# Rick Santorum for POTUS 2016 thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 27, 2015, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963 "2015-05-27T16:54:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963/21 "2015-05-29T02:27:33Z")
You jest watch yer mouth there, boy. Or we flying the blue flag will exile you back to Texas. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963/22 "2015-05-29T10:34:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I know whom you’re quoting, of course, but… DFH? Is that “Democrat Farm Hippie”? I believe he prefers the term “Dirty Fucking Hippie.” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963/23 "2015-05-29T12:45:16Z")
Santorum can’t hope for votes from["blah people"](http://crooksandliars.com/diane-sweet/santorum-i-didnt-say-black-people-i-sa) this time. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963/24 "2015-05-29T13:11:46Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > What??? Think of all the well-considered policy positions; the inspiring, patriotic snippets from the speeches he will make; the thoughtful, nuanced positions on social and cultural issues… How can you say that Rick Santorum will give us nothing to talk about during this campaign? 😕 And I can hold another “Caption This Photo” contest on Facebook. Yay !! > **[Dropout - Independent, ad-free, uncensored comedy](https://signup.dropout.tv/)** > > Independent, ad-free, uncensored comedy. Watch new episodes of Dimension 20, Um, Actually, Game Changer every week. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963/25 "2015-05-29T13:34:08Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Santorum can’t hope for votes from["blah people"](http://crooksandliars.com/diane-sweet/santorum-i-didnt-say-black-people-i-sa) this time. Bah! You stole my thunder. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963/26 "2015-05-29T20:01:08Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > Being of the female persuasion, I find his opinions on many things to be deeply troubling. I sincerely hope that most of the US agrees with me that Santorum is NOT the way of the future. I agree, he’s deeply troubling to me. It doesn’t take long to find some of his troubling platforms: [Ten Outrageous Ideas Rick Santorum Actually Believes](http://thinkprogress.org/election/2015/05/27/3658823/santorum-lesser-known-hits/). Including the following: > [@](#): > > **Putting women in combat is a bad idea because of “emotions that are involved.”** Women’s “emotions” may render them unworthy soldiers and thus not fit for the battlefield, according to the former Pennsylvania senator. “People naturally may do things that may not be in the interests of the mission because of other types of emotions that are involved,” Santorum said after the Pentagon eased restrictions on women in combat in 2012. He has also made dire warnings about what would happen to the military after Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was repealed and gays were allowed to openly serve. > [@](#): > > \*\*Obamacare is (a) like apartheid, (b) a plot to kill the opposition’s voters, and (c) the “final death knell” of America. \*\*Santorum’s anti-Obamacare arguments regularly delve into the absurd. Following Nelson Mandela’s death, Santorum memorialized the former South African leader by noting that, like apartheid, “we have a great injustice going on right now in this country […] and Obamacare is front and center in that.” More than that, Obamacare is actually a Trojan Horse to “get rid of” voters who oppose the government, he later argued. Worst of all, Obamacare will, according to Santorum in his 2012 campaign, be the “final death knell” of America. I’m sure some of his statements are hyperbole, you gotta stand out in your speeches. But even if you take that into account, there’s a lot of troubling stuff. He might not be the worst Republican candidate, but I really hope he doesn’t win. Also, several of the Republican candidates seem to have the opinion that Christians are under attack in the US, though Santorum might be the most extreme on it, including making a documentary last year, One Generation Away: the Erosion of Religious Liberty. You can see the trailer [here](http://time.com/2907140/rick-santorum-nazi-film-one-generation/), which states that we could be headed towards Nazi Germany because of how religious freedom is being eroded. I’m very worried that someone who believes things like that could get into office and introduce all sorts of things that “protect Christians” and end up hurting many other people, including many Christians. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963/27 "2015-05-29T20:02:31Z")
Well, Santorum certainly lives up to his name… ---
**Author:** ![DirtyHippy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtyhippy/32/107_2.png) [@DirtyHippy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DirtyHippy)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963/28 "2015-05-29T23:37:57Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I believe he prefers the term “Dirty Fucking Hippie.” 😉 Hey!!! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963/29 "2015-05-30T02:11:58Z")
Well, at least no one is accusing you of having sex! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963/30 "2015-05-30T02:27:38Z")
Santorum is running. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963/31 "2015-05-30T03:25:35Z")
