wasn’t. Anyhoo, the spirit of that law is apparently to provide an educational tax credit to parents of children living in the Penn Hills School District, not to provide an educational tax credit to parents who happen to own a house in the Penn Hills School District. Wouldn’t you agree? [QUOTE=Bricker] Now, I am open to, “He really lives in District 3, but has a mailbox in District 5,” or “He really lives in Wisconsin, but has an empty house in Texas,” arguments. But excoriating a senator for acting like he lives in his home state when he has another residence in the DC area is not fair. It’s not right to ask a man to live apart from his family when Congres is in session; it’s not right to ask him to give up his residency in the state he represents while he is engaged in representing that state. [/QUOTE] (emphasis mine) It is if he’s only ACTING like he lives in his “home” state. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291/32 "2006-05-26T18:19:52Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] I checked the article-you must be a local resident to attend said school. They do NOT allow it for anyone out of state. Sorry, **Bricker** , you’re wrong on this one. And so is Senator Fecal Slime. [/QUOTE] And what, pray tell, is the legal definition of “resident?” Did you check that, too, **Guinastasia**? ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291/33 "2006-05-26T18:20:33Z")
[QUOTE=Bricker] Residency for congressmen and thier families has always been rooted in their home districts and states. There is nothing unusual or complex about that. It’s irrelevant if he and his family spend the vast majority of their time in their house in Leesburg. when you are a Congresscritter, residency is not a matter of where you spend the majority of your time. [/QUOTE] Again, is spirirt of the tax credit law to provide for someone outside the school district, regardless of the reason? Probably not. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291/34 "2006-05-26T18:23:05Z")
[QUOTE=whole bean] Not the law I’m referring to. Your referring to the Senate ethics rule; I’m referring to the educational tax credit – or as you called it in the post that started this, the “same deal.” I thought that was clear, but I’m sorry if it wasn’t. Anyhoo, the spirit of that law is apparently to provide an educational tax credit to parents of children living in the Penn Hills School District, not to provide an educational tax credit to parents who happen to own a house in the Penn Hills School District. Wouldn’t you agree? [/quote] Yes. But Santorum’s claim to residency in that school district is not based on his merely owning a home in that district. It’s based on the fact that THAT home is his legal residence, and, of course, his family’s legal residence as well. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291/35 "2006-05-26T18:24:39Z")
[QUOTE=Bricker] Yes. But Santorum’s claim to residency in that school district is not based on his merely owning a home in that district. It’s based on the fact that THAT home is his legal residence, and, of course, his family’s legal residence as well. [/QUOTE] You forgot to put quotation marks around “residence.” He owns a building there. It is by no means an actual residence. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291/36 "2006-05-26T18:26:36Z")
[QUOTE=Bricker] Yes. But Santorum’s claim to residency in that school district is not based on his merely owning a home in that district. It’s based on the fact that THAT home is his legal residence, and, of course, his family’s legal residence as well. [/QUOTE] Well, apparently, according to the _Post-Gazette_ article linked above, the district disagrees. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291/37 "2006-05-26T18:28:21Z")
[QUOTE=whole bean] Again, is spirirt of the tax credit law to provide for someone outside the school district, regardless of the reason? Probably not. [/QUOTE] I disagree. The spirit of the law would be to provide that benefit to residents of the school system. Consider a National Guardsman’s family enrolled in that cyber-school. The Guardsman is activated and sent to Lousiana to help rebuild after Katrina. A single parent lacking child care, she rents an apartment for her six-month deployment. Does she need to get a Louisana driver’s license, and re-register her car in Lousiana? No. Military on active duty retain residency in their home state. Would her kids have to quit their cyber-school because of her six-month change of address? No, for the same reason: her residency, and theirs, is unaffected by her deployment. The spirit of that law is to provide a benefit for the RESIDENTS. No less than the deployed Guardsman, Pennsylvania’s senators and representatives are residents in their Pennsylvania homes, even while thier jobs force them to live at other addresses. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291/38 "2006-05-26T18:31:10Z")
> [@](#): > > I disagree. The spirit of the law would be to provide that benefit to residents of the school system. Santorum is not a resident of the school district. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291/39 "2006-05-26T18:33:47Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] Well, apparently, according to the _Post-Gazette_ article linked above, the district disagrees. [/QUOTE] Cite? I see ONE member of the school board quoted as raising this concern: Erin Vecchio. Interestingly, she is also chair of the Democratic party in Penn Hills. So where do you get the basis that “the district disagrees?” ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291/40 "2006-05-26T18:34:49Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] Santorum is not a resident of the school district. [/QUOTE] Sure he is. Why do you think he isn’t? He meets the legal requirements for residency. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/santorum-is-a-shithead-sun-also-rises-in-east/358291.md?page=3)