If you need a cheat-sheet update for your less-politically-addicted relatives, Lizzy Davies at the Guardian has an excellent “beginner’s guide to Rick Santorum“:
Bullets, lube and paper tigers: The ultra-conservative Republican who came good in Iowa has tried out a variety of discomfiting positions
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Mitt Romney may have – just – emerged as the victor in Tuesday’s Republican caucus in Iowa but, for many, the night belonged to his rival Rick Santorum, the most socially conservative of all the Republican candidates and a man who once declared: “I just don’t take the pledge. I take the bullets.”
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Not one to shy away from making his voice heard, the 53-year-old from Winchester, Virginia, has peppered his political career with divisive pronouncements ranging from the hawkish and reactionary to the plain offensive…
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Gay marriage: During the Iowa campaign Santorum explained that not only would he support a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, but he would also be in favour of annulling all currently legal same-sex unions. Not that this should come as much of a surprise: in 2003 the devout Catholic provoked outrage by appearing to compare homosexuality with paedophilia and bestiality. “Every society in the history of man has upheld the institution of marriage as a bond between a man and a woman,” he said. “In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality. That’s not to pick on homosexuality. It’s not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be. It is one thing. And when you destroy that you have a dramatic impact on the quality.”…
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Child abuse: Santorum has repeatedly said that the city of Boston’s “liberal culture” played an active role in Catholic child abuse. In 2002 he wrote: “When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected. While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the centre of the storm.” Santorum did not apologise; three years later, he said he had singled out the city because it was the “epicentre” of the scandal at that time, and, for good measure, added: “I think what I’m saying is that the culture of liberal sexual freedom and the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 70s had a profound impact on everybody and their sexual mores. It had a profound impact on the church.”
I’m afraid there is no longer any way to discuss Santorum’s career without double-entendres, because he has worked so hard to make it so.
David Corn at Mother Jones invokes “Newt the Destroyer“:
In a bitter and spiteful concession speech last night in Iowa—Kanye West could do no worse—the former House speaker, who finished fourth, signaled a shift in his mission. He would no longer be running to obtain the Republican presidential nomination; he would be campaigning to obliterate Mitt Romney. He would be Sherman; the former Massachusetts governor would be Georgia.
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If Gingrich does pursue this march—and there are two debates this weekend in New Hampshire in which Gingrich can be a suicide bomber—Gingrich will be reaching the peak of his 30-year career as a Republican demolition man. And now his target will be the candidate the GOP establishment believes possesses the best chance of unseating President Barack Obama…
From your keyboard to the gods’ ears, Mr. Corn!
And Noreen Malone at NYMagDaily Intel discusses President Obama’s Cordray appointment:
… It’s no coincidence that Obama will announce the appointment this afternoon in Cordray’s home state, which also happens to be the crucial battleground state of Ohio. But it’s also no coincidence that he’s announcing it in the state’s most Democratic district, outside Cleveland — this is a signal to the base, not swing voters. Also, in Intel Noreen’s mind, it’s very exciting that he’s announcing it AT HER HIGH SCHOOL, but that fact is probably less significant to, um, everyone else. Still, she can say with certainty, having attended a number of dances in the very same gym where he’ll be speaking, that upset middle-aged people saying things are “inappropriate” never really stopped anyone from doing what they wanted in there.
kdaug
Certain things resonate “funny” at 2:30 am.
Maude
Nice to see someone else up. I’m getting over being sick and napped yesterday.
The Guardian has wonderful humor about the Republicans. AP has really done a lot of coverage of them.
Newt is close to coming out with some awful verbal assault that will scare the horses and people will be “shocked”.
The Obama team is really sharp and quick to take advantage of the mess in the R primaries. That makes it fun to watch.
JGabriel
Will Bunch has a rundown of Man On Dog’s financial corruptions, as opposed to the religious fixations we usually mock, over at Attytood:
And that’s just the first of ten. Really a must read, if only to get an overview of the Crook side of Santorum, to complement what we already know of the Freak side.
.
JGabriel
Maude:
Mitt has a quarter billion in personal wealth, not to mention what he has access to via his campaign and the superPACs that support him.
I strongly suspect a way will be found to buy Newt’s silence before he can do too much damage.
Which is sad, because I really would enjoy watching Newt go ballistic on Mitt.
.
Maude
@JGabriel:
I don’t know. Newt gets furious and loses control. This is his last shot at national attention. He ruined his Speaker ship and that was self defeating.
