Santorum: Obama's Faith Is "Phony"

Steven Waldman,

This is a very interesting entry. I understand what Santorum is driving at. However, in your last two paragraphs, you leapt to several sweeping conclusions that I'm not even sure Santorum would agree with, namely:

"In other words, Obama's faith is fraudulant in part because liberal Christinaity is. ... I've come across this sentiment before. To a degree rarely discussed, many conservative Christians truly doubt both the theological truth and the spiritual authenticity of liberal Christians."

Truth be told, I'm not sure what is meant by "liberal Christianity" (and, to get to specific cases, I'm not all that familiar with the views of Reinhold Niebuhr).

However, I think a lot of little-o orthodox believers will agree that:
(1) Obama may very well have been using TUCC to obtain "stret cred" and useful community connections.
(2) The "liberation theology" which undergirds the "Afro-centric approach" of TUCC fitted neatly with the secular goals of the young and "politically progressive" community organizer who arrived in Chicago in 1984 or 1985 from Columbia University.
(3) The theology embraced by Wright, Obama, perhaps Fr. Pfleger, is a perversion of authentic Christianity and is, therefore, as Santorum described it, "a charade."

However, I don't accept your generalization that "when Democrats do it [talk about faith], they're accused of being phoney."

That would not be true for Joseph Lieberman (Jewish), or for the late Paul Tsongas (Greek Orthodox), or for the late Eugene McCarthy (Roman Catholic), or for Jimmy Carter (Southern Baptist), or for Ray Flynn (Roman Catholic), or for Barbara Jordan (Baptist). Martin Sheen is not a politician, but he's a liberal activist (besides being an actor) and another example of someone who's faith (Roman Catholic) is beyond doubt. The same for the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Baptist).

Spotting a phoney involves intuition and "gut feeling." For the politicians and activists mentioned above, most voters sense that their faith is authentic and integral to whom they are as people.

The same, however, can not be said for other Democrats including, perhaps, Obama.

Senator Frothy Mixture strikes again.

Unsurprising.

if Santorum had an ounce of integrity or credibility, that is - if his own faith wasn't a charade on parade, he would also have added "and since what I've just done is inappropriate, for the duration of the campaign I will take a vow of silence"

I wonder...has Sanitorium ever reimbursed the taxpayers of the Penn Hills School district for the money they had to pay out in tuition for his kids while he was living in Virginia?

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In November 2004, a controversy developed over education costs for Santorum's children. Santorum's legal address is a three-bedroom house in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, which he purchased for $87,800 in 1997 and is located next to Mrs Santorum's parents But since 2001, he has lived in Leesburg, Virginia, a town about one hour's drive west of Washington, D.C., and about 90 minutes' drive south of the Pennsylvania border, in a house he purchased for $643,000. The Penn Hills Progress, a local paper, reported that Santorum and his wife paid about $2,000 per year in property taxes on their Pennsylvania home ($487.20 per year to Allegheny County, 2006 through 2008, based on a 2007 value of $106,000 [81], plus Penn Hills School District tax). The paper also found that another couple — possibly renters — were registered voters at the same address.[82]

At the time the issue arose, Santorum's five older children attended the Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, with 80 percent of tuition costs paid by the Penn Hills School District.[83] At a meeting in November 2004, the Penn Hills School District announced that it did not believe Santorum met the qualifications for residency status, because he and his family spent most of the year in Virginia. They demanded repayment of tuition costs totaling $67,000.

When news reports showed Sen. Santorum was renting his Penn Hills home relatives a three-bedroom Penn Hills house, Santorum withdrew his five children from the cyber education program that Penn Hills School District paid for. That saved Penn Hills taxpayers about $38,000 a year [84]. Although Santorum said he would make other arrangements for his children's education, he insisted that he did not owe the school board any back tuition. Once the controversy surfaced, the children were withdrawn from the cyber school and were then home schooled .

On July 8, 2005, a Pennsylvania state hearing officer had ruled that the Penn Hills School District had not filed objections to Santorum's residency in a timely manner and dismissed