Pennsylvania has had to deal with Rick Santorum as a congressional representative for a long time. Emboldened by President Bush's kindling of religious fervor, Santorum has come out of the spiritual closet during the last six years to take his place among other evangelical guiding-lights. In the process he has established himself as a defender of conservative virtues on The Hill.
But things are getting dire for Rick Santorum. The outspoken Senator is currently down 18 percent to challenger Bob Casey. While Santorum should have been riding high (last year he released a book on-top of his autobiography Rick Santorum -- think: Cash by Johnny Cash), he is in danger of losing everything. And so while Casey has been criticizing the Republicans and saying that the decision to go to war was a mistake, Santorum thundered back yesterday by holding a press conference declaring "we have found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq."
See for yourself from "Countdown with Keith Olbermann," thanks to youtube.
It was a nice attempt to take the wind out of Casey's sails except for the inconvenient truth that the WMDs in question are 15 years old and largely inoxuous. Santorum was referencing a de-classified document like a minister who has the verse memorized but delivers an interpretation far less than divine. The Defense Department had to step in and explain the pre-1991 origin of the munitions in question, the fact that these munitions were well-known, the fact that we have been collecting these muntions in Iraq for three years, and, in summary, that these are "not the WMDs for which this country went to war." The devil is indeed in the details.
Well, what can we expect anyway? Can a grapevine bear figs? This is the same wellspring that gave us statements like:
But things are getting dire for Rick Santorum. The outspoken Senator is currently down 18 percent to challenger Bob Casey. While Santorum should have been riding high (last year he released a book on-top of his autobiography Rick Santorum -- think: Cash by Johnny Cash), he is in danger of losing everything. And so while Casey has been criticizing the Republicans and saying that the decision to go to war was a mistake, Santorum thundered back yesterday by holding a press conference declaring "we have found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq."
See for yourself from "Countdown with Keith Olbermann," thanks to youtube.
It was a nice attempt to take the wind out of Casey's sails except for the inconvenient truth that the WMDs in question are 15 years old and largely inoxuous. Santorum was referencing a de-classified document like a minister who has the verse memorized but delivers an interpretation far less than divine. The Defense Department had to step in and explain the pre-1991 origin of the munitions in question, the fact that these munitions were well-known, the fact that we have been collecting these muntions in Iraq for three years, and, in summary, that these are "not the WMDs for which this country went to war." The devil is indeed in the details.
Well, what can we expect anyway? Can a grapevine bear figs? This is the same wellspring that gave us statements like:
"I have no problem with homosexuality. I have a problem with homosexual acts."
and
"While it is no excuse for this [Priest] scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm?"
Yes, Santorum is a well-known champion of Compassionate Conservatism; his philosophy was detailed in his book It Takes a Family: Conservativism and the Common Good. And this compassion was displayed when regarding hurricane Katrina victims in this way: "people who don't heed those warnings and then put people at risk as a result of not heeding those warnings ... There may be a need to look at tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out and understand that there are consequences to not leaving."
His handlers quickly reined him in and a few days later he decided that most people who did not leave New Orleans literally did not have the means to leave. I guess Santorum, one of the "25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America" (according to Time magazine), has a hard time understanding the poor or at least how poverty limits people's freedom. What do the poor have to do with Jesus anyway? They're certainly not lobbying very hard.
While Santorum made Time's "Evangelical" list, he was being placed on other lists as well. Lists like the "13 Most Corrupt Members of Congress" by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. In fairness, it's really hard to stay off that list when you surround yourself with evangelists whose goal is to raise money and votes for you via well-meaning believers sitting in church. That combination is just rife with ethical implications and always has been.
But don't be too hard on guys like Santorum. They have a lot to lose, and important work to continue. God's work. And that's why he simply has to stand up in front of you and stretch the truth. Or believe really, really strongly what he's saying to you is true. Or hope you're not paying too close attention. He's a crusader in the same mold as Tom DeLay or Karl Rove or anyone else who will do what ever it takes to continue their cause even at the sake of principles.
Religious leaders acquire power by being organized and preying upon people's desire to have meaningful and positive lives. They carry a torch of principles and draw people to them. But once they have that power a pesky thing happens:
the cause to defend the principles often becomes more important than the principles themselves. 2000 years ago a rabbi threatened contemporary conventions and he was killed by the most religious people around. It was no problem for them to overlook the very rules they were trying to safeguard, in an attempt to safeguard their cause. In the same way you and I get snuffed out while power players break their own rules to keep those very rules in place. Ironic? Hypocritical? Oh, just details. "While it is no excuse for this [Priest] scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm?"
Yes, Santorum is a well-known champion of Compassionate Conservatism; his philosophy was detailed in his book It Takes a Family: Conservativism and the Common Good. And this compassion was displayed when regarding hurricane Katrina victims in this way: "people who don't heed those warnings and then put people at risk as a result of not heeding those warnings ... There may be a need to look at tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out and understand that there are consequences to not leaving."
His handlers quickly reined him in and a few days later he decided that most people who did not leave New Orleans literally did not have the means to leave. I guess Santorum, one of the "25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America" (according to Time magazine), has a hard time understanding the poor or at least how poverty limits people's freedom. What do the poor have to do with Jesus anyway? They're certainly not lobbying very hard.
While Santorum made Time's "Evangelical" list, he was being placed on other lists as well. Lists like the "13 Most Corrupt Members of Congress" by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. In fairness, it's really hard to stay off that list when you surround yourself with evangelists whose goal is to raise money and votes for you via well-meaning believers sitting in church. That combination is just rife with ethical implications and always has been.
But don't be too hard on guys like Santorum. They have a lot to lose, and important work to continue. God's work. And that's why he simply has to stand up in front of you and stretch the truth. Or believe really, really strongly what he's saying to you is true. Or hope you're not paying too close attention. He's a crusader in the same mold as Tom DeLay or Karl Rove or anyone else who will do what ever it takes to continue their cause even at the sake of principles.
Religious leaders acquire power by being organized and preying upon people's desire to have meaningful and positive lives. They carry a torch of principles and draw people to them. But once they have that power a pesky thing happens:
When you or I get seen with "tax collectors and sinners" people like Santorum can't wait to drop the hammer. But what about when he aligns himself with the Pharisees and the Sadducees? All of those who love the seat of power so much should be worried--one day the first shall be last. This eschatological preview seems to have come early for Santorum. The people of Pennsylvania have had enough, but don't expect him to go down quietly. Look for him to take another page out of God's playbook and begin creating, ex nihilo, reasons why he should be re-elected. God may have given us light but his representatives do a far poorer job. To listen to them continually keeps me in the dark.
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