It’s hard to remember a front-runner of a major political party’s presidential nomination who not only played the religious card, but essentially had no other cards in his deck. Rick Santorum doesn’t just want you to know he’s a Christian, that’s seemingly all he wants you to know. Not only that, but he is fanatically adamant that being a Christian would drive every decision he would make in The White House. [This week’s story that he claimed “Satan” had his sights set on America in 2008 in a thinly veiled reference to Obama only further showcases his preference of hocus pocus over real substance.]
Now sure we all know that the only way to get elected president in America today–unlike the founding fathers who were proud atheists, meaning America is in some ways more religious than it was two hundred years ago–is to pretend to be a Christian. Whether you’re Barack Obama, who has to fight back constant whispers that he’s a Muslim or the anti-Christ, or George W. Bush, who wore his evangelicalism on his sleeve (probably so he could remember how to spell it), presidential hopefuls now have to pay at least passing lip service to how religious they are. What separates Santorum from the rest of the panderers is that I have a feeling he really means it. At least, the intolerance for other religions and gay people part of it. And even if he doesn’t really mean it, I have a feeling that he’s now made so many religious promises to win over the far-right wing (which is now the whole bird) of the party, he couldn’t back down from those promises even if he wanted to.
Just this past week, he drew some raised eyebrows from anyone who’s never held an “Abortion is murder!!!’ protest sign by saying that Barack Obama has no “Christian” goals for this country and his administration isn’t leading in a Christian way. Well I think I speak for most atheists, agnostics, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Jews, moderate Christians, and even a few evangelicals when I say “What the hell does he mean by that?”
On the surface, this is yet more tired rhetoric about how Obama’s not a Christian. About how he’s really a Muslim or not religious either way (which I actually do believe), and isn’t “Christian” enough to lead this country. Yet, if you go deeper than that, it’s non-sense on even the surface level as Obama has led America in a Christian way by getting us out of an Iraq War, not prematurely invading Iran for something they might do, and for helping millions of Americans get health insurance.
Beyond the surface level, it’s saying that Santorum would somehow be more “Christian,” and he’s said just as much several times by saying he would only want a strict conservative (i.e. religious) cabinet, and would get his leadership cues from The Bible. [Imagine how helpful leading from a single book would be when faced with the Libya crisis or spiking oil prices.] But what disturbs me isn’t just that Santorum wants to obliterate church and state by practicing a Theocracy, it’s that he practices a selective Theocracy.
In his Theocracy, The Bible says abortion is wrong and gay marriage is an abomination, but what about taking care of the environment (which The Bible mentions literally dozens of times as protecting God’s creation)? Santorum is less than nowhere on global warming or environmental policies stemming pollution, even mocking candidates who do want to do something about it. What about The Bible saying to take care of the sick and poor? When Santorum’s not talking about abortion or gay marriage, he can’t stop railing against “Obamacare” or “socialized medicine” which is just medicine for people that aren’t millionaires like him. [You’d think someone that almost lost his daughter but could afford outstanding medical care would be more sympathetic to those that can’t.] And what about The Bible’s most frequently mentioned idea, giving to the poor? Although Santorum acknowledges that people are poor in America–which makes him an economic liberal compared to Romney–his prescription is more Reaganomics where the top gets tax breaks and the actual working class gets nothing. Also Rick has been vehement in wanting to cut government money for, call the hypocrisy police, poor people!
I can’t get behind Santorum’s selective, hypocritical Theocracy. And I’m even tempted to call him a Theo-crite.