Rick Santorum, the typical Tea Party/Republican Contradiction

Rick Santorum is the perfect example of everything that is wrong with the Tea Party/Republican, Christian conservative leaders. Rick, like most of the other leaders in his party, seems to be unaware that he is not permitted to treat the teachings of God and His Son, Christ Jesus, like elective classes at a college or university. He seems to be unaware that he doesn’t have the authority to accept only those teaching that can further his political career, while rejecting the remaining teachings that Tea Party/Republican members might find unfavorable. God and His Son, Christ Jesus, expect Their followers to accept Their teachings in its entirety: They expect us to obey all Their laws, and to live our lives by practicing and promoting all Their policies. Santorum is either sinfully selective in accepting/rejecting Christian teachings, or he is unfortunately unaware of this Christian requirement. (Many experts think it’s the former.)


Additionally, however, there are two supplementary issues that compound Santorum’s problem as a Roman Catholic American leader, who makes the claim that he believes and practices his faith: First, Santorum’s positions on the majority of social and economic issues oppose the positions of the Roman Catholic bishops and the Roman Catholic Church. These issues include the American death penalty; American involvement in Middle East ― particularly as it relates to war, nation building, and collateral damage; the social injustice and disproportionate incarceration of people of color; the reduction of entitlements (food, shelter, health care, etc.) for the poor and elderly; and the increasing number of Americans living in poverty. And second, Santorum’s political actions often contradict and hamper the accomplishment of his Christian goals. For example, he is a pro-lifer, who is against contraceptives and abortion. Yet, the sum total of his political actions on social issues makes it more difficult for a woman to bring a child into the world, provide for the child, and receive medical care for herself and her child. It is as if he doesn’t understand that these issues and the use of contraceptive and abortion are inseparable. It is as if he doesn’t understand that these issues are central in the mind of women, who are trying to decide weather or not they should bring children into the world. Most importantly, it appears that he doesn’t understand that the women, who are most concern with these issues, are women who are aware that they will be giving birth to children with disabilities. And this is ironic, but typical of everything that is wrong with Tea Party/Republican Christian values!