On Tuesday at 7 p.m., Rick Santorum and Howard Dean will stage a debate in Pick-Staiger Auditorium. The event, which is hosted by College Democrats and College Republicans, is being billed as “NU’s biggest political event of the year.”
While neither Santorum nor Dean currently holds office, they were both leaders of their respective parties. Their positions on opposite ends of the political spectrum and confrontational natures are sure to create conflict Tuesday night.
Career
Rick Santorum, a social and fiscal conservative, served as both a congressman and senator from Pennsylvania. He was a young star of the Republican Party, becoming a national figure and the youngest member of the Senate leadership during his term as chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. Since losing his Senate seat in 2006 to moderate Democrat Bob Casey, Santorum has regularly contributed to Fox News.
Howard Dean, who served as governor of Vermont for 12 years, was once thought to be the favorite to win the Democratic nomination for president in 2004. As governor, he was considered fiscally moderate, having lowered income taxes and balanced the budget. Dean’s campaign organization skills have had a more significant contribution to the Democratic Party than his actual ideology: as a candidate and later chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Dean pioneered grassroots fundraising, utilizing the internet to garner a large number of small donations.
Major Policy Stances
During his time in Congress, Santorum was a staunch conservative, supporting the Iraq War and the privatization of Social Security and opposing immigration reform.
As a presidential candidate, Dean earned popularity among Democrats for his opposition to the Iraq War (unlike some other candidates who had served in Congress, Dean had no voting record on Iraq). Dean used his background as a physician to promote health care as a federal issue.
Moments of infamy
As a congressman, Rick Santorum did not shy away from controversy. He wrote an amendment advocating that intelligent design be taught in schools and is well known today for some of his more right-wing beliefs, including his anti-homosexual stance.
“The Dean Scream.” In a moment of excitement after finishing third in the Iowa Democratic caucuses (yes, third), Dean let out an embarrassing howl at a campaign rally. The clip was replayed ad nauseam and may very well have been fatal to his campaign.
Potential Future Prospects
Santorum’s name has been mentioned in conversation as a candidate for President in 2012; he has visited Iowa multiple times this year and wrote in January that he was considering running for President. In a more telling sign of his ambitions, Santorum has begun courting Tea Partiers.
Dean has remained a presence in the news, criticizing Republicans and cheerleading Democrats in to the midterm elections. Because Dean is a prominent member of his party, but someone who is unlikely to run for office soon, he will likely continue to attack conservatives.
It does not appear that Dean and Santorum have crossed paths in the political arena many before, but they are rumored to be friends. In May, however, Santorum dismissed a Pennsylvania Senate candidate as “what Pennsylvanians have never elected: an unabashed, enthusiastic, wild-eyed Howard Dean.” Whether close friends or not, they are unlikely to hold any punches Tuesday night.
While Northwestern students may be hoping for the rare opportunity of an honest debate on today’s politics, it is unlikely that Santorum and Dean will stray too far from their respective party lines, since they both still stump for their parties’ candidates and frequently appear in the media. Still, without the bright lights of a campaign trail, students may be hoping for a little more straightforward debate of today’s issues than is typical of campaign debates that often devolve into sound bites.
If not, we could just ask Dean to test out the acoustics of Pick-Staiger with another howl.
Dean’s state has been changed from New Hampshire to Vermont. Thanks to commenter Carl Perreault for pointing out the error.