May 17^th

George Will reminds us today of just how close Rick Santorum came to winning the Republican nomination in 2012. It is a shame that Rick lost because President Obama’s reelection would have been even easier against Santorum than against Mitt Romney. Will suggests that Santorum is in a great position try again because he came so close last time.  I think it would be wonderful if he won the nomination this time around!

 Last time, in 2012, I recall Santorum speaking with nostalgia about the calluses on his coal miner grandfather’s hard working hands. His grandfather was an immigrant from Italy in the 1920s. Rick says nothing about grandpa’s politics but Mussolini was not taking kindly to liberal/socialists and his heavy handedness with folks who disagreed with him sent the most visible of them scurrying out of the country. Grandpa Santorum was as red a communist as one could possibly be; maybe that’s why Rick prefers to discuss his hands, but not his politics.

Rick also says that when his grandfather arrived there were no government help programs and no benefits for immigrants. Actually there were veterans benefit programs, aid to poor mothers and others and there were small benefits for immigrants. Factcheck calls Santorum’s statement untrue; that’s a nice way of saying he was lying! There a host of other “untrue statements” from Santorum, so many that it seems he might be addicted to producing them. (Perhaps it’s caused by a conservative virus.)

Santorum is most noted for his concerns about sex; in particular his opposition to homosexual sex and to gay marriage. The Senator is convinced that consenting adults should not have the right to what he considers sexual excess simply because they confine it to their bedrooms. He maintains that this privacy policy would permit bigamy and much else which would lead to the destruction of civilized society. I must admit to being puzzled by the bigamy claim. Perhaps he assumes that if the sex police were allowed to search bedrooms without a warrant the incidence of bigamy in this country would decline. I really don’t know if that’s what he means and Santorum isn’t saying.

Santorum is clear that sexual activity should be confined to heterosexual married couples. Of course that still leaves many options. Santorum hasn’t pontificated on this point but I would bet that any sexual activity that couldn’t result in pregnancy, even between married heterosexual couples, would be on his prohibited list. I believe that if Santorum had his way only the missionary position would be approved and that might not be approved if it had any other name.