Rick Santorum takes a step back from the chief defenders of the school board in Dover, The Thomas More Law center:
Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) withdrew on Thursday his affiliation from the Christian-rights law center that defended a school district’s policy requiring the teaching of “intelligent design.”
Santorum, the Senate’s third-ranking Republican, is facing a tough reelection challenge next year. Earlier, he praised the Dover Area School District for “attempting to teach the controversy of evolution.”
Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) criticized work on “intelligent design” policy. (H. Rumph Jr – AP)
But the day after a federal judge ruled that the district’s policy on intelligent design is unconstitutional, Santorum told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he was troubled by testimony indicating that religion motivated some school board members to adopt the policy.
Santorum was on the advisory board of the Michigan-based Thomas More Law Center, which defended the district’s policy. “I thought the Thomas More Law Center made a huge mistake in taking this case and in pushing this case to the extent they did,” Santorum said. He said he will end his affiliation with the center.
This is more about how close Santorum’s re-election bid is in 2006 than the result of any core beliefs, because earlier this year, Santorum was advocating the teaching of Intelligent Design (and in science classes, and not, as it should be, in religion or philosophy courses). Apparently, his pollsters told him that politicians ‘monkeying’ (not sorry) around with science curricula is not real popular with PA voters.
Rather than beat up too much on Santorum, who, barring divine intervention, is finished as a Senator, let’s just be happy that for now, Pennsylvania has two Senate candidates who reject injecting religion into science. It is a pity it took brute political force for Santorum to see the light, and his rejection of ID as science was not the result of his using the brains God gave him, but this is a positive development nonetheless.
StupidityRules
Santorum hasn’t seen the light, he has seen a poll. If he gets reelected I’m guessing he’s going to flip back again.
my cat
Lying is an acceptable practice in the eyes of the religious right. His supporters probably assume he is lying and will revert if elected.
Ancient Purple
I will agree with SR on this. He saw the polls that most people think the right is wrong to push this issue.
I forget where I saw it, but someone called Santorum “Election Year Ricky.”
Very accurate.
Ben
Santorum is the poster child for what has gone wrong with the GOP… bibliocons, rethuglicans, call them what you want, but they ain’t the GOP of old.
Mike S
I hope the reporter laughed in his face at that point.
Richard Bottoms
> but this is a positive development nonetheless.
Why anyone votes Republican is beyond me.
Why any Democrat would believe people who claim to be shocked by Republican doubletalk aren’t just willing dupes is also a mystery.
You’re a party of fag hating, tax cutting, religo-bible-thumping, civil rights trashing incompetent warmakers who do a brilliant job of getting Jimmy Joe-Bob to vote for you even as the party delivers truck loads of benefits to the wealthiest of Americans while slashing his safety net to shreds.
I spend my time on this site not because I believe John will ever admit to his party’s perfidy and actually work against them. I come here in the hope that some damn fool Independent who voted for El Presidente, or God forbid some Democrat who thinks “some of them are allright” might read what is written by those of us who know these assholes for what they are and either vote Democrat or stay home next year.
Republicans like Olympia Snowe and the other RHINO’s should be targeted and destroyed politically so the GOP will finish it’s headlong rush into Right-Wing idiocy glaring enough so even John and others like him will no longer be able to stomach it.
Gary Farber
Thought I said it here, but I’m not in the mood to know.
Gary Farber
Basically, clearly no one reads me, and why should I bother?
That’s my bad mood, and sorry for bothering you with it, because why should anyone fricking bother with it? (Oh, lay off, sympathy pricks; I have means to prevent you; actual interest in me as me is a whole ‘nother thing, but I never get that, welcome as it would be, to put it mildly.)
And I should never have commented. Of course.
JWeidner
I have it on good, solid, inside information that Santorum was shocked, SHOCKED! that religion was motivating these ID pushers.
Big E
ahhh….. sorry
can’t help it….
Santorum is a fetid slug…..
OK..I’m feeling a lil bit better
MMM
“Rather than beat up too much on Santorum”
Do you know what type of santorum has come out of Santorum’s mouth the past few years? There is a special level down below for this fellow.
Gary Farber
Boy, I really was in a bad mood last night. And in all of 2005. Sorry.
aw shucks
Personally, I think Mr. Santorum makes a good case for UD (unintelligent design).
BIRDZILLA
Just proves that these judges are not intellegent while the voters in kansas are better at making selection then some morons in black robes with little wooden hammers