I’d like to hear him say something suitable for framing.
This is getting to be fun.
Chuck Butcher
newt v mitt would be pretty good fun, there sure are going to be a lot of voices counselling against it. The “yes” after being asked if he was calling mittens a liar, after a moment’s reflection, was pretty damn uncivil in the political world. Not being a member of that brand it’s pretty hard to calculate how that’s going to play out. It is hardly ever done when referring to the other side’s players much less your own.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve wished a Democrat would stand up to a blatant untruth and call it a damnable lie, sure doesn’t happen. I expect a politician to exaggerate and to use words framing a discussion in terms he wants – but there is a serious difference between that and lying.
There is an idea that respect for an office transcends the holder of the office and I’d agree in differences of opinion or policy that probably is a good thing, but lying is just that regardless of the title of the offender. Jon Kyl is a liar, flat and simple – and his office does not immunize him from the fact – as an example.
amk
Upcoming troop cuts = one more rethugs’ ……..
Fill up the blank.
Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal
i wonder how carefully chosen the description of santorum being from winchester va. was. i would say that him not really making an effort to claim to be from the district he represented in congress, or the state he represented in the senate, is the first santorum fact for low-info types.
in 2006 he only got 41% of the vote, the worst whupping ever in senate races. in fact, his lack of support was so profound, especially in his home region of the state, the gop put lynn swann on the ballot for governor(knowing it was a lost cause, so to speak) , to try to draw anyone at all to the polls to boost santorum.
this only approximates how hated he is amongst the voters who know him best.
Ian
@JGabriel:
Shocking, truely shocking, that a Republican would be running a tax free charity for profitable and politcal reasons.
TheMightyTrowel
Speaking of old Frothy Mix, Dan Savage has taken to the (web)pages of the Guardian to continue fighting the good fight.
Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal
worst whupping in the history of pennsylvania senate races, that should say.
amk
limpaugh on that old angry guy’s endorsement of mittens
The man who could not beat Obama teamed up with the man who could not even beat McCain.
Good one from the fat pig.
Neddie Jingo
The little fucker may have been born in Winchester — the late, lamented Joe Bageant’s stomping ground — but his “home” is in the outskirts of Leesburg — much closer in to DC. I can drive you past his front door in Leesburg’s nauseatngly rich outer perimeter.
Man On Dog has as much to do with Winchester as fish have to do with bicycles. Any of Joe’s books would explain that.
WereBear (itouch)
This guy is really twisted. At least Huckabee looks like he’s capable of a good time, even at your expense. Santorum acts like actually having one will send you straight to hell.
waldo
Why would people work themselves into a lather doing oppo research on Santorum? Such a waste. Santorum will be smeared in the next two contests — likely working his way back down to a single digit — long before the froth has congealed.
Shalimar
Did Cole’s post about beating the spread remind you it was time for another Santorum discussion?
Yevgraf
All is right in my universe, as my worldview and place in it has been validated.
I learned yesterday that the only guy at the manly man service academy I attended who ever made an unmistakable gay pass at me recently was a full metal teatard constimatooshinalist candidate for something out west – and lost. I found some hysterical rally photos, complete with costumes and tricorner hats.
In retrospect, the dude’s whole oeuvre shrieked gay.
Yevgraf
Back on Santorum, but does anybody besides me get those projection vibes off of his demeanor and gay bashing?
I think the dude is a major closet case.
Raven
@Yevgraf: Have you read “Stiffed” by Susan Faludi? Her description of the Citadel is stunning.
cmorenc
@JGabriel:
If Newt has made himself sufficiently independently wealthy himself, I’m not sure Romney has enough leverage to persuasively exert any sort of silver-lining blackmail against Gingrich. That’s in part because Gingrich doesn’t have any official position within the GOP power structure (neither as officeholder nor as part of its machinery nor even in its private wingnut welfare think-tank apparatus) they can effectively threaten to undermine or destroy if he doesn’t cooperate. What office in a Romney Administration could they promise a prima dona like Gingrich that would give him the sort of autonomous power, prominence, and influence he craves, and as importantly, how could they possibly control an unpredictably destructive bomb-thrower in their midst? Newt’s obviously not a team player, and Romney is obviously not well-liked and supported out there among the GOP base. At most, Romney’s operatives could in part choke off some of the flow of corporate money to Gingrich’s private think-tank apparatus, but Gingrich’s position within the conservative ranks of GOP activists and Sunday talk-show circuitry would remain intact.
