Santorum testing Iowa waters for 2012 bid; Jewish Dems happy

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

Today the Politico is reporting that  former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) has “dipped  toes in 2012 Iowa waters.”

Here’s an easy prediction: a lot of Jewish Republicans will be happy with the possible return to big-time electoral politics of the former lawmaker, who is hawkishly pro-Israel and who worked closely with some pro-Israel groups during his years in the Senate.

And Jewish Democrats will be jumping for joy, since they believe Santorum’s positions on issues such as gay rights, abortion and social welfare are perfect examples of the views that have kept strong majorities of Jews voting for Democrats, election after election.

Iowa, it turns out, isn’t the dull place most people believe; since last year’s election, it’s been visited by Republicans Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, Haley Barbour, Mike Pence and George Pataki, the Politico reports.

Huckabee, as we reported earlier this week, is on his way to Israel – another early touchstone in any presidential bid.