Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumEverbody hates Rick Santorum: How the former GOP heavyweight became a political irrelevancy
2016 is heating up. Indiana's anti-gay law dominates the headlines. And nobody is paying attention to poor ol' RickMATT ROZSA
As Americans brace themselves for Rand Pauls just-announced presidential campaign, it is appropriate to take a quick look at the increasing political irrelevancy of another likely candidate, one who less than four years ago nearly wrested the Republican nomination from Mitt Romney.
I refer, of course, to former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), who made headlines earlier this week by coming out in support of Indianas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the controversial law that would allow business to discriminate against gay customers this in spite of the fact that even a large number of Republicans have joined Democrats, independents, and the general business community in denouncing the bill.
Before we explore the connection between Santorums stance on gay rights and his waning political star, its important to note that for the last 40 years, the heir apparent to the Republican presidential nomination has been the runner-up from previous years primaries: See Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bob Dole, John McCain, and Mitt Romney. If that precedent were still in effect, former Sen. Rick Santorum would at the very least rank among the handful of frontrunners. Instead he trails in the single digits, where he has been since the very beginning of this cycles polling.
According to the Polling Report, he hasnt reached 4 percent in more than a year.
The reason for this is as simple as it is monumental: Santorums political brand is linked to his staunch opposition to gay rights. Even a decade ago, that might have been enough to at least make him a strong contender in the GOP primaries. Today, however, Americans are moving inexorably in favor of full legal equality for the gay community. This has hurt Santorum considerably and, despite his other political weaknesses (most notably his landslide loss in the Pennsylvania Senate race in 2006), will in and of itself tank his chances at being president.
Even worse for Santorum, Republicans are far less religiously-minded in their politics than theyve been in the past. While many conservatives are still quick to express ostensible support for using religion to shape government policies, 7 in 10 perceive religion as losing its influence in American life, with secular and/or non-Christian religious beliefs increasing in this country even as church attendance and specific denominational loyalties continue to decline. Religion in general is not diminishing its social impact, but Christianity specifically is losing its authoritative power across society, writes Professor Gary Laderman in The Huffington Post. What we are witnessing today, and what has been especially visible in the past for some time now, is a process of dechristianization (not secularization). Indeed, as Professor Mark Chaves noted in American Religion: Contemporary Trends, even evangelicals are showing signs of shedding exclusionary attitudes and identifying less strongly with their religious background.
more
http://www.salon.com/2015/04/09/everbody_hates_rick_santorum_how_the_former_gop_heavyweight_became_a_political_irrelevancy/
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
3 replies, 1326 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (6)
ReplyReply to this post
3 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Everbody hates Rick Santorum: How the former GOP heavyweight became a political irrelevancy (Original Post)
DonViejo
Apr 2015
OP
corkhead
(6,119 posts)1. Yup, turned out he was all froth, no substance.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)2. he was never a heavyweight
He just happened to be the only "not Mitt Romney" left standing during the Iowa caucuses
QuestionAlways
(259 posts)3. I disagree, he has not held office and has not been in the news.
He is yesterday's news and people have forgotten him. It is not that the Republican party has been far less religiously-minded in their politics than theyve been in the past. Let's wait until after the Iowa caucus before we jump to conclusions.