Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum is not content to criticize President Obama’s policy objectives from a political perspective, he’s taken to the pulpit criticizing the President’s, and an entire population of religious people, whose faith compels them to consider the environment.
Santorum is at odds with his own church on environmental issues – Los Angeles Times
Santorum was speaking of efforts to forestall the worst effects of climate change through controls on greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, and policies aimed at encouraging the development of renewable sources of energy. Obama, he said, was putting the Earth before the needs of humans. “It’s about some phony ideal, some phony theology.”
A growing number of Americans of all religious stripes are recognizing a moral obligation, even a religious obligation, to take care of the environment around us. It will be interesting to see whether these religious voters are able to coalesce into a politically relevant voting block as religious folk have with other more socially conservative wedge issues.
Comments
I guess we will just have to wait and see what kind of suspected car Jesus will arrive in, and what kind of parade will follow that suspicion.
WWJBSS? (What would Jesus’s bumper sticker say?)
Mr. Santorum and those of similar ilk,
Obama, he said, was putting the Earth before the needs of humans. “It’s about some phony ideal, some phony theology.”
If you don’t begin to give the Earth at least, at least equal footing with people, “pray” tell, how will the Earth continue to provide for the multitudes who continue to grow in number?
And before ANYBODY jumps to any type of conclusion, I am not anti-people. I believe in and have shared in the practicality of zero population growth. A bit of education, no religion, and the “chance” of where I was born though, are important to fuel this philosophy.
For all Obama’s faults as a leader, he does not come close to the frightening heights of ill-considered fanaticism of Santorum.
You’d think that the pragmatic reasons for protecting the environment (the rewards that reaps for humanity) would be enough without having to resort to religious or moral principles. However, if you believe the end-times are nigh, why should you care about the environment? And not having to worry about it has a certain appeal.
Amen!
I think it’s a matter of respect, which is a virtue these cads loathe and have no functional concept thereof.
For me… “It’s the biosphere, stupid.”
For them… “It’s the money (and domiation), stupid”
I think it’s a matter of respect, which is a virtue these cads loathe and have no functional concept thereof.
For me… “It’s the biosphere, stupid.”
For them… “It’s the money (and domination), stupid”
Satanorum has a lot of kids, he’s also a practicing rape-the-earth-and-spawn-it-with-trillions type A catholic. So, this one already has a severe dose of brainwashing affecting him.
“For all Obama’s faults as a leader, he does not come close to the frightening heights of ill-considered fanaticism of Santorum”
Amen on that thought Immer 🙂
Another Santorum ditty to worry about:
http://themoderatevoice.com/139713/church-state-and-rick-santorum/
Let these fools keep digging their own grave. We all saw how flat earther Perry fell on his face. It is only a matter of time before this clown does as well. How does this clown think that the earth will be able to provide food if we keep raping it? Maybe they are counting on Jesus to come back and feed them unlimited fish and wine, or whatever they believe? People always talking about controlling the population growth of certain animals when we are the ones in need of controlling. When will our species grow out this this dogmatic nonsense?
“When will our species grow out this this dogmatic nonsense?”
Only when they are forced to when faced with the prospect of annihilation, and maybe bot even then.
…or should I clarify, when faced with absolute and immediate annihilation.
The perverse part of me is gleeful that the GOP has turned out such a wretched slate of candidates in recent years. The Santorums and Gingrich’s reveal the true makeup of the Republican Party as sure as any TSA full body scanner .
The Clarisworks program in my original Mac computer had a great word processor built into it. The first time I typed in ” Gingrich” back about 1995 , the spellchecker popped up and asked if I meant to type ” Gangrene” instead. Lord knows what it would have suggested for ” Santorum”.
Funny thing is back in the late 60’s and especially the 70’s when the modern environmental movement was taking shape in Congress, the Republican party were often more environmental and ‘ green’ than the Dems. The GOP harkened back to its Teddy Roosevelt ethics and the true principles of real conservatism back then . Meanwhile, the Dems felt they had to defend blue collar jobs being lost to creation of wilderness and loss of logging and mining etc ,and new regs governing clean air, clean water, pollution, EPA and OSHA, and such were all considered job killers. We have done a political reversal since then.
The peril of political wingnuts like Santorum ,Gingrich and Palin is they too often actually get elected by their fuddlebrained constituents in places like Idaho and Wyoming and, alas, Montana.
Having said that , I feel betrayed by Obama. Not the same thing as voting in a buffoon , but going back on his political pleges , which hurts even more.
Cody Coyote, Yes it was Nixon of all people who started the EPA many years ago believe it or not – a Republican! But where do these modern Republican Earth Rapists come from? Jeminy Crickets!
“The peril of political wingnuts like Santorum ,Gingrich and Palin is they too often actually get elected by their fuddlebrained constituents in places like Idaho and Wyoming and, alas, Montana.”
Or by fuddlebrained constituents in places like Ohio, Florida, or any other swing state with more electoral votes than ID, MT, and WY combined. In all fairness, we don’t have a monopoly on kooks. Just a per-capita bounty.
