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Home Page > Blogs > News blogs > Periscope > Why Rick Santorum lost Catholic vote in both Michigan and Arizona to Romney

Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Why Rick Santorum lost Catholic vote in both Michigan and Arizona to Romney

Posted on Tuesday, February 28, 2012 at 11:46 PM

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I recommend watching the speech that made Santorum vomit: "JFK Speech on Religion and Politics Part 1: Separation of Church and State (1960)" on You Tube. Santorum's appeal to Southern and rust-belt fundamentalists is worrisome. Writing to the Reverend J. Adams in 1832, James Madison expressed his fear of "a corrupting coalition or alliance between" the churches. The only safeguard against a Christian alliance rolling back the rights of women, ethnic minorities, LGBTs is, as Madison argued, separation of church and state: "I must admit, moreover, that it may not be easy, in every possible case, to trace the line of separation between the rights of religion and the civil authority." But not maintaining the separation, he wrote, risks "usurpation" of the freedoms of the people, just as much as a government takeover of the churches would usurp freedom. A conservative coalition of Christians committed to legislating against our hard-won equality rights and civil rights, and all in the name of an imagined divinely mandated discrimination--that's the best reason I know of to get out the vote next November.

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CitizenWhy | Mar 06, 2012, 09:28 AM EST

Santorum has become the voice of fundamentalist Protestants. Many Catholics, even conservative ones, find that voice scary.

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Pittsburghkid | Mar 01, 2012, 06:23 PM EST

Romney is out of the Cain/Dole mold. He is a sure loser. This site supports Romney, because he will lose to Obama. Romney has a lot in common with Obama. Romneycare is very simular to Obama care. Rick Santorum will offer a difference. Romney will always try not to offend anyone.

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McNamara31 | Feb 29, 2012, 09:53 PM EST

My Irish grandmother always warned “watch out for people who wore their religion on their arm” and even worse, politicians who “use” religion as a political ploy. Her wisdom saw this to be disingenuous. I know as Christians we are not supposed to judge others, but I believe all bets are off after watching the GOP primaries and listening to their “information brokers” doing their bidding by completely distorting the truth to the point that it has done major harm to our political process. I can barely hold my supper down when the likes of Limbaugh or Gingrich sit on their public perch and tell the world of their conservative values. They have led their lives like self serving hurricanes blowing through the lives of others without even a thought of empathy but now they stand ready to tell a nation who is good, and who is evil in their all knowing eyes. When is the last time you saw “these Christians” handing out supplies in Haiti or in the aftermath of any catastrophe; probably too busy taking millions from their corporate sponsors or lobbyists. People are people. They come in all types, and most try to do their best; however the marriage of religion and the GOP that occurred prior to the election of GWB under the direction of Karl Rove and his media counterpart Roger Ailes, sowed the seeds that have lead to the total polarization of our democratic process seen today. Thomas Jefferson wrote that there should be a “wall of separation between church and state” probably because he knew a few men just like Rove, Ailes and Limbaugh back in his day.

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pilib04 | Feb 29, 2012, 09:39 PM EST

Someone below mentioned Bush. Begs the question, who is Dubya endorsing?

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jpf | Feb 29, 2012, 09:23 PM EST

I may be the classic Irish Catholic Democrat but I am glad that Romney won he is at least respectful of other peoples beliefs. Republicans are getting to weird.