Really, what could they do to the guy, especially after what they did to him? McCain still had his Senate turf and a potential future to consider in 2000 after Bush’s nasty bully-whipping. Gingrich has nothing to lose really, and perhaps even another chance to gain in 2016 by taking down Romney and making him unelectable in 2012.
JBerardi
Yes, we all remember those bra burning priests in the 60s… wait, what?
I’m frankly astonished that this guy hasn’t been found wide-stancing it in an airport mens room yet. Emphasis on yet.
JBerardi
@Yevgraf:
Think? I’m telling you, that guy is so deep in the closet he’s finding his third grade math homework.
Sly
@JGabriel:
Newt’s price tag has to do with his ego, not his bank account. He’s not Palin; someone who would merely grift off the conservative rabble until he’s in the grave. If he were a Palin, he would have dropped out after the Greek Isles flap and went back to hustling AEI out of its money.
He’ll still grift, of course, but just to pay the bills. What gets him out of bed in the morning is the simpering adulation of the conservative base. He’s a dumb person’s idea of what a smart person sounds like, and Gingrich himself has always held a the idea that he is smartest man in the universe. The only thing Romney could give him to sate his preternatural need to spew demagogic nonsense without any sense of accountability is a Supreme Court nomination and guaranteed confirmation, neither of which, particularly the latter, Newt will ever, ever, ever get.
Yevgraf
@JBerardi:
Ireland in the 30s was such an epicenter of liberalism.
Feudalism Now!
What benefits Gnoot better, a quick payday or a month or two of being ‘a real Reagan conservative” and building up his next book tour? Gnoots grift is on right now and he can have fun being Gnoot with no expectation of having to really compete. I don’t see any way to dislodge The Gingrich unless the media ignores him. I see fat chance of that.
deep
It still blows my mind that this guy is Catholic. He’s about the opposite of nearly every catholic I know. Even when many of them are indeed pro-life, they’re still not as psycho as he is on the issue.
priscianusjr
@JGabriel:
Josie
It is interesting how the big money guys in the GOP have continually hurt themselves by overreaching – Florida, Wisconsin, Ohio and lately Indiana. This trashing of Newt is another case of overreach. They went further than was necessary in those ads to assure Romney of the nomination, and, in doing so, possibly triggered Newt’s undying enmity and made him a serious thorn in Romney’s side. No matter how it turns out, I suspect it won’t help their case in the general election.
gnomedad
Can we get them all paired up by fall? Michele and Herman need demolition dance partners.
deep
@Josie:
I seem to recall Obama and Clinton making the same mistake. There were some Hillary supporters who were sufficiently pissed so as to stay out of the general election. Of course when McCain made the blunder of pick Palin as his running mate, it neutralized Obama’s disadvantage.
elmo
@Neddie Jingo:
Srsly? He lives outside Leesburg? Gaaaaaa. I just moved to this area – I live outside Middleburg now – and I had no idea. Ugh.
Josie
@deep: I’m not sure I see the comparison. Clinton only did it that one time when speaking of the “white” working folks and did not repeat it. Obama didn’t particularly overreach, except by winning the nomination. The Pumas who turned against him did that out of disappointment for Clinton, not because he did anything outrageous. The war on unions and working people in the states I listed and the blanketing of the airways with negative ads against Newt are much more egregious, in my opinion.
The Other Bob
Can anyone here list three, thoughtful conservatives in the media or elected office worth listening to/reading?
This would be the person you might disagree with, but is overall a decent, intelligent person.
Where did they go? Did they show their true colors and go full wing-nut or just become Democrats?
...now I try to be amused
@JGabriel:
It seems to me that becoming Romney’s nemesis is a good career move for Newt. The people who buy what he’s selling will eat it up and keep the gravy train rolling.
chopper
@cmorenc:
romney could always make a promise to newt and then break it later. not like he’s known for being consistent.
nastybrutishntall
@The Other Bob: they’re all no longer Republicans, or they keep real quiet-like so no one has an accident. There’s no way to be “thoughtful” in the GOP now without being railroaded out of there, even in the bluest depths of New England.
My cousin’s husband, for example, was a classic country-club, National Review spewing ex-CEO Gooper, gave tons of money, etc. Was fun to have at the table at Thanksgiving, though, because he actually used logic, even if his theory was Victorian and heartless and his facts cherry-picked. At least I was talking to someone who listened to what I had to say before rejecting it. Then came Iraq, and he left the GOP, wrote them a letter on how they’d abandoned their principles, and has supported Dems all the way down ever since. He’s the one I get all my anti-GOP stuff from in emails (seems like chain-lettering is in the conservative genome, even if they leave the fold). I think this happened quite a bit.
