GOP Rick Santorum is a danger to society
By: Cahir O'Doherty | Published Thursday, February 23, 2012, 10:45 AM | Updated Thursday, February 23, 2012, 10:45 AM
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| Rick Santorum (REUTERS/Joshua Lott) |
The 2012 presidential election is over, although this might come as news to many. It was forfeited again this week, as it has been for weeks now, by an increasingly foolhardy right wing overreach that has spooked the less conservative center.
Relentless opposition to every item on the Obama administration’s agenda hasn't reaped major electoral dividends for the GOP, but it has exhausted us all.
Put simply, thanks to all the endless stonewalling, the choice that has emerged this cycle is between Yes We Can and No You Can't.
Over the past seven days the GOP have told us that no, we can't raise taxes on the rich, no, we can't have a middle class tax cut, no, we can't have employment extensions, no, we can't have an equal pay act, no, we can't have contraceptive care, no, we can't permit women soldiers, no, we can't marry the person we want to build our lives with, no, we can't have mandatory health care -- no no no.
But what you're actually witnessing is a party whose defunct ideologies no longer have relevance or saleable ideas of their own. No is not a policy.
I come from a society that for decades said no to every political initiative it was offered. Intransigence in the face of unstoppable change, Northern Ireland prolonged its own suffering and retarded political progress by reflexively refusing to give an inch to its political adversaries, with fateful consequences for the nation, north and south.
I see more than a little of that brand of intransigence at work here in the U.S. now. I also hear the religious justification for political opposition that used to stymie any kind of progress before it even started.
I can’t tell you how depressing it is to hear America’s political leaders sound like Unionists in the 1980s.
Just this week Rick Santorum claimed he opposed the president on theological grounds, making explicit what no other conservative presidential candidate has ever dared to. Obama’s agenda is “not about you,” Santorum said.
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Read more: Irish call for apology following 'Drunk Vomiting Shamrocks' clothing line 1.2 million Irish court records from 1850 to 1910 now available online----------------
“It’s about some phony ideal. Some phony theology. Not a theology based on the Bible.”
Santorum actually believes he has God and the Bible on his side. It’s not just a stump speech that he’s giving.
The Tea Party base have responded to that sincerity and put him 15% ahead of Mitt Romney nationally in the GOP presidential race. Santorum actually believes Obama is attending to someone other than God. I’ll give you three guesses what that means.
Aside from Santorum’s lazy intellectual arrogance, which is monumental, what his speech did was unmask him for the religious fanatic he obviously is.
Santorum believes that women should not work, he believes women should not serve in our armed forces, he believes that gay people can be “cured,” he believes that health care is a luxury not a right.
Santorum also opposes all firms of birth control -- all of it. If you’re a woman he wants you pregnant and back in the kitchen where you actually belong, because to live any other way is just a plot by radical feminists.
“In far too many families with young children, both parents are working, when, if they really took an honest look at the budget, they might find they don't both need to,” Santorum said.
“What happened in America so that mothers and fathers who leave their children in the care of someone else -- or worse yet, home alone after school between three and six in the afternoon -- find themselves more affirmed by society? Here, we can thank the influence of radical feminism.”
To Santorum, the reality that 98% of Catholic women in the U.S. have used contraception is a sinister feminist plot. Santorum wants you to live in the same world your great grandmother’s did instead.
It’s important in life to be able to recognize a fanatic when you’re looking at one. Santorum, despite his folksy turns of phrase and his sweater vests, is a religious fanatic.
So how bad can all of this get? During a speech in Georgia on Sunday, Santorum actually compared the 2012 election to America’s all too gradual response to the growing Nazi menace during the late 1930s.
He actually urged his church audience (yes, he was speaking in a church) to not sit quietly while “Europe was under darkness.”
Building on this blatantly stupid Obama as Hitler idea Santorum added, “We thought, well, you know, it’ll get better. Yeah, he’s a nice guy. I mean, it won’t be near as bad as what we think. This will be okay.
“I mean, yeah, maybe he’s not the best guy after a while. After a while you find out some things about this guy over in Europe who’s not so good of a guy after all, but ya know what, why do we need to be involved? We’ll just take care of our own problems,” he said.
