The Moral High Ground Of Rick Santorum, Cultural Warrior

thehuffingtonpost.com

The Republican Party's new frontrunner, Rick Santorum, is choosing to go down the path of cultural warrior with a stump speech of ideological rhetoric.  His appearances throughout Ohio and Michigan have focused almost entirely on social and religious issues.  Focusing much of his rhetoric on President Obama referring to him as a radical environmentalist to an elitist.  Calling the President's brand of Christianity, "phony theology" and not "based on the bible", Santorum is drawing a sharp contrast between himself and the President as well as his opponent, Mitt Romney. 

Santorum has taken advantage of the recent contraceptive issue embracing it as part of his ideological messaging to his loyal conservative followers.  Santorum points to President Obama as "trampling on a constitutional right" requiring hospitals and institutions to provide co-pay-free contraception.  "It is imposing his ideology on a group of people expressing their theology, their moral code, and saying the government will force you to do what you faith says is gravely wrong." 

He speaks of Obama trying to "cull the ranks of the disabled" by requiring prenatal screenings.  His reference is that the Affordable Health Care Act requires that insurance companies cover prenatal screenings which Santorum believes lead to more abortions.  Santorum says the President has done this, "Because it saves money in health care.  Why?  Because free prenatal testing ends up in more abortions and therefore less care that has be done." 

Santorum pronounced that the President's agenda is, "not about you.  It's about your quality of life.  It's not about your jobs.  It's about some phony ideal.  Some phony theology.  Oh, not a theology based on the Bible.  A different theology."  Santorum says that Obama's values run against those of Christianity.  "His is imposing his values on the Christian church.  He can categorize those values anyway he wants."  In the same breath, Santorum says, "If the president says he's a Christian, he's a Christian."

Choosing to go down the path of cultural warrior by speaking primarily about social and moral issues, Santorum is clearly speaking only to the conservative crowd and voter.  Mitt Romney appears to intentionally be avoiding such issues as much as possible and focusing on the more traditional issues of jobs.  One has to suspect that Wednesday Night's debate will focus on these social issues more significantly and it will be interesting to see how Romney, Paul and Gingrich respond to Santorum's cultural rhetoric. 

One has to believe that this path Santorum has chosen will be an issue for the Republican party should he win the nomination.  The social and moral values Santorum speaks of resonate with the conservative Evangelicals but falls out of bounds for the more moderate Republicans and independents.  It seems unlikely that the Republican party will allow this to continue if Santorum builds more momentum against Romney.  The Republican party may just have to encourage, motivate and challenge one of their more mainstream leaders to step in and challenge Santorum.