Neddie Jingo
@elmo: As you’re driving Route 7 from Purcellville to Leesburg, after the Route 9 junction, look to your right after the Jubal Early sign. Bunch of huge plastic mansions. Believe it’s called Braemar.
It’s where he was living when he pretended to be resident in Pennsylvania. One major reason he was defeated for reelection — besides the general assholishness, of course.
...now I try to be amused
“Braemar” has the anagram “bare ram”. Perfect for ex-Senator Man-on-Dog Frothy Mix.
Carbon Dated
Not for nothing but I feel for poor former Senator Frothy Mix because he didn’t actually equate (or even compare) teh gays with man-on-dog. His quote was deeply stupid but not quite as arseholish as depicted, which makes Dan Savage kind of a douche, even before he was showing man-on-douche love for Ron Paul.
Redshift
@The Other Bob: Three? Not a chance.
The only one who comes to mind is Norm Ornstein, who unaccountably has managed to keep his perch at AEI, despite having a tendency to say things that are actually true, rather than spouting the party line.
deep
@Josie: I seem to recall allegations of sexism against Obama and racism against Hillary, but emotions were getting high and I suppose a lot of it were hyperbole.
Of course, I can’t find any sources confirming this now, so maybe it was all in my head.
debg
Also worth reading on Santorum: Irin Carmon’s piece.
http://www.salon.com/2012/01/04/rick_santorum_is_coming_for_your_birth_control/
handsmile
The silence that must be bought off is not that of Newton Leroy, but that of the Christian far-right whose theological distrust of Romney might disrupt the coronation.
A gathering of the faithful, hosted by such patriarchs as Donald Wildmon, James Dobson, and Gary Bauer, has been called for this weekend in Texas. The purpose of this conclave is to reach of consensus of support for a single radical conservative candidate (Perry, Santorum, Gingrich); among each camp to bury the hatchet, as it were, into the Mormon’s back.
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/religious-right-leaders-meet-and-plot-strategy-how-stop-romney
New Hampshire has already been conceded to the “moderate” former governor of Massachusetts. The trumpet must now be sounded for a crusade in South Carolina and Florida against the infidel.
The power of the pastors, not Newt’s bombast, is a far greater threat to the GOP establishment’s preferred candidate.
Maude
@deep:
There was that little email from the Clinton camp about Obama being a terrorist Muslim and that never really went away.
Josie
@deep: No, you are remembering correctly, but those are examples of the normal rough and tumble of politics. The GOP is overreaching in much more widespread ways, and I hope it comes back to bite them in the ass.
Mnemosyne
Actually, I think he’s right, but for completely different reasons. I think the change in mores caused men who were uncomfortable with their sexuality to flee to the Catholic Church where they thought that all of the rules that had been set up would keep them on the straight and narrow (pun intended). So instead of getting the therapy they needed to come to terms with their sexuality and learn to accept it and accept themselves, they tried to “pray the gay away” with the usual lack of success.
Pedophiles were already there because pedophiles gravitate to jobs where they’ll have access to children but, again, some of the problems were caused because the church hierarchy tried to depend on prayer as a solution instead of paying attention to those new sexual mores that said molesting kids is really bad for them and calling the cops.
Villago Delenda Est
@Mnemosyne:
Also, I think one of the things the 60’s and 70’s did was allow people to be more open about sexuality and broach their traumas, bringing them out in the open in ways that had never been seen before. This started exposing the abuse that had always been here, again in ways never before seen.
So, naturally, the church blames the 60’s and 70’s for taking the lid off of behavior that had been hushed up for centuries.
elmo
@Neddie Jingo:
Holy crap, I drive through there all the time to go to Costco and the outlet mall. Thanks for the tip!
The Republic of Stupidity
@Mnemosyne:
Not to mention, prayer is a hell of a lot cheaper than the kind of legal settlements that do result when one acknowledges the truth…
Just saying…
The Republic of Stupidity
Good line… let’s see where else we can go w/ that…
Or mebbe…
Or perhaps…
Yutsano
@The Republic of Stupidity:
Or Tokyo.
eyelessgame
@Mnemosyne:
Word. I knew at least one Catholic priest who was not a pedophile, but who was both gay and a sexual predator, preying on older teen boys. And of course was the most outwardly homophobic of any priest I knew.