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eiriamach | Feb 29, 2012, 06:19 PM EST

Is Santorum, who leaps right past the teachings of Second Vatican Council, a Roman Catholic at all? The discussion below brings out the differences between Orthodox Catholics, who are Santorum-type social conservatives, and Second Vatican Council Christians (reformers/ progressives). Vatican II, as Franzioni says in "Lost and Betrayed" (on line at iglesiadescalza), produced this war of conservatives against progressives. Even though some of V.II's documents made breakthroughs in dealing with the modern world, its political split remained, with conservatives now in control. Franzioni explains "Why and for what reasons ... the Council has been-- and starting precisely with the popes-- more and more neglected, rendered void, and perhaps betrayed." The part of his essay I find tragic is this: "nothing has been done to make the conciliar claim of the Church as the 'people of God' concrete. It would have been completely logical that, once the premise had been put forward, a kind of Senate of the Catholic Church would have been created where bishops, priests, monks, nuns, religious, lay men and women would be represented, to discuss the big problems together." Imagine how quickly such a Senate might have dealt with RCC's problems of sexual abuse! A religion that promotes authority and orthodoxy while silencing the voices of its people rigidifies into a cult and loses connection with the living Spirit. Perhaps RCC has to die in order for it to rediscover their Founder and his mission.

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eiriamach | Feb 29, 2012, 06:05 PM EST

Thanks, EphraimKibbey. Really, there are SSPX, not just Opus Dei, and a few other exotic varieties of Temple Police posting below, right alongside the sane folks! "Modernism" is again a heresy, they tell us (it's been missing since the 19th century), and we non-Orthodox are all going to hell in a Gadino Bag. DaithiSuibhne would like to believe that separation of church and state exists somewhere in this world (I would too)-- but remember, it is on St. Pius X's Syllabus of Errors as a damnable error of Modernism, as IrishSpring444 can tell us. And jetsnoone can't write 50 words without condemning more than half of IC posters to the fiery flames. How can some people drift so far out from the cosmos that seems to be home to the rest of us, I wonder?

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redhand32 | Feb 29, 2012, 04:16 PM EST

When you are to the right of even some US Catholic bishops, it is not surprising that Sanatarium (Santorum)lost the RC vote. I recall Rickey boy calmly telling Piers Morgan on CNN that a rape victim's baby is a "gift" from God ! Santorum fell out of the reality tree and hit every branch on the way down.

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rainbowbrew | Feb 29, 2012, 02:57 PM EST

"the life of the mother" and this is why I got out. the catholics badgered my Mom her whole life with all their stupid statements. She was really upset that I joined and then near her deathbed she told me why. So them catholics condemned her - my brother and myself as she would have died had she not brqaved the abortion. Yes it hurt very much but she lived on - so there you catholics.. So I am surprised that the catholics did not eat this up.

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DaithiSuibhne | Feb 29, 2012, 02:40 PM EST

I was taught to believe that there is separation between church and state in politics, so why all the hype about 'Personal religious beliefs'. It would be far better to vote on each candidates 'Policies' as opposed to religion.

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stephen1553 | Feb 29, 2012, 02:23 PM EST

The germqan pope RATZInger UNexcommunicated Bishop williamson, a holocaust denier............The church rattles on about birth control, ignoring that 95% - of catholics per every poll use artificial birth control to prevent pregnancy. ...............The church has hidden for God only knows how long the endless molestation of children all over the world..............the church until recently in Spain, Australia and other places has stolen hundreds of thousands of babies from birth mothers who werent catholic or were unwed, and given them to catholic famileis to raise............the list of the vatican crimes is endless.............Santorum is just a parrot for the horror show named Benedict XVI and Santorum belongs in a sanatarium..................Freedom from religion is what we all need..... Not one more cent for the church until it gets totally out of politics and cleans its own house.

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NYCsheridan | Feb 29, 2012, 02:20 PM EST

Kilgara, since 99% of American women claim they've used contraceptives (and thank God for that), I guess the entire country is going to hell. LOL. In God We Trust.

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NYCsheridan | Feb 29, 2012, 02:17 PM EST

So sure of yourself, aren't you jetsnoone? You make me sick.

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NYCsheridan | Feb 29, 2012, 02:15 PM EST

You mean even after Niall wrote trash like "Catholic vote is key to 2012 presidential election -- Barack Obama controversy on contraception a huge issue" Santorum still lost the Catholic vote? Amazing, huh?

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