So God gives man free will, but Senator Santorum--or any good conservative, by his definition--wants it taken away.
You cannot legislate morality.
I would like to know from which Clause of the enumerated powers Mr. Santorum is deriving his authority to legislate the activities in people's bedrooms.
If Roe v. Wade was extra-constitutional, than so is each and every attempt by the Senate to put any curbs on abortion.
I thought conservatives used to think that government was the problem. Reagan must be dead after all.
Murder, robbery, rape is legislative morality.
I agree with Santorum. If people want to call me a liberal or whatever, fine.
I think a lot of people on this forum confuse libertarianism with conservatism. Libertarianism is actually classic liberalism. So if anyone is a liberal (I guess in the best possible sense), it would be the libertarians. It's not conservative at all.
Santorum is here expressing the view that we live in a society. That's the conservative view. We are not just individuals here to look out for ourselves only.
The notion that "God gives man free will" is being confused with "all choices made with free will are equally valid and of benefit in a society".
There has never been a time in this country when morality hasn't been legislated. NEVER. It is NOT conservative to say that laws and morality are separate. If this is not a moral people, then it will cease to be a functioning republic in due time. Laws are a reflection of that.
I know many here won't agree, but this country has never been about prostitution and sodomy, and there have always been laws against those things in most parts of the country. You may disagree with that, but DON'T pretend that your view is the "conservative" view. What values are you trying to conserve? Conservatism is about conserving what is right and valuable in society, for the sake of society itself. Because the government impinges on that at nearly every turn, conservatives are naturally wary of government. But they aren't averse to moral law altogether.
What kind of society is it, with prostitutes and addicts on every corner, and no one allowed to say "boo"? Might be your vision of freedom, but this libertarian utopia is NOT a conservative vision. Santorum is right about that.
Lastly, on Roe v. Wade. It's not just extra-constitutional because there is no "right to abortion" in the constitution, it is wrong because there IS a God-given "right to life". Congress SHOULD be able to make laws regarding abortion, because there is a right to life no matter what state you live in. It IS the business of government when children are being slaughtered. That's one of the few things government is supposed to be good for.
"You cannot legislate morality."
Sorry, but our laws are nothing more than a codification of morality.
Santorum is a borderline RINO