Even Santorum can’t stay away

April 21, 2008

Oh, Rick. You were supposed to be the lone holdout. All of those other far-right Republicans swallowed hard and endorsed John McCain, but not Rick Santorum. You wouldn’t even consider it. No sirreebob.

You called the prospects of a McCain presidency “very dangerous.” Just last month, even after McCain had wrapped up the nomination, you still said there was just no way you could support the guy.

“The only one I wouldn’t support is McCain,” Santorum said during an interview in his office at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, where he is a senior fellow.

“I don’t agree with him on hardly any issues,” Santorum said. “I don’t think he has the temperament and leadership ability to move the country in the right direction.”

And today, those strong-willed principles suddenly mattered a little less.

Those conservatives who still question whether they can support McCain should remember this: The next president will make more than 2,700 political appointments, those who really set policy, across the bureaucracy of our government. I, for one, will sleep better at 3 a.m. if Republicans are in the cabinet and in White House positions that make so many critical decisions. The idea of “Attorney General John Edwards” and “Energy Secretary Al Gore” should cause some sleepless nights for Republicans or conservatives – and those in a U.S. manufacturing sector now struggling to stay afloat.

Here’s my final argument for John McCain. He’s not Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.

The GOP closes ranks. It always does.

Santorum concluded:

Many of my fellow Republicans have faulted me privately and publicly for being so outspoken about McCain, suggesting that I should have kept my mouth shut. First, I’ve never been very good at that. Second, I do not regret being up-front about such an important decision. Third, the primaries are a time when each party wrestles over what it’s looking for in a presidential candidate. Now is the time to come together.

As for the Reagan Axiom, given his opponent, McCain is close enough to 80 percent for government work. That is why I am going to vote for my friend — John McCain.

A month ago, McCain was too “dangerous” for Santorum to even consider. McCain had wrapped up the nomination, but Santorum wouldn’t budge. And now, it’s “time to come together” behind Santorum’s “friend.” How touching.

I mention this for a couple of reasons. First, it’s fun to tweak Santorum. Second, I argued months ago that the far-right voices who swore up and down they could never back McCain would end up backing McCain, and they have. I’m relieved they proved me right.

And finally, because it’s a reminder about what parties always do after a contested primary. McCain has enjoyed the luxury of time — he secured the GOP nomination while Dems continued to beat the crap out of each other, and got to work mending fences with his conservative critics. There are holdouts — James Dobson doesn’t seem to care about McCain’s overtures — but by and large, Santorum is following the predictable model.

The question I’ve been pondering, though, is whether the Democratic race will wrap up too late for the party to come back together again. Time will tell.

Republicans are sheep.

Democrats always form a circular firing squad. Does two count as a circle?

  • His logic is as predictable as the frothy mix of self-preservation and self-justification that’s the result of all Republican asshatery.

    Almost as predictable as someone making the savage allusion.

  • The next president will make more than 2,700 political appointments, those who really set policy, across the bureaucracy of our government. I, for one, will sleep better at 3 a.m. if Republicans are in the cabinet and in White House positions that make so many critical decisions. The idea of “Attorney General John Edwards” and “Energy Secretary Al Gore” should cause some sleepless nights for Republicans or conservatives – and those in a U.S. manufacturing sector now struggling to stay afloat.

    What a nightmare: 2,700 Republicans making the same kinds of decisions these scum have made for the past 8 years.

    Wow – I’d be scared too if I was a Republican of “Attoney General John Edwards” – there’s a lot of criminals in need of prosecution and they’re all members of one political party.

    “Energy Secretary Al Gore” – be still my beating heart.

    And all the “radical environmentalism will kill the economy” is bullshit. Under tghe Kyoto Treaty, the Europeans have reduced their emissions of carbon 20% in ten years, and the last time I looked, their economy is in a helluva lot better shape that we are. The EPA released a study of US economic growth to 2020 with the Safe Climate Act in effect, and overall growth (which didn’t take into consideration growth of “green” industries) was one-half-of-one-percent less with the act in effect than without it.

    Those morons really do live in Bizzarro World where up is down, in is out, black is white and day is night.

  • Yes, because those manufacturers experienced their broadest expansion under…

    …Democrats.

    How is it people buy into this stuff?

  • “I don’t agree with him on hardly any issues,”

    Isn’t that some mind-warpingly circular, poorly worded double negative? Think of the number of ways one could express that without the pretzel construction. Why, off the top of my head, this might be one:

    I hardly agree with him on any issues.

    We are ruled by fools.

  • In case you’re wondering what Ethics and Public Policy Center is, their stated mission is, “to apply the Judeo-Christian moral tradition to critical issues of public policy.” They are rated 3 out of 4 stars by charitynavigator.org. Santorum’s new job is to lead a “new” program called “America’s Enemies”.

    The organization has an interesting history and seem to wear the ethics label like Cheney wears a flag pin.

  • Republican’t politicians always fall into line.

    Conservative voters. Not such a solid bet.

    Ed Stephan said: “Democrats always form a circular firing squad. Does two count as a circle?”

    Since they are just the leaders with the firing squads standing behind them, yep.

  • I’ll agree with Ed that Republicans are sheep, but I doubt very much that the GOP rank-and-file are all than anxious to spend another four years grazing from the pasture of noxious Astroturf that Bush set before them. Bit by bit, the mantra of profit-uber-alles has started to leave that rank-and-file in the dust—broken promises regarding a war; documented lying about the very rule-of-law that has been the keystone of GOPers’ claims against the nature of activist judges; a soured economy wrapped up in millions of foreclosed homes, stagnating jobs-growth, leprous gasoline and grocery prices, and a let-them-eat-cake attitude from Bush’s Versailles-on-Potomac.

    Remember the Reagan Democrats of ’80? Imagine GOPers flocking to a Dem banner this November, if for nothing more than to wash away the disaster that has been the reign of the Bush regime. It’ll never happen if Clinton is the candidate—but she’s not the only one running for the nomination now—is she?

  • There is something about having the same organized Republican idiots making the 2700 more decisions that should scare the hell out of everyone!

  • There can be no better democratic party unifier than John McCain. Republicans feel no need to apologize for the last 7yrs. or Bush/Cheney. The thought of four more years of Republican stupidity or cramming the Judiciary with the likes of a Gonzales or a Mukasey is a nightmare revisited and anything would be an improvement. What’s up with these repukes…do they think we have no memory or that we are blind and deaf to the disaster they have created? Do they expect us to think ,”oh this time they will get it right’? But then again, these republicans think everything is just fine…”it’s all good” as Jon Stewart says. The word Santorum comes from the term sanatorium and so does the man. He’s always one rationalization away from hypocrisy. We need a lot of roach spray to get the over 2,500 roaches currently appointed to further the ‘republican’ agenda. Let’s hope dems don’t take accountability off the table because it detracts from policy making. Justice trumps policy making sometimes.

  • “I don’t agree with him on hardly any issues…”

    gramatically, that must mean that little ricky DOES agree with john w. mcsame on LOTS of issues.

    (once an english teacher, always an english teacher 😉

  • Speaking of GOP energy policies based on self-sufficency, you’ll never guess what they really support: “Drill-and-cap” (as in encouraging oil and gas exploration, only to have the wells capped, essentially taking such out of production, once drilled. And preventing any viable production from taking place in fields thus affected.)

  • But that is the way that political parties are supposed to work. Even if you don’t agree with the nominee, you realize that it is only one person and that the party and the many appointees to government will have a profound influence on the President.

    Rick Santorum realizes this and is willing to smile in the face of his adversity in order to gain a greater good for him and others of his ilk.

    The same is not true of the Democrats and in that respect we do have a one and a half party system. Even if Senator Clinton or Senator Obama manage to win the General Election (not a surety at this point), we may still have a coalition government as the goals of the executive will clash with that of the rest of the party.

    Unless we Democrats can take a leaf from the Republican Party book and try for some unity, of course. While we may abhor what Rick Santorum et al stand for, they do have better organization. (Of course, so did the Nazis – I mention them because you have to have an obligatory reference to Nazis somewhere when you talk about the Republican party.)

  • Look, I might not be as liberal as you cats (but I AM willing to learn? Would they send me someplace special?), but we’re expecting/hoping the Democrats will close ranks and rally behind the nominee once Obama is formally announced. And we’re experiencing plenty of people saying “If Hillary’s not the nominee I’m voting for Nader/McCain/writing in Mickey Mouse/anyone but THAT MAN,” and we all know that, by and large, it’s horsesh*t, the Democrats will suck up any grievances and work towards ensuring McCain never sees the inside of the White House except in the movies.

    I’m just saying, we can’t fault anyone in the GOP for doing what our political allies will be doing in a few short months or weeks or even perhaps by tomorrow. Sure it’s funnier when they do it, because they always claim to be the principled party and they always cave like a poorly-maintained owned-by-a-Republican coal mine when they have to. But still, bigger fish to fry, and all that…

  • Basically Mc Cain will not be making 2700 appointments. He has no organization to draw from.The Republicans will let him be president and set in the office, but the same cabinet and staff from the OVP on down will remain in place. The marching orders will continue to come from the RNC.

  • The question I’ve been pondering, though, is whether the Democratic race will wrap up too late for the party to come back together again. Time will tell.

    If the superdelegates back the popular vote, the Dems might be just fine.
    If not, they could have a century and it wouldn’t help.

  • Rick Santorum is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington? I’m laughing so hard I think I just gave myself a hernia.

  • And that’s exactly what we will be doing too. Unless some of you are planning to stay home if your candidate doesn’t make it? I hope not!

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