Santorum doesn’t think he’s fighting an election, he thinks he’s fighting World War II. Beware this man.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.hollabackgurl | Mar 07, 2012, 01:21 PM EST
You swear on the Bible to uphold the Constitution. Rick Santorum has that completely backwards.
Seanmor | Mar 02, 2012, 09:13 PM EST
baileyBD: I'm not saying anything for against Santorum, but I strongly support the U.S. Constitution. At least 4 times I have sworn allegiance to that constitution, all for official purposes: 1) Declaradion of Intent to become a U.S. citizen; 2) on joining the Marine Corps; 3)on becoming a U.S. citizen;4) entering NYC Civil Service. Besides that, I regularly swear allegiance to the U.S. flag at meetings of the American Legion at the local and county levels. I'm not sure what Obama's position is when it cones to the Constitution and the Pledge od Allegiance to the flag, but I always truly mean it when I say "God Belees America" and "one nation under God".
eiriamach | Feb 28, 2012, 05:18 AM EST
@baileyBD, In a nation that has health care resources, health care is certainly an equal right of all citizens. It is becoming unaffordable by many, and when it is truly a "luxury," only the one percent, who can afford luxuries, will have access to it. If you don't like how I use my access to the US health care system, tough toodles! I don't have a say in whether you can procure Viagra or STD treatments from an MD, and I will not tolerate anyone but a medical doctor deciding-- on the basis of medical knowledge, not sexual politics-- what health care I have access to. Get your "conservative Christian" politics-- which is as anti-Christian as the Taliban-- out of my medical records.
baileyBD | Feb 27, 2012, 09:39 AM EST
The "defunct ideology" you refer to is the United States Constitution. Health care is indeed a luxury and not a right. There is no consitutional right to have health care or to have the federal government become a nanny state that does all the thinking and supporting of the population. The federal government is supposed to take care of national defense, not tell us how to live our lives or insist that the 50% of the population that does pay taxes should foot the bill for the other 50% that does not. We are a representative republic, not socialist or communist. Rick Santorum realizes that. The blatant stereotyping that the author invokes against a conservative Christian is really what the public is becoming weary of.
eiriamach | Feb 27, 2012, 07:34 AM EST
On the education discussion: if you do not begin with the colleges of education-- thorough and radical reform if not closing nearly all of them-- you will make little or no progress in school reform. All the reformers-- the school boards, the unions, state legislatures, the education professionals including Washington DC-- have refused to take on the established "academics" of "teacher education." As a result, teachers are simply not educated. Begin there, at the foundation; begin by truly educating teachers in academics, rather than in the "how to" of classroom management, for the first time in several generations. And yes, one of my degrees is in education, so I know whereof I speak.
eiriamach | Feb 26, 2012, 12:56 PM EST
AMWilson, I agree completely. I don't know how to fix our public education either but it must be done. Money is not the answer, been there, done that. I think Arne Duncan has some good ideas but his task is monumental. We still have many of the finest colleges and universities in the world - except that increasingly, their student bodies will be foreign born as our own don't make the cut. Yet, Amerasian kids, especially Chinese American, Japanese American and Korean American seem to excel regardless of school or location. As you suggest, so much of success or failure begins in the home. Asian kids are not brighter, they are more highly motivated because at home there are rules and expectations clearly laid down and followed.
AMWilson | Feb 26, 2012, 12:56 AM EST
Tom, thanks for the clarification. I do agree that among many of the so-called "religious right", "homeschooling" lacks any meaningful education, and is simply a means of passing on ignorance and bigotry while all but ensuring that the children will grow up to be the next generation of a permanent underclass. But unfortunately, it's the inbreds and bigots who grab all the homeschool headlines. Back to public education, what to do? We already pour more $ into public education than any other country, and have very little to show for it. To echo my previous post, I believe that it's "me generation" parenting and a total lack of discipline and respect among parents AND children, along with a popular culture that glamorizes material culture and laziness and lampoons hard work and achievement. I don't have any idea how to fix that, but more $ and more rigorous teacher training isn't going to get us there. The system needs to be completely overhauled to find new ways to motivate parents and students.
