Rick Santorum Just Disqualified Himself from the Presidency

On ABC's This Week with George Stephanopolous Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum stated that he "almost threw up" when he read John F. Kennedy's 1960 speech regarding the role of religion in lawmaking. Here is what JFK's speech said, in part:

“I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote; where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference; and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him or the people who might elect him."

This sounds very reasonable to me, but Santorum says he "doesn't believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute."

Well, he must live in a different country than I do. Or perhaps he needs to move to one. We don't live in a theocracy, although by Santorum's whackadoodle comments I think he thinks we do.

You might want to put the Bible down for a minute, Santorum, and pick up a copy of the Constitution. Religion is mentioned exactly twice in that document, the one you want to be sworn in as president to defend. Here are those statements:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

and:

"No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."

In addition, here is what Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptist Association:

"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State."

I think this is pretty clear, Mr. Santorum. I know that you want to govern via the Vatican, but that is clearly unconstitutional. Anyone who is president of this nation is president of the entire nation, including the Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists and anyone else who lives in it. Everyone. By your constant barrage of religious rhetoric, as well as the statement you made above, and your refusal to acknowledge the articles of the Constitution, you have proven that you are incapable and unsuited to be President of this country.

Rick Santorum: Protestants "Fell Out of the World of Christianity"

Those of us who believe in science vs. religion are bound to dislike Rick Santorum, but now Protestants have a reason to stay away from the guy as well. Take a look at the clip from an event where he spoke at Ave Maria University in 2008:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/18/rick-santorum-protestantism_n_1286471.html

So according to Santorum, mainstream Protestantism is "gone from the world of Christianity." Well, I'm sure Protestants will be surprised to hear that.

Santorum, a rabid Catholic, has expressed many bizarre and extreme views, including his assertion that even married couples should abstain from sex except for procreation (glad I'm not his wife), and his extreme thoughts on birth control, including this doozy:

"Its not OK. It's a license to do things in the sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be. ... If it's not for purposes of procreation, then you diminish this very special bond between men and women."

This Washington Post story (link below) lays out some other of Santorum's stranger views, including the one that women shouldn't work outside the home, saying it is a ""sad situation" created by "radical feminists" who undermined the traditional family by "convincing women that professional accomplishments are the key to happiness."" Oh, really? While I agree that it would wonderful if all children could have a stay-at-home mom, the truth is that many families can't survive, much less thrive, on one income anymore, especially with the demise of the traditional pension and more of more of the cost of health care being shunted to the worker instead of the employer. Not to mention, with the divorce rate over 50%, how does Santorum think women who end up divorced with several children to raise would be able to support them if not for the ability to be able to work at something other than a minimum wage job?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/campaigns/santorum-out-of-step-with-americans-even-most-of-gop-on-birth-control-some-other-issues/2012/02/17/gIQAw8bJJR_story.html

I think I know what's up with Rick Santorum, because I've seen this happen before. Many years ago a friend of mine, the last person in the world you would suspect this would happen to, up and sold everything he had and joined a religious cult. I'm serious as a heart attack when I tell you I think Santorum has the same kind of symptoms as someone who joins a cult, only in this case he is in a mainstream, accepted religion, although I don't know one Catholic out there who would agree with these bizarre views. Rick Santorum has let religion so twist his thinking that he has gone to an extreme that is obviously unacceptable in someone who wants to lead a country where religious freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution. He wants to live in a theocracy of his own making, a world where women are dependent on their husbands for everything, where they shouldn't be "allowed" to work at something they find personally fulfilling, where sex is only for procreation (yeah, that will go over well with voters), and where he wants to legislate via the Bible and the Vatican, which is clearly unconstitutional, not to mention un-American.

When religious fervor turns into irrationality, then it's time to seek help. Let me give you some advice, Mr. Santorum. The first thing you need to do is admit that your views have gone astray of rational thought, then you need to step down from the presidential campaign. Thirdly, seek some therapy to regain some balance and perspective in your life.

I'm guessing right about now the GOP is wondering why they didn't put more money and effort into a Jon Huntsman candidacy!

The Catholic Church's Assault on Women and Other Religions

I'm watching Morning Joe on MSNBC this morning, and while Joe Scarborough is usually fairly moderate, this time he is on the wrong side. He is defending the Catholic Church in their outrage that the Department of Health and Human Services has decreed women who work for Catholic schools and hospitals should get the same access to birth control that women who work for any other organization do.

This seems like common sense to me; after all, don't the Republicans want to wipe out unwanted babies and abortion? But the Catholic Church is crying foul because the Vatican has decreed that birth control is evil. Well, guess what, every Catholic I know is either on birth control or has already been snipped. The Vatican just refuses to acknowledge that fact. Even uber-Catholic right-wing Presidential candidate Rick Santorum and his wife use the so-called "rhythm" method, which in fact is a form of... birth control!

But this is more insidious... the Catholic Church has always refused to acknowledge that any other religion is valid. You only have to look at their bloody history for proof of that. So Joe Scarborough is defending the Church's right to discriminate against the Baptists they employ, the Methodists they employ, or anyone of a different religion at all. How is that defensible? I thought we had freedom of religion in this country. The Catholic Church wants to force women they employ who are of different religions to either pay for their own birth control instead of having it be covered by medical insurance, or have unwanted children. Nice.

My suggestion to the Vatican is this: if you want to discriminate against women of other religions (as well as Catholic women who take birth control on the sly), why don't you employ only men and women who are past menopause? Problem solved.