Actually I don’t think it’s about moderate and conservative. This whole Newt FRingrich thing has been very helpful in understanding FR.
The bitterly anti-Santorum FRingrichers illustrate what we’ve always known—that large segments of the “conservative” world have accepted much of the sexual revolution—that is, the idea that sex can be understood free of procreation. Santorum is a constant burr in their saddles, a reminder of what we all know, deep down, that sex is about procreation and cannot not be about procreation, though it can and is also about other things.
And that, once one begins to view sex as separated from procreation, a whole lot of other stuff follows from it.
The FRingrich mantra is that it’s Santorum’s fault for not being “more careful.” He’s as careful and solid as any of the candidates, well-tested in the public glare, able to handle himself without teleprompters and notes.
But the CONTENT of his positions offends the daylights out of the sex-separated-from-procreation crowd, both the Right-wing and the Left-Wing SSP crowds. And the MSM portrays him as never talking about anything except sexual morality issues. That’s simply false and, were it someone with whom the Right-wing SSP folks AGREED, they’d immediately point out that he is being portrayed as something he is not.
But, since the MSM distortion of Santorum suits their “I hate traditional sexual morality” mantra, they glom on to the MSM distortion.
It’s disgusting. BUt it’s useful in that it reveals to those of us who will hang on to traditional morality even though it costs us our livelihoods and lives, just who we can trust. It reveals to us that the libertarian “conservative” Right-wing SSPers will, in the end, hang us out to dry.
It reveals fault lines in the “conservative” world that we all knew were there but never believed they were as deep and dangerous as they are. But they are deep and dangerous and, regardless who becomes the next president, will, in the long-run, doom us all. There just aren’t enough people who want to conserve traditional morality to turn the country around anymore. It should have been possible to maintain the tenuous alliance with the SSPers on the Right, the alliance between “fiscal” and “social” conservatives.
But this primary season has revealed that that alliance is next to dead. We will all pay the price for it. The “Newt-at-any-cost” scorched earth campaign will not by itself doom us, but it’s the canary in the gold mine that sheds light on the future. The Enemy will have a field day dividing and conquering us.
And the “fiscals” will, petulantly, blame it all on us social traditionalists.
Best post I’ve read in a long while in this community.
Your post is excellent; I read it several times.