Though the scientific proof for climate change is irrefutable, there are those who, either through ignorance, for political gain among uninformed voters, or to garner vast amounts of corporate funding from those who pollute and destroy the environment, are climate change deniers. To make a mockery of their lame protests against the reality of climate change, the organization Environmental Action gave out tin foil hats to legislators and others who reject reality and cling to their absurdity. Santorum came by his tin hat honestly. Here’s how:
“I refer to global warming as not climate science, but political science–a lot of these environmental sciences are just that–political sciences. They have nothing to do with…real understanding of how we have to value both the environment and its impact on man and the world.” Like much of what Santorum says, this line left me thinking, what’s wrong with him? And set me off to find a great line from the hilarious film “A Fish Called Wanda.” In a moment of exasperation Wanda, wonderfully played by Jamie Lee Curtis, screams at Otto (Kevin Klein), that, “Calling you stupid would be an insult to stupid people!”
I also felt encouraged to check out Rick Santorum’s other views. What follows includes some of my favorites among his myriad of fabrications, half-truths, misunderstandings and absurdities. They clearly do not add up to being presidential. He has little capacity for critical thinking, analysis and differentiating truth from fiction. Those factors, combined with the disjointed way he puts sentences together and his aversion to intelligent people could well jeopardize the welfare and the very future of America should he ever hold a position that puts him in direct contact with the important, passionate, powerful and, God forbid, intellectual array of leaders currently populating the world stage.
On the environment:
- "There is no such thing as global warming." (Hmmm)
- "There's a variety of factors that contribute to the earth warming and cooling, and to me this is an opportunity for the left to create—it's a beautifully concocted scheme because they know that the earth is gonna cool and warm." (It looks like the pope is in on the scam! How else do you explain the Vatican aiding the Obama administration during the Copenhagen climate talks in December 2009?)
On President Obama:
- President Barack Obama "has put (up) a stop sign…against oil drilling, against any kind of exploration offshore or in Alaska." (untrue)
- "Any child born prematurely, according to the president, in his own words, can be killed." (untrue)
- If elected President, "my first executive order would be to repeal ObamaCare."
- "President Obama said he wants everybody in America to go to college. What a snob!” (really?)
More on the Dangers of Education:
- "There are good, decent men and women who go out and work hard every day and put their skills to the test that aren’t taught by some liberal college professor trying to indoctrinate them."
- "I don’t know if it still holds true but I suspect it may even be worse—that 62 percent of kids who enter college with some sort of faith commitment leave without it."
- "I understand why he wants you to go to college. He wants to re-make you in his image."
On Euthanasia:
- "In the Netherlands, people wear different bracelets if they are elderly.... And the bracelet is: 'Do not euthanize me.' Because they have voluntary euthanasia in the Netherlands but half of the people who are euthanized—10 percent of all deaths in the Netherlands—half of those people are euthanized involuntarily at hospitals because they are older and sick. And so elderly people in the Netherlands don't go to the hospital. They go to another country, because they are afraid, because of budget purposes, they will not come out of that hospital if they go in there with sickness."
On Homosexuality:
- "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."
- "We have made the decision that the best way to raise a family is with a man and a woman."
- "[The] right to privacy…doesn't exist in my opinion in the United States Constitution." (Rick Santorum on the right to privacy)
On Islam & Israel:
- "A Democracy could not exist because Mohammed already made the perfect law. The Quran is perfect just the way it is. That’s why it is only written in Islamic." (Islamic?)
- "Israelis have the right to determine what happens in their land. And all of Israel, including the quote, you know, West Bank, is Israeli land."
On Women, Sex and Reproduction:
- "The reason Social Security is in big trouble is we don’t have enough workers to support the retirees. Well, a third of all the young people in America are not in America today because of abortion, because one in three pregnancies end in abortion."
- "I can’t imagine any other organization with its roots as poisonous as the roots of Planned Parenthood getting federal funding of any kind. This is an organization that was founded on the eugenics movement, founded on racism." (PP serves all races and Santorum should look up eugenics. It would be antithetical to PP. Maybe he should look up antithetical while he’s at it.)
- "[Sex] is supposed to be within marriage. It's supposed to be for purposes that are yes, conjugal… but also procreative. That's the perfect way that a sexual union should happen…. This is special and it needs to be seen as special.
- Contraception is "a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be."
- "If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery, you have the right to anything."
- "My concern is that being in combat in that situation [women in battle], instead of being focused on the mission, they might be more concerned about protecting a woman in a vulnerable position."
Some Things to Think About and Do:
- Use this as an opportunity to look at each of Santorum’s positions and get clear about what you believe in each area.
- If you don’t have a clear way to express yourself on each of these issue areas, take a little time to sit with them one by one and begin to get a true sense of how you feel and what you think about them.
- If and/or when you are clear, jot down some ideas and key words that you can use to support for your positions.
- Don’t keep your ideas to yourself. This is the right time to be out there championing the ideas and dreams you want to see become reality.
- Let the President and the people representing or wanting to represent you know as well.
