Although pushing a book, she *nails* Santorum . . .

[TaleWgnDg]

.
Although pushing a book, self-declared "life long Republican" Professor Marci Hamilton nails Santorum . . . yeeee-ouch!

How Senator Rick Santorum, In Acting for His Church, Persistently Fails to Consider the Larger Public Good

By Professor and Attorney Marci Hamilton
findlaw.com's Writ Legal Commentary Series

----
Thursday, Aug. 11, 2005

Senator Rick Santorum has been in the news recently, touting his faith-based views on public policy. (Santorum's faith is Roman Catholicism).

In my recent book, God vs. the Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law, I document the harm that comes from elected representatives acting according to the dictate of religious lobbyists, without consideration of the larger public good. This is a severe defect in our representative government -- and Santorum is the best modern example.

<snip>

The Framers understood the corrupting influence of religious entities in the political process. No wonder, then, that there were only two references to religion at the Constitutional Convention: First, James Madison cautioned that America should avoid England's example - where religious entities had the power to determine the requirements for a person's belonging to the electorate. Second, Benjamin Franklin suggested that they hire a member of the clergy to say a prayer each morning. Because no one was willing to pay for the pastor, that suggestion was dropped immediately.

There was an abiding belief, at the Convention and among the Framers, that representatives should be "filters" of factions -- including religious factions, of which there was quite a variety at the time of the framing -- within the society, not simply stand-ins for such interests. The Framers' view was that only if factions, including religious factions, were filtered -- refocusing all requests to encompass serious inquiry into the public good -- could the system produce good laws and good government.

Rick Santorum is no filter, as the following concrete examples will illustrate.

The Roman Catholic Clergy Abuse Crisis in Boston

Across the country, the Roman Catholic Church has been under fire from prosecutors, litigators, and childhood sexual abuse victims for its "handling" of its pedophile clergy. It is now well-documented that bishops, archbishops, and cardinals did not report known pedophiles to police. Instead, they moved pedophiles between parishes within their dioceses, or traded these men between dioceses - not only allowing the abuse to continue, but ensuring that pedophiles could start afresh with new trusting parents, and new potential child victims.

<snip>

Santorum might have been part of the solution, but instead, he has chosen to be part of the problem - continuing the denial that has afflicted the Church to which he belongs. According to Santorum, the Boston Archdiocese was itself a victim - the victim of a lax moral and sexual culture in the liberal Northeast. Here are his words on Catholic Online in 2002 -- words he has stood by, in the intervening years:

It is startling that those in the media and academia appear most disturbed by this aberrant behavior, since they have zealously promoted moral relativism by sanctioning "private" moral matters such as alternative lifestyles. Priests, like all of us, are affected by culture. When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected. While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm.

In other words, Santorum is suggesting, Boston's pedophiles were foisted upon a defenseless Church.

Of course, in putting blame on the Northeast's liberal culture, Santorum never elaborates on how his theory could possibly explain Gilbert Gauthe in New Orleans, who abused dozens of boys, and who was convicted in 1985. Or Ronald Kos in Dallas, who was a predator of unimaginable proportions from 1981 to 1992. Or the various perpetrators who, it has been confirmed, committed abuse in Davenport, or Tucson, or Toledo, or Portland, or Spokane.

. . . read the complete findlaw.com Writ article at http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hamilton/20050811.html

.

[etherealtruth]

1. Santorum is INSANE ...

...period!

[napi21]

2. No, I don't think he's insane at all! He's playing to the Catholic voter

by saing it's not the Church's fault for all these peoblems, it's those damn liberal New Englanders again!

I don't think it's going to work for him. I'm a Roman Catholic, and I lived the first 62 years of my life in PA! Politics never had any influence on the Church, and neither did the current culture!

I'm actually glad to hear him say this stuff. He's way behind in the PA> polls and if he keeps trying like this, he'll just fall farther behind!

[etherealtruth]

4. Think about ALL of the crazy stuff ...

...he has put out there. I can't imagine his view of women playing very well to Catholic voters (just one example of stances that will only play to the insane) ... If he was towing the church's line he'd have been against the war and against capital punishment ... unfortunately his sex abuse opinions, while sick, do come from elements of the church.

I am happy he's down in the polls. I agree heartily that he should spew his insanity all over.:crazy:

[CatholicEdHead]

5. Some of that WILL play in the church

But overall a pretty small crowd. Maybe many of the daily mass attenders, but only a fraction of the weekly weekenders.

Those who want to go back to before Vatican II will jump on all of Santorum's words.

[CTyankee]

3. Thank you for posting this

It is so helpful for those of us who are not part of this scandal to understand what is going on. This is such a disgrace!

[TaleWgnDg]

6. You're very welcome . . . and pass this info along, please! n/t

[CTyankee]

7. Gotta defend Boston

My daughter and granddaughters live there, actually in Sherborn. I am so offended by Rick Santorum I am barely able to speak.

[TaleWgnDg]

8. Sherborn is a lovely Massachusetts town . . .

.
Sherborn is a lovely old colonial Massachusetts town . . . and a great place to raise children too.

As for Senator Santorum and his deep-seated pervasive irrational and ignorant adherence to his beliefs, here's more at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=158x5736 (DU's Massachusetts forum), and more at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=175x6683 (DU's Pennsylvania forum)



including conservative Roman Catholics too



.

[CTyankee]

9. Thanks. My son in law is a political consultant

He worked on Kerry's campaign with his pollster.

Love Sherborn. It is so nice to visit there. I feel awful for red staters. I live in New Haven CT and it is so wonderful and I love to visit Sherborn MA (only about 2 1/4 hours away). You are right; the town is ideal for kids. Great schools, Farm Pond.

I am in a state of shock about Santorum. He has got to be delusional that his anti-Boston rant is effective. What is the matter with this guy?

[TaleWgnDg]

10. Sometimes when we view others we fail to take into consideration

.
Sometimes when we view others we fail to take into consideration that they are not "all there." We attempt to rationalize others' behavior which is anything but rational. Not blaming us, after all; however, not all of humanity, sadly, walks around with a "full set of cards."

This is Santorum.

However shocking he may be -- and he is -- what should be more shocking is that Pennsylvania voters actually voted-in this dysfunctional loud-mouthed mental defect!




.

[CTyankee]

11. You are right! So what is driving Pennsylvannia voters to vote

for him? what is the attraction? If he's nuts, why hasn't he been outed as nuts by the press?