Santorums’ New Book Reveals How Faith And Love Are Tested By A Daughter’s Disability

WashingtonPost ^ | February 07, 2015 | Karen Tumulty and Colby Itkowitz

[Steelfish]

Santorums’ New Book Reveals How Faith And Love Are Tested By A Daughter’s Disability

By Karen Tumulty and Colby Itkowitz February 7 Over and over, Rick Santorum has watched the old video of himself at a presidential candidate forum in Iowa. He can read in his strained expression the struggle that was going on in his mind as he tried to figure out how to answer a challenge put to the Republican contenders: “Bare your soul.”

The shadow on Santorum’s soul was the memory of a time when he hadn’t loved his own child as a father should. Could there be a more grievous sin for a champion of the pro-life movement?

When his turn came to speak, the former senator from Pennsylvania choked on tears and described the birth of his youngest, Isabella Maria Santorum. She has an extra 18th chromosome in every cell of her body, a condition deemed by doctors to be “incompatible with life.”

Until Bella was 5 months old and near death on a gurney in an emergency room, Santorum said, he had deluded himself into believing that “the best thing I could do was to treat her differently and not love her” as he had his six older children.

[piasa]

Touche.

I should have just stuck with “people will always be imperfect.. the problem is that some of them never realize it.”

[trisham]

Imho, Santorum will never be elected president. I hope that this is not the starting salvo of his campaign for 2016. We need to narrow the field as quickly as possible.

[onyx]

You’re right.

[trisham]

Thanks, onyx.

[Republican Wildcat]

The guy is a phony and probably has a deal with the RINOs to disrupt the nomination process.

There it is! We knew it wouldn't be long.

And we will be seeing this same script multiple times with minor variations over the course of the campaign applied to virtually every non-Bush candidate on the ballot.

[Republican Wildcat]

I do agree that Santorum should not run again. His time has come and gone as far as running for office.

[Republican Wildcat]

But we would be better off instead of trashing candidates for their shortcomings, if we just promoted the ones we favor most by their merits.

Ha! You are just part of the conspiracy! < / sarc >

[trisham]

Yes. Quite right.

[Greetings_Puny_Humans]

His starting salvo was when he basically called Ted Cruz and Rand Paul unelectable kooks (I agree at least for Paul).

This is his second salvo where he establishes his family values bonafides because he has nothing else.

[Salvation]

**The Santorums have written a raw and revealing book, “Bella’s Gift,” to be released on Tuesday. The couple say it was intended as a guide for other families in their situation, providing the type of support that they often found lacking.**

[Pinkbell]

I am disgusted that I am seeing the same crap already this year on here. Why are conservatives destroying their own? Santorum is attacked on an article of a book coming out about his daughter who is disabled. Why? He’s not their candidate of choice. Everyone is going to have their favorite for the upcoming primary season, but why do people have to tear down people who aren’t RINOs? You might not agree with them 100 percent, but they are basically on your side. Why must we tear down fellow conservatives to build up another? The RINOs have used this strategy for the past two cycles, and if we tear down our own, I see a Jeb Bush in our future.

[Engraved-on-His-hands]

Well said.

[Ohioan]

The RINOs have used this strategy for the past two cycles, and if we tear down our own, I see a Jeb Bush in our future.

The fact is that the principal drawback against the acceptability of Jeb Bush is basically the same as that with Rick Santorum: Neither one really respects the elaborate functional differences between State, Federal, local & individual levels of responsibility--as seen by the Founding Fathers--to the extent where it will interfere with their pursuit of their own pet projects or concerns. This is the same malady that is endlessly encountered in analyzing the reckless abandon of Constitutional principles, which has characterized modern faux "Liberalism," since the era of World War I.

Santorum is not only "not a Washington, Jefferson or Adams," He isn't even a Nixon or Ford.

All of us pity his family's human drama. If he wants our prayers for his daughter? By all means! But how he bears up under that burden is wholly irrelevant as a cure for his exhibited limitations in political or administrative capacity.

Conservatives who look the other way, because Jeb Bush represents the push for uniformity, via such vehicles as Common Core; while Santorum pushes for uniformity on some issues that most of us would agree with--as applied to our own States;--are missing an essential distinction, which directly undermines credibility with young Conservatives, seeking ideological consistency in the battle to resist brain-washing by the educationalists & mass media.

Santorum will divide the Conservative base, in the precise way that some mistakenly suggest that others of us would do so.

[trisham]

Well said. Thank you.

[Sun]

“..I don’t see how anyone could read that article and not be affected. “”

And it’s uplifting to see a true pro-life politician who walks the walk.

[Sun]

“..Everyone is going to have their favorite for the upcoming primary season, but why do people have to tear down people who aren’t RINOs? ..”

Right on! Too much group think by some here.

[Sun]

Thanks for posting picture. Bella certainly is a beautiful and happy child.