This Is Rick Santorum

PJ Media ^ | February | Jazz Shaw

[Kaslin]

The candidate goes to eleven on the culture amplifier.

Up until this week we had been faced with a few different possibilities in terms of potential challengers to President Obama in November, none of which seemed overly pleasing to clucking tongues in conservative sewing circles. It always had the appearance of a choice between Mitt “Mr. Inevitable” Romney and any one of a series of cracked, flawed, or otherwise questionable alternatives. Even the latest in this series, Newt Two Point Oh, brought with him worries as to whether his airport caravan sized train of “baggage” might allow Barack Obama’s reelection team to make the race an archaeological dig into the former speaker’s lengthy history rather than a referendum on the wreckage left in the wake of Obama’s first three years in office.

But following his impressive hat trick on February 7^th, we are now faced with a different possibility in the person of former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. (Or, as he was known through the course of the first 349 debates, “that guy at the last lectern who never gets any questions.”) And if the seas part at precisely the right moment and he somehow becomes the nominee, we may find ourselves with the opportunity to conduct a long-awaited and fascinating experiment in American political theory.

One of the chief sources of internecine scrapping and grumbling among Republicans has come from the ranks of the social conservatives, or Socons as they are frequently known. We have already spent time speculating what would happen if Mitt Romney becomes the nominee. If he loses to Obama in November, the Socons will once again say that it was because cowardly, establishment party leaders failed to push forward a sufficiently conservative warrior who would fire up the base as a champion of socially conservative principles. If he wins, the Socons could quietly grumble that he’d simply gotten lucky against a deeply flawed president running on a failed record and bide their time until the next open seat in the Oval Office came up for grabs.

Similarly, if Newt Gingrich were to lose to Obama, the blame could be heaped on his own shortcomings and extensive, frequently controversial biography. After all, his three marriages and “complicated” history didn’t exactly make him a darling among evangelical Christians. The same excuses could be applied with slight modifications.

But Rick Santorum is a horse of an entirely different color who could serve as the ultimate test of this theory and put the question to rest once and for all. Is the secret to electoral success truly found in a take-no-prisoners, hard-core, rock-ribbed conservative? Is this truly what America is pining for?

We can, for purposes of this experiment, think of conservative values like the volume dial on a musician’s stage amplifier. A totally muted value of one would produce some amalgam of Dennis Kucinich, Bernie Sanders, and Fidel Castro. At the top end of the range, a setting of ten would give us an ideologically conservative Cerberus, its three heads being John Bolton on national defense issues, Grover Norquist on fiscal policy, and Pat Robertson on social matters. Many observers, including even some of the media elite these days, seem to feel that America is a “center-right” nation, perhaps carrying a value somewhere in the range of six. But reminiscent of that classic scene from the movie Spinal Tap, Rick Santorum goes to eleven.

If, for example, we’re talking about the issue of contraception – much in the news of late – President Obama has stumbled badly, providing a tremendous opportunity for Republicans to attract Catholics worried about excessive government overreach into matters of faith. But as much as these voters are rightly concerned about the recent HHS ruling and Washington intrusion on the sovereignty of the church, there are still a huge majority of people in the country – including a massive portion of Catholic women – who employ birth control technology. Santorum, on the other hand, has not only said he favors the right of states to outlaw birth control, but is on record saying that he personally feels it is “dangerous” and should be outlawed.

On birth control, Rick Santorum goes to eleven.

On the always dicey topic of abortion, America also seems to be a center-right nation, with more than half believing that it should be restricted in a number of cases and minimized as much as possible. But when you ask if it should be a criminal offense in every single instance, support plummets for the idea. There is a massive library of video clips of Rick Santorum saying that the procedure should be illegal even in cases of rape or incest and that any doctor performing one should be prosecuted.

On abortion, Rick Santorum goes to eleven.

