What Santorum considers a 'phony theology'

[ProSense]

What Santorum considers a 'phony theology'

By Steve Benen

Like all Republican presidential candidates, Rick Santorum tends to be unrelenting in his daily criticisms of President Obama. But over the weekend, the former senator broke some new and unsettling ground.

At another stop in Ohio on Saturday, Mr. Santorum waded into what he called the "phony theology" of Mr. Obama's agenda.

"It's about some phony ideal, some phony theology. Oh, not a theology based on the Bible, a different theology," he said. "But no less a theology."

In later comments to reporters, Mr. Santorum said while there are "a lot of different stripes" of Christianity, he believes that "if the president says he's a Christian, he's a Christian."

Given the larger context -- the right has questioned the sincerity of Obama's faith for many years -- Santorum assertion about a "phony theology" certainly appears to be part of a larger smear, though the former senator has denied that was his intention.

But in many respects, Santorum's new attack is even more troubling than its face-value ugliness. Since when is it the job of presidential candidates to question others' theology? The Santorum camp later said he was simply referring to the president's worldview, but notice that the Republican candidate used the word "theology" four times in three sentences. Santorum was, in other words, trying to make a specific point.

And that point, apparently, was the notion that Obama is motivated by a religion that is "not ... based on the Bible." Santorum wants to be a president -- and he also wants to be a canonical judge of all things scriptural, which isn't exactly in the Article II job description.

- more -

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/20/10457725-what-santorum-considers-a-phony-theology

Santorum thinks he's running for Religious Leader of the United States.

[woodsprite]

1. Which would mean he's running to be something like an "American pope"?

I mean, since he thinks every other 'main stream' religion is quackery or "in the grasp of Satan".

It scares me to think that ANYONE could ever vote for this guy - or even consider it, for that matter.

[flakey_foont]

2. and home school his kids in the White House if elected!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/19/rick-santorum-slams-educa_n_1287695.html?ref=politics&ir=Politics

[Old and In the Way]

5. More like the Cleric-in-Chief

[appleannie1]

3. Unfortunately the 'born again' crowd are rapturous over him.

It is like group hysteria. They believe God sent him to save this country. And they don't even hear him when he calls them "Satan's spawn" because they are not Catholic.

[Ron Green]

4. This is Dog whistle in reverse.

You know, like for dyslexics.

[madamesilverspurs]

6. He's not running for President, he's running to be God.

[starroute]

7. I took it as part of the right-wing tendency to label liberal views as "religion"

It started with them calling evolution a religion so they could argue that it doesn't belong in the classroom. Recently, it's also been extended to environmentalism:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/02/14/1064637/-Climate-change-denier-environmentalism-is-a-religion

Many of us remember the Dr. Seuss book and movie The Lorax. It's being adapted into a computer-animated feature film that's due to come out next month. The EPA is helping promote the film--something that doesn't sit too well with Cal Beisner, head of the Cornwall Alliance, a fundie-oriented climate change denial outfit. He claims that the EPA's sponsorship of this movie amounts to--wait for it--government endorsement of religion.

"What you've got there is the mixing of taxpayer dollars into the promotion of a clear ideology that has a particular religious flavor to it," the Cornwall Alliance spokesman concludes. "And frankly, I think that this is a violation of the separation of church and state."

I suspect that Santorum is attempting to claim that progressive political viewpoints in general are an un-Biblical "theology." If he is, there will probably be more statements of the same kind forthcoming.

[Bok_Tukalo]

8. He says that about Obama because he can't say it about Romney

<OPE>

[DCKit]

9. Is he going to have the guts to do the same to (R)-money, or is that simply implied?

Actually stating it might be seen as beyond the pale, even by the Republics - but it's just dandy when he uses it against the President.

[ProSense]

10. It's

"Actually stating it might be seen as beyond the pale, even by the Republics - but it's just dandy when he uses it against the President."

...fascinating. Santorum is a religious zealot who likely turns off most religious people. He appears to be appealing to a other religious zealots, and that can't be good for Romney.