Santorum Says ‘President’s Agenda’ Is Based on a ‘Phony Theology’
EmailCOLUMBUS, Ohio — Rick Santorum seemed to question President Obama’s Christian values today when speaking about the president to a tea party group.
The “president’s agenda” is “not about you,” he said. “It’s not about you. It’s not about your quality of life. It’s not about your job.
“It’s about some phony ideal, some phony theology,” Santorum said to applause from the crowd. “Oh, not a theology based on the Bible, a different theology, but no less a theology.”
The former Pennsylvania senator has said he believes Obama is a Christian, and a statement from the campaign stresses that as well, adding that Santorum was talking not about the president’s religion, but political ideology.
“The President says he’s a Christian and Rick believes that and has even said so publicly many times,” National Communications Director Hogan Gidley said in a statement. “Rick was talking about the President’s belief in the secular theology of government — and how believing that theology is dangerous because government theology teaches that it’s perfectly fine (to) take away our individual God-given rights and freedoms. Our founders wrote the Constitution to protect our individual rights and freedoms, but it’s clear that President Obama believes the government should control your life. Rick Santorum believes in the Constitution and will always fight to protect our freedoms.”
Although Santorum criticizes the president daily on the campaign trail, this is the first time he has used this rhetoric or said the president has a “different theology.”
An August 2010 Pew poll found that 18 percent of Americans believe the president is a Muslim, up from 12 percent the month before he was elected. Just last month when Santorum was campaigning in Florida ahead of the primary there, a woman called Obama an “avowed Muslim” as she was asking him why Obama is still president.
“I’m doing my best to get him out of the government right now,” Santorum said.
“He uniformly ignores the Constitution,” he said, not correcting the woman on Obama’s religion. “He did this with these appointments over the, quote, recess that was not a recess, and if I was in the United States Senate, I would be drawing the line.”
He told reporters afterwards it wasn’t his “responsibility” to correct the voter.
“There are lots of people who get up and say stuff in a town hall meeting and say things that I don’t agree with, but I don’t think it’s my obligation, nor should it be your feeling that it’s my obligation to correct somebody who says something that I don’t agree with,” Santorum said.
During the 2008 campaign, a woman asked GOP nominee John McCain a question during town hall and called Obama an “Arab.” McCain immediately corrected her, saying, “No, no ma’am, he’s a decent, family man, citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that’s what this campaign is about.”
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Santorum can’t see how hypocritical he is when he himself wants to control women’s rights to birth control. That would be religion controlling individuals through the government if Santorum had his way.
And Santorum should feel obligated to correct obvious lies said about Obama or any public official when addressed to him or in his presence. John McCain took the high road, Santorum takes the low road.
Posted by: Librarian53 | February 18, 2012, 4:06 pm 4:06 pm
Santorum is wrong about not correcting the woman who said Obama was a Muslim. That wasn’t just some topic to agree or disagree on, what she said was a lie and he knows it.
Posted by: Librarian53 | February 18, 2012, 4:08 pm 4:08 pm
We should elect an agnostic or atheist as President and stop with these silly, pointless arguments. Perhaps we should go back to our roots. Many of the founding fathers were Deists, and in some cases atheists. At the very least, they were thinkers. Thinkers don’t let others tell them what they are supposed to think.
Posted by: plantain_11 | February 18, 2012, 4:12 pm 4:12 pm
ROFLMAO Santorum is such a liar. Using the word theology as a substitute for political philosphy or political ideology is nothing more than a clever dishonest ploy to covertly question the President’s religion, and especially to reinforce the false belief many people already have that the President is a Muslim and not a Christian.
Posted by: B-K KnightRider | February 18, 2012, 4:30 pm 4:30 pm
At least Obama has never stooped to the level of attacking the religion, patriotism or character of political opponents. Therefore, every day, he proves that he has more integrity than they do because they will say absolutely anything negative about him that they can think of. He has never responded in kind. That’s presidential ! They are ALL beneath his character.
