To Fox News

From: Stanley L. Klos                                       March 18, 2008

Re: News Analyst Rick Santorum’s Commentary this morning on Fox News.

    In 1994, as the Republican Nominee for the U.S. Senate, I stood on a stage with the other GOP Nominees in front of the U.S. Capitol and signed a contract with America[1] that included term limits.  Congressman Santorum, the Republican Nominee, stood on that same stage and signed the  pledge.  When the time came for the two term Senator to step down in 2006, Santorum choose not to honor our contract[2] and ran for a third term.  Anyone in the senatorial circles knew Santorum had his eye on the U.S. Presidency and sought to run in 2008 as a sitting U.S. Senator.

    Also in the summer of 94, as the West Virginia Nominee, I was invited to Capitol Hill for a luncheon with the Conservative GOP Members of the United States Senate.  I was encouraged to discuss my nomination, ideas, and request help from the honorable conservative members of the U.S. Senate to aid me in my campaign to challenege the re-election of U.S. Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert C. Byrd. Like Mitt Romney, (who was recruited to oppose Senator Ted Kennedy in 1994),  I was challenging an entrenched incumbent with the mission to force Byrd to campaign utilizing valuable Democrat State and National party resources rather than coast in unopposed without costs.   My nomination was part of an overall GOP strategy to successfully re-capture a U.S. Senate Republican Majority in the 1994 election. I did poorly but the strategy was successful as Robert C. Byrd (D), although elected 290,495, 69% to Stan Klos (R), 130,441, 31%, spent $1,550,354 to my $267,165.[3] Additionally the Democratic Party invested over $1 million in that State's U.S. Senatorial Campaign to the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s $15,000.

    At the US Senate Capital luncheon, I presented the Senators with a straightforward endorsement letter supporting my candidacy to unseat Appropriations Chairman Byrd who was the major legislative impediment to the Balance Budget Amendment and Line-item-Veto.  Only Senator John McCain, in a room full of conservative GOP Senators spoke favorably of the endorsement proposal and agreed to sign the letter.  Other members shook their heads no or remained silent with some apologizing after the lunch for not signing the letter due to Senator Byrd’s Chairmanship on Appropriations. 

    McCain, above all others then as now, proved he was a true fiscal conservative endorsing a Nominee on the points of a Balance Budget Amendment and Line-item Veto who could not win despite incurring the wrath of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Chairman. McCain has been an island of fiscal responsibility during Santorum’s last six years, 2000 – 2006, in the US Senate often alienating the leadership for tackling the ballooning federal deficit at the expensive of Republican Pork.

    Former Senator Santorum, somewhere in his tenure as a public servant, lost sight not only of the term limit provision he signed in 1994 but on why we all ran for office in the first place, restoring fiscal responsibility to government for our children[4] and future generations of Americans. Fiscal responsibility, more so then any thing else, is why I ran seeking to siphon off man hours and money from the Democrat Party so nominees like Santorum would face less opposition due to limited resources of the opposing national party.

    From 2000 until 2006, when Senator Santorum sat in the leadership of a Republican controlled Senate, Republican controlled House and had a Republican controlled White House he presided over a U.S. Senate that went from a 2000 $225 billion dollar surplus to a loss of -$248 billion in 2006. During his leadership second term, 2001 – 2006 the average loss was a negative -$231 billion dollars a year or a swing of a yearly negative average of -$363 Billion a year from 2002 to 2006.[5]  Now, of course, the Republican Leadership says it is the War.  It is therefore prudent to remove the 86.4 billion spent a year, on average, from the accounting.[6]  This leaves a difference of  a negative $-276.60 Billion dollars a year while the Republicans controlled the House, Senate and White House when Senator Santorum served as  the Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the third-ranking member of the GOP leadership.  If fiscally conservative republicans cannot hold former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum accountable for this disgraceful waste of taxpayer’s money then I ask; “Who could possibly be held accountable?”  It is Congress who controls the budget, not the President.

    It absolutely boggles my mind that Rick ran for a third term, holds himself out as a fiscal GOP Conservative after such a poor performance and is still on an “Anybody but McCain”[7][8] tirade after his candidate, Mick Romney lost the nomination.  McCain, is one of the few sitting Congressmen, Republican or Democrat, that can make the case as being a fiscally conservative elected representative of the people.  I am proud to have endorsed his candidacy early in Florida.[9]   

    As for Fox News and Senator Santorum’s grandstanding as a supposed Republican Conservative I suggest your lawyers take another look at your contract with the Senator.  On a second thought, do not bother, he broke his contract with the American People so why expect anything less with Fox News.

Sincerely,

Stanley L. Klos, President

ROI.us Corporation

1994 US Senate Republican Nominee, West Virginia