We previously discussed the unease of civil libertarians over Rick Santorum, particularly his privacy positions. His appeal to evangelical and faith-based voters was evident in a remarkable appearance in Sioux Center, Iowa. Santorum has a tense exchange over his position on same-sex marriage and health care — making the factual representation that no one has ever died from lack of health care protection and same-sex marriage would have horrific consequences for the nation.
The first exchange was with Jason Kornelis, 23, who started out by asking Santorum about his opposition to same-sex marriage. Santorum expressed disbelief in the statement of Kornelis that he could not see how same-sex marriage would “be a hit to faith and family in America . . . You can’t think of any consequence?”
Santorum raised the specter of teaching such “sexual activity” in schools and added
“Really- wow- um okay, well let’s see if we can have a discussion. We can flesh out some, well, let’s look at what’s going to be taught in our schools because now we have same sex couples being the same and their sexual activity being seen as equal and being affirmed by society as heterosexual couples and their activity . . . so what is going to be taught to our people in health class in our schools? What is going to be taught to our children about who in our stories, even to little children — what are married couples? What families look like in America? So, you are going to have in our curriculum spread throughout our curriculum worldview that is fundamentally different than what is taught in schools today? Is that not a consequence of gay marriage?”
When Kornelis said that he was still not convinced, Santorum said “I think you’re wrong — okay, in fact you have to know you’re wrong, because if we say legally if this type of relationship is identical to other type relationships than of course more of it will be taught because this is what the law says.”
When a student asked Santorum asked about health care, the student cited a 2009 Harvard study and noted that he did not “think God appreciates the fact that we have 50 to 100,000 uninsured Americans dying due to a lack of healthcare every year.” He should know better to cite an academic study to Santorum during an election with experts and intellectuals have been denounced as virtual threats to the nation. Santorum responded
“Dying?” . . . the answer is not what can we do to prevent deaths because of a lack of health insurance. There’s — I reject that number completely, that people die in America because of lack of health insurance . . . People die in America because people die in America. And people make poor decisions with respect to their health and their healthcare. And they don’t go to the emergency room or they don’t go to the doctor when they need to . . . And it’s not the fault of the government for not providing some sort of universal benefit.”
Few candidates are willing to take those breast cancer victims to task for their “poor decision” to have cancer. Not since Ann Coulter took on those 9-11 widows has a Republican shown such daring. I am not sure who is more benefitted from the Santorum surge: Romney or Obama. I expect both. What is remarkable is that Santorum can in good faith oppose the national health care legislation on federalism grounds without asserting that the lack of health care does not cause some harm or deaths to uncovered individuals.
After a long and bizarre GOP primary season, I expect voters in South Carolina and New Hampshire may want to consider the response of Melvin Udall when Santorum comes knocking:
Source: ABC
Pete,
Romney was a job destroyer and his economic plan won’t help that dismal record.
LK
it is a laugh to hear republican pundits refer to romney as a “job creator”.
Our cup runeth over!!!
And all this due to only one ‘foygele’.
I’m sure the Dems have as many deep thinkers to pepper us, though.
Where did we go wrong?
Sometimes you don’t need to know much about someone to know what kind of person they are. There are one or two facts that can encapsulate everything needed to form an opinion and after you know those facts you really don’t have to pay much attention thereafter, your opinion is sealed.
Fact: Romney stuck his dog in a crate, put it on a car roof and drove 600 miles. When it crapped itself (in terror no doubt, he stopped the car at a gas station, hosed the dog and car off and started back down the road. Is there more anyone needs to know about his character? That he bought companies and destroy many of them to make money is just an extension of his absence of humanity.
Fact: Santorum brought his dead premature baby home to introduce it to his other kids and for him and his wife to spend some quality time with. That he wants to end contraception and start a pogrom against gay and women’s rights is just an extension of his warped but closely held cultural attitudes.
You don’t have to know much about these guys to know where they want to take the country. They’re sick in ways reason won’t temper IMO.
I almost shoved our bartender at the restaurant I work at into the closet. He told me: I spent most of my life coming out of the closet and you’re shoving me back in! Santorum is a thug.