When it comes to the subject of biological evolution, there are plenty of Americans of faith who feel that creationism or intelligent design should be offered in schools alongside Darwin’s theories so students and families can make their own choice. But in poll after poll they cite a preference for keeping everything on the table and handling it at the state and local level. Mr. Santorum has not only pushed to mandate this at the federal level but essentially claimed that the idea of biological evolution is bunk.

On evolution, Rick Santorum goes to eleven.

The list goes on from there, and it’s lengthy indeed. For social conservative warriors who are tired of RINOs and squishy moderates and are seeking a candidate who will truly reflect their values up and down the line, Rick Santorum appears to be a Socon’s dream come true. And if we nominate him, the great question I posed at the top of this column could finally be put to a real-world test. But what would happen?

Here’s where we roll into the arena of prognostication, so each of you can make your own call, but the outcome looks fairly clear from where I’m perched. If you were worried that Team Obama could turn a Gingrich nomination into a referendum on the speaker’s history, Santorum would make that look like child’s play. Gone would be discussions of the president’s paltry record on job growth or the disastrous downstream effects of his environmental regulatory policy. The DNC would dump hundreds of millions of dollars into running 24/7 advertisements in the fall featuring grainy, black and white clips of Rick Santorum reading off the quotes I cited above and many, many more. Tens of millions of moderate and independent voters who are currently looking with dismay at Obama’s record and are kicking the tires of a possible Republican alternative would thunder for the exits. In short, I believe a campaign such as that would lead to Barack Obama winning in a landslide.

But perhaps that’s just me and I’m reading the temperature of the American public entirely wrong. Socons have been complaining for ages about the propensity of the establishment GOP to back social conservative geckos when they seek a Komodo dragon. With Rick Santorum we could, at last, put forward the social conservative Godzilla, destroyer of worlds. And when the dust settles in November we would finally have the answer to the question once and for all. But it might be a very expensive experiment to run.

[cripplecreek]

This one goes to 11 as well.

[sodpoodle]

***But Rick Santorum is a horse of an entirely different color.***

Rick is a pony.

Newt is a Clydesdale.

I want a work horse not a show pony!!!!!!!!!!!

[dirtboy]

With Rick Santorum we could, at last, put forward the social conservative Godzilla, destroyer of worlds. And when the dust settles in November we would finally have the answer to the question once and for all. But it might be a very expensive experiment to run.

So?

The GOP-e has run lame lukewarm RINOs several times and that strategy has failed utterly. Yet they want to do it again with Mitt.

Seems to me the GOP-e is the party with the problem here.

[pgkdan]

Santorum, on the other hand, has not only said he favors the right of states to outlaw birth control, but is on record saying that he personally feels it is “dangerous” and should be outlawed.

This is not true and is a distortion. Santorum has stated categorically that he does not think that contraception should be illegal and he would in fact oppose any effort to outlaw it.

[pgkdan]

Sounds like this was written by a paulbot.

[douginthearmy]

Rick is an 11 on a Newt scale of 1-100.

[onyx]

I would vote for Santorum, but the guy would be lost without using Newt Gingrich’s material. Just today at CPAC, he closed his speech using Newt’s closing about the Founder’s sacred honor. I mean, RLY, Rick. Worse than a junior partner.

[Kansas58]

I am a Catholic by birth, and the Church does not really oppose evolution theory.
However, there is no doubt that much of the “science” backing evolution has turned out to be “bunk” -—

I am more than willing to believe that God used some elements of evolution in HIS creation plan.

I think Santorum agrees with me.

PJ Media has been overrun by odd balls and Paulbots.

[Mangia E Statti Zitto]

Thanks for posting.

[nikos1121]

Isn’t it interesting. You have people on this forum, who know clearly that Newt has the guts and deliver to get the job done. We’re committed to him. On the other hand, you have the Santorum bunch who are grasping at anyone other than Romney or Newt. I hate to say this, but Romney would be a better present than Santorum. With Santorum you get milk toast. You get a pea shooter instead of a magnum.

