Apparently,
Rick Santorum was giving a speech to Ave Maria University in 2008, and during his speech he declared that Protestantism was "a shambles" and "gone from the world of Christianity."
At least 51% of the country identifies as Protestant based on
the most recent numbers that I have seen... and if Rick Santorum is on tape seeming to question the faith of over half the country, then how can he ever hope to get elected? Count on an endless barrage of attack ads showing these quotes from Santorum over and over again... if Romney doesn't run with these quotes in the primary then Obama certainly will in the general election. Do Santorum supporters not see this as a problem?
(found via
@BenHowe)
Update: Ok, so maybe Santorum only means to criticize
mainline Protestantism, but that's still a very large chunk of the country to just write off... and don't assume that the rest of the country will be perfectly fine with a presidential candidate who is on record openly questioning the faith of huge swaths of the country. If his supporters really don't see this as a problem, I don't know what else to say.
Update: Great, and now Santorum's out on the stump
saying stuff like this: "Freedom isn't to do whatever you want to do, it's to do what you ought to do."
Update: And what does he mean by that? Well,
the very first thing listed on the issues page at his campaign website is a pledge to fight pornography:
America is suffering a pandemic of harm from pornography. A wealth of research is now available demonstrating that pornography causes profound brain changes in both children and adults, resulting in widespread negative consequences. Addiction to pornography is now common for adults and even for some children. The average age of first exposure to hard-core, Internet pornography is now 11. Pornography is toxic to marriages and relationships. It contributes to misogyny and violence against women. It is a contributing factor to prostitution and sex trafficking.
Every family must now be concerned about the harm from pornography. As a parent, I am concerned about the widespread distribution of illegal obscene pornography and its profound effects on our culture.
For many decades, the American public has actively petitioned the United States Congress for laws prohibiting distribution of hard-core adult pornography.
Congress has responded. Current federal “obscenity” laws prohibit distribution of hardcore (obscene) pornography on the Internet, on cable/satellite TV, on hotel/motel TV, in retail shops and through the mail or by common carrier. Rick Santorum believes that federal obscenity laws should be vigorously enforced. “If elected President, I will appoint an Attorney General who will do so.”
Update: This promise to fight porn is still there on Santorum's website, but it doesn't show up as first on the list anymore... that's something I guess, but I find it very troubling that it is there at all. Yes,
other candidates have also pledged to fight porn, but none of the other remaining candidates are making this the priority that Santorum is... he is the only one who even bothers to list it as a campaign issue on his website, and the language he uses in his own pledge goes
way beyond anything that Romney or Gingrich have ever promised to do.
Update: Carol Platt Liebau
tries to warn her fellow social conservatives of the damage that Rick Santorum is doing to their cause:
Rick Santorum is certainly a patriot, and a man of courage, conviction and principle, but he lacks the cheerful demeanor and deft touch that mark the most effective proponents of social conservatism. Indeed, the danger Senator Santorum poses to social conservatism is grave, and it is real. First, his history of inflammatory statements coupled with a persona that can come across as dour and preachy opens him – and social conservatism – to easy, ugly caricature that could marginalize and cripple the movement disastrously for years to come.
Finally, Senator Santorum’s tendency (understandable in a candidate) to discuss social conservatism in the context of government policy overlooks the central role that religion and the culture must play, if the ideals he so clearly cherishes are ever to win the day. In an era when Americans are coming to recognize the dangers of an over-powerful, too-intrusive government, choosing a nominee who seems all-too-willing simply to swap his own (socially conservative) government policies for President Obama’s (left-wing) ones cedes Republicans’ most powerful rallying cry for retaking The White House this fall: It’s all about freedom.