AMWilson | Feb 25, 2012, 11:40 PM EST
AMWilson, fair point. Certainly some parents are very capable of home-schooling, having the requisite educational competence, time and patience. My point really was that on a broadscale national level - the government at all levels out of K-12 completely, something that Santorum apparently supports - it would be an unmitigated disaster. For example, across large swaths of the South and in rural America, high school dropout rates approach 50%. Many of these people are functionally illiterate. Yet they are often deeply religious, perhaps evangelical or fundamentalist in their convictions and often tend to be anti-government. These are hardly the best candidates to home-school. Our kids must be prepared to compete in global marketplace such as we have never seen. We are already way behind all of the OECD countries in math, science, IT and language skills. Surely our best hope is to fix our public education system rather than return to a system that worked well 200 years ago. My son and daughter-in-law home-school their young daughters but they are exceptional teachers and their 4 and 6 year-old girls are proof of this - but they, too, realize that soon they will need to find a good school for them.
AMWilson | Feb 25, 2012, 10:58 PM EST
Joanxis, I really can't argue with anything you've said. It is absolutely NOT the teachers' fault; they've been set up to fail, by a system that has allowed self-centered parents to believe that they need not be involved in their children's education, that it's "the teacher's job". I've talked to enough teachers to know that most teachers are skilled, talented, and truly care, but they're hamstrung by the unruly children of parents who act like they have better things to do than parent.
joanxis | Feb 25, 2012, 10:16 PM EST
Of course homeschooling is successful in many situations. Just look at the teacher/student ratio - 1 parent to 1 to 4 or 5 kids. If education was a priority in this country, which it never has been, the public schools would be a whole lot more successful. With a teacher/pupil ratio of 1 to 24 - up to 34 in some schools, including some kids who have parents who think it's all the teacher's fault and children with differing IQ levels, like the shadow kids whose IQ's are around 70 - a teacher has all she/he can do to be successful at all. I'd like to see some of the people who bash public teachers come into the classroom for just one day and take over the role of the teacher and see how they handle it. Sorry to go off topic. Just couldn't help myself.
AMWilson | Feb 25, 2012, 09:35 PM EST
Yo Tom, homeschooling isn't 18th century; it's widely practiced today, even among secularists, and it has produced on average way better results than American public schools. There are numerous areas where Santorum can be legitimately slammed, but homeschooling isn't one of them.
AMWilson | Feb 25, 2012, 07:46 PM EST
Today in Michigan, Santorum ridiculed President Obama for expressing the hope that all Americans could go to college. "What a snob," said Saint Santorum. Yet Santorum went to college and to law school - and every man and woman in the audience would surely hope that their children and grandchildren would have this opportunity also. But we are being dumbed down daily in this unending GOP clown show. Intelligence has become suspect, almost un-American, ignorance is virtuous, religious lunacy is patriotic and Godly. Santorum has said that the federal and state governments should have no role in the education of our children, that it should be left to localities but preferably to parents - as in home-schooling, as in the 18th century. If it weren't as serious as a heart attack, this guy would be hilarious. his fix for America is more religion and less education, a complete negation of equal rights for women and a belligerent foreign policy that will inevitably lead to another war. Way to go Saint Rick!
johnozed | Feb 25, 2012, 05:32 PM EST
re: nicoletta: oh those poor put upon catholics. after hundreds of years of pushing people around the slightest bit of criticism gets their robes all in a bunch. give me a friggin' break.
JohnE67 | Feb 25, 2012, 07:23 AM EST
Santorum needs to realize that the POTUS serves the whole of the country, and must make decisions based on what is good for the country, not the special interests that he is appealing to. Thank Jah this lunatic will never be President.
AMWilson | Feb 25, 2012, 02:35 AM EST
Yeah, you're right, Micky: that Ron Paul is so "nutty" that he actually thinks that if we stay out of the business of other countries, we can dramatically reduce the likelihood of more terrorist attacks on the US. AND we can save the taxpayer a sh*tload of money in so-called "defense" spending at the very time that the US is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. Isn't that just a crazy thought? What a nut!
