The problem with being the anti-Romney candidate du jour is that you have to actually be a better candidate than Romney.
Which shouldn't actually be all that hard, but the reality of the Republican party today is that it is nevertheless pretty much impossible.
What Republican party? They consist of a bunch of "good losers" (i.e. Bob Dole, John McCain) or tragic winners (Bush, Bush II, etc.).
and then there is this... http://news.yahoo.com/santorum-win-michigan-could-chaos-republicans-200209608.html
Meh. Romney will be the nominee. Santorum's making a last ditch effort to appeal to the ultracrazy religious fundamentalists, thinking they might save his ass. What he doesn't yet realize is that the GOP only talks about JesusLand, they have no intention of following through. It would be political suicide. Still, it gets the votes so they trot it out every election. The crazy ones can get elected for a short time, but after they've tried to turn their constituency into a mini-Iran, they're usually booted out. Santorum is desperate, and at this point I wouldn't be surprised at anything he said. If he stated tomorrow that he was going to force Creationism into every science class in the country, and then burn witches, I'd take it in stride. He's one of the few ball players left standing here in Fundytown Stadium, he's got his sights set on the bleachers, and he's coming out swinging.
What I find interesting about this is that back in 2004 a lot of people credited the high turnout of social conservatives (the buzzword then was "values voters") with tipping the balance in favor of Bush in tightly contested states. Now just 8 years later Santorum is pimping the same message and its seen as political poison. What happened?
I think Bush's win had way more to do with fact that even Dems weren't completely stoked about Kerry as President. He ran because Hilary assumed an '08 victory would be hers. The Dems half-assed the '04 election, just like the GOP is half-assing this one. I'm pretty sure neither Romney nor Sactorum will beat Obama.
Whelp, people called me paranoid when I said the religious reich's endgame was essentially a Christian Taliban. Well, from the horses mouth...there you go. Course, it's what they want, if they'll get it is another matter entirely. That they want it ought to send chills up your spine, though.
You're right, Diacanu!!! Its all there. Sanatorum clearly stated that he wants to have public executions in soccer stadiums for violations of religious law.
I Dunno. Santorum scares me to death, but unless I'm totally misunderstanding either he or Kennedy, I have to agree with him just this once. Here's the Kennedy quote Santorum was talking about. I have a problem with the bolded parts. I agree with the separation of Church and State, but I'm not sure that I agree that it should be absolute to the point that the clergy would not be allowed to speak their mind to their own congregation.
Because clergy can't talk about politics without invoking eternal peril. They're brainwashed to do it, you know, it's one of the first things covered at orientation at seminaries.
Nor do I. If, by some horrible, unthinkable turn of events,* I were to become an elected official, I would use all the tools available to me in order to do the best job I could. Someone arbitrarily deciding "No, you can't use this or this because someone might disagree with you!" would hamper me. *insert "Peanuts" cartoon strip here
I don't go to church, so that's not a problem for me. But if someone doesn't want to hear it, then maybe they should go to another church.
JFK made me sick too, but only because his pure machismo radiated through the decades. He was the most powerful man in the world at the time. Full stop. He was plowing the hottest First Cooter since Dolley Madison, Marilyn Monroe, and God knows who else. All with chronic back pain from his ordeal in the The War. He did more in three years, while hopped up on enough pain meds to kill a herd of horses, than most Presidents do in eight. Then, Johnson had to go and screw it all up. But, that's the topic of another thread.
Off the top of my head? Other officials, advisors, staff, reference material (encyclopedias, polls, government publications, and so on), and my own experience. And like it or not, faith is part of that experience, just as science, personal relations, communications, and other parts of life are. Would I go through my entire term of office basing every decision on what would Jesus do? No, because the first thing Jesus would have done is avoid getting elected to public office. But I wouldn't box up a significant part of who I am 24/7 just because some people think that, as part of the state, I should be absolutely separated from anything that gives them the willies.
