Rick Santorum #fundie

Rick Santorum #fundie thinkprogress.org

During a town hall meeting in Ottumwa, Iowa Friday afternoon, Rick Santorum argued that Americans receive too many government benefits and ought to “suffer” in the Christian tradition. If “you’re lower income, you can qualify for Medicaid, you can qualify for food stamps, you can qualify for housing assistance,” Santorum complained, before adding, “suffering is part of life and it’s not a bad thing, it is an essential thing in life.”

156 comments

old comment by whatever

Right, this is the solution. Bring Santorum to the UK, take away his passport and all his cash and bank cards. Allocate him a flat in a deprived part of Leeds or Bradford. Leave him to hunt for work or apply for benefit, and watch how he gets on. But don't stop there. Leave him in that situation for five years. He has to learn to survive in that situation with no outside help allowed. He has to sink or swim... for FIVE years.

Then, and only then, after the five years are up, should he ever be allowed to tell people what help they should or should not receive.

I was in this position (thankfully not in Leeds or Bradford) for close to five years.

old comment by Horsefeathers

"During a town hall meeting in Ottumwa, Iowa Friday afternoon, Rick Santorum argued that Americans receive too many government benefits and ought to “suffer” in the Christian tradition."

So, you went home and eBay'd all of your shit and gave the money to charity, right?

No. Didn't think so. Even though your Christ explicitly told you to do so.

"If 'you’re lower income, you can qualify for Medicaid, you can qualify for food stamps, you can qualify for housing assistance,' Santorum complained, before adding, 'suffering is part of life and it’s not a bad thing, it is an essential thing in life.'"

Obviously you've never actually tried to sign up for any of those options. Each of those has so many fucking loopholes to get out of paying people that actually need the service that it's not even funny.

And when the hell are you going to start "suffering," Ricky? Go sell all of your shit like your God-man told you to and give the money to the poor like a good Christian and then we'll talk.

old comment by Canadiest

Yet everytime one of these right-wing Christian asses gets in the one way funding to churchs goes up. Billions are lost every year to the tax-free status of churchs but when the religious are holding seats they funnel many more billions into church restoration and improvements.

It's no secret that Santorum complains about goverment aid programs but the lesser spoke of plan (by him, Palin, Huckabee and their fundie ilk)has no intention of saving taxpayers a nickel, they want to merely put that money in the hands of the church.

This happened after Katrina. It wasn't that Bushs Washington didn't release emergency funds, it's that they gave it to church groups who simply kept it. Oh I'm pretty sure they kicked a bunch back to right-wing Republican canidates and urged their flocks to vote the enablers in.

old comment by Brendan Rizzo

Oh just FUCK OFF, Santorum! In any decent, civilized country you'd have been laughed off the stage years ago! I hate you. Hate you hate you hate you hate you hate you, and all of your comrades! If the word "hate" were engraved ten million times on every atom in the universe, it would not equal one quintillionth of the hatred I have for Republicans and Teabaggers (but what's the difference?) right now. At least I like them more than Ronald E. Williams... but that's like comparing a giant douchebag to a turd sandwich.

I hate the fact that they're ruining my country so much that I think I'm gonna scream. Loudly from the rooftops, scream that Headache was absolutely right about positively everything! The American public are inherently inferior to the European, Canadian, and Australian publics in every way imaginable! But the American electorate brazenly votes against its own interests again and again and again! Every single time WITHOUT FAIL! The fundies are now openly saying that they wish to maximize suffering in the world! In any civilized country, politicians who say that would never get any rank higher than city councilman, if that! Their right-wingers are the laughingstocks of their countries and never get more than a single-digit number of representatives in their governing bodies! All of them have manifestly-better social plans and education than the United States! No matter how many times people in more liberal parts of the US vote against these fundies, they still manage to get great victories EVERY SINGLE TIME! Politicians who would be right at home in Nazi Germany or the Confederate States of America get elected to Congress and state legislatures again and again and again! Liberals can never ever win! Any policy even slightly left of Reagan gets so slashed and altered that it's less than useless! Remember back when Obamacare would have FINALLY given us a European-style healthcare program? Well the evil that is the Republican Party couldn't have that, nosiree, so they watered it down so much that there is absolutely no change from how it was before Obama got into office! I hate these guys SO MUCH! Especially since they'll probably never go away, no matter how much people vote against them! The Democrats are spineless pussies and the Republicans are cackling supervillains! Do you not SEE the problem here? If the word "envy" were engraved ten million times on each atom in the universe, it would not equal one quintillionth of the envy I feel towards those of you who live outside America! You NEVER have to deal with this crap ever in your lives! The best time ever to live in the USA was in the year 1968. It's been going downhill ever since. When I'm an old man, it'll probably be a Third World country or worse. If this keeps up, then I will rage-quit the United States as soon as I can afford it!