From descriptions I have read, I wouldn’t expect there to usually be _enough_ to actually run; it strikes me as more of an ooze-y or drippy thing. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963/32 "2015-05-30T04:20:57Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > He’s actually quite a bit of a policy wonk. You might not agree with him, but he’s no Sarah Palin. Not being Sarah Palin doesn’t make you quite a bit of a policy wonk. Al Franken and Rush Holt are wonkish. Bill and Hillary Clinton are wonkish. All I’ve read from Santorum are far right applause lines. > [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > All of which is irrelevant to Mace’s point. Disagree with him all you want. But you won’t find Santorum unprepared or incapable of making an argument. > > I’m as lefty as they come and I actually find I like Santorum. Get me, I don’t want him to be President, but he has the balls to be who he is and say it. Many other candidates I get the impression that they’re empty suits for whom positioning is more important than beliefs. I concede that Marco is an empty suit. But don’t be dissing my man Ted Cruz. Cruz takes cynical lunatic positions while Santorum is a true believer. I trust the con man over the fanatic any day. Cruz’s lack of emotional empathy also makes him a human canon ball or Godzilla on amphetamines in a Stradivarius repair shop. He is detested by his Republican colleagues in both the Senate and House - another qualification. He is my top choice for the 2016 GOP primary. I predict here that he will win it, increasing his sucker mailing list to the greatest extent. Jeb will have to do the conciliation prize - the nomination. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963/33 "2015-05-30T05:35:39Z")
This is a politician so nuts, he got voted OUT as a Senator by a landslide in favor of a Democrat by the same state that elected Pat Toomey shortly thereafter. And I can assure you, there are a lot of pockets of right-wing wing nuts in Pennsylvania that would make Texas look like Vermont. Even if you are a Republican, you have to think about that and take a pause. He is also a demagogue I feel so dangerous to this country that I actually switched parties in 2012 so I could vote for Mitt Romney in the Pennsylvania primary (where he got thumped, again, by his own home state) to help prevent him from getting anywhere close to the White House. Seriously, I dont disqualify Republican candidates out of hand, this guy and Ted Cruz scare the shit out of me. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963/34 "2015-05-30T05:59:38Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > From descriptions I have read, I wouldn’t expect there to usually be _enough_ to actually run; it strikes me as more of an ooze-y or drippy thing. Careful. You live in Anaheim, this kind of talk could get you deported to Oakland. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963/35 "2015-05-30T21:37:13Z")
Santorum doesn’t seem a viable candidate at the national level to me. Alas, Ted Cruz got himself elected to the Senate, from my district no less, so he’s much scarier to me as a Presidential candidate. My fear is the more candidates spring this stuff in the Republican primary race, the more appealing it will seem to the party base. But maybe that’s a good thing - get the GOP swinging far right, and the middle of the country will beg Hillary, even if they have to hold their nose over Obama. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963/36 "2015-06-01T04:05:18Z")
All I have to say about Rick Santorum is no. Just no. Besides, if you want Religious Right, you’re better off with Huck, an actual preacher and comes off as a much nicer guy. Plus he was a governor, whereas Santorum was a rather unremarkable Senator. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963/37 "2015-06-01T07:37:56Z")
Don’t count out the frothy mixture. He is backed by [billionaire investor Foster Friess](http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-05-28/this-wyoming-fund-manager-is-betting-on-rick-santorum-again). He has a super-Pac lined up which will be run by his former chief of staff Mark Rodgers. They won’t be coordinating though: that would be illegal. Santorum’s nonprofit together with his PAC have raised $10 million: donations to the nonprofit are wholly anonymous. Santorum was a staunch opponent of campaign finance reform. To be fair he also sponsored a bill creating the 1994 USA World Cup commemorative coin. So he and I share some common ground. NSFW: [http://spreadingsantorum.com/](http://spreadingsantorum.com/) [Campaign for the neologism "santorum" - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_for_%22santorum%22_neologism) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963/38 "2015-06-01T16:04:02Z")
He’s entertaining, I’ll give him that. But I think he’s past his sell-by date and, in this extraordinarily crowded field, has little chance of winning the GOP nomination. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963/39 "2015-06-01T16:15:27Z")
Remember his [Obamaville](http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/24/santorum-unveils-obamaville-video-scary-music-included/?_r=0)campaign ad? So how’d that all work out? Any mushroom clouds yet? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963/40 "2015-06-01T19:30:01Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Remember his [Obamaville](http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/24/santorum-unveils-obamaville-video-scary-music-included/?_r=0)campaign ad? > > So how’d that all work out? Any mushroom clouds yet? The link at that article is no longer working for us plebes. For those who don’t remember [this ad, here it is: Obamaville](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6CUSEPPKzU). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-santorum-for-potus-2016-thread/720963.md?page=3)