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                                                                     T H E  T E R R Y R E P O R T 2012

                                                                                 Facts first, logic always, truth before everything

The remarks below were made by former senator Rick Santorum on the campaign trail recently:

One of the things I will talk about that no President has  talked about before is I think the dangers of contraception in this  country, the whole sexual libertine idea. Many in the Christian faith  have said, “Well, that’s okay. Contraception’s okay.”

It’s not okay because it’s a license to do things in the sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be. They’re  supposed to be within marriage, they are supposed to be for purposes that are, yes, conjugal, but also [inaudible], but also procreative. That’s the perfect way that a sexual union should happen. We take any part of that out, we diminish the act. And if you can take one part out that’s not for purposes of procreation, that’s not one of the reasons, then you diminish this very special bond between men and women, so why  can’t you take other parts of that out? And all of a sudden, it becomes deconstructed to the point where it’s simply pleasure. And that’s certainly a part of it, and it’s an important part of it, don’t get me wrong,  but there’s a lot of things we do for pleasure, and this is  special, and it needs to be seen as special.

Again, I know most Presidents don’t talk about those things, and maybe people don’t want us to talk about those things, but I think  it’s important that you are who you are. I’m not running for preacher. I’m not running for pastor, but these are important public policy  issues. These how profound impact on the health of our society.

Here’s a link to the youtube video of Santorum’s remarks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN7WfIZh690&feature=player_embedded#!

Jennifer Rubin, a right wing writer who is carried in the Washington Post, hints that Santorum would be a guaranteed loss for the Republicans:

In short, Santorum on social issues is not a conservative but a  reactionary, seeking to obliterate the national consensus on a range of  issues beyond gay marriage and abortion.

A reactionary is one who seeks to return to a previous state of  affairs. It is not a conservative outlook, which in the Burkean sense  looks to people as they are, prefers modest over the radical solutions  and builds on the existing morals and habits of the society. It is  conservative to argue the president should respect and accommodate religious institutions; It is reactionary to go on a quest against contraception and pre-natal testing, both of which the vast majority of  Americans utilize or approve of.

Santorum is reactionary in his discomfort with women working outside the home (other than his own working mother, presumably), who he claims were bamboozled by greed or “radical feminists” into seeking fulfillment and equality in the workplace. He is reactionary in declaring that women in the military are fit only to “fly small planes,” but not take on the duties they have been assuming under battlefield conditions for years. He is reactionary in telling women (married ones, even!) that contraception is harmful to them.

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It is more than a little amusing to read a right wing columnist calling a Republican reactionary, because that is what many moderates and Democrats have seen the party as being all along. The energy, the force, the juice behind much of the political and social activism of the Republicans comes from a desire to return to simpler and presumably better times. This is usually disguised as something else, but as another person put it, sometimes the “conservative movement” comes off as nothing but a long, unending grouch against modern times. That’s reactionary, an emotion that goes looking for a reason, rather than careful thoughts that are turned into action.

Santorum’s recent statements can be seen as a frontal attack on the gains women have been over the last 40 yrs. in being accepted as full participants in American society. Even women who now call themselves conservative, who identify with the right wing, appreciate and understand the advantages that those changes have brought. They are not likely to accept any candidate who comes out and says he is unhappy about the transition American society has made. When rain starts falling up, they might change their minds. Santorum has really put his foot in it this time.

2011 and 2012 are the years when the Republicans have stopped beating around the bush and started talking about what they really mean. They were emboldened by the victories of 2010 and they believed, then and now, that the public was ready to embrace the full monty of Republican policies. Woe dilly, I think they are in for a surprise. Congressman Ryan led the way with his plan to cut more taxes on the wealthy, trim govt. spending radically, change Medicare and let deficits rise in the name of ending them, eventually.

We Americans are not radical. We might be confused, disoriented and have no clear idea what we want, but we don’t seek radical solutions, especially as a starting point. No matter how many hours people spend complaining and listening to screeching right wing radio, most people will select a more moderate course and are afraid of 180 degree turns, regardless of who proposes them. As the economy improves and some of the early controversies of the Obama administration fade a bit, it seems far more likely that the public will check the box that reads STEADY AS SHE GOES rather than try out huge changes in tax policy, business regulation, Medicare funding, Security structure, etc. There will always been a disgruntled vote, even one based on extreme unhappiness. The Republicans had a chance to ride that, packaged as the tea party Republicans, back into the White House. They seem to be doing an excellent job of destroying that opportunity.

Doug Terry, 2.21.12

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