AFJDNBAJBWJE AJFKDBVNJKSD AASFDVVASDKJV!!!!!

old comment by Skatepunk

... and you wonder why you are so damn low in the Republican polls?

Government benefits exist to prevent people from DYING!

Another thing, Ricky: if you believe Americans recieve too many benefits and should "suffer" in the "Christian" tradition, does that mean you find Western Europe satanic?

Still not convinced? Then why did Jesus encourage people to help the poor? Are you against Jesus? Was Christ not Christian enough for you?

@ Xotan

Most of us don't. Which is WHY Santorum is so low in the polls. Even Republicans Have Standards.

@Doctor Whom

> : D

@ Brendan Rizzo

I know you are frustrated, but please chill. Call me idealistic, but after hearing about compromise being thwarted by the Republican "pledge" to NOT COMPROMISE at all, it looks like a blue, blue 2012. I hope.

What I'm trying to say is that there is less than a year until the election. It is too soon to give up hope. Either the Dems will win or the 2012 apocalypse will happen. Maybe both.

Just one year. After that you can give up hope.

old comment by whatever

Having just watched a short clip of an interview with Santorum, I can honestly say he is one of the most immoral and evil people I've ever encountered in a Western political system. To think the U.S. fought Hitler and Hirohito, faced the might of Soviet Russia, toppled Saddam and took out Osama Bin Laden... and now the people of America are prepared to vote for an asshat like this... I cannot believe what I see. And if Santorum wasn't bad enough, you have Cain and Bachmann also hoping for the top job.

Obama has his second term on a silver platter as far as I'm concerned. Or at least I hope he does, for the sake of world sanity and stability.

old comment by checkmate

@whatever

And if Santorum wasn't bad enough, you have Cain and Bachmann also hoping for the top job

The Republican candidates either really believe what they say or they're just catering to the far right wingers.

Is that just to get the nomination? Elections are won in the middle. Either their campaign advisors are all in the John Birch Society or they're totally nuts.

I believe they're completely over-estimating the fundamentalist/far right/arch-conservative potential at the polls. Come national election time, I don't see the swing voters going for the radical goofy crap. I see the nutjobs like Bachmann & Co. choking on their own delusions of conservative grandeur, while the swing voters cast their ballots for the mainstream.

Good. Obama gets four more and his health care plan will have time to catch. Once people realize that they can afford good medicine, the poorer conservative saps won't cheer about it's being killed off by some multi-millionaire fundie asshole.

Who do the Republicans in the Senate think they're fooling? I think the swing voters are starting to get fed up with them.

old comment by J. James

@aaa

There is something to that whole "cartoon villain" thing, I believe.

Some among us have noted that Santorum is unpopular in the extreme, even while people like Perry, Bachmann, Cain and Newt have all flourished then floundered in the spotlight. With the notable exception of Saint Ron Paul, he has been the only one completely neglected without reservation by the base. For practical purposes let's discount the like of Rohmer, Huntsman and The Rent is Too Damn High Guy, although Santorum seems to be doomed to languish with the likes of them forever.

Why the fuck is that? On paper, it's an absolute mystery. Santorum should be vastly more popular than he is now- at least beating ROMNEY, of all people- and yet he hovers at a tenuous 3%. What the shit has he done wrong!?

Well, technically, nothing. His Conservative record is nigh unimpeachable- he is the rare flower that reflects absolutely every reactionary party line, without souring deviations like Perry's lack of heartlessness to Immigrants and children's health, Newt's past environmentalism, or Romney's EVERYTHING. He's the One. Why, why, why won't they accept him!? The answer, I believe, is this: Santorum makes the Conservatives uncomfortable about themselves. He's the epitome of "Be careful what you wish for." He's like a mirror that reflects the Ugly of conservatism, unnerving the conservatives themselves. They can't bear to see the embodiment of their ideals, because it scares them to see what they really are without any reservations or self-delusion. Cartoon villain, indeed.

old comment by Zeus Almighty

@ Tempus

"And how have YOU suffered, mister Santorum?"

He's suffered greatly. He can't even pay to keep his web site above one that equates him to anal sex. Oh, the humanity!
(Reminds me, I need to Google "Santorum" to keep him up on the top).

@ Anon-e-moose

"Just watch (P)Ricky-boy here suffer as his poll rating goes down the crapper, as a result of his 'speaking his mind' here ..."

No, no, no. Talking like this is the best way to get his poll numbers up in that joke of a party. Rick Perry showed compassion by mandating shots to prevent cervical cancer and allowed "illegals" to go to college and it hurt him among the voters of the Insane Klown Posse that is the Republican "base."

old comment by SpukiKitty

Uh, Rick.....

