Santorum 101: He’s More Complex Than We Think
While everyone knows that the world is a much different place now than in the Dole-Gingrich era of American politics, no one could have imagined the motley crew of candidates currently vying for the 2012 Republican nomination. Among the contenders are a Mormon, a libertarian, a father of a lesbian, and a Catholic with seven children.
Perhaps, in light of these rapidly changing political waters, that’s why staunchly conservative voters have chosen to support the least memorable candidate of the bunch: Rick Santorum. Although Santorum has not won as many delegates as Romney and may not win the party’s nomination, as a figurehead of a formidable conservative sect he is worthy of study.
Santorum has carried a respectable number of states in the 2012 Republican Primaries: Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and now Louisiana. In other words, Santorum owns middle America.
Likewise, his legislative experience is lengthy and substantive. He served as a Representative from Pennsylvania’s 18th district from 1990 to 1995, a Senator for Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007 and as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee for eight of his senatorial years. In 2003, Santorum penned the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act as well as the failed Santorum Amendment to the 2001 No Child Left Behind bill, which promoted the teaching of intelligent design alongside evolution.
Some other tidbits about Santorum? Despite his contentious remarks on the nature of college, Santorum himself holds both an M.B.A. and a J.D. degree; he wrote a book with the cheeky title “It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good,” ostensibly to contrast Hillary Clinton’s famous 1996 book of a similar name. In spite of the blandness of the sweater vest he regularly dons, he does pack a bit of flavor: his father is an Italian immigrant and at the age of 48, his wife gave birth to their daughter named Isabella “Bella” (homage to Twilight?) who was diagnosed with a very serious genetic disorder called Trisomy 18. Oh, and he has seven children total.
Santorum on the Issues
Despite his extreme conservatism, from the hodgepodge of quotes below it’s easy to see that Rick Santorum is refreshingly articulate and multidimensional.
On Homosexuality: “I have gay friends.”
On Don’t Ask Don’t Tell: “They’re in close quarters, they live with people, they obviously shower with people…all the things that are involved in living in the barracks or living out in the field. Those are issues that again…you’re talking about the ability of people to have that unit cohesion, to be able to work together in an efficient, fighting way…And yes, there are people who feel uncomfortable in that environment and as a result, it could hurt our ability to retain and recruit and put the best fighting force in place…And I know that the whole gay community is trying to make this the new Civil Rights Act. It’s not, it’s not the same. You are black by the color of your skin. You are not homosexual, obviously, by the color of your skin.”
On Iran: “[Iran] is the greatest supporter of terrorism in the Middle East and around the world and is setting up training camps and is working with Venezuela and other countries south of our border to threaten us. Iran is a country that must be confronted.”
