Can the Tea Party Save Us from Rick Santorum?

COMMENTARY | Rick Santorum has shown that he is not afraid to bring divisive topics to the forefront of the GOP race for president, but has he gone too far this time? The Evangelical Catholic is now saying that he is opposed to an absolute separation of church and state. Though he may poll well with Evangelical Christians, Santorum may be risking the tea party vote with such outlandish comments.

The tea party and those politicians most closely associated with it have long maintained that the government needs to return to the ideas set forth by the founding fathers in the Constitution. When Santorum indicates that he is not in favor of the separation of church and state, he is offending the mindset of the tea party movement.

Though not a constitutional scholar, Santorum is attempting to re-interpret the wording of the document itself. According tot he National Journal, he believes that religion should be free of government interference, but that government should be influenced by religion. This is the opposite of what the founding fathers had intended.

In the United States, we have the freedom to practice whichever religion that we hold dear, so long as we do not cause harm to others in the process. What Rick Santorum and other Evangelicals are suggesting is that the government should be influenced by religion, so long as it is their religion.

Though tea party members tend to be conservative and religious, Santorum would do well to remember that it is the party that wants government to stay out of our personal lives. He did try to touch on this at a tea party rally, according to the Washington Post, by saying “It’s the statists who are intolerant. They’re the ones who want to impose their values on everybody else.” What is ironic is that he doesn’t see himself as being guilty of the same thing.

Rick Santorum has convinced himself that the United States government, led by Barack Obama, is waging a war on Christianity in this country. Even other candidates, such as Newt Gingrich, have jumped on this bandwagon. If such a theory was spouted by a co-worker, neighbor, or friend, we might roll our eyes and label them a conspiracy theorist. For Evangelical voters in the United States, the theory is considered credible and something that only Rick Santorum can save us from. Hopefully, those tea party members who are Constitutional purists will step in to prevent a Santorum victory.


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