AMWilson | Feb 25, 2012, 02:27 AM EST
misneac, What about 9/11? This may come as a surprise, but "all Muslims" didn't sign off on 9/11. Islam is not some monolithic movement against the West, and there's no such thing as a "stereotypical Muslim". Islam is as fractured and as human as any other religion, with an ideological spectrum ranging from peacefully moderate to whacko extremist. And they like to call each other infidels, too. Regardless of religion, people are individuals, and deserve to be judged on individual merit.
hollabackgurl | Feb 25, 2012, 12:06 AM EST
What should Mr. O'Doherty open his mind to? The idea that woman should never join the work force, the armed services, or have access to contraception of any kind? Or that gays are subhuman and deserving of no rights? That the kind of Taliban-like open minds we should all be keeping now? Thanks but no thanks.
rgray222 | Feb 24, 2012, 09:51 PM EST
I am certainly not a Santorum supporter but the real danger to society is the bias, dishonest and slanted reported exactly like this. It only keeps people divided causes fear when it is not necessary. Mr. O'Doherty if you mind is so closed and your opinions so slanted, dishonest and bias you should consider closing your pen until you have the ability to open your mind!
misneac | Feb 24, 2012, 07:37 PM EST
What a load of crap from EphraimKibbey . what planet is he on . Somebody should tell him about 9/11 !
McNamara31 | Feb 24, 2012, 06:51 PM EST
EphraimKibbey Great Post.
GeorgePMcD | Feb 24, 2012, 05:34 PM EST
Nial, It just gets worse and worse....this abuse of Irish Central to push your left wing agenda. Please back off and continue to do what you do well, namely provide your readers with Irish related news. George McDonnell
AMWilson | Feb 24, 2012, 04:32 PM EST
Glenn Beck... enough said. A true patriot, who would defend our "freedom" by resolutely refusing to cave into sound logic, reasoning, and common sense. If Mrs Santorum is right, then Radical Islam must also be correct: God really does intend to ruin America.
hollabackgurl | Feb 24, 2012, 03:21 PM EST
Here's what his wife Karen Santorum told Glen Beck yesterday: "I personally think this is God's will. I think He has us on a path, and I do think there's a lot more happening than what we're seeing. Personally I mean I think Rick's a great guy, and he's really smart and everything. But I think a lot more is happening than what we can actually see. It's completely a spiritual thing. This is God's will." God wants her to be First Lady and Rick to be President. The magic sky fairy says so.
AMWilson | Feb 24, 2012, 02:53 PM EST
Like Santorum, I'm a Pennsylvania Catholic, and I fundamentally agree with his positions on many social issues. What makes him a fanatic is not so much his beliefs, as the hint that he would unilaterally implement them in a democratic republic. What makes him a fraud is that in the Senate, he repeatedly voted for things he has claimed to oppose. And what makes him a complete idiot is his dogged assertion that Islamic Fundamentalists want to take out America because "they don't like our freedom", when everybody knows that they just want us out of their backyard. And if Santorum would really study the theology of Radical Islam, he'd find that he has more in common with those guys than he has with the rest of us.
Scrivner | Feb 24, 2012, 01:16 PM EST
Gosh, every time things get rough for B. Obama, the whining and shrieking about Republicans gets louder. Gasoline (petrol) prices are heading skyward because of this administration's actions (slowing down oil leases, stalling a pipeline from Canada, flopping around in the mideast) combined with scandals of funneling public money to well connected backers (Solendra, etc.) and Cahir & Co. start ranting about birth control--something that a U.S. President has little or no control over. Absolutely stunning!
merefalow | Feb 24, 2012, 11:18 AM EST
fundamentalist,s from whatever spectrum are enemies of mankind and progress,they are to be feared by any one who believes in common sense and the advancement of truth and justice for ALL.THEOCRACIES ARE DEADLY DANGEROUS TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH,FREEDOM OF INTELLECT,FREEDOM of expression,FREEDOM,S OF MANY KIND,S,HARD FOUGHT FOR AND HARD WON,BE VERY CAREFUL BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL UNDER ATTACK,NOT FROM WITHOUT,BUT FROM WITHIN,LOGIC AND DARWIN,EDUCATION AND SCIENCE CAN,T BE RELEGATED BY REGRESSIVE FANATICAL THEOLOGIES.