MATTHEW 25:31-46 (KJV)
31.) When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32.) And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33.) And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34.) Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35.) For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36.) Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37.) Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38.) When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39.) Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
[TO BE CONTINUED...]

old comment by SpukiKitty

[CONTINUED]
40.) And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41.) Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42.) For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43.) I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44.) Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45.) Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46.) And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

....How'ya like them apples, Mr. Frothy The Little Goat-Boy?

old comment by whoanelly

So the elderly should have to suffer through illness because they can't have Medicare? Or children should go to bed hungry because they don't have food stamps? Fuck you.

This sounds a lot like "let them eat cake", Rick. And remember, things didn't end well for Marie Antoinette.

@whatever: Eh. . . Obama will have to contend with Mitt Romney, who will probably get the nomination. He's a conservative, but not crazy enough to put people off. And since people are understandably frustrated with he economy, if things don't get better they might voice that frustration by voting for Romney. Right now I'm just hoping for a surprise third party candidate to a split the vote and hand Obama a second term.

@ J. James: Exactly.

old comment by J. James

@whoanely

Third party, you say...? Hmmm. At first, I was thinking that that'll never happen. But then I remembered someone: Dr. St. Prof. Ron Paul, AKA Jesus. He's unpredictable, if anything, and his followers(Acolytes? Cultists?) would follow him into the afterlife of they could.

I kinda doubt he would fuck over his adopted party like that, though. It's very possible, however, that a situation like the Greens unknowingly costing Gore the election could pop up.

But I think that Obama is in a much stronger position than you would believe, and, barring some catastrophe, I'm confident he can win reelection of his own merits, regardless of the opponent(s). After all, despite the panic and Apocalyptic rhetoric, he's actually been an okay president, if a bit indolent, mostly due to that fucking disgrace that used to be called "Congress."

old comment by Skyknight

Brendan Rizzo: I think the problem we're seeing is tribalism, combined with a semi-solipsistic inability to see any valid form of success save the ones immediately known. In this case, the sharp-line right are pretty much defining themselves and worth entirely in terms of static traditions (i.e. "family values"). What does it matter if they don't have much income, when they can make up for it by basking in the glory of an unsurpassed-in-might America? They see themselves, with or without weal, as existing FOR THE SAKE OF old-time tradition, and thus the authority of God.

The trick is to get them to realize that glory is not its own purpose.

old comment by checkmate

@Skyknight

What does it matter if they don't have much income, when they can make up for it by basking in the glory of an unsurpassed-in-might America? They see themselves, with or without weal, as existing FOR THE SAKE OF old-time tradition, and thus the authority of God.

Yes, and that is part of why low-income Mid-Westerners voted for Bush in the second term, although he was the one who was ostensibly out to screw them over as best he could.

This is also part of the reason that those same people are so vehemently opposed to the Obama style health care plan, although they are the ones who are going to profit the most from it.

My hope is that a second term for Obama will let the health care package ripen enough that those low income voters will have time to start tasting the sweetness of the plan's benefits. Once that happens, the reactionary Republicans will find themselves in trouble when they try to kill it off while expecting praise for doing so.

old comment by J.C.

It's not the governments business to FORCE people to donate to the poor.
Jesus told his followers to do it as individual charity..
Jesus was NOT running a government,or FORCING people to donate through stealing their money via taxation.
In a free country people should not have the government STEAL the money they earn to give it to some individual who hasn't EARNED it.
That should be an individual choice,an act of kindness and charity.
Governments are supposed to use our taxes in a way that benefits ALL of us,such as police and military.
Charity begins with family and Church.NOT governments.THATS why europeon socialism is wrong.
America is different,it's up to the individual to look after himself,NOT the government.
You don't like it?
There's a plane leaving every hour for Europe.

old comment by J. James

@J.C.
Your words are awfully telling. Let's look into them, shall we...?

"America was founded on the princples of individual reaponsibilty and initiative."

Are you aware of what that entails? The founders-great but mortal men- believed in those ideals, sure. But do you know how they set about accomplishing those things? Liberty. Rights. Freedom. They believed more than anything in a person's rights. The right to LIFE. LIBERTY. THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. Are those empty words to you? Life- the right not to die in the streets from preventable illnesses, or suffer pregnancy complications that could have been averted with abortion. Liberty- the right to do what you want, marry who you want, believe what you want with no interference from Big Brother. The Pursuit of Happiness- that means equal opportunities for ALL people, regardless of wealth or station. These are what allow personal initiative to exist.

"Jesus was NOT running a government,or FORCING people to donate through stealing their money via taxation."

I could not give less of a fuck what Jesus was doing. He may not have been running a government, BUT WE FUCKING ARE!! Get with the fucking millennium, please!

old comment by J. James

@J.C.
(continued)
"Governments are supposed to use our taxes in a way that benefits ALL of us,such as police and military."