Sad to say I am from PA and I would never vote for this ignorant, ill informed politician. He has consistently proven that he knows nothing about what is going on in this country, the issues it faces and how to solve them. What is he talking about anyway. It is really sad that this man is allowed to speak publicly. He is nutz!
I’m voting for him because he’s whitey.
Rick Santorum Tried To Turn Lobbyists Into Cogs Of GOP Machine With K Street Project
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/05/rick-santorum-lobbyists-k-street-project_n_1186606.html
JBH – you might say life is a sexually transmitted disease that is always fatal.
Adam – I think if you look closely at how they do you can separate the true believers(tm) from the charlatans.
Noot is a phoney, not only does he come across that way be he has a hard time keeping it straight which gets him in trouble with the morans,
Cain is in it for the book sales, he knows that being a black Republican is like being a dancing bear – its not that the do it well but that they do it at all
Ol Frothy and Ms B are true believers as evidenced by their inability to dial it back when speaking in front of normals.
Its impossible to tell where Perry falls – he smells like a fraud but is so stupid its hard to know.
Obviously Willard is a fraud as he has changed position on everything but dog abuse and Mormonism.
My study of biology since early in grade school informs me that, with diploid animals who reproduce with haploid gametes, conception is inescapably the one and only actual cause of death.
Dying, I am prone to speculate, is actually easy. Living decently is another matter entirely.
Santorum reminds me of the walking dead.
Liberty1st,
Credit goes to Amanda Terkel (Huffington Post). I was but the messenger…
Anon Nurse is right on! I had not seen the Santo Rum rant about the courts.
When we prosecuted war crimes after WWII we had one trial known as The Judges Trial. We prosecuted judges and prosecutors and people who spoke out and did things to dismantle the judicial system so that the deprivation of liberty could then proceed. This started with the Reichstag Fire Decrees issued by President von Hindenburg. By the time Hitler came to power on the wave of this political hysteria the rights of citizens and others were in the sewer. Santo Rum is the worst person in the field. This is the biggest demogod (sp purposeful) we have seen in this country since George Wallace.
Carol,
You are right about Santorum. He is a true believer of the far religious right nonsense.
I think Santorium believes every word he utters. He does believe gay sex is a sin, he believes contraception is a sin, and he believes anything that contradicts his version of the Bible is a wrong.
He and his wife brought poor dead fetus Gabriel home so his other kids could hold her and get to know their dead almost born sibling. Anybody who does that is not only ridgidly stubborn in their thinking, but pretty damn stupid too.
Carol,
You forgot to mention lousy to the point of being abusive parent.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/05/rick-santorum-new-hampshire-primary-2012_n_1186775.html
TILTON, N.H. — Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum went after the judicial branch at a town hall meeting on Thursday morning, saying it was the weakest branch of government and joking about sending away liberal judges.
“Our founders intended for them to be the least consequential of the three branches of government,” said Santorum. “How do I know that for a fact? Because it’s Article III. Article I is Congress, Article II is the president and Article III is the courts. If it was the most important, they wouldn’t have put it third.”
He whipped out a pocket Constitution to make his point.
“How many courts are established in the Constitution? One!” he exclaimed. “Who establishes the other courts? The more powerful body. When people say — they said this about Newt [Gingrich] and they said this about my plan — that I want to abolish the Ninth Circuit, can the Congress abolish the Ninth Circuit? What the Congress creates, it can uncreate. So yes we can.”
The Ninth Circuit is despised by many conservatives, who perceive it to have a liberal bent.
Santorum said that if the court were to be abolished, he had “some ideas” about what to do with the judges, a comment that elicited laughter from the audience. He then joked about sending the judges to Guam. (end excerpt)
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57353222-503544/rick-santorums-arlen-specter-problem/
From the first paragraph:
“making the factual representation that no one has ever died from lack of health care protection and same-sex marriage would have horrific consequences for the nation.”
Wait, what? “Factual representation?” Internets, I am confused.
McCain would have already bombed Iran.
The question becomes….when do we go after Iran……??????????????