Nicoletta | Feb 24, 2012, 09:32 AM EST
More anti-Catholic clap trap.
eiriamach | Feb 24, 2012, 09:11 AM EST
This is an excellent analogy for the current situation in the USA: "I come from a society that for decades said no to every political initiative it was offered. Intransigence in the face of unstoppable change, Northern Ireland prolonged its own suffering and retarded political progress by reflexively refusing to give an inch to its political adversaries, with fateful consequences for the nation, north and south." The Santorum speeches are a reflex, with no thinking involved, just inherited bias, the authority of a dysfunctional past, and hatred for any progress made by the people Santorum's followers love to hate.
eiriamach | Feb 24, 2012, 09:01 AM EST
greensod, I agree. It always sticks in my cra when I see chicken-hawks like Santorum chest-thumping for yet another war when they themselves have never worm the uniform of their country. Oozing patriotism and wrapping themselves in the flag they would happily sacrifice the blood of others to demonstrate America's righteousness. The most egregious example of this species of coward is Dick Cheney who received five deferments from military service during the Vietnam War. Seanomelb, we do indeed have more than our share of religious zealots and we should be very concerned when someone like Santorum, with the enlightenment of an Old Testament era nut case is a serious contender for president. It's kind of amusing, we condemn Islamic religious zealotry but, in frighteningly large numbers, embrace far-right evangelical, fundamentalist christian ideology at home. I don't say that they are identical but they are equally intolerant and, not surprisingly, each would deny women equal rights.
beachcomber | Feb 24, 2012, 07:54 AM EST
Santorum is a danger to humanity, let alone society. There are none so blind...
EphraimKibbey | Feb 23, 2012, 10:58 PM EST
@misneac - While the Reactionary Right has made a big issue of Sheria (sorry sp?) Law taking over in the US, NO cities, NO states and NO chambers of the federal government have even introduced laws enacting any of its rules. NO Islamic politicians have even talked about enacting facets of their beliefs here. They are some of the strongest supporters of individual rights and the our founding beliefs. Many of them fled theocracies. That is why they or their parents suffered unbelievable hardship just to come to America. Sort of like the Irish ancestors of many of us here on IC. When and if the Islamic politicians suggest turning our Democracy into a Islamic Theoracy, I am certain that Cahir will call them out as he has the Catholic/Evangelical proponents of a Christian Theocracy.
greensod | Feb 23, 2012, 09:56 PM EST
No worries,the American people will not elect Santorum to any office. No more cowards are going to be starting wars,when they them selves never served in the service or seen war up close. They got a belly full of that from Bush and Cheny.Santorum will only wage war on women,but not for long.Soon he will be forgotten.
pilib04 | Feb 23, 2012, 07:24 PM EST
Rick Santorum is a madman. Being in support of Birth Control is not the same as being anti-Catholic.
misneac | Feb 23, 2012, 07:12 PM EST
Iagree totally with mairint . The heading to the article is sensationalist , The article is the usual anti- catholic gibberish . I You never see these great " liberals " such as ODoherty write articles criticising any aspect of Islamic principles . Over to you ODoherty !
seanomelb | Feb 23, 2012, 07:05 PM EST
Never has a country had so many crazy religous zealots as the USA.The GOP has been hijacked by the inmates a bunch of sanctimonious hypocrites some one should inform them that the salem witch trials have ended.
mairint | Feb 23, 2012, 06:18 PM EST
This is an out and out anti-Catholic attack by Cahir O'Doherty. Looks like Cahir has absorbed the ACLU, the most left side of the Dems and the radical 'catholic' Nancy Pelosi philosophy into his psyche. What a poisonous pen he yields! Most independent thinkers will see this O'Doherty diatribe for what it is. Propaganda and hatred for the Christian faith, and the One who created it. Get off your soap box Cahir. We pray for a decent government to return to the U.S.A. The people have waited long enough. The martyrdom of 56 million unborn Americans should be a wake up call for the nation. Face the truth. Build your nation again America.
peterson | Feb 23, 2012, 05:49 PM EST
Mr. Santorum, I salute you !!
seanomelb | Feb 23, 2012, 05:24 PM EST
Americans like to think that POTUS is the leader of the free world if Santorum wins where do I get off!!
docmikey | Feb 23, 2012, 04:41 PM EST
I don't think the U.S. needs another pope right now. Mr. Santorum appears to be running for that office, not the presidency.
