It’s that time of year again: red, white, and blue signs appear on front lawns, various politicians interrupt your favorite television shows, and people from all walks of life wave signs next to the highways. Election season is on us again.
�It’s been such a dirty campaign,” said Julian Fiorina, a junior, of the race to fill one of Pennsylvania’s two seats in the United States Senate. “So much mud-slinging from both sides.”
By Megan Ritter
Staff Writer
It’s that time of year again: red, white, and blue signs appear on front lawns, various politicians interrupt your favorite television shows, and people from all walks of life wave signs next to the highways. Election season is on us again.
�It’s been such a dirty campaign,” said Julian Fiorina, a junior, of the race to fill one of Pennsylvania’s two seats in the United States Senate. “So much mud-slinging from both sides.”
Campaigning on and battling out the equally heated issues of national security and the nation’s economy are Richard Santorum, the incumbent Republican, and Robert Casey Jr., his Democratic challenger.
Santorum, who resides in Penn Hills, has served in the Senate since 1994. Before that he served two two-year terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Casey, who is from Scranton, currently serves as state treasurer of Pennsylvania; previously he served as the auditor general, an office which supervises the financial affairs of the state government.
The United States’ current nation-building exercise in Iraq absorbs much of the government’s attention just now. Santorum supports remaining involved in Iraq for as a long as is needed to establish a fully-functional Iraqi government and security force. Casey is pushing for an exit strategy that will launch the Iraqi government and security force, while still bringing the U.S. military out of Iraq within the next year.
Both candidates agree that the economy has made a significant recovery from the recession of the past several years, while acknowledging that there is still more to be done. Casey’s economic plan calls for greatly increased funding to the Small Business Administration and Small Business Innovation Research, offices of the federal government that provide grants, loans, and counseling to small business owners.
His plan also asks for increased funding for federally-subsidized job training under the Workplace Investment Act. Santorum’s economic plan provides tax incentives for and slashes costly regulations on small businesses and requests additional funding for infrastructure necessary for economic growth, such as highways.
Santorum has also lobbied hard and continues to push for a repeal of the estate tax, commonly known as the “Death Tax,” a 46 percent tax levied on estates worth more than two million dollars, including small businesses that children have inherited from their parents. Both candidates support raising the minimum wage.
The plans that the two candidates have for Pennsylvania’s higher education system are a priority among students here at Seton Hill University (SHU). Both candidates support increased funding for federally-issued Pell Grants and scholarships for racial and ethnic minorities.
Casey wants to award more scholarships in math, engineering, and the sciences. Santorum plans to expand the amount of money that parents can deposit tax-free for their children in the federal government’s Education Savings Accounts from $500 to $5000 dollars annually.
Many SHU students are still making up their minds who to vote for come Tuesday, November 7. Marie Salguero, a freshman, said, “I’m in the GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) and I can tell you that Santorum’s policies on homosexuality leave a lot to be desired. But you can’t just look at one issue; you have to weigh them all.”
Cara Daley, a senior political science major, is more certain of who she’s voting for.
“I’m supporting Santorum because he’s Republican, as am I, and he’s an incumbent – we’ve had him before, and he’s never steered us wrong,” said Daley.
Casey, meanwhile, has less political experience and is not well-known to many SHU students. “I’m not so much pro-Casey as I am really anti-Santorum,” said Aundre Gandy, a junior.
Wherever they stand on the issues, all these students agree that it’s important to vote on November 7.
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