[jennyp]

Between the conservative voters of Dover kicking the creationist board members out, and now Santorum desperately waffling like this, it really looks like creationism in the public schools is a loser, at least in Pennsylvania.

[gondramB]

"But one day after a federal judge ruled that the district's policy on intelligent design was unconstitutional, Santorum said he was troubled by court testimony that showed some board members were motivated by religion in adopting the policy."

Is there any other motvation?

[cynicom]

Santorum has become a very adroit politician, in that he has now found there are more than two sides to any question.

Santorum decides which way the wind is blowing on any particular day to decide what side to take. No more votes for this waffler.

[jennyp]

This one might be ping-worthy. WWtGMD?

[2nsdammit]

Wait! Let me see....

Hmm, a politician changed his mind based on public opinion.

Nope, nothing to see here!

[highball]

it really looks like creationism in the public schools is a loser

Looks like it's a loser? It is a loser, plain and simple.

There's a reason that the Discovery Institute didn't want to be a part of this case. It was doomed from the start. Now even the politicians are running away from it.

[bkepley]

--But one day after a federal judge ruled that the district's policy on intelligent design was unconstitutional, Santorum said he was troubled by court testimony that showed some board members were motivated by religion in adopting the policy.

I take it the PI does not endorse Santorum.

[Eva]

Frankly, I am fed up with the creationists trying to push their curriculum on the public schools. It didn't have to happen, they could have handled the situation without putting it into the courts. We lost a lot more than the right to include intelligent design in the curriculum. We set a precident of court interference in local school curriculum. This is not good.

I remember my very fundamentalist Sunday school teacher explaining that evolution could not have happened without God's hand in it. If we could handle it that way, there is no reason, that parents can't do the same today.

[ml1954]

We really should amend the Constitution to give Senators something actually useful to do.

[Antoninus]

Gee, I wonder if the Philadelphia StInquirer has it in for Sen. Santorum?

[trek]

Santorum is in an untenable position on the subject of the origin of the species because nobody will speak the truth on the real issue that is in play. The problem is not ID, creation science or Darwinism. The problem is government schools. The vast majority of the citizens support the concept of universal education. But the virtuous end of universal education has been intentionally confused with the ineffective and problematic means of government schools.

Until someone on the right is willing to make the distinction between universal education and government schools, the politicians on the right will continue to struggle. As if often the case, only the truth will set you free.

[Mamzelle]

Think you'll be able to put a Dem in his seat?

[Antoninus]

The case highlighted Santorum's high-profile role in the debate over teaching evolution. ... [H]is actions - most notably, an effort in 2001 to insert a "teach the controversy" amendment into a landmark education bill - figured prominently into the case.

I have no problem with the 'teach the controversy' attitude. Too often, science is presented in schools as "this is how it is--you will accept it" rather than as "this is why we think it is--learn it and draw your own conclusions."

It also has become a political issue for Santorum as he faces a tough reelection in 2006. His leading Democratic challenger, state Treasurer Robert P. Casey Jr., has seized upon the senator's seemingly contradictory statements on intelligent design to portray him as a "flip flopper" who puts an ideological agenda above other interests.

Ideological agenda--as in his own personal beliefs? I guess we're supposed to set those aside when we take political office? "Well, I'm personally opposed to rounding up all Democrats and shipping them off to Guantanamo, but I can't let my personal ideology get in the way."

[OldFriend]

Santorum has truly lost his way. Pathetic waffling.

[Dimensio]

I remember when he first expressed reservations about the board's actions in Dover. Someone here on FR called him a "traitor".

[dmz]

Santorum said he was troubled by court testimony that showed some board members were motivated by religion in adopting the policy."
________________________

I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!

[Ciexyz]

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that people of faith have any legal standing on this issue. Which goes to show that we mustn't put our trust in public institutions to further our values.

We have to live in a secular world, but we can carve out our own niche within it.

[joebuck]

Look, whether one agrees or disagrees with the result of this case and no matter where one stands on the ID debates, the fact the federal govt. can dictate what a local school can and can't teach as science should give all cause for concern.

[shuckmaster]

Education is a wonderful thing and conservative is not synonymous with ignorance.

[sagar]

Politicians "debating" science is as ridiculous as religious leaders debating/denouncing it and issuing fatwah.

[King Prout]

this looks like a crawfishing CYA move on Santorum's part
I'd say he was politically astute for doing it, had he not been so politically (and scientifically) foolish as to back "teaching the controversy"(tm) to begin with.