The Sickening Santorum

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Santorum says he ‘almost threw up’ after reading JFK speech on separation of church and state.

Nate Silver has Mittens the likely winner in Arizona and Michigan, but he says it is possible Santorum could pick up more Michigan delegates than Mittens if he comes in second. But Frothy is projected to win some of the super Tuesday states and some later March primaries. (Actual headline: “Santorum comes from behind in Alabama three-way.” Kinky.) Newt is favored in Georgia.

Speaking of Frothy, here he is lying his ass off about the First Amendment and pretending the establishment cause isn’t there (via).

This is a speech Santorum made to mark the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s speech in which he promised to keep his Catholicism separate from his presidency. According to Santorum, this was the first time in American history anyone had suggested that religion keep its mitts off government.

Excerpts:

Ultimately Kennedy’s attempt to reassure Protestants that the Catholic Church would not control the government and suborn its independence advanced a philosophy of strict separation that would create a purely secular public square cleansed of all religious wisdom and the voice of religious people of all faiths. He laid the foundation for attacks on religious freedom and freedom of speech by the secular left and its political arms like the A.C.L.U and the People for the American Way. This has and will continue to create dissension and division in this country as people of faith increasingly feel like second-class citizens.

Also,

It is the debasement of our First Amendment right of religious freedom. Of all the great and necessary freedoms listed in the First Amendment, freedom to exercise religion (not just to believe, but to live out that belief) is the most important; before freedom of speech, before freedom of the press, before freedom of assembly, before freedom to petition the government for redress of grievances, before all others. This freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, is the trunk from which all other branches of freedom on our great tree of liberty get their life.

If you listen — I sat through about half of it — what comes through is that Santorum utterly ignores the establishment clause and believes the First Amendment protects free exercise of religion, period. At one point he says that the First Amendment’s “wall of separation” protects religion from interference by government, but does nothing to protect government from religion.

Of course, Kennedy’s speech was delivered 12 years after the McCollum v. Board of Education decision, in which Justice Black wrote, “Neither a state nor the Federal Government can, openly or secretly, participate in the affairs of any religious organizations or groups, and vice versa. In the words of Jefferson, the clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect ‘a wall of separation between church and State.'”

It was also delivered about 173 years after James Madison wrote Federalist Paper #10, in which he wrote about the mischief done to government by majority factions, including religious factions.

And, of course, Frothy fails to understand Madison’s point, which is that government only interferes with religion when religion interferes with government; that is, when a faction with a religious agenda is able to take the reins of government and use government authority to impose their beliefs on others.

So this morning on a Sunday bobblehead show Frothy said that Kennedy’s speech on religious separation made him want to throw up. Well, Rick, you make me want to throw up. You’re either too stupid or ignorant to know what you are talking about, or you do know and you are just lying your ass off. Either way is sickening.

Update:

Scott Lemieux:

So, if I understand in 1960, the GOP was upset because they (erroneously) believed that a Roman Catholic president would not govern for all Americans but would take orders directly from a religious hierarchy. In 2012, Republicans are furious because a president would try to govern for all Americans rather than taking orders directly from a religious hierarchy.

26 thoughts on “The Sickening Santorum”

  1. My 12 times back grandfather came to this country in 1630 – part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He came for, among other things, religious freedom, more specifically to be free of religion if he so chose.

    If Santorum were to become president, I’d have to emulate that grandfather and leave this country. Wonder where I’d go.

  3. Reading today in Tucson on kindle fire. Am afraid to click on Alabama three way for fear. Of scandalizing entire wifi coffee. Shop.

  5. “Alabama three-way”? Is that the one that involves a goat? Because you know how Rick feels about man-on-dog.

    I’ve got to hand it to Scott Lemieux for a very pithy summary.

  6. “Savanarola” Santorum, since he’s to the right of ‘Pope Rat-faced-zinger,’ either needs to be put into a Sanitorium, or run for Pope.

    Pope Rick ‘The Uber-Pious I,” would bring the Catholic Church back to their good old days – the times of Savanarola, Torquemada, and “The Spanish Inquisition.”
    If you were guilty and you admitted it – you burned at the stake. And if you didn’t admit to guilt – you were burned at the stake.
    Good times.. good times…

    Santorum should be a national joke.
    Instead, he’s a legitimate candidate for President.
    The shame isn’t that Rick, and the rest of these evil, stupid, ignorant, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, and homophobic, @$$clowns, are the Republican Parties only candidates for President.
    No!
    The real shame is – THAT ONE OF THESE F*CKING PUTRID, CHRISTIANISTA MFing @$$HOLES AND IDIOT’S HAS A REAL CHANCE OF BEING PRESIDENT!!!

    Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, I rest my case…

  7. biggerbox,
    Here’s what the Republicans are running this year:
    Man on dog.
    Dog on roof.
    Dog on leg.
    And, “Ol Yeller.”

    The main thing to remember is – they’re ALL dog’s!

  8. Notice, though, that I left out the recently defunct “Horn-dog” Cain.
    And Michele Bachmann – I try to be gentleman when the opportunity presents itself.

  9. What can I say?
    Myself?
    ‘I ain’t nothing but a hound-dog.”

    Besides, dog’s are smarter that any Conservative.
    Dog’s may like the fact that they can lick their own privates. But, they’re not obsessed with not letting anyone else do the same thing, just because they can.

  11. I cannot find any difference between Santorum and the Taliban. We are overspending to eliminate the Taliban and the real threat turns out to be here in the right wing.

  12. Really Rickster, so the Muslims should be welcomed to bring their faith into the public square? I should be able to bring mine, which is neither of the others, into the public square? Or is that reserved for only Christians? Do you know what Sharia law is Ricky?
    Do you want religious law? Most of us don’t. Not from any religion. The vast majority of people are not Dominionists. You are going to find that out.

  13. “I cannot find any difference between Santorum and the Taliban.” The Taliban cover their heads, and put an actual cash price tag on their women.

    “We are overspending to eliminate the Taliban and the real threat turns out to be here in the right wing.” Agreed. The domestic terrorists, like Frothy, are a FAR bigger threat to global civilization. And I don’t want Mister Rapture to have nuclear weapons, either.

  14. I honestly don’t know what these people think the Supreme Court is there for. I really don’t. They read the Constitution and come up with their own stupid, self-serving interpretation of it, and they really think that’s all there is to it, that no one argued and decided these things decades or centuries ago.

    And yes, I cannot help but notice that the America-hating coward Santorum waits until Ted Kennedy is dead before he unleashes this theocratic, totalitarian bile. With one foot in the grave Teddy would’ve cut this hothouse flower to pieces.

  15. Rick,
    Santorum isn’t a hothouse flower – he’s a pernicious weed.
    And the American garden’s being over-run by them.

  17. Lynne,
    The “Know Nothing’s” are winning.

    What’s next?
    The “You Must Be Christian To Drive Act?”

    “I don’t care if it rains or freezes
    ‘Long as I got my plastic Jesus
    Riding on the dashboard of my car
    Through my trials and tribulations
    And my travels through the nations
    With my plastic Jesus I’ll go far.”

    I love the ending:
    “If I weave around at night
    And policemen think I’m tight
    They never find my bottle, though they ask
    Plastic Jesus shelters me
    For His head comes off, you see
    He’s hollow, and I use Him for a flask

    Plastic Jesus, plastic Jesus
    Riding on the dashboard of my car
    Ride with me and have a dram
    Of the blood of the Lamb
    Plastic Jesus is a holy bar.”

    For the whole song – and other renditions and spin-off’s:
    http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/plastic0.htm

  21. This morning on NPR, Cokie Roberts, who I think of as the Voice of Beltway Establishment Republicans, was very dismissive of Santorum, pointing to his Kennedy bit and his claim that Obama was a “snob” for wanting kids to go to college. She was frank that GOP people are scrambling for some other choice, and increasingly desperate.

    Poor Cokie. Reaping the whirlwind kinda sucks, don’t it?

  22. Frothy fails to understand Madison’s point

    Yeah, but Madison didn’t have a full understanding about Satan and how he is trying to destroy the United States. Frothy seems to be the only candidate who can see the dangers that Satan poses to our nation. If we don’t turn from our wickedness the Lord won’t heal our land, and continue to secure our blessing of Liberty. We as a nation are awash in immorality and it will be the true soldiers of God like Frothy who lead our country back to righteousness.

    Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

  23. biggerbox,
    I’m surprised that no one’s brought up Bush’s name.

    No, not Jeb.
    I’m talking about George H.W. Bush – “Papa Doc” only had the one term.

  24. And another shooting in a High School.

    This would never have happened if every student from Pre-K on up packed heat.
    And, like with school lunches, in case your child forgot his/her lunch, the school should provide guns at a low cost.
    The states can help to pay for that by taking money from Medicaid. But not too much – there’s liable to be a slight uptick in shot students and teachers, or broken arms from diving under desks.

  25. The states can help to pay for that by taking money from Medicaid. But not too much – there’s liable to be a slight uptick in shot students and teachers, or broken arms from diving under desks.

    Fk ’em! If your first reaction to seeing a guy with a gun is anything other than to pull out yours and plug ’em, pay for your own damn injuries – they’re obviously due to your mistake.

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