Rick Santorum Preaches Fantasy on the Campaign Trail

A recent Pew Research poll asks how voters' impressions are changing as the Republican nomination contest drags on. Thirty-one percent of all voters – including 29 percent of independents – said their views of the candidates were only getting worse. Only 18 percent said their impressions were improving.

And why not? As the candidates continue talking – and talking, and talking, and talking – the sheer fantasies and inaccuracies that blanket their beliefs become more and more blatant. Nancy Pelosi got it right when it came to the issue of contraception – sometimes, all you can say is "duh."

Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney do not seem to agree on much. But both picked the same issue at their respective campaign rallies that they believe is the biggest and most significant of this campaign: not the economy, not peace in the Middle East, but Obamacare.

Imagine: a president signs a plan that ensures all have access to health care, lowers everyone's costs, and allows those with preexisting conditions to seek care – and that is why he must be removed. Frankly, if that's the best these guys can come up with, I'd say the President is looking pretty good.

Santorum and Romney also attempted – quite embarrassingly – to take the Declaration of Independence hostage. They both claimed that our rights are not given to us by our government, but instead by our "Creator." I'm all for religious freedom, but I have not yet met someone who gets Social Security checks from God. What the two leading Republican candidates are asking for is anarchy – no government at all – because some greater power, they believe, is certain to provide for us.

Playing off that "big-government" narrative, Santorum then spoke of the many people currently receiving checks from the government. "In Obama's eyes," according to Santorum, "that's a success."

I cannot conceive of something more inaccurate or, frankly, offensive. The fact is, President Obama has not caused more people to receive welfare. It is simply what happens when the economy gets this bad – the same would be true if Santorum were president. To suggest that the President is somehow happy with the current situation is evidence that Santorum has either not been paying attention or is just plain lying. Mr. Obama has worked tirelessly to bring down unemployment – with some success – and effectively averted a depression with his stimulus plan and auto bailout – two things, by the way, that both Santorum and Romney oppose.

But according to Romney, the President has not yet come up with a plan to "make America more competitive and add more jobs." Forgive me, but is he talking about the same Obama that has created the most manufacturing jobs since the 90s? Is this the same Obama who passed a stimulus plan and currently has another plan, the American Jobs Act, stalled by Republicans in Congress? 

It also bears mention that there is a rather frightening sentiment growing in the Republican Party. At Romney's campaign rally, there were constant chants of "USA! USA!" And Santorum says we should not have a president who ever "apologizes for America." Patriotism is good, but it serves no purpose to suggest that the U.S. is always right. In fact, we make many mistakes, and we will never improve if we fail to realize or acknowledge those areas where we can improve.

So that's what we face, America. Come a year from now, we may be living in a world where everyone having health care is unacceptable, God administers Medicare, and our government sits and watches as society's demons consume us all.

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