No, of course not.
What, then, is the meaning of the mish-mash of quotes rendered here?
Well, let us recall the Founders idea of self-interest eventually raising the standard of living for all. Certainly, that's a conservative ideal? Using nicely clipped quotes, I would imagine I could subvert that notion into something like: ‘a governments role...should foster...individual...contribution to the whole.’ I mean, this kind of boiler plate distortion is just what lefties have used to distort the general welfare clause into the entire welfare system. Something the Founders, BTW, could not even imagine on any scale of their time. It goes without saying that it is also anathema to their other codes and principles.
What Santorum is arguing, IMO, is that it is in the gub’mints interest to foster (real two parent) families (Duh, that's a Western concept, no?) so that in the fullness of time they, in fact, will better everyone in the physical, moral and social sense. It goes without saying (should, anyway) that the opposite has been going on for a long, long time and the result of the gub’mint Daddy model is crime, disorder, immorality, disease and decay of our national order. In short, by not supporting the family (no, not with welfare checks but with the creed of our founding ideals) we are surely killing ourselves. Nowhere in this screed is Santorum advocating an expanded welfare system to spend billions more and bring about more of the same disorder and decay.
It is the governments role to foster the values that contribute to freedom and liberty - chiefly through upholding those values in the laws and institutions of our land. Those values are Judeo-Christian. Those values used to be common sense. These days, all bets are off and the gub’mint, in fact, makes war on all these things. Santorum is not arguing for more of the same. He is simply arguing for a return to the essential basis for a strong and free society; that is, a return to strong and free families.
My $0.02
Thanks for your excellent post on this hit piece. It saved me the trouble of doing it myself. Rick doesn’t have a chance for the top spot but would make a fine VP pick (IMHO).
I have a problem with these kinds of arguments in the context of candidates for national offices because they just make sweeping generailzations about "what the government should do" without specifiying or taking into account which government we're talking about.
We are a republic. That means there is a system of defined spheres of authority divided between the State and national governments.
It's fine to think that government in general should be taking care of the poor, but if it is to be done it needs to be done by the state governments. There is no enumrated power of the national government that empowers them to do that.
Glad I’m not the only one who says this a a hatchet job on Santorum. The title itself is pure BS as if he ever made such a statement. Lots of out of context mish mash here folks.
Santorum or Newt 2012
A most excellent analysis.
W/ knees jerking all over this thread its good to see someone maintaining balance.