Maria over at 2 Political Junkies has a great post about Rick “Frothy Mix” Santorum and his recent comment about Obama’s phony theology. If you don’t read 2 Political Junkies, you are really missing a great blog, so check them out. I have a few points I want to add to the dialogue.
1) Santorum is perhaps the closest thing we have to a politician who is unashamed to show how he wants to turn our country into a theocracy, where Religion is more important that Democracy, Individual Rights, and the Constitution. For certain, he isn’t the only politician who has those aspirations, but Santorum makes them pretty crystal clear.
2) Most folks are talking about this Obama comment as if it were directed at Obama, and I think that is missing quite a bit. Yes, Santorum wants to take a swipe at the President, but I think he is also taking a swipe at Mitt Romney who is a Mormon. There are some who believe part of Romney’s poor polling is because he is a Mormon, and there is a religious predudice being displayed . mormonphobia if you like. Not really too far of a stretch in my opinion. But in a number of polls, Santorum is still running behind Romney, so Santorum wants to make it appear that he, and he alone knows the authentic theology.
It could be argued that Romney and Santorum differ on policy issues, and that may be true, but we also know that the Far Right which is now about all that’s left of the GOP, is Christian-based, and passionate about social issues as understood from a religious point of view. Santorum needs those Far Right Evangelicals, who are often not too keen on Catholics to back him instead of that other pseudo-Christian Romney.
3) Some claim this is not really important and that Santorum is a real joke, but guess what folks- jokes can get elected, and then who will be laughing? Progressives, moderates and even Conservatives who rurally care about protecting individual liberties need to take what is happening right now very seriously, and push back. Speak up and share your voice to stop a theological discussion instead of a policy and practice discussion.