The campaign to save Santorum

Re “GOP on a Mission to Save Santorum,” Oct. 16

In its assessment of Sen. Rick Santorum’s (R-Pa.) political plummet, The Times neglects to mention one critical error Santorum made and that Pennsylvanians won’t soon forget: injecting himself into the Terri Schiavo situation. By wading into personal family affairs, Santorum alienated the vast majority of his constituents, who recognized that his political opportunism reached new heights with his despicable manipulation of this family’s tragedy. Santorum even used his time in Florida to raise a quarter of a million dollars for the GOP. No wonder the party is on a mission to save him.

M.K. CAMPBELL

Monterey Hills

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The article on Santorum’s reelection woes in Pennsylvania states, “Across Pennsylvania, pastors are preparing to stuff voter guides into their Sunday bulletins.” All Saints Church [in Pasadena] is threatened by the Internal Revenue Service with revocation of its tax-exempt status because a guest pastor gave an antiwar sermon, but it’s OK to “stuff voter guides into Sunday bulletins” -- as long as they support the right candidates? All Americans, regardless of individual religious affiliation, or absence thereof, are gravely threatened by this fundamental undermining of the separation of church and state in our beloved democracy.

ABRAHAM ENTIN

Granada Hills