Opinions Editor
It’s easy to lose interest in the Presidential election race. Coverage has been ongoing for months. It often seems to be the same. There are more pressing needs to be dealt with on a day-to-day basis. But in the past couple of weeks, there have been developments in the Presidential race that demands that anyone who is interested in the future of this country sit up and take notice.
The newest challenger for the Republican nomination is Rick Santorum. The news that this former Pennsylvania senator is challenging former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in the polls may not seem like a big deal. Anyone who has paid attention to the nomination process over the past couple of months knows that candidates have surged in the polls only to fall out of favor. Romney has been the most consistent candidate, with the other candidates chasing him over the preceding months. But Rick Santorum is a different breed and one that bears watching.
Santorum has based his candidacy on his social conservatism. This means that his platform is not based on how to improve the country but instead on how to preserve “traditional values.” Santorum is a staunch Roman Catholic and bases his political views on a set of evangelical Christian values. This means that he opposes abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research, sex outside of marriage, pornography and various other moral “wrongs.”
Whatever your opinion on these issues may be, the opinions listed above are not unheard of in the political realm. Indeed, many of them are the focal point of the political debate today, such as gay marriage. But in the past couple of weeks, Santorum’s social conservatism has taken a new turn. It all started with a proposal by President Obama to require employers to provide birth control to all of their employees through their insurance coverage.
This proposal included Roman Catholic hospitals and universities, and the uproar was immediate. Roman Catholics view contraception as morally wrong, and many high-ranking bishops were not happy with this plan. In the end, President Obama changed the proposal so that it would require insurance providers to provide birth control, not employers. But the debate had already started.
The Republican candidates were quick to condemn President Obama as trying to limit religious freedom. But Rick Santorum has a different view. He is opposed to contraception in general. He did not disguise his attacks by using the “freedom of religion” card. In 2006, Santorum said, “Artificial birth control … goes down the line of being able to do whatever you want to do without having the responsibility that comes with that.” He also made this statement regarding birth control: “I don’t think it works, I think it’s harmful to women, I think it’s harmful to our society.”
This is not the 1960s. Over 90 percent of women in the United States use birth control. It helps reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, stops unwanted pregnancies and gives women control over their bodies and reproduction. But Rick Santorum thinks this is a bad thing. The man who is a frontrunner for the Republican nomination for President of the United States of America believes that the use of contraception is wrong.
I believe this is the tip of the iceberg with Santorum. He is essentially advocating for a theocracy, a country ruled by religion. He seems to ignore the First Amendment, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” and is instead willing to base his ideas for governing the country on his own narrow religious views.
Of course, not all social conservatives are quite as extreme as Santorum. I grew up in an evangelical home and I am very close friends with many social conservatives. While I do not agree with most of what they believe to be right or wrong, I am more than respectful of their views. Growing up with it, I understand where socially conservative views come from even if I think they are wrong. People are entitled to their opinions. But I do not want one religious group’s morals dictating the laws of the land.
Voters need to sit up and take notice of Rick Santorum. To be honest, I cannot understand how he has won even a single primary. He is essentially advocating we return to a time when women were treated as beneath men and had no control over their own bodies. I hope as a society that we have evolved past that. Just imagine life without contraceptives. And in November, when you head to the polls, remember Rick Santorum and what he wants to return this country to.
Josh Ernst may be reached at jernst@springfieldcollege.edu