Senate hopeful debates self

Congressman Ron Klink has a lot of ground to cover in his bid to oust Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) from his seat in November. The Democrat is behind in the polls, has raised half the funds as the incumbent and is in a race that most of the public just doesn't care about -- most eyes have shifted to the presidential campaigns and the oft-talked about New York Senate race between Hillary Clinton and Rick Lazio. But Klink, who last night participated in a one-man debate sponsored by the Society Hill Civic Association, is undeterred by what appears to many as an uphill battle. Santorum, who was invited but declined to attend, has yet to debate Klink in a public venue. The conservative firebrand -- elected to office in the 1994 Republican revolution -- "was tied up in Washington," according to Association President Malcolm Lazin. "Do you think for one second that voters across this great Commonwealth are going to vote based on who raised more money?" Klink asked a crowd of more than 75 people at the Old Pine Presbyterian Church at 4th and Pine streets. "They vote because there are issues they hold near and dear to them," he said. "The issues are on our side." Klink, who beat out five other candidates for the Democratic nomination in April, has been criticized for his pro-life and anti-gun control views. Mixing stories of his life with his policies, Klink stressed his two main issues of education and health care reform. "We should feel sorry for any child that comes from any school a million miles from reality," Klink said after explaining his own experiences in going to a one-room schoolhouse as a child. "If there's any dreaded curse in this world, it's the curse of unfulfilled potential," he said. "I don't see how bleeding resources [from the public school system] is the answer," Klink said responding to a question from the audience. "I am vehemently opposed to [school] vouchers," he said, adding that he "reluctantly" voted for charter schools during his tenure in Congress. Besides heralding the benefits of a "universal free public education system," Klink stressed the importance of a Patients' Bill of Rights. He voted for one in 1999, but the legislation was defeated in the Senate. "If I was in the Senate," Klink said, "that wouldn't have happened." Responses were varied among the crowd, estimated to be "equally represented among Democrats and Republicans" by Lazin. Jan Bruckner, who teaches physical therapy at Thomas Jefferson University, asked Klink about voter apathy among college students. She felt that "he was not very responsive." "We need inspiration," Bruckner said. "I haven't really heard that inspiration [from either candidate]."