Posted by: Mikeyboy | February 18, 2012, 4:40 pm 4:40 pm
ABC News: Always spinning for Obama. Led by Dem partisan hack George Stephanoupolus.
Any criticism of their hero must be characterized by ABC as extreme.
Santorum was just telling the truth, and not attacking the President personally.
Posted by: Bob | February 18, 2012, 5:08 pm 5:08 pm
Where does Santorum get off judging anyone’s theology?? I used to think of Santorum as just another big spending politician. Then grew to understand he is a narrow-minded ultra-conservative on social issues, even though he is fiscally irresponsible. Now, I’m adding religious bigot to the list.
Posted by: Quivley | February 18, 2012, 5:08 pm 5:08 pm
Santorum’s idea of “Thou shalt not judge” is for everybody else but himself. He is his own god and does all the judging. Very convenient!
Posted by: brave brick | February 18, 2012, 5:23 pm 5:23 pm
BOB: “Any criticism of their hero must be characterized by ABC as extreme.” – - – Please Bob, demonstrate your brilliance by giving us a RATIONAL explanation for how ABC is characterizing Santorum’s criticism as extreme? I cannot find anything in the article that a clear thinking person with half of a brain can rationally characterize as ABC characterizing Santorum’s criticism as extreme.
Posted by: B-K KnightRider | February 18, 2012, 5:55 pm 5:55 pm
“‘There are lots of people who get up and say stuff in a town hall meeting and say things that I don’t agree with, but I don’t think it’s my obligation, nor should it be your feeling that it’s my obligation to correct somebody who says something that I don’t agree with,’ Santorum said. – - – Here we have yet another nice bit of Santorum’s dishonest rationalizing. The issue in question is NOT whether Santorum has an obligation or responsibility to correct someone with whom he merely disagrees. The real issue is whether or not Santorum has an obligation or responsibility to correct someone who makes a comment that he believes if false or that he knows is false. I submit that Santorum does in fact have such an oblligation/responsibility. If Santorum does not correct FALSE statements then Santorum’s silence is covert agreement with the FALSE statement. And Santorum’s covert agreement with a FALSE statement indicates that he either agrees with the FALSE statmement but will not publicly admit it, or Santorum knows/believes the statement is false BUT he dishonestly wants to silently imply his agreement and/or he dishonestly wants to perpetuate the FALSE belief.
Posted by: B-K KnightRider | February 18, 2012, 6:04 pm 6:04 pm
BOB: “Santorum was just telling the truth, and not attacking the President personally.” – - – WRONG. Santorum was NOT telling a truth and he was in fact making covert attack on the President’s religion. That is a personal attack. He was only expressing his opinion, not an objective truth. AND he was doing that in a dishonst manner by using a dishonst semantic ploy to imply something about the President’s religion when the issue was supposed to be a comment about the President’s politics.
Posted by: B-K KnightRider | February 18, 2012, 6:09 pm 6:09 pm
Mr Santorum couldn’t entice his PA constituents to grant him another term in the US Senate, so now he wants to try his hand at running the country?? NO THANKS. Let him keep his religious convictions in his house. He believes in less government.. so do I but he wants to control America’s bedrooms.
Posted by: Grace | February 18, 2012, 6:10 pm 6:10 pm
Look at who Santorum is speaking to. The mentality. That basically says it all. He cannot win on the national level talking that type of garbage. It is that simple.
Posted by: CND FOX | February 18, 2012, 6:13 pm 6:13 pm
Utopianism as practiced by liberals makes man God but man is not God and that is the point. All utopian societies create more human misery than any other system devised. Who is trying to dictate on contraception? Who even raised the issue and in a time of double digit unemployment? Not conservatives. They are for individual freedom. Christ came to set men free not enslave them through top down heavy handed government. There are liberal religious too but the liberalism comes first, second and third. Liberals are not so liberal.
