Dan Savage's $2,100 check returned by Casey campaign

It seems that sex columnist and The Stranger editor Dan Savage is putting his money where his keyboard is to defeat Senator Rick Santorum, but his check was returned, even after he was thanked by the Casey campaign. Interesting. Good thing I'm broke for the next few years paying off student loans, because I have a feeling that I might be one of those people with an "unsavory background."

Philadelphia Inquirer, "No thanks, Casey donor told"

Democrat Bob Casey Jr. needs all the contributors he can get to unseat U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum - except Dan Savage, apparently.

The Seattle-based syndicated sex columnist who minted a raunchy definition of "santorum" and assembled a Web site to share it with all the world tried channeling his distaste for Pennsylvania's junior senator with a $2,100 contribution to Casey's campaign.

But six weeks after receiving a thank-you call from a Casey staffer and an invite to his Seattle fund-raiser, Savage learned this week that his money wasn't necessarily welcomed.

Not directly, at least...

Campaigns routinely vet their donors, looking to weed out people with unsavory backgrounds or anything else that could cause the candidate embarrassment down the road. Add sex columnist to the list of apparently questionable characters.

Then again, Savage isn't just any sex columnist. His anti-Santorum Web site is the No. 1 hit on a Google search of the senator's name, spawning a pop-culture reference used by the likes of liberal activist and actress Janeane Garofalo. (bolding mine)

See also: Spreadingsantorum.com