Oh, my. First, taxes are theft... Now, they're just for the police and the military. How very very telling. I'm not even going to get into the whole "what's best for all of us" thing, OWS to the contrary, no. There's a more worrying theme to this. Police and military, what are they, exactly? Protection. Do you know why people like you are so obsessed with obscene amounts of protection? It's because they're "protecting" things that ought not be protected. Police- sure, they're great, but arbiters of justice they are not. Police enforce the social order, and punish those doomed by their society. They allow rampant poverty from turning into rampant crime- isn't that great? But in doing so, we allow ourselves to ignore the rampant poverty which is the very root of the problem. And the Military- that vast, rapacious creature that feeds on the paranoia it creates about absurd scenarios with China or North Korea or Iran. They "protect" us, or at least that's what they're intended to do. But now it seems like it just wants to create more problems for us abroad so that it can grow, grow, grow, like an arsonist firefighter. It's so huge, so far beyond that hollow jingoistic role of "protection", that it's become something ugly and wrong. This obsession with "protection" is not just fucked up, it's downright dystopian.

I love my country. And I will not sit quietly while sick fucks like you turn it into a cold, heartless Police State straight out of Orwell's and Ayn Rand's nightmares.

old comment by capello moderno

J.C. emulation:

..Charity begins with me waararghhhaarrrbling in CAPS about it. U don't like it? THEN leave!! USA, USA, USA, USA..

George Lakoff wrote a book called "Moral Politics: How liberals and conservatives think".

It is almost as if J.C. is an imitation of the dominant father morality, Lakoff argues is the typical moral centre of conservative thought.

It goes like this: Best quality in the world: Self-reliance.

This is why J.C. and Santorum doesn't care about the poor: no-one should get anything, they haven't earned - that would be bad for self-discipline (both that of the receiver and others). Self-reliance ranks higher than empathy, justice, etc.
The big difference is this: since the free market is (inanely) seen to be just an extension of natural laws, it always appears to the conservative as if the rich deserve what they have, and the poor deserve what they have, which is nothing.

Funny how they manage to twist the Jesus business to fit this model. Instead of: Jesus prolly would'a thought that the welfare of the poor is more important than the way in which it is provided (welfare or charity), they go for: taxes = stealing...

that's why social democrats are a lot more 'Jesuish' than J.C.-type conservative.

old comment by Often Partisan

@ Brendan Rizzo "If the word "envy" were engraved ten million times on each atom in the universe, it would not equal one quintillionth of the envy I feel towards those of you who live outside America! You NEVER have to deal with this crap ever in your lives!"

I live in Britain. It isn't as whackjob neoliberal as America though Thatcher, Blair, Brown and Cameron have tried their hardest to make it that way. If the NHS did not exist & if it was floated today in Britain it would be laughed out of town. The only reason that it still exists is that it would have been electoral suicide to destroy it though they have still ruined a lot of it with privatisation...
The only difference in Britain is we don't get the religious bullshit like this lovely quite above.

old comment by Tommy Dick

Oh fuck you! Are you seriously suggesting that we let people suffer because it will make them stronger? It is the duty of anybody to alleviate the suffering of others, you fucking son a bitch! What the fuck is wrong with you? You don't have a fucking clue what it's like to be poor. I'm going to be honest: if it weren't for "entitlement programs," me and my family would have been homeless when I was a kid. My mom had two jobs and my dad payed child support a grand total of never. When my mom hurt her back and lost both her jobs, things got tough (they were tough before, but still). I'm not asking for pity. The point of this story is to show you some fucking perspective. My experiences made me who I am today, but you know what? If I could, I would have changed them for the better. Why? Because no one deserves to suffer, you god-dammed asshole. Got find the biggest, fattest dick in the world and choke yourself to death with it.

old comment by

You first, Mr Santorum. Show us how this suffering is done, please. When you have no front teeth because you haven't been able to afford dentists for the past 25 years, when your kids have to walk to school in tattered clothes, because you can't afford new clothes, gasoline or a car, when you have to decide whether to eat this week or getting your 3-year-old antibiotic, then you can get back to us about too many government benefits and the need to suffer. OK?

I have no experience in this kind of suffering at all, as I live in a country with "socialized" medicine. But I can still imagine how horrible it would be to suffer like Mr Santorum thinks (other) people ought to. How come he can't?

old comment by Feral Dog

This quote managed to get back on the front page after my mom's unemployment was dropped from $600/month to about $400/month because she now gets $150/month of Social Security. For those keeping track, we lost $50 for no reason. She also lost her EBT card privileges because she gets more than $500/month in government assistance. Because that's totally enough money for a disabled woman with several dependents, right?
.
.
.
Hey Santorum, we're still suffering while on government assistance. How about you try it- you and your family can live in a three-bedroom house. You'll get $500/month, so will the wife. I'd like to see you try paying the bills and having enough leftover for when your daughter gets sick again.

Rick Santorum #fundie thinkprogress.org

156 comments

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