Posted by: John W | February 18, 2012, 6:36 pm 6:36 pm
So 2006′s ‘most corrupt senator’ of the year, who took more pork in office than anyone, and has openly said birth control is ‘murder’..and that all laws should be rewritten to ‘biblical law’, wants to bash Obama’s religion. Santorum also wants to censor anything he deems ‘inappropriate’ which means, you elect this guy, forget about movies, media, internet, video games..this guy wants 1950′s standards. Make no mistake, what this man advocates is his own version of Sharia Law for this country. Be Afraid America.
Posted by: DL | February 18, 2012, 6:38 pm 6:38 pm
He lied thru this entire answer.
Posted by: lexingtonlady | February 18, 2012, 7:00 pm 7:00 pm
This past week a federal lunch inspector deemed a four year preschooler’s bag lunch from home inadequate and had the school provide her with a government appproved lunch. The lunch consisted of a sandwich, snack and apple juice. This is the headlines not some phony innuendo. All you parents better be careful. Be afraid, America.
Posted by: John W | February 18, 2012, 7:09 pm 7:09 pm
John W,,,,I have no idea what you were trying to say or ‘misrepresent’ in your 6:36 post. It was so convoluted, I doubt you even know. All I know is that I do NOT want a Theocracy in a leadership role in this country. There would be no more ‘individual freedoms’. That I am certain of. And that is exacly what Santorum represents.
Posted by: CND FOX | February 18, 2012, 7:28 pm 7:28 pm
Be afraid, America. Santorum is a holier-than-thou theocrat who fervently believes that his way is the way it’s “supposed” to be and should be. If he is POTUS, social, racial, and gender equity will be set back 100 years. Women and blacks will be encouraged to shut up and be subservient to white men. The poor will be pitied and vilified for being worthless and lazy. Greedy and corrupt companies will be worshiped and rewarded as “successes”. WE’RE SO MUCH BETTER THAN THIS. SANTORUM IS UNFIT AND UNELECTABLE.
Posted by: Don | February 18, 2012, 7:53 pm 7:53 pm
We do not need a priest or pastor in the white house. This guy is a liar and a bigot. Which theology is he going to support if he were elected? We do not want to have a regime like Iran with no religious right. I hope everybody calls him on that. This is very dangerous.
Posted by: Simon | February 18, 2012, 11:54 pm 11:54 pm
MIKEYBOY@4:40 PM; Obama did question Bush’s patriotism when he was a senator. He said Bush running up the debt was unpatriotic. When he was running for president in 2008 Obama told a San Francisco crowd about voters in Pennsylvania that they bitterly cling to their guns and religion.
Posted by: Todd | February 19, 2012, 5:50 am 5:50 am
Get off this kick Rick! Tell us what you’re going to do as president.
Posted by: newcountryman | February 19, 2012, 7:19 am 7:19 am
This moderate Libertarian doesn’t like his smooze. He’s not what we need as president.
Posted by: newcountryman | February 19, 2012, 7:23 am 7:23 am
what an Idiot Rick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Linda, Fl | February 19, 2012, 8:08 am 8:08 am
Santorum not only “seems” to be criticizing the President’s faith, he is doing so. He has been in politics long enough to know how his comments are going to be perceived by the public.
Santorum is a religious extremist and unqualified for the Presidency in a country where religious tolerance is valued highly.
Posted by: ALLAN | February 19, 2012, 11:54 am 11:54 am
There’s really nothing phony about Obama, he believes that people should be taken care of from cradle to grave, the Affordable Care Act is a prime example of this.
Posted by: Todd | February 19, 2012, 2:24 pm 2:24 pm
Rick Santorum and the other “Christian” Candidates should sit down and study the Beatitudes then read Dante’s Inferno as a cautionary tale.
Posted by: Jim Polichak from Long Island | February 19, 2012, 3:11 pm 3:11 pm
If, for the sake of argument, President Obama put an end to Roe vs. Wade and outlawed abortion, where would that leave Mr. Santorum’s campain. What about his stand on foreign policy, war, jobs, health, shelter, the environment? He becomes a table with one leg.
Posted by: pitmanlaw | February 20, 2012, 12:27 am 12:27 am