Free Republic

Santorum knew before he even decided to run that he had a critically ill daughter. The first time he suspended campaign because she was in the hospital I wondered what the heck would happen if he were president and that proverbial 3am phone call came at the same time. God Bless him, Bella and the rest of his family, but a child that sick is too much of a distraction. And she should be! All that time wasted, all the money, all the effort could have gone to help another candidate. It’s incredibly sad. And disappointing. This whole season has been. Well, onward. The most important thing is getting 0bama out or we won’t have a country left to save.

Cindie

Yeah, just like the poll between Reagan and Carter said Reagan would lose by double digits. Polls now are useless. It’s really going to be a matter of whether people want 4 more years of 0bama.

Cindie

According to Zimmerman AND WITNESSES, Zimmerman was heading back to his car when he was attacked by Trayvon. Zimmerman was pretty banged up and it was also confirmed that the person yelling help on the 911 call was Zimmerman. I’m not sure what was expected of him. Despite the pictures of Trayvon showing him to be a tiny little middle schooler he was taller and in better shape. Attacking from behind does give him the advantage. I don’t know how I would react but if someone was pounding my head into the pavement (also verified by witnesses), I might shoot, too.

Cindie

Regardless of who pulled what issue off his website it’s HIS responsibility to direct the conversation. He had a national audience, free publicity...NATIONAL free publicity. He could have said something that acknowledged the importance of morality and enforcing the law, then added BUT right now the American people are hurting, etc. It’s not that I or anyone else thinks morality isn’t important but he had a chance to talk to the American people about what he’s going to do turn the economy around. Of course we expect him to enforce the laws on the books. The problem is, someone who wants to be president has to know how to control a conversation and talk about 1st priorities. How I feel or how you feel about porn is NOT the issue. Even if a majority of the country agrees with Santorum about pornography, the family whose house is underwater, struggling to buy gas to get back and forth to work isn’t going to think, “Whew! Glad he’s going to do that!” They’re thinking, “but what is he going to do about lowering gas prices?”. Yes, he was asked about it, but he’s got to be smart enough to not get sucked in. THAT’S the point. I understand it’s at the bottom of his website but most of America doesn’t know that and doesn’t know much about Santorum (remember we’re political junkies). He could have been that candidate “with the strong moral compass who has great ideas for turning the country around”. Instead he’s the guy that wants to ban porn. Either he frames the message or the press will do it for him. As long as he’s been in public life he should know this by now.

Cindie

What morality are they legislating? You can make rules that make certain things illegal. I don’t want to turn into a nation that stones people to death for being gay or watching porn, etc. America must not turn into a country like those that practice sharia. Morality must come from deep in one’s soul. It can be taught (especially by example from parents, teachers, etc.) but it can’t be forced.

Cindie

Why is it always someone else’s fault when their candidate doesn’t win? The idea between a primary is for all the candidates to showcase who they are and may the best man (or woman) win. Honestly, after the whole porn fiasco (part of the vetting) it’s obvious Santorum would go down in the polls. It’s not that it’s not an important issue, it’s that he took his eye off the ball (it’s the economy stupid). You simply can’t legislate morality no matter how much you try. He lost sight of what’s important to the majority of Americans RIGHT NOW. His morals are in the right place but he simply doesn’t have the experience necessary to be president. That’s nothing to be ashamed of, he just might want to start with something smaller, like governor of PA. That would give him executive experience and the opportunity to learn to deal with the press in a smaller venue.

Cindie

Why? When did self responsibility NOT become a conservative value? Not having a computer would solve the problem. Locking the computer with a password when/if kids are home alone costs nothing. The left continually argues that the government should take care of this or that so we don’t have to pay for it. Our children are ours. If it requires an extra expense, so be it. You can’t legislate morality, nor should you. That’s best left for the Taliban. You can TEACH values. Think about it...a government that can regulate what is viewed on the public Internet can decide who can be on the public airways as well. It’s a slippery slope. Besides, what do you do with porn that comes from other countries or whose servers reside outside of the US. Is he going to police the world?

cindie

With run away debt & gas prices and families hanging by a thread this is not the first thing on their minds and will not win him an election. I’d be thinking, “I’ll keep an eye on my child, what are you going to do about the economy?” Seriously, all he had to do was turn this around so he could talk about his plans for the financial health of the US. He got suckered because he’s not ready for the job.

cindie

It’s not time to fight 0bama yet. We need to let the process play out. Generally it doesn’t ramp up until the convention anyway. I don’t know why everyone is in such a panic about this.

Cindie

You missed my main point...he HAD the perfect opportunity FREE OF CHARGE...when the press was trying (and succeeded) to get him to talk about this moral position (not necessarily a wrong one but we all know the press will spin it in the worst possible way), he could have said, “Morality is very important and enforcing our obscenity laws is vital, but right now the majority of Americans are most concerned about the economy so here’s my plan...” See, THAT’S what makes him an amateur in my eyes. He lets them set the narrative. That shows a lack of communication skills. As I said before, the ability to communicate, especially when he has a chance to speak to a national audience about the key issue of this election, he blew it. Now, the press still would have hit the morality stuff but he also would have a chance to introduce himself and his economic plans to the country. IMO, this is pretty minor politics 101 stuff also part of the vetting process. He’s going to have tougher communication issues with world leaders. How will he handle that if he can’t handle the press?

I understand how easy it is to think your candidate is doing great because you’re focused on them and enthusiastically read everything you can. I was the same way with Palin & Cain. But if you view things objectively (from the point of view of someone who is relatively informed, as I said I read Santorum threads here, listen to the debates and occasionally listen to FOX or CNN) then you’ll understand what I’m trying to convey.

Cindie

Except that the majority of the country didn’t know who he was in 2006. I live in OR, my concern about senators wasn’t focused on Pennsylvania. My first introduction to him was when freepers were upset that he backed Arlen Spector over Toomey. Evidently the people of PA felt that way too.

Don’t make excuses. Yes I can read his policy positions but most people expect the candidate to promote their ideas when they have the opportunity, especially to a national audience who are only paying cursory attention at this point. I’ve read articles here about all the candidates and watched most of the debates. When the press tried to suck Newt into the whole slut controversy he put them in their place and talked about HIS agenda.

For the record, I didn’t know all that much about Newt until he ran. I knew about the contract with America, of course, but not much more. And things are much scarier today. Your argument about “specifics” falls flat. Here’s what I know about Newt just from watching interviews, debates & reading articles:

He wants to move towards a flat tax
Develop a plan for winning against radical Islam (notice he doesn’t need to know specifics)
use the military only when it’s clear we need to
End capital gains tax
repeal 0bamacare and let people buy across state lines
Repeal Dodd-Frank
lower gas prices to $2.50 a gallon
tap our own oil resources

Here’s what I know about Romney from articles and debates (I’m only talking about what they’ve proposed not flip flopping or whether I agree)
cut corporate taxes
have a cap on spending
repeal the death tax
reduce taxes for individuals and corporations
joining a union shouldn’t be mandatory
discuss the situation in Afghanistan with those in the field
be resolute with decisions & hold foreign leaders accountable

Here’s what I know about Rick:
he homeschools
everything the other candidates propose he thought of first
he has a daughter with a grave disability which caused him to take time off campaigning (what will happen if we have a crisis and his daughter is in the hospital)
he wants to regulate what adults can watch in their own homes
he’s actually bold enough to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites
he’ll repeal 0bamacare

Thus I know specifically he’ll repeal 0bamacare and do the right thing with Iran. Those are the specifics. Why can’t he do what the other candidates have? Yes voters should be proactive but the fact is most voters aren’t. They expect the candidate to inform and earn their vote. It’s also a way of vetting their communication skills which is vital for a president. There’s just no reason I shouldn’t have the same expectations of his ability to communicate as other candidates. If he can’t handle the press as a candidate how will he do it when something important (and controversial) comes up and they’re beating him over the head with it? How will he firmly get his point of view across to foreign leaders (especially radical ones) if he can’t even get his message out to a (hostile) press. Sorry but a candidate does bear the responsibility for getting some of his message out to the wider audience. Doing so would generate enough interest to want to read some of his policy papers.

Cindie

If that were true we wouldn’t be having this discussion. Right now he’s the “default” unvetted candidate. That’s exactly what the media is doing now. Vetting isn’t just about issues but one’s ability to handle different situations. The press sets the narrative or the candidate does, period. Our candidates have to better and stronger than the media, that’s a given. If he can’t even beat the press at their own game what’s he going to do when the 3:00 am phone call comes in.

I have a son deploying in a few months, if he can’t stand up to the press and keep them from setting the agenda how will he be able to stand up to Karazai, the UN, the press, the left, etc. when the situation is as tense as it is right now? You can consider me selfish if you want, but I’m not the only military parent who is a bit more concerned about Afghan policy than obscenity laws. I’m more concerned about his energy plan (so my son might not have to go on yet another deployment) than whether someone is watching Internet porn.

I want to hear him talk TO THE PRESS, THE SAME NATIONAL PRESS THAT’S MAKING THIS A NATIONAL STORY about dismantling 0bamacare, whether he’s for a flat tax, what, if any, over bloated government agency would he get rid of. He may be getting his message out in the small venues he’s speaking in but while he’s doing that the national media is giving the rest of the country their first impression of him.

If he can’t keep from getting stuck on this issue how will he handle it when they really start in on him if he’s the nominee? Honestly, while most of America has a moral backbone they’re also thinking “why is he talking about this instead of the economy?” It’s a given the press is going to hit him with this, it’s his job to be sharp enough to turn this opportunity WHEN HE HAS THE EAR OF THE NATIONAL PRESS into a way to get his bread and butter issues out to the people NOT attending a rally in Illinois or Ohio or Alabama.

Cindie

And if Rick was qualified for the job he’s applying for he would have reacted to this with “Yes, I think the laws on the books should be enforced, but right now people are hurting and I’d really like to talk about my plan for economic freedom...” When America knows more about where a candidate stands on obscenity than what the details of his (supposedly first issue) economic freedom agenda are, that’s a huge problem. The press knows the majority of the country is focused on the economy. That’s why they do this kind of thing with him because they know he can be sucked in. They tried it with Newt and it didn’t work because he knows how to beat the press at their own game. Santorum doesn’t and he has no clue how to get his message out. It’s amateur hour.

Cindie

Here’s what’s wrong with that attitude. There are plenty of people who aren’t political junkies and care deeply about the country. These are folks who will get their news from a variety of sources, including the Internet but don’t don’t spend time on websites like this. There are also those who also care about the country but for one reason or another don’t have time for more than the evening news (here’s a hint, when my kids were growing up and we spent most evenings going to sports practice, scouts, youth group, etc. I had very little time for this too)...a candidate HAS to be astute enough to get his message out to these people. Look at Newt, every single time he’s thrown one of these “gotcha” questions he turns it around. The average American is going to wonder why Santorum is so focused on porn when they can barely afford to put gas in their car to get back and forth. Yes, I could go to his facebook page, but if he wants MY vote shouldn’t he do a better job of talking about his plan as often as possible? I’m here every single day. I listen to the debates. I can tell you what both Newt & Romney think should be done about the economy and I’ve never gone to either of their facebook (or campaign) pages. I know this because they talk about it. Santorum’s name is in the news every single day now and yet I know nothing about his positions. That’s a problem.

Cindie

Child pornography and sex trafficking are crimes that are much more serious DO NOT fall under obscenity laws. The laws for the former are separate and are SO serious they should NOT get lost in a debate about obscenity. How dare you judge a person’s morals. Just because we’d prefer he’d talk about the economy because we have NOT ONE clue about his plan doesn’t mean we don’t think REAL crimes like child porn and sex trafficking shouldn’t be dealt with or aren’t already. Of course, if you can prove they’re not, please do so. And if Santorum is so stupid he doesn’t know the difference between adult pornography and trafficking or child pornography he doesn’t have the necessary common sense to be president.

Cindie

And you know this is ONLY about kiddie porn how? And do you have any statistics proving it’s gotten worse under 0bama? Have prosecutions gone up or down during his administration. If they’ve gone up that would indicate he is doing something about it. There isn’t a person here who doesn’t think kiddie porn is abhorrent so your accusation that people here have “no problem” with kiddie porn is just hyperbole. Just like Santorum.

Cindie

Yeah cuz if I’m concerned about the economy like the majority of Americans are, I’m really going to care about this. Look, his first priority should be the economy. I have NO clue where he stands on that. I don’t know his ideas. I hear platitudes and vagueness from him and his supporters only seem to care that he has conservative values. He’s like the 0bama of the right...all the right credentials but no specific ideas. That’s why he’s simply not ready. Even Romney has expressed more specifics than Santorum. There’s plenty of time for him to play King Pious after the pressing concerns of the nation have been dealt with.

Cindie

Wow you’re irritating! Okay, you don’t like Gingrich. That doesn’t make you better or smarter, or your chosen candidate for that matter. All candidates the candidates are flawed. People just have different criteria for evaluating candidates. So please stop trying to be the most angry, bitter & arrogant person on FR. What do you think you’re adding to the discussion by acting this way?

Cindie

That’s not the point...in the whole scheme of things, with the country falling apart and the financial terrorism we’re living through Santorum shouldn’t even get sucked into this kind of thing. Do you think anyone who’s looking for a job, has lost a house, is worried about 0bamacare wants to hear a candidate get wrapped up in a discussion of porn? The fact that he can be so easily sucked in to this kind of thing is what I’m concerned about, not that he has a particular point of view on it.

Cindie

This is what happens during primaries. And people here have chosen their candidate for specific reason. I have no idea what Santorum’s ideas for the economy. Both Romney & Newt have talked about their ideas. Santorum gets bogged down in other issues that make him look like he’s not ready for prime time. Like the porn thing from the Daily Caller. Really, “it’s the economy stupid”! He gets way too distracted by this kind of thing which is why I think he’s not ready for prime time. He should be telling them he’d rather talk about his ideas for turning the country around. One of the big issues we have with 0bama is his attempt to turn the government into our nanny. People are not going to vote for another person who wants to do the same kind of thing but with a conservative agenda. Between the 0bama administration and the media, they’ll have Rick so distracted by these social issues he’ll have himself in knots and no one will know where he stands on the economic problems facing the country. Heck, I’m here every single day. I read Santorum threads every day and I still don’t know what his economic policies are.

Cindie