Someone please tell me, what’s in the water on the Republican campaign trail?
First we had Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry sounding like a Moveon.org ad when discussing “vulture” capitalism. Now, we have Rick Santorum sounding like the late Teddy Kennedy when discussing the need to expand the welfare system. OK, the Santorum comments are old quotes, but the timing of them getting publicity now seems to suggest a pattern of conservatives forgetting what conservatism is.
Over at RedState, they have uncovered several references by Santorum that indicate he essentially views himself as a “Big Government Conservative.”
In 2008 Santorum said:
“This whole idea of personal autonomy, well I don’t think most conservatives hold that point of view. Some do. They have this idea that people should be left alone, be able to do whatever they want to do, government should keep our taxes down and keep our regulations low, that we shouldn’t get involved in the bedroom, we shouldn’t get involved in cultural issues. You know, people should do whatever they want. Well, that is not how traditional conservatives view the world and I think most conservatives understand that individuals can’t go it alone.”
RedState also dug out two quotes from Santorum’s 2005 book “It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good:”
“What was my vision? I came to the uncomfortable realization that conservatives were not only reluctant to spend government dollars on the poor, they hadn’t even thought much about what might work better. I often describe my conservative colleagues during this time as simply ‘cheap liberals.’ My own economically modest personal background and my faith had taught me to care for those who are less fortunate, but I too had not yet given much thought to the proper role of government in this mission.”
“I suspect some will dismiss my ideas as just an extended version of ‘compassionate conservatism.’ Some will reject what I have said as a kind of ‘Big Government Conservatism.’ Some will say that what I’ve tried to argue isn’t conservatism at all. But I believe what I’ve been presenting is the genuine conservatism our Founders envisioned. One that fosters the opportunity for all Americans to live as we are called to live, in selfless families that contribute to the general welfare, the common good.”
Red State blogger Jeff Emanuel is stunned by these revelations:
“… His belief that only government is able (and benevolent enough) to ensure that ‘all Americans … contribute to the general welfare’ in an acceptable manner reveals a lack of faith in, and understanding of, conservatism and conservative Americans. Were he to step outside of his more-government-is-the-solution bubble, he would learn, for example, that conservative Americans voluntarily contribute to the ‘common good’ by donating to private charities at a very high rate — much higher than liberals who, like Santorum, look to an ever-expanding government to take care of the poor using Americans’ tax dollars.
“Santorum certainly isn’t unique within the community of current and former lawmakers in his faith that government has the answers and the moral requirement to make fiscal decisions (including where charitable contributions are to be made, and in what amounts) for the American people as a whole. However, denying that such a belief is ‘big government conservatism’ (if it is conservatism at all) is only surpassed on the absurdity scale by the claim that such a belief truly represents ‘the genuine conservatism our Founders envisioned.’”
You can read more here.

Recent Posts: