Here is a news report on Sen. Rick Santorum. He is an ass but I really wish the
Repugnicans would put him on the ballot.
However, I really doubt that unless the T-party has taken over any sanity left there.
(BTW, Google 'santorum' Thanks Dan Savage.)
So here, for your amusement or chagrin is the article (with some of my comments)
that says Santorum is Un-American
On birth control, Santorum out of step with nationCONNIE CASS
From Associated Press
February 17, 2012
WASHINGTON (AP) —
Most Americans don't share Rick Santorum's absolutist take on
abortion. He's out of step on women in combat. He questions the values of the
two-thirds of mothers who work. He's even troubled by something as commonplace as
birth control — for married couples. Even among a Republican presidential field anxious to please religious
conservatives, Santorum's ideas stand out.
A Catholic father of seven whose kids are home-schooled, Santorum may seem to wear
his conservatism as comfortably as his sweater vests. But he's walked a careful
path,
keeping the more provocative opinions that helped sink his re-election to the
Senate in 2006 mostly out of his presidential campaign. That is until he leaped to the top of the polls, alongside Mitt Romney.
Now Santorum's record on social issues is getting a closer look. On several matters,
he's outside the Republican mainstream. And if he becomes the GOP nominee, some of
his ideas would likely be surprising, even puzzling, to general election voters.
BIRTH CONTROL
— Santorum: Says he wouldn't try to take away the pill or condoms. But
he believes
states should be free to ban them if they want. He argues that the Supreme Court
erred when it ruled in 1965 that Americans have a right to privacy that includes the
use of contraceptives. Birth control, even within marriage, violates his beliefs as a Catholic. Last year
Santorum told the Christian blog Caffeinated Thoughts that as president he would
warn the nation about "the dangers of contraception" and the permissive culture it
encourages. "Many of Christian faith have said, 'Well, that's OK. Contraception is
OK,'" he said. "It's not OK. It's a license to do things in the sexual realm that is
counter to how things are supposed to be. ... If it's not for purposes of
procreation, then you diminish this very special bond between men and women."
(This man has 'issues' - Shale) Santorum said Friday on "CBS This Morning" that as a senator he had supported
federal funding of birth control services but he also wants to promote abstinence
"as a healthier alternative."
— Catholics:
Despite the church's teachings, 84 percent of U.S. Catholics believe a
person who uses artificial birth control can still be a good Catholic, according to
a CBS News poll. And 89 percent of Catholic women favor expanding access to birth
control for those who can't afford it, the nonpartisan Public Religion Research
Institute found.
— All Americans:
Almost everyone uses it. Three-fourths of U.S. women have taken the
pill, the CBS News poll says, and other studies show
virtually all sexually active
women have used some type of birth control. A mere 8 percent of Americans think
birth control is morally wrong, according to a Pew Research Center poll this month.
Four in 10 say it's not even a moral issue these days.
WORKING WOMEN
— Santorum: His 2005 book, "It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good,"
suggests parents in two-income families aren't doing what's best for the kids. Too
often, he writes,
both parents work when the family could get by on one salary: "For
some parents, the purported need to provide things for their children simply
provides a convenient rationalization for pursuing a gratifying career outside the
home." He described it as a sad situation created by "radical feminists" who
undermined the traditional family by "convincing women that professional
accomplishments are the key to happiness."
Santorum's unsuccessful re-election bid took a hit from a rival's TV ad featuring a
working mother challenging the senator "to come to my house at the end of the month
when we're doing our bills and tell me how we can live on one income." Santorum
recently tried to deflect questions about the book by saying that his wife, who left
her nursing career to care for their children, helped write that section because she
felt her decision to become a stay-at-home mom wasn't valued by society. He
predicted a Santorum administration would have "plenty of working moms."
— All Americans:
Two-thirds of married mothers with husbands are working or looking
for jobs, according to the Labor Department. Like Santorum, most Americans don't
think it's best for children when moms work full time; they're divided over whether
staying at home or working part time is ideal. But more moms are working for
economic reasons than personal satisfaction. Half of full-time working mothers would
rather work part time, and a third would prefer to stay home, according to a 2009
Pew Research Center poll. About 1 in 10 of the moms working full-time says it's an
ideal situation.
WOMEN IN COMBAT
— Santorum: Spoke out against women in combat when the Pentagon announced plans to
allow them to serve closer to the front. He says he worries that fighting men will
be distracted by their "natural instinct" to protect women. He also says the
differences in physical abilities between men and women aren't being taken into
account.
(Maybe put the women in All-Gay Male Units - Shale ) — Republicans: Six in 10 would allow women to serve in units that engage in close
combat; about a third are opposed, a Quinnipiac University poll last year found.
— All Americans: Slightly more favorable toward women in combat than Republicans.
GAYS IN THE MILITARY
— Santorum: Wants to reinstate the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that banned openly
gay service members.
(Advocates "Bearing False Witness." Christian Values? - Shale). In a GOP debate in Florida, Santorum said lifting the ban was social
engineering and that "sexual activity has absolutely no place in the military."
(Maybe the military has changed since I was in it. Normal young men are all about
sex. But, how would Santorum know first-hand about unit cohesion in the military? -
Shale) He added: "Keep it to yourself whether you're a heterosexual or a
homosexual."
— Republicans: Santorum's party is divided on the issue. A CBS News poll gave a
48-41 edge to supporters of gays serving in the military. Republicans who felt
strongly about the issue were twice as likely to support gays in the military than
to oppose them, however.
— All Americans: An overwhelming number — 68 percent — favor allowing gays to serve
openly, the same poll found.
ABORTION
— Santorum: Favors amending the Constitution to ban abortion. He says that human
life begins at conception and doctors who perform abortions should be charged as
criminals. In his book, he compared women who have abortions to 19th-century
slaveholders, writing that "unlike abortion today, in most states even the
slaveholder did not have the unlimited right to kill his slave." In the past,
Santorum supported allowing abortions in cases of rape or incest, but he now says no
to those exceptions.
— Republicans: Although united in the belief that abortion should be illegal in most
cases — two-thirds say so — an overwhelming majority of Republicans are willing to
make some exceptions. Only a fifth say abortion should always be illegal, according
to AP-GfK polling in August.
— All Americans: Even less likely to say there should be no abortions at all — 16
percent support a total ban. About half of Americans want abortion to be legal in
most cases, and almost as many say it should be mostly illegal.