What can I tell you about Rick Santorum. Failed Presidential candidate, failed former Senator from Pennsylvania (lost his reelection by 19 points), much-hyped new weekly columnist for every wild-eyed subway hobo’s favorite conspiracy website, World Net Daily. Despite his numerous failings, Santorum can claim to be a very successful racist and all around crazy person. Mr. Santorum went on the Sunday talk shows to give his “expert analysis” on the political stories of the day. As usual, Rick never fails to impress.
Santorum lauded the current non-existent Republican push for immigration reform:
He stressed that President Obama and the Democrats would need to be willing to compromise with Republicans, though.
“They’re not willing to give the president everything he wants, because I think they believe the rule of law still matters in this country and that — and that we have to respect those who did it the right way, who waited in line, and did — and made sacrifices, and that they shouldn’t be treated the same as people who broke the law and came here,” he said.
Yes Rick. Lord knows that the Democrats have been entirely unwilling to compromise on immigration. It’s not like the Republicans stepped away from the DREAM Act as soon as the President said he wanted it enacted. Oh wait, that’s exactly what Republican Senators like Orin Hatch, Susan Collins, John McCain, Chuck Grassley, and Sam Brownback did. So people who previously voted for a bill, and in many cases, were original co-sponsors of said bill, suddenly decide to change their minds now that the President wants it passed, but somehow it’s the Democrats who should compromise? Right! I wish some of these wing-nuts would explain how it is one compromises with a party that doesn’t even agree with itself. But let’s delve further into the insanity of the first part of this quote.
The obvious implication that one can draw is that Republicans still believe in the rule of law is that the President somehow does not. This is modern Republican party in microcosm. We have now come to point where the President will propose to the Republicans their own ideas yet that’s not conciliatory enough. So the President proposes a piece of progressive legislation and the Republicans disagree. A political battle ensues. That I totally understand. But what I don’t understand is when the President proposes not just moderate legislation but the very ideas that Republicans themselves proposed (sometimes just months ago) why there is disagreement. Why is that a source of political battle? Talk about not taking yes for an answer. It’s not even giving in to the President. It’s simply agreeing with themselves. But they can’t do it. Nor can they see how petty and/or crazy that makes them. But Santorum was just getting warmed up.
“There’s not a single Republican up on Capitol Hill who believes he wants to get it done. They all believe … he will put a measure that the Republicans can’t accept and then blame Republicans and then continue to drive a wedge between Republicans and Hispanics.”
OK, so according to Santorum, not one Republican believes that Obama wants to do anything on immigration. That’s odd. I seem to remember him outlining it as a priority of his second term, to say nothing of the executive order he signed halting deportation of the DREAMers. So when the President says he going to try and enact legislation like say, health care reform, that’s an outrage. But another piece of legislation he’s pushing for should not be believed. This too is an outrage. As for driving a wedge between the Hispanic community and the Republicans, why would the President need to do that? You guys are already going gangbusters with the Latino outreach. I mean all of the major candidates favored the Arizona’s “papers please” SB1070. That’s a law that said that police could stop you in the streets and inquire about your immigration status if you “look like” an illegal immigrant. After all, nothing makes people feel more welcome in a political party then racial profiling. The entire Republican primary process was a contest to see who could be the most anti-immigrant. I may be fuzzy on the details at this point, but I believe that I recall a conversation during one of the early primary debates that went something like this:
Candidate 1: I want to build a fence that spans the entire Mexican border.
Candidate 2: I want the fence to have barbed wire and be electrified.
Candidate 3: I will dig a moat around that electrified fence and fill it with sharks with frikkin’ lasers on their heads.
Damn you Obama!! Why must you use your opponents’ own words and deeds against them? It’s simply ungallant. Speaking of ungallant, Santorom also disagreed with the way the President is handling the debt ceiling negotiations. Shocking, I know.
“That’s the problem with this administration,” he said. “They’re not very gracious winners. And I always said, you know, there’s one thing worse than a sore loser, and that’s a sore winner. And the president’s a sore winner.”
These people are simply amazing! Santorum and the rest have constructed an entire alternate reality where no matter how recalcitrant the Republicans behave, no matter how many times they say no to their very own ideas, no matter how many times they try to bring the American economy to the brink of disaster, it’s the President that’s being unreasonable. Sure, no other President in history has had to negotiate on the debt ceiling (no should they), but look at Obama being so high and mighty about it. I mean yeah the GOP are trying to run the American economy like it’s a coat on layaway they’re trying to pay off but why can’t the President just be more acquiescent to their crazy demands. I mean it’s almost as if these are horrible ideas he’s fighting against. Imagine that.
But this sort of alternate reality thinking has been going on for years now. Exactly fours years to be exact. Remember how the Republicans abused the filibuster to try and make it impossible for legislation to pass, for federal judges to be appointed, and for treaties to be signed. But somehow it’s President Obama that’s refusing to cooperate. Only in Santorum World (yes that is a disgusting place) can an entire party boldly pledge to do everything they can to thwart the President’s every accomplishment and then have the balls to call him ungracious. Clinton had it pretty bad back in the day what with the government shutdown and impeachment proceedings. But if Barack Hussein Obama discovered the cure for cancer, the GOP would put out a press release stating what an outrage it is that the President was trying to put the pharmaceutical companies out of business. Who does he think he is anyway? The entirety of Republican obstructionism can be summed up in one phrase: How dare he…They should just call him uppity and get it over with already.
But then this sort muddled thinking isn’t new to Rick Santorum. This is the man who once said that President Obama is a snob because he wants everyone to go to college. Let’s ignore the fact that President never said that. But if college is such an evil place that indoctrinates you, why does Rick Santorum have three degrees? He’s got a Bachelors, MBA, and a law degree. Apparently he’s also immune to irony. But its great to know that even when moderate Republican (the two that still exist anyway) voices or at least what counts for moderates these days, call on the party to be more sane towards women, Blacks, Latinos, and LGBT communities, we still have Rick Santorum. Who would stand up talk about the dangers of both contraception and gay marriage if not Rick Santorum? Who’s going to go to Iowa, a state that’s 95% white and talk about black welfare recipients if not Rick Santorum? (Besides Ann Coulter, of course.)
Of course the main difference between Ms Coulter and Mr Santorum is she’s just a random conservative personality cashing in on intolerance. He too is cashing in on intolerance. But this man was also very close to being the Republican standard bearer for the Presidency of the United States. So the real Santorum problem (again that just sounds icky) is not just a problem with Rick. This problem is this type of thinking is endemic to the Republican party as a whole — Santorum’s nonsensical ravings are not just tolerated, but encouraged and rewarded by his peers.
Good luck with all that, GOP.
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