# When you google "Santorum" **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 15, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596 "2012-01-15T14:32:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596/101 "2012-01-16T23:58:28Z")
I just want to say I’m against people smearing Santorum. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596/102 "2012-01-16T23:58:52Z")
> [@Valteron](#): > > Anal sex is a cooperative thing that is meant to be done lovingly and gently… Straight porn says otherwise. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596/103 "2012-01-17T00:02:10Z")
Heh, heh. “Smear campaign.” ---
**Author:** ![Valteron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f17d59/32.png) [@Valteron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valteron)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596/104 "2012-01-17T00:02:55Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I wish Santorum didn’t occur at all, but I figure he’ll drop out of the race and endorse Romney in a month or so. Oh wait, you thought I meant. . . . . . oh yeah, when the word occurs at the beginning of a sentence I guess it takes a capital, thus leading to confusion. My bad:( I guess the other problem is that you can’t tell if there is a capital on the word when it is spoken. For example, when the MC at one of his fundraisers says: “Thank you Rick, that speech was just pure (S)santorum!” I wonder if Dan Savage really thought of the confusion he might cause? ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596/105 "2012-01-17T00:18:25Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I wish Santorum didn’t occur at all, but I figure he’ll drop out of the race and endorse Romney in a month or so. Romney? I’d predict he’d endorse any other “not-Romney” first. And now I’m off, to inform the Jr. Senator from Minnesota that humor and serious political discourse are fundamentally (joke! Joke!) incompatible… ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596/106 "2012-01-17T00:23:43Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > Romney? I’d predict he’d endorse any other “not-Romney” first. Yeah, but “in a month or so”, the other “not-Romneys” will be out of it, too. Well… maybe Gingrich will _just barely_ be hanging on, out of gritted-teeth determination more than anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596/107 "2012-01-17T00:27:55Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Yeah, but “in a month or so”, the other “not-Romneys” will be out of it, too. > > Well… maybe Gingrich will _just barely_ be hanging on, out of gritted-teeth determination more than anything else. I’ll bet Ron Paul will stay in to the bitter end, just to be contrary. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596/108 "2012-01-17T00:32:34Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I’ll bet Ron Paul will stay in to the bitter end, just to be contrary. He did that in 2008, and I’m expecting him to do it this time, too. He’s not running for re-election and if he’s just in the race to make a point and to get people to talk about the issues he cares about, he has little reason to drop out. But by the time everybody else rallies around Romney it won’t matter very much what Paul is doing. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596/109 "2012-01-17T00:32:48Z")
Fair enough, though I find it hard to picture Santorum endorsing Paul. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596/110 "2012-01-17T00:47:06Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > You can’t make serious commentary and be a comedian at the same time. Oh. So does this mean we shouldn’t take commentary seriously if it’s from someone named “smiling bandit”? Wow. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596/111 "2012-01-17T01:09:45Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > REALLY? This is what passes for political discourse? I wanted to go back and address this again: no, this is not what passes for political discourse. It’s humor. There are arguments against laws that legislate sexual behavior, there are arguments for recognizing gay marriage, and there are arguments against everything else Santorum said. You’ve probably seen all of them on this board many times. This is a joke at the expense of Rick Santorum because he said something repugnant. There’s a place for both. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2012, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596/112 "2012-01-17T01:12:33Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well… maybe Gingrich will _just barely_ be hanging on, out of gritted-teeth determination more than anything else. If Gingrich is stil hanging on, I’d say it’s more because of Sheldon Adelson’s money than anything else. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596/113 "2012-01-17T01:42:41Z")
> [@Condescending\_Robot](#): > > Santorum compares gays to child molestors and people who rape dogs, and accuses them of conspiring to destroy America, on a daily basis. Do you believe THAT is what passes for political discourse? The entire point of bringing his name down to the level of his views is to point out the absurdity of the fact that this modern day Ku Klux Klan leader is considered a person whose views must be taken seriously for some reason. This needed to be repeated, I think. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596/114 "2012-01-17T02:10:59Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I honestly didn’t know the source of the “other meaning” and that’s why I asked about it in GQ. I had seen the posts snickering about it, and just assumed that it had some sort of double entendre in the Greek language, or was mistranslated, or something (similar to an English surname like Glasscock). I had no idea that it was a political enemy just making something up and that’s why I agree with the OP in that it has no legitimacy at all. > > Let’s take Biden. Imagine Rush Limbaugh decides on his radio show that a “biden” is something obscene, has it google bombed, and every time someone here posts about the VP, conservatives follow up with snicker posts about it. > > My point is that the insult, taunt, or whatever, is illegitimate. You can’t make up the insult and then use it. I hereby declare that the name Der Tris means “Christian Missionary” and in every thread that he rails against religion, I am going to follow each of his posts with, “That’s pretty ridiculous coming from a der tris! Yuk, yuk!” I agree. Dan Savage is the one who looks like a louse here, objectively. The way people present it as if it should be embarrassing to Mr Santorum tends to misrepresent the situation. But understand, this is not some funny coincidence, it’s actually that Santorum has been so avid in opposing, well, sex in general, that he got this name for himself. If it were just a pun, it wouldn’t be a black mark on him. This is a guy who’s such a famous prude that people turned his name into a word for shit. That’s something. Except, as you say, it’s mostly just a playground taunt. Dan Savage is now trying to turn “rick” into an insulting verb, which shows the level of maturity and responsibility on his end. Mostly, though, I think that it’s unfair to the Santorum family, considering it’s just this one Santorum that’s been such a lightning rod. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596/115 "2012-01-17T02:14:10Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I mean the word “santorum” does NOT mean a frothy mixture of feces and lube. I don’t care if Dan Savage, Rush Limbaugh, or Alan Colmes all say it does. It’s not a proper way to insult someone. OK, I disagree. It would be worse to insult Rick Santorum for having a name that coincidentally meant something disgusting. It would be like mocking a South Asian named Dikshit because of what it sounds like in English. Just no. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596/116 "2012-01-17T02:37:06Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > If it were just a pun, it wouldn’t be a black mark on him. Right. It’d be a light brown mark 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Condescending\_Robot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a183cd/32.png) [@Condescending\_Robot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Condescending_Robot)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596/117 "2012-01-17T03:40:47Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > I agree. Dan Savage is the one who looks like a louse here, objectively. > > The way people present it as if it should be embarrassing to Mr Santorum tends to misrepresent the situation. > > But understand, this is not some funny coincidence, it’s actually that Santorum has been so avid in opposing, well, sex in general, that he got this name for himself. If it were just a pun, it wouldn’t be a black mark on him. This is a guy who’s such a famous prude that people turned his name into a word for shit. That’s something. > > Except, as you say, it’s mostly just a playground taunt. Dan Savage is now trying to turn “rick” into an insulting verb, which shows the level of maturity and responsibility on his end. > > Mostly, though, I think that it’s unfair to the Santorum family, considering it’s just this one Santorum that’s been such a lightning rod. Gonna guess that you’re a Republican and not so comfortable with gays. You know what’s unfair to the Santorum family? Rick Santorum forever associating their name with bigotry and discrimination. No one asked the Orval Faubus or Jerry Falwell or Adolf Hitler family members what they wanted their legacy to be, either. Maybe if this guy was so pro “family values” he wouldn’t burden them with this in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596/118 "2012-01-17T04:00:30Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > The way people present it as if it should be embarrassing to Mr Santorum tends to misrepresent the situation. It is embarrassing for Santorum, and so it should be as it seems the meaning has stuck as well as its namesake suggests 😉 Other republicans talk freely that Santorum’s “google problem” is a serious issue for him as a candidate. Whatever else you might say about Dan Savage, what he did worked and is still working. [http://www.npr.org/blogs/ombudsman/2012/01/10/144991616/rick-santorum-s-google-problem-becomes-the-story](http://www.npr.org/blogs/ombudsman/2012/01/10/144991616/rick-santorum-s-google-problem-becomes-the-story) ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596/119 "2012-01-17T04:48:09Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > So, you’re suggesting the moderates would actually feel sympathy for Santorum and be more inclined to vote for him (or, since he’s likely to soon be eliminated from the primaries) another Republican? > > If American moderates are that dumb, it’s no wonder someone like Santorum can get traction in the first place. Yes, may of the “undecided” moderate votes are known to be idiots who do not know who they will vote for five minutes before they get into the voting booths. Would that it were not so. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596/120 "2012-01-17T11:50:51Z")
> [@Ca3799](#): > > Another difference is that Obama closely manages his internet presence. Here is one article about the amount of time and effort (and money) involved. They take the on-line experience very seriously. [http://www.aiim.org/Infonomics/Obama-How-Web2.0-Helped-Win-Whitehouse.aspx](http://www.aiim.org/Infonomics/Obama-How-Web2.0-Helped-Win-Whitehouse.aspx) > > (I somewhat recently read an article about how his team manages negative online presence, but can’t seem to locate it now. ) > > But Santorum does not. This article is about his buggy site and all its redirects, and twitter messages referring interested persons to other sites because the main site is down so often: [Marketing Lessons from Rick Santorum’s Failed CandidacyBiz Coach | Proven Solutions for Maximum Profits Biz Coach](http://www.bizcoachinfo.com/archives/8937) For the record, [this](http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/hhs-paying-google-taxpayer-money-alter-obamacare-search-results_525959.html) is what I mis-remembered. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-google-santorum/609596.md?page=7)