Taken From: Santorum Upsets G.O.P. Race With Three Victories, The NY Times, February 8, 2012, by Jim Rutenberg, and Santorum comes in first in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado GOP primary races, The Raw Story, February 8, 2011, by Megan Charpentier, excerpts quoted verbatim, with commentary by Paul Evans and Updates below:

NY Times:

His candidacy all but dismissed just days ago, Rick Santorum won the Minnesota and Colorado caucuses and a nonbinding primary in Missouri on Tuesday, an unexpected trifecta that raised fresh questions about Mitt Romney’s ability to corral conservative support.

…His performance added another twist to an unruly nominating contest that has seen Republican voters veering among candidates and refusing to coalesce behind anyone. It came after Mr. Romney scored back-to-back victories in Florida and Nevada that had led to predictions that he was finally on a straight march to the nomination.

…The triple result amounted to a stinging denial of Mr. Romney’s candidacy from three states where Republicanism is defined by the evangelicals and Tea Party adherents he has struggled to court this year.

Raw Story:

Santorum spoke in Missouri after the race in Minnesota was called for him, thanking God “for our ability to persevere through the dog days,” his wife (whom he kissed on stage), his kids, his supporters whose votes, he said, “I suspect were heard particularly loudly in Massachusetts,” and the tea partiers who he claimed were the “base of the conservative movement.” Santorum then turned to attacking Obama who, he said, he suspected wasn’t listening because, “Has he ever listened to the voice of the American people?” Santorum went on to say that “he thinks he’s better than you,” a refrain he repeated throughout his speech. He promised, too, that Romney had “the same positions as Obama” on everything from cap and trade to the Wall Street bailouts.

Santorum picked up a theme from his competitor, Gingrich, adding that “Tonight we have an example of what a race looks like when a candidate isn’t outspent 5 to 1 and isn’t subject to negative ads that attack his character,” adding that Romney won’t be able to outspend and out-organize Obama in the fall. And, he added, his campaign was doing well because of his economic plan which he said proved that, “I don’t care about the 99 percent, rich or poor, I care about 100 percent of Americans.” Santorum then turned to the oft-heard complaint from conservatives about the Obama administration’s decision to force religious employers to provide contraceptive coverage to their employees, saying, “When the government gives you rights, unlike when God gives you rights, the government can take you away,” accusing the Administration of actively discriminating against Catholics. — see below:

Paul Evans:
Right Santorum, Obama is going to set out to deliberately alienate a huge block of voters with his strong stance on contraceptives, like that makes sense? Obama did it because a woman’s right to do with her body what she wishes, including prevent pregnancy, is something he believes in, in other words, he did it on principle. I strongly believe that the vast majority of American women would agree with him.

From my own experience talking with many hundreds of people while canvassing for votes in elections, it appears to me that it is Protestant fundamentalists and evangelicals who often take prejudicial positions about Catholic beliefs and the Catholic Church. I have heard some pretty hardened beliefs and positions about this, and sometimes downright bigotry. I do apologize to the vast body of Protestant believers who of course have no such prejudice. I want to add, for those who are not aware of it, that I am an ardent Christian myself, although I have had this doubted or discounted to my face. We should honor our Christian differences in belief, while striving to understand and minimize those differences. Santorum’s statement about Obama’s position in re the Catholic Church was inflammatory, let us hope not deliberately so, but politics is politics.

Moreover, as I suspected, it is the Roman Catholic church hierarchy rather than the Catholic believers themselves who are against contraception. See More Catholics support contraception coverage than other Americans, The Raw Story, February 7, 2012, by David Edwards.

A survey released by the Public Religion Research Institute on Tuesday found that 58 percent of Catholics think businesses should be required to provide health plans with free birth control, compared with 55 percent of all Americans who agreed with the requirement. At 38 percent, white evangelical protestants were the least likely to agree free contraception should be provided by employers.

And so, lo and behold, it is the lead head honcho right wing evangelical candidate who is falsely leading or egging on the presses wrong-headed coverage of this issue. Most Americans agree with the requirement of birth control coverage, just not most white evangelical Protestants. So probably, for Santorum, it is mainly a calculated appeal to his base. However I guess Santorum doesn’t know the statistics. He probably thinks the majority of Americans agree with his radical, Dominionist right wing evangelical positions. They don’t. And that’s why if a man like Santorum, or Ron Paul for that matter, were to get the nomination for the G.O.P., it would basically guarantee an Obama reelection. It would also probably harden the divisions under which our society now labors, and would be a bad thing for America.

How far will evangelicals go in their hysteria over matters of reproductive health? See Dem state senator adds ‘Every sperm is sacred’ clause to ‘personhood’ bill, The Raw Story, February 7, 2012, by David Ferguson. The really amazing thing, to me, is that rather than considering the matter and others like it in any sort of philosophical or rational terms — far from that — these people actually believe these sorts of positions are obvious to any Christian, if not every American. This Democratic state senator is basically competing with Republicans for popularity in a conservative state? No, quite possibly she actually believes firmly in her position. If you look up the history of belief about sperm, eggs and reproduction, it was in ancient Israel that the position was adhered to that all the vitality of a human being rested in the sperm, with the woman basically serving as an incubator. So I guess it may well say something about this in the Old Testament, about which I am not knowledgeable (in these matters). But can Americans not understand that this is an ancient position thoroughly discredited by modern science? ~ Paul Evans

UPDATE: See Senate Democrats Say Obama ‘Reinforced’ His Stance on Contraception Mandate at Democratic Retreat, ABC News The Note, February 8, 2012, by Sunlen Miller:

Following President Obama’s speech at the retreat, a small group of Senate Democrats, mostly women, left the retreat early in order to hold a news conference on Capitol Hill to counter the Republicans’ news conference today at which they called for the mandate to be overturned.

Democrats said they will “fight strongly” to keep the mandate in place.

“It is our clear understanding from the administration that the president believes as we do, and the vast majority of the American women should have access to birth control,” Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said pointing out that 15 percent of women use birth control for medical issues. “It’s medicine, and women deserve their medicine.”

Democrats today called on Republicans to stop using women as a “political football,” and stop defining this debate, as Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., did earlier in the day, as a religious issue.

“It’s time to tell Republicans ‘mind your own business,’” said Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J. ”Ideology should never be used to block women from getting the care they need to lead healthier lives.

“The power to decide whether or not to use contraception lies with a woman – not her boss,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. “What is more intrusive than trying to allow an employer to make medical decisions for someone who works for them?”

Paul Evans: I think right wing ideology, ie the Republicans, are reaching too far on this one. In order to pass legislation, any bill has to get past the conservative group of Senate Democrats known as “blue dog” Democrats. While these several Senators would in fact be likely to go along with legislation limiting abortion, it is my feeling that they will turn a deaf ear on Republican appeals to support legislation limiting a woman’s right to contraception.

UPDATE: See Armed with 3 victories, Santorum goes on attack, The Salt Lake Tribune, February 8, 2012, by Catalina Camia and Susan Page.

Fresh from his three-state sweep, a confident Rick Santorum said he is prepared for an onslaught from Mitt Romney as he tries to make his case that he’s the best conservative to take on President Obama.

Santorum, speaking to CNN Wednesday morning, derided Romney for trying to portray himself as a Washington outsider and for repeatedly talking about his credentials as a former CEO.

The former Pennsylvania senator stressed that Romney’s stands on health care, “cap and trade” legislation and government bailouts are the wrong positions for a GOP nominee.

“Mr. Private Sector was Mr. Big Government when he was out there running for the private sector,” Santorum told CNN.

In a separate interview with CNN, Romney adviser Stuart Stevens said Romney’s campaign will be tougher in making contrasts with Santorum. The goal will be to paint Santorum, a former two-term senator, as a Washington insider.

Paul Evans: I am in no way certain that this is the right approach for Romney. Both men have held high positions as far as most Americans are concerned. Romney will be hitting Santorum as an insider while Santorum will be attacking Romney for past positions, in other words, on his record. It just seems to me that, as radical as the so-called reforms are which Mr. Santorum proposes, Romney primarily needs to attack Santorum’s positions. It seems obvious to me that Santorum’s radiical positions are wrong for America, and I think Romney could make that point very clearly if he just concentrated on it.

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