I posted this as a response to Pete Blackwell's piece on Santorum Blames Sex Abuse Scandal on Liberalism. Senator Santorum has deep rooted convictions concerning gay marriage; separation of church and state; and public education. I thought it would be interesting to do further research on a man who could be President of these United States.
Pete Blackwell said: Maybe this is going out on a limb, but I bet the fact that Boston is the biggest city in Massachusetts "one of only two states in the U.S. with a majority-Catholic population (the other being tiny Rhode Island)"has a little something to do with it.
Good point. Being a native of the area, I would have to agree that the high concentration of Roman Catholics has something to do with it. Senator Santorum's constant ridicule of liberalism stokes the fires of division rather than seek concrete answers to basic problems confronting our society. As I have stated in the past, I do not hold the Roman Catholic Church entirely at fault. The Church hierarchy has always enjoyed a 'special' relationship with political officials and police departments. The Church by virtue of its rules on celibacy and sexuality attracted many troubled Catholic males to the refuge of the Seminary. Having seen first hand the decadent lifestyle of many a priest, I can say without question that the special bond between the Church and State protected the Church from scandal. Senator Santorum is naive to believe that liberalism is the root of the problem.
There is an interesting commentary in today's issue of The Age whereby the writer talks about the hypocrisy of life in Washington, DC. It's distressing to think that I have to rely on the foreign press to give me information that hasn't been filtered through some kind of publicist machinery. One such paragraph that stands out is:
They (the evangelical base of the Republican Party) have the active support of key Republicans in the Senate, including potential presidential candidates such as Rick Santorum. Senator Santorum said recently he would feel his marriage threatened if gay marriage were legal.Give me a break. How would a gay couple threaten Senator Santorum's marriage? Is he afraid that he'll be solicited and recruited to hop on over to the dark side? Is he fearful of the fact that his wife may be tempted to experience the love that dare not speak its name? The people of Pennsylvania should be outraged by Senator Santorum's continuous attack on anything liberal. He is so indoctrinated in his conservative views thanks to his Roman Catholic upbringing that he doesn't see that the world isn't always black and white.
Article comments
1 - Matt
I wish I had something to add, but you pretty much said it all. Santorum is a cancer in Pennsylvania. As a resident of PA, I cannot wait to see this prick go down on Election Day.
2 - Silas Kain
Thanks, Matt. I'm hoping that the voters of Pennsylvania give serious consideration before casting their ballots next November.
3 - gonzo marx
very glad you put this up here Silas...thanks
Santorum sez...
*therefore I have worked hard to pass meaningful welfare reform and tax relief to help struggling middle class families become more self-sufficient.*
ok..struggling middle class families...glad he admits the middle class is struggling, few other GOPs will
but note "welfare reform" and "tax relief" tucked in there with "middle class"
a triple oxymoron with no net, folks
now that's some serious doublespeak audacity
nice catch on the "Hitler in 1942" bit...that one should be plastered everytime someone mentions durbin's fuck up with unneeded and divisive over the top rhetoric
howabout gay marriage leading to beasiality and polygamy?..that one was televised live
as for "K" street...such a dirty little DC "secret" that they hope you never see
but it is public that the number of registered lobbyists had doubled since 2000...now around the 375,000 mark
nah, no Influence peddling under the GOP regime...and blue monkeys coudl fly out of my butt!!
Excelsior!
4 - Nancy
I would be willing to bet Santorum is (or was, before the tide turned against them) one of those who defended the catholic church in its vigorous persecution of the victims of pedophile priests, when they were struggling for recognition & redress, and still thinks the church was itself targeted.
...And this is good old New England,
The home of the bean & the cod,
Where the priests have been molesting children
'Cause the liberals incite them, by God!
5 - PseudoErsatz
Thanks for the post Matt. As a resident of Pennsylvania, I cannot wait to be able to vote for Rick Santorum again.
6 - wahoo
gonzo marx says “but it is public that the number of registered lobbyists had doubled since 2000...now around the 375,000 mark”
BUT
The number of registered lobbyists in Washington is only 34,750.
See Washington Post Wednesday, June 22, 2005; Page A01
So gonzo wins the daily prize for fuckup of the day.
7 - gonzo marx
thanks wahoo
mea culpa, i blew a decimal place
i will look it up myself later, but i do stand chastened and corrected for adding a zero that didn't belong there
so, i was mistaken in the actual number...but what i have found so far shows that the "doubling" is still accurate
now yas know why i always say don't trust me, but look it up yourselves
Bog knows i am a freak who needs to be checked up on
Excelsior!
8 - Silas Kain
Poor gonzo. Off by a decimal point and they are ready to nail you to a tree.
I don't care what side of the aisle you're on. I think the majority of us have to agree that this lobbying has gotten completely out of hand. The cash that flows through Washington via lobbies comes from the high prices we pay from a gallon of milk to the designer jeans you buy your kids. So the next time you bitch about what you're paying for a loaf of bread, remember where part of your buck is going.That's a very telling article that wahoo cited and I would urge everyone who even remotely cares about the corruption in Washington to read it carefully. Jeffrey H. Birnbaum wrote the article and it's called The Road To Riches Is Called K Street:
9 - Jesus Christ
I live in PA and I will defenitely not be voting for this bastard.
10 - Silas Kain
Can we infer that there will be Divine Intervention come next November?
11 - Nick Jones
This is totally off topic, Silas, but anybody good playing at the Rat or the Channel these days? (How I miss living in the capitol of the People's Republic of Massachusetts!)
12 - Silas Kain
The Mormon Commonwealth of Massachusetts is more like it, Nick. Under the rule of Brigham Young Romney, the People's Republic is no more. Lol, Nick. I believe The Rat and The Channel are no more. Punk rock is dead in Massachusetts .
13 - Silas Kain
The Cook Political Report lists Senator Santorum's race as a toss up in 2006 as of June 17. Any Pennsylvanians out there who would like to tell us about his alternatives?
14 - Brenna Lorenz
So far two Democrats are running against Santorum: Bob Casey, the State Treasurer, who is a social conservative. He has received the blessing of the powers that be in the Democratic Party and has been endorsed by the Teacher's Union already. The theory is that he can undercut Santorum's base because he is also a social conservative, but is a liberal otherwise. The other candidate is a professor named Chuck Pennachio. Whereas the latter is more in line with the kind of person I feel more comfortable supporting, it doesn't look like he is much of a contender.
15 - Silas Kain
Thanks for the update, Brenna. What stops Pennachio from being a serious contender?