“Having said that , I feel betrayed by Obama. Not the same thing as voting in a buffoon , but going back on his political pleges , which hurts even more.”
Me too. Being in a staunchly red state already, I’m voting for ANY 3rd party that has even a remote shot of getting %5 of the vote (and thus public campaign funding).
The whole two-party “take it or leave it because I’m less bad than the other guy” isn’t working. The choice between whether you want a mad man or a mediocre corporate apologist for your feudal lord isn’t really much of a choice.
Forgot to add “fuddlebrained Supreme Court justices deciding along party lines rather than by legal principles.”
I just can’t resist…
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-february-23-2012/indecision-2012—rick-santorum-s-conservative-rhetoric
Sanatorium comes up on my iPhone spell check when I put in Santorum so apple really must be “genius.”.
Santorium, I Love It! Maybe if this is where he is at, this is where he needs to go personally.
Paul,
“People always talking about controlling the population growth of certain animals when we are the ones in need of controlling. When will our species grow out this this dogmatic nonsense?”
When you consider how religous our country still is (though atheism is growing)compared to most other developed nations, and how far ahead other nations are in math and science, I am afraid we have a very long way to go.
Some folks believe there are many tickets to Heaven, but Bible Christians see only one ticket. I have literature from a BC friend that spells out all the wrongs of each of the other religions. If you aren’t a Bible Christian, you will burn in hell.
Look at the fundamentalists in Afgahnistan and to what extremes they are jumping up in arms due to the recent book burnings. The religious fanatics seem to be on a one way course to self-realization/actualization of Red Earth, of the nuclear kind, not Mother.
But, at least getting rid of a good education, and liberal college professors, as Insanitorium wants, as well as bringing the church dogma back into everything, will be a big step forward. Over the cliff, that is.
🙂 🙂 🙂
Doryfun,
I hear you. I am one of those evil atheists. I am amazed that as ass backwards the thought process is among many Americans that we are still the dominant world power and not some theocratic third world toilet like Afghanistan. The founding fathers were smart enough to put the Establishment Clause in the Constitution because they knew the theocrats would try to take over the government. If they could figure this out 235 plus years ago, why do so many have such a hard time understanding that separation today? It clearly states in the Constitution that there shall be no religious test for public office in this country. The GOP seems to have missed that part as a candidate’s religion seems to be their number one obsession. I really hope someday that we can set these theocratic dreams of the GOP aside and elect an atheist or agnostic as a president. I am not holding my breath.
A major problem that I have with the theocrats is that they have this insane persecution complex and need to feel like they are victims all the time. It is sickening. Nothing is stopping them from going to the church of their choice, preaching on a public street, or praying to themselves in public setting. Unfortunately it seems many of these zealots will not be satisfied until they have a modern day inquisition that forces the rest of us to convert or be tortured until we do. How far we have strayed from the original intent of our founders.
Addendum: I am flabbergasted that the Republicans have co-opted the Christian religion as though it were theirs…that right wing politics, conservatism, and Christianity are somehow a holy trinity.
Excuse me, but if Jesus came back today , wouldn’t He more likely be of the liberal democrat persuasion rather than the handpuppet of the Ralph Reed-Pat Robertson-Jerry Falwell- Dobson televangelism- false prophet GOP cloth ?
“…the Republicans have co-opted the Christian religion as though it were theirs…that right wing politics, conservatism, and Christianity are somehow a holy trinity.”
I think they have made every attempt to make it an Iron Triangle of political structure and function.
As ridiculously idiotc as Insanitorium is, it would be quite interesting to see him get elected to run against Obama. I’m in MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell’s camp, on this one – as the radical contrast would allow us a good yard stick as to what constitutes the real heartbeat of America.
It is hard to imagine that many people would be wanting to return to the dark ages.
Jeminy Crickets Santorum! Now personally am very much of an Independant Bigtime when it comes to politics! I have not liked Obama onebit since he has been in office. I also despised George Bush Bigtime! But I did like Clinton personally. But this guy Santorum seems to have the same stripes of that freaking James Watt had when he was Secretary of Inerior under Reagan. Where do these guys come from. All they want to do is Rape and Pillage the Earth for the Military Industrial Complex. He makes both George Bush and Obama look like saints. If it is freaking Santorum then give me freaking Obama anyday! This Santorum scares the freaking daylights out of me. Yesterday he was on some rant criticizing Kennedy where he does not believe in this seperation of Church and State either. Jeminy Crickets!
If Jesus came back today, where would he find John the Baptist if all the wilderness were gone? These extreme Christians want to get rid of the very wilderness that the prophets of old cherished as a place to go to find God.
They’ve taken care of that… the mormons baptise dead folks all the time so they don’t need the wilderness as long as they have a temple to perform these abominations. They’ve probably made sure every good guy in the bible has been rebaptised as mormons. They’ve baptised Anne Frank (good grief) three times now… I wonder what revisions of christian doctrine and dogma are in the bible the moromns wrote that allows for such act of violation against the will of the dead who are not here to decline the performance of such rituals upon their souls. Surely they absolve themselves by claiming that it is a necessary practice.