TheOldPerfessor | Feb 23, 2012, 04:38 PM EST
@EphraimKibbey - Bravo!
EphraimKibbey | Feb 23, 2012, 04:21 PM EST
I personally wish to thank Rick "Sanitorium" for speaking his mind with such conviction over the years and running on them now! In 2010 the GOP got elected in states all over the US by lying to the voters that they were our best hope of bringing back the jobs. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Even though the GOP and their policies got us into the crisis in the first place, impatient America believed them. Shame on us - fooled again! What have they done in 14 months? Voting supression bills, redistricting, anti-union laws, massive budget cuts to cities and schools, fired public workers, lower corporate taxes, public holdings sold off for a nickle on the dollar, and, most important to bringing back those jobs, hundreds of bills infringing on women's health options, all constitute their legacy. Thank God that Rick tells the truth! At least the 2012 election will have the GOP running on their real beliefs and at least the other 75% of Americans will know them for what they really are - wacko religious fanatics who want to change our Democracy into a Theocracy and make the 1% richer at the expense of the 99%. Thanks, Rick from the bottom of my heart!
GeorgeDillon | Feb 23, 2012, 03:09 PM EST
Santorum is not just a danger to society, he's a danger to world peace. Some of the crazy things he says about fighting for Israel make me wonder is he sane.
rainbowbrew | Feb 23, 2012, 02:45 PM EST
Darn, you are right but I sure wish you would tell people. I would like to see this religios fanatic try to impose his sharia law on the US. Actually Iwanted ot see him expose the far right as you say the no, no noerrs. Please do nto let it out that he is a very bad choice. The GOP might have him as their candidate, heck it is what the people (sheeple) want. But he would never be president, there are a few of us who can see the obvious as well.
Nicomax | Feb 23, 2012, 01:34 PM EST
I heard this morning that the Chief Iman in Iran believes all will work out well for them because, " God is on their side". Is this the same deity Rick is calling upon for guidance? If so, we are in trouble, plus we have a constitutional provision that says, "There shall be no religious test for any public office in the US." Did his wife include this in her home-schooling curriculum?
TheOldPerfessor | Feb 23, 2012, 01:26 PM EST
I see that Rupert's Rangers are out in force today. Here are a couple of things for you to consider. Are you aware of the number of times that God is mentioned in the Constitution. Zero. You can look it up. Please explain how Jesus' message of love and tolerance got turned into this man's message of hate. We have actual problems to solve in this country. Talking about Satan isn't going to solve anything.
joanxis | Feb 23, 2012, 01:16 PM EST
I for one are with you, Cahir. Mr. Santorum wants to take us back to the 50's or 60's. I truly believe that Mr. Santorum is entitled to his beliefs, but when you run for the office of President you can't dictate your beliefs to others. He is setting back what President Kennedy had to fight when he was running for president. Kennedy assured the American public that he was a Catholic, but he would not use his religious beliefs when running the country. Now we have Santorum who would impose his catholicism on the country if he became president. I am a Catholic - AND I can think for myself. I don't need Santorum to tell me how to live my life.
cillowen | Feb 23, 2012, 12:14 PM EST
a mussolini with flair
Pbstein33 | Feb 23, 2012, 12:02 PM EST
O'Doherty Aren't you glad that nobody really gives a DAMN what you think.....
bunkerisland | Feb 23, 2012, 11:43 AM EST
Those who say or imply Barack Obama is an anti-christ have been looking to the sky for answers far too long.
micky74007 | Feb 23, 2012, 11:42 AM EST
Vote for Ron Paul. He's as nutty as the rest of you.
Murph46 | Feb 23, 2012, 11:34 AM EST
Cahir if you get any more left,you might as well chop off your right hand-I'll be surprised if you post thia as you don't most of mine!
