SOME KEY REASONS FOR REJECTING ONE SPECIFIC REPUBLICAN AS A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

This is only a small nutshell of political and social reasons for looking elsewhere for a "real" conservative presidential candidate.

...Conservative columnist and FOX Contributor, Mr. Charles Krauthammer

Well, the conservative writer Charles Krauthammer has done it again.

Oh, I know, you´re probably saying, "There he goes again, going after Krauthammer." Well, yes, you would be right, but this latest editorial shot at Mr. K-Hammer is not without due cause.

For an appropriate explanation, let´s just read what Mr. K-Hammer wrote this last week and let´s take a guess as to who he is writing about...?

"...he isn´t just the last man standing. He is the first challenger to be plausibly presidential: knowledgeable, articulate, experienced, of stable character and authentic ideology.

He´d been ignored largely because he appeared unelectable. However, he [has] shed the loser label and [now] seizes the momentum, meaning millions of dollars´ worth of free media to make up for his lack of money. He´s got the stage to make his case, plus the luck of a scheduling quirk: If he can make it through the next three harrowing primaries, the (relative) February lull would allow him to build a national campaign structure before Super Tuesday on March 6."

Sounds pretty good doesn´t it? By listening to this introduction from Mr. K-Hammer, a true conservative might think, "Wow, here is someone I can vote for that makes sense and that isn´t a raving ya-hoo."

But, the reality is that Mr. K-Hammer is giving his personal recommendation and description of the two term, former Pennsylvania Senator, Rick Santorum.

Yes, the same Rick Santorum that after two terms in the US Senate, was voted out of office in 2007 by the largest margin of defeat for an incumbent senator since 1980. Santorum lost by over 700,000 votes, receiving 41.3% of the vote to his opposition´s 58.7%. It was also the largest losing margin ever for an incumbent Republican. And this rejection was imposed by those that knew him best. The voters of his own state of Pennsylvania.

Here are some other facts about Mr. K-Hammer´s "not-so-great" candidate offering for the next potential American Chief Executive:

>>> Mr. Santorum advocates for a more family values oriented society centered on monogamous, heterosexual relationships, marriage, and child-raising. He is pro-life and opposes same-sex marriage. He says he is not "anti-gay", but is against virtually all issues or proposals that would support any type of same-sex union or partnership.

>>> As a senator, Santorum sought to amend the "No Child Left Behind" bill to include a provision affecting the teaching of evolution. According to Santorum, his goal was that students studying evolution should hear "competing scientific interpretations of evidence," including "such alternative theories as intelligent design". The bill´s provision came to be known as the "Santorum Amendment". The amendment "was hailed by anti-evolution groups as a major victory and criticized by most scientific organizations".

>>> In 2005, Santorum sponsored the Iran Freedom and Support Act, which appropriated millions of dollars aimed at regime change in Iran. However, Santorum voted against the Lautenberg Amendment, which would have prevented companies like Halliburton from doing business within Iran. He also incorrectly stated that at the time, Iran was at the center of "much of the world's conflict".

>>> Per Mr. K-Hammer: "Santorum did win the Tea Party vote in Iowa. But because he was such a long shot, his record did not receive much scrutiny. It will now. He is no austere limited-government constitutionalist. He participated in George W. Bush´s compassionate conservatism. Santorum, defends all earmarks [such as the "bridge-to-nowhere]" and supported the [unpaid-for, no drug price negotiation] Medicare prescription drug benefit."

>>> Mr. Santorum almost won the 2012 Iowa Caucus because the Iowa Republican electorate is disproportionately evangelical and thus highly receptive to Santorum´s very strict social conservatism.

>>> As president, Mr. Santorum would most likely get rid of the Department of Education and instead would be in support of Home Schooling as has been the circumstance with his own six children.

>>> In a bizarre unfortunate situation in 1996, the Santorum's son Gabriel was born prematurely and he died two hours later. Wife, Karen Santorum and Rick brought the deceased infant´s body home from the hospital and introduced it to their children as "your brother Gabriel". The deceased child´s body was not returned to the hospital until the next day.

>>> Santorum traveled to Rome to speak at a centenary celebration of the birth of Saint Josemaria Escriva, founder of the highly controversial Catholic Opus Dei organization. In an interview with the National Catholic Reporter while in Rome, Santorum said that the distinction between private religious conviction and public responsibility, espoused by US President John F. Kennedy, had caused "great harm in America".

>>> Santorum said that, if elected, he would call upon Iran to open its facilities to international inspection and begin to dismantle them, and that if Iranian leaders did not comply, he would bomb the weapons sites. (Another potential GOP sponsired war in the middle-east?)

>>> Santorum rejects the mainstream scientific opinion on climate change, having referred to it as "junk science". He also embraces common threads of the global warming conspiracy theory, believing that global warming is a "beautifully concocted scheme" by the political left and "an excuse for more government control of your life".

>>> Mr. Santorum has a stated policy of "drill everywhere" for oil and that there is "enough oil, coal and natural gas to last for centuries".

>>> In 2008, Santorum expressed support for McCain, citing Sarah Palin as a step in the right direction: "Knowing McCain, he's choosing someone in whom he sees a lot of himself...He tries to find people who have a similar head as he does, and if he sees himself in [Palin]...that gives me a better feel for him and a little more confidence in him".

>>> In 2011 Santorum said Senator John McCain, who was tortured as a Vietnam prisoner of war and is "against the US using Water-Boarding", "[McCain] did not understand how enhanced interrogation works".

Is there now any wonder why I once again went after Mr. K-Hammer´s ideas?

Copyright G.Ater 2012

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