Brian could have added in his story about religion and Santorum that Santorum has no use for the public lands either, and he said so in Boise the other day, thinking that would be popular. It wasn’t even among many of those who disagree with most of what is discussed in this forum. Romney has no use for the public lands either, nor does Ron Paul.
It is clear that Obama isn’t against them, but no strong defender either. So the choice is between nightmare and poor.
Not only do they have disregard for public lands, they rarely, if ever even mention the word environment. Their utter apparent disdain for not being able to get to any and all natural resources purely for devopement, seems in step with the Religious Right dominionist attitudes about what nature is all about.Them.
In last nights MI vote, Insanitorium and Rammitny, in their respective speeches continue to ignore any hint of appreciating our environment for anything other than exploitation full speed ahead. Thoroughly disgusting!
God Bless Rape in America
Just as I finished this past post, I heard on the news where a Catholic Preist refused a gay catholic communion at her own mothers funeral,(because she is gay).
If there is a god that has no place for gays, count me out, if god ever does show up someday (I’m not holding my breath).
But, it is yet another example of hypocritical behavior and idiocy of a United States still bogged down by the weight of religious dogma. All with heavy consequences as to how we deal with our home in the universe. Less I forget, the world revolves around man and his god (made in man’s image). Unless natural resources can be used by man, they have no value in the religious eye.
I am hopefull it is just the Religious Right giving a black eye(and not a blinding)to those religions which at least repsect some sort of earthly stewardship.
Buddhism seems to be the only mainstream one that backs up their talk with action. I respect them for that. The others, not so much. Look at the insane animal scarifies carried out by other mainstream religions across the world. One only has to look at the twisted sense of “Dominion” that Christians use to justify their rape and pillage of the land and it’s non-human inhabitants. I am of the opinion that religion is a man made creation used to control and nothing more. Christians act like there would be no sense of morality or ethics without their religion. What a bunch of crap. I don’t need some guy chanting verses and wearing a dress telling me what is write and wrong, I am smart enough to realize that for myself.
Paul,
Agree. Religion is as much man made as is Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. It is part of the reason Hell is required to fear the more obstinate inclined into subjigation. Man is basically a creature of power and control. Might makes right. (in some cultures more than others).
Unfortunately, since man will awlays question the existence of god or not, with the likely hood of no cosmic intervention to be coming along soon with a godly revelatio, this eternal problem solving is probably never going to go away.
Religion will always be a good excuse to multitple and consume, over and over again. Fortunately, nature rules. Unfortunately, though for man, too selfish to stick a bridle in his ways.
Don’t know much about Santorum and don’t care to much more. He is already coming up pretty disgusting. One starling fact is that he has seven kids, so must be taking the “multiply and subdue the earth” thing seriously and practicing it.
You can find more about him by googling his last name 😉
Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
Ken-
I was going to say that, but I don’t know how appropriate that would be for this blog. Pretty funny though.
LOL. My point was, why bother.
According to the political pundits, Santorum or Newt will be easier for Obama to beat than Romney. So, even as disgusting as the guy is, there might be some inclination to cheer him on as the least of three evils until the general election.
Nice to see Santorum lose in AZ and MI.
I’m amazed that a guy like that could even be in the race.
Mike,
Did you get my email address yet? I am working with a prominent wildlife advocate on a project that you may be interested in. I really want your input on it.
I did not get it yet, Paul. I’d post it here, but I don’t want to mix business with politics…yet.
If any of the moderators of the blog read this, please share my email address with Mike. Thanks
Think about it, Mike. Remember that the first rule of good project management is to plan with the desired end in mind. Personally, I’m praying Santorum is their nominee.
Mikarooni –
Yes, theoretically that is the desired political outcome. But Democrats will let the GOP dictate the discussion as they always do, and the country would actually move further to the right with Santorum controlling the dialogue.
If you want to expose a nutjob, you need people on the other side willing to rebuff him. Democrats don’t do that–at least not ones in power.
Mike,
check out this interesting summary of that concept…
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/#46581797
Regarding Leslie’s comment: “extreme Christians want to get rid of the very wilderness that the prophets of old cherished as a place to go to find God” What a wonderful observation! It just shows how human nature in vitriolic people, Christians in this regard, can pick and choo9se that which makes them comfortable and secure. Apparently, the internet has reinforced our desires to be among those like ourselves and build walls against the rest. Sanatarium knows this but should be smart enough to know it wont work. If he doesnt there must be a personality disoreder tof explain it.
“…there must be a personality disorder to explain it.”
Um… how about unadulterated greed for power and money… or a sociopathic nature… or some extreme form of zealotry… or all of the above?
I lived in Pennsylvania for 20 years until moving to Vermont last June. I proudly voted against Santorum – twice. And my vote helped elect his opponent the second time around. There is a reason why Rick was not re-elected to the U.S. Senate, and he continues to illustrate that reason in his current speech-making.