I’m sorry Folks, but the best trained and experienced guy is in front of us. The media, Romney’s millions and the repub estab has derailed Newt for a bit, but I pray that he hangs in there.

Has anyone seen Santorum’s voting record? It’s been posted here. Conservative? Are we naive? No way.

[Right_in_Virginia]

This is not true and is a distortion. Santorum has stated categorically that he does not think that contraception should be illegal and he would in fact oppose any effort to outlaw it.

Since you know him so well--can you tell me when or even if Father Santorum plans on getting around to issues like the economy and national security?

Thanks.

[pgkdan]

He’s been addressing those issues from the start. Read his web site if you care to. He’s very sound on the economy, jobs, taxes and energy. His opponents won’t attck him there because they can’t. They think they can make hay on the Socon stuff so that’s what’s being thrown out there.

[Yaelle]

I seriously doubt that president Santorum would outlaw birth control or Force every biology text to include Adam and eve.

The expensive and stupid experiment would be to once more puke out a Dole McCain Romney as a nominee.

[Yaelle]

National security? Santorum is huge on the dangers of Islam fascism!!

[Kaslin]

I am a Catholic by birth, and the Church does not really oppose evolution theory.

Are you saying you were baptized in your mother's womb?

[C. Edmund Wright]

I am sick and tired of folks giving someone credit for being a true rock ribbed conservative simply because they are very conservative on the social issues.

Santorum is rock ribbed on some issues, but he’s very moderate to liberals on other issues like unions, big government, welfare, etc. This article is based on an extremely flawed premise.

[An American!]

Really...evolution???
At the core of evolutionary theory is the huge assumption that life somehow arose from non-life, that by pure chance the right chemicals happened to be in the right place, in the right arrangement, at the right time, under the right conditions, and by some mysterious, unknown electrochemical process — POOF — life created itself! This assumption is completely contrary to a universally accepted and proven law of science, known as the second law of thermodynamics, which states that “All processes (left to themselves) go toward a greater state of disorder, disorganization, disarrangement and less complexity.”
And of course it was the idiot Darwin himself who asked the fundamental question: “Why, if species have descended from the other species by fine gradation, do we not everywhere see innumerable transitional forms? Why is not all nature in confusion, instead of the species being, as we see them, well defined?”

And then of course there is the monkey’s opinion:
Three monkeys sat on a coconut tree,
Discussing things as they’re said to be.
Said one to the other,
“Now listen you two,
There’s a certain rumor
That can’t be true ...
That man descended from our noble race.
The very idea is sure to disgrace.”
“No monkey ever deserted his wife,
Starved her babies and ruined her life.
And you’ve never known another monk,
To leave her babies with others to bunk,
Or pass them on from one to another.”
“And another thing you will never see ...
Is a monk build a fence around a coconut tree;
And let the coconuts go to waste,
Forbidding all the other monks to taste.”
“Why, if I put a fence around this tree,
Starvation would force you to steal from me.”
“And here’s something else a monk won’t do ...
Go out at night and get on a stew;
Or use a gun or club or knife,
To take some other monkey’s life.”
“Yes, man descended ... ornery cuss,
But, brother, ... he didn’t descend from us!
~ Author Unknown ~

[alstewartfan]

No offense, but did you start paying attention to Santorum only within the past week? Sheesh!

[SoConPubbie]

It always had the appearance of a choice between Mitt “Mr. Inevitable” Romney and any one of a series of cracked, flawed, or otherwise questionable alternatives. Even the latest in this series, Newt Two Point Oh, brought with him worries as to whether his airport caravan sized train of “baggage” might allow Barack Obama’s reelection team to make the race an archaeological dig into the former speaker’s lengthy history rather than a referendum on the wreckage left in the wake of Obama’s first three years in office.

In the first paragraph, this author totally destroys his credibility with a total lack of objectivity about Mitt Romney.

I question the honesty, and less likely, the knowledge, of any writer who does not state the obvious about Mitt Romney's Progressive Liberal record.