Sophium | Feb 23, 2012, 11:26 AM EST
The vitriol is surpassed here only by the polarity of the stereotyping. Santorum is no more a beast than Obama is the Anti-Christ. We have a decided clash of philosophies: Mr. O"Doherty's amusing entitlement approach and the honesty-in-earning-it Santorum approach. Mr. O'Doherty, as so many on the left do, you throw stones before you take the time to deeply understand. You are like the little child on Christmas morn as he sobs over getting a warm coat when all along he wanted the latest computer game. There is a higher purpose in giving the coat than to make the child miserable. You seem to miss the point of the proposed gifts of growing in the virtues of perseverance, courage, thrift, and character that Mr. Santorum brings to the table. Wilt thou now throw a stone at me for saying so? Sir, learn first, as Socrates would remind you, that you are ignorant. Character building always starts there---in knowing that you do not know. Sir, you no more undertand Mr. Santorum than the weeping child understands his parents' Christmas gift.
tundish45 | Feb 23, 2012, 11:20 AM EST
1) Not sure how this article fits the Irish Central's focus on Ireland and Irish American interests but... 2) It would be far more useful to talk about Barrack O'Bamma's second term impact, since Santorum as the Republican candidate will mean O'Bamma's reelection... 3) ...Which will be the better outcome for the US.
seanfer7 | Feb 23, 2012, 11:18 AM EST
I know Rick and Rick lived in my home town. He once offered me a job for support. He also had me pay for his childrens schooling while he lived in another state. Walk the walk or talk the talk rick talk and runs
BiffSissy | Feb 23, 2012, 11:14 AM EST
I agree w/Double T and thank you for this article. It contains information needed to make an informed decision
jamieLM | Feb 23, 2012, 11:13 AM EST
Don't be such a drama queen. Santorum hasn't even won the GOP nomination. Did you forget that it's Congress than enacts laws, not the President? You're getting way ahead of yourself.
haasny007 | Feb 23, 2012, 10:57 AM EST
Thank you for this article! The conservatives want to take us back to mid-20th century. Santorum is probably the most despicable of the whole lot. Americans - including Catholics - are smart enough to see through this right-wing plot. Bring him on, he will be defeated.
MikeRock | Feb 23, 2012, 10:46 AM EST
You are a JACKASS!
SingleDonald | Feb 23, 2012, 10:41 AM EST
Rick Santorum reminds me somewhat of Anthony Comstack, who was discussed in Gay Talese's novel, "Thy Neighbor's Wife". He was a 19th Century fanatic, who influenced puritanical laws & customs being instituted in the U.S. You mignt say that Comstack was America's version of Queen Victoria! Anyway, I DO oppose forcing women into combat roles, in the military. I wonder if the recent lifting of restrictions by the Pentagon will compel servicewomen into combat, or merely permit them to voluntarily do so. I sure hope it is the latter! If the draft is ever reactivated, and Congress votes to include women, can you imagine the moral fallout if girls were drafted AND FORCED into combat roles? It may well lead to a 2nd Civil War!!
jjkleprechaun | Feb 23, 2012, 10:33 AM EST
Cahir O'Doherty, IC has reached the bottom of the barrell in allowing this piece of trash to be printed. I'm not against your Constitutional rights to believe the trash your mind conjures up, but I am against using good space to spew it forth. Look in the mirror...you will never be l/4 of the man Rick Santorum is now and in the future. P.S.....I'm a registered Democrat, not a Republican!!
PhlutiePhan | Feb 23, 2012, 10:22 AM EST
If Mr. Santorum is viewed as such an extremist, than why would such a "bright Irish lad" even have to worry about what he thinks. You are making a case that he is more of a threat than Al Quaeda. He preaches morality and family and you want to call out the National Guard! As usual, extreme! However, the family structure is a threat to Communist society! Is that what you believe?
TDouble | Feb 23, 2012, 10:21 AM EST
For the past four years President Obama has been a disappointment to me--especially his coddling of the Investment Banking industry. However, these knuckleheads on the Republican Right offer only personal ambition and gamesmanship, not an interest in the betterment of our country. This poor choice of alternatives will force me to vote for Obama again.
mikehoulihan | Feb 23, 2012, 10:20 AM EST
More anti-Catholic hate from Irish Central.
hollabackgurl | Feb 23, 2012, 10:19 AM EST
It's a disgrace that someone this unreconstructed and far right could actually be considered for Commander in Chief of the most powerful nation in the world. It's a farce.
jamthecat | Feb 23, 2012, 10:11 AM EST
Bring back the Inquisition! Rick Santorum for Grand Inquisitor!