Why I’ll Miss Rick Santorum

In recent months, I've begun many a meeting by telling people how much I love and appreciate Rick Santorum. This usually elicits hard laughs and perplexed looks as people realize I'm not joking.

The fact is, I'm an unlikely woman to love and appreciate Rick. For one, I'm a committed left-leaning women's advocate. I also was Hillary Clinton's Legislative Director in the United States Senate when Rick was Senator Santorum of Pennsylvania, railing regularly against women as part of his effort to ban late-term abortions. And I know we have differences on the role of women in our society.

But here is why I love Rick Santorum and why I paid close attention to his presidential bid, which he finally abandoned this week. Throughout his career in politics, Rick Santorum has never stopped talking about children and families. His understanding of the challenges many low-income American families face comes from first-hand experience, hiring onto his office staff women once on welfare who were struggling to support their children.

Read the complete article on the Huffington Post »