Rick Santorum is Completely Right, But Way Off

Until a couple days ago, I was very close to writing a post in which I would completely get behind Rick Santorum (not that my opinion really matters, though, being Canadian).  But, my support for him has waned in the past few days.  The reason for that is his recent focus on social issues.

Santorum is well known for being a social conservative.  Him being a social conservative is not the reason for my hesitation; it is more his lack of fiscal conservatism.  Or, more accurately, his lack of focus on fiscal issues.  This is an interesting article, which I generally agree with.  One thing I don’t agree with is what I interpreted from this sentence:

Opting for Willard Milquetoast on the grounds that someone might be offended by Santorum’s unapologetic defense of moral values is not a winning strategy.

I agree with what is explicitly stated, but not something I think is implicitly stated.  And that is that that “someone might be offended by Santorum’s unapologetic defense of moral values” is a primary reason why someone would prefer Romney over Santorum.  I have long prefered Romney over Santorum, but that is not the reason why.  And I get the feeling that many other people feel the same way.  I have no problem with moral values.  And I respect Santorum more than I do Romney.  But Santorum’s recent performance is making it difficult for me to actually prefer him over Romney as the Republican nominee.

And this is why: SOCIAL ISSUES ARE NOT IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW. Why are people talking about gay marriage and abortion and causing a rift among conservatives?  That isn’t productive.  All conservatives necessarily agree that the United States is in a fiscal crisis caused by socialist, ultra-Keynesian policies (i.e. that even John Maynard Keynes himself would not support), and that free markets are the solution.  To disagree with that, in my opinion, disqualifies one from conservatism. That person’s opinion on abortion, gay marriage, and other social issues isn’t that important.  Especially right now.

And Rick Santorum obviously doesn’t get that.  He might be standing up for his beliefs, which is a noble thing to do, but it isn’t what he should be doing, in my opinion.  Again, I am pro-life and pro-traditional marriage.  I believe in traditional, moral values (with a couple exceptions, I reckon, such as my complete and utter lack of any spiritual beliefs whatsoever).  However, what Santorum is focusing on right now is completely contrary to my essential principles, which aren’t necessarily ideologically driven.  He is appealing to people’s feelings, as opposed to their common sense.  Santorum’s current campaign demonstrates a lack of common sense.  The thing is, the US (and hence the rest of Western civilization) is facing a massive crisis.  And it is not that society is becoming depraved, which it is; but I highly doubt that, even if Santorum does become president, that he is going to have very much ability to reverse that.  Paul Ryan is the perfect example of what every Republican candidate should be doing, in my opinion.  And that is exactly what Rick Santorum isn’t doing.  He might be standing up for his beliefs, many of which I agree with, but he lacks the underlying common sense, which is essential.

So, again, it is not that Santorum’s values are offensive to me, or that I think they preclude him from electability (quite the opposite actually), but I just think his focus is way off where any serious candidate’s focus should be (i.e. on fiscal issues).

And this excellent article, which I highly recommend, complements my point.  This is a critical time.  Having conservatives bicker about divisive social issues is, frankly, stupid right now.  Here is an excerpt:

If this past weekend’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C., is any indication, we have a real RINO problem on our hands.

No, I don’t mean that Mitt Romney is a Republican In Name Only. I mean that a particular strain of attendees at this year’s conference seems obsessed with RINO-hunting – and that is not a productive sport in which to engage at this point, especially since the hunters don’t seem to have any idea what their prey really looks like.

Refresher course: A RINO goes to Washington and acts just like a Democrat. Tax and spend. Elitism. Corruption.

A RINO is not your fellow Republican who doesn’t happen to agree with you that gay marriage is the most important issue facing our country today.

I am not trying to sound haughty or anything, but come on.  This lack of common sense is immensely frustrating.  The USA’s debt is currently almost $15.4 trillion and some people are talking about contraceptives and about how gays threaten marriage.  Those things won’t matter when you are homeless.

ADDENDUM: I also recomment this article, which is related.