The Santorum Surge: One Man’s Culture War Is Another’s Flaccid Flop

Unfortunately for Buchanan, God’s endorsement wasn’t enough to secure him an office at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue that year. Or in 1996. Or 2000. Nevertheless, despite his numerous failed attempts at currying favor with the American populace, Buchanan was successful in setting dangerous precedent for the future of presidential elections. While displaying his proficiency in hyperbole by deeming the budding “religious war” within the United States as something as critical as the Cold War was in some years past, his remarks were in some respects prophetic.

Take for instance what’s happening in the world today: the uprisings in Syria have spread to Damascus, the Eurozone has sealed a Greek bailout deal, and at home the Economic Policy Institute just released an analysis of Obama’s budget plan wherein it estimates that the plan will yield approximately 1.5 million new jobs in the 2012 fiscal year alone. Yet we, as we did twenty years ago, focus instead on social discords fomented largely by religious dogma. To be sure, social issues are important, however they shouldn’t occupy all of our attention. Especially when one of the driving figures behind the chatter is a man who, as much as he may wax poetic on loving the United States of America, seeks to divide more than he does unite.

Unlike Buchanan, however, time is not on Santorum’s side. The American people are more accepting now than they were twenty, ten, even five years ago. For example, 2011 marked a first in Gallup history: those in favor of same-sex marriage outweighed those against it. What’s more, Washington has recently become the seventh state to legalize same-sex marriage, joining Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire in their pursuit of social equality. And despite the many attempts on behalf of the social conservative base, the majority of Americans still support the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision as a whole. And unsurprisingly, since around 98% of women—which, like it or not, are the majority in the United States and in the workplace—have used birth control at some point in their lives, Rick Santorum’s chances of resonating with the groups he needs at the polls come November are as likely as a Buchanan presidency in 1992, 1996, or 2000: zero, zip, zilch.

Sure, Santorum’s got the support of the crazies du jour and is cruising at a comfortable lead; that’s to be expected when you inject dichotomous rhetoric into the political conversation and your primary opponent is about as inspiring as the object with which he shares his name. But this is 2012, and his holy-roller pitches amount to little more than hot air. That’s not something you fuel a car, campaign, or country with.

As a country and as a culture, we’ve moved on. Likewise, Santorum’s proverbial surge will last a bit longer and then shrivel up and return to those hollow recesses where it belongs. In the meantime, we must try our best not to let his cracked out notions impregnate our minds. After all, freedom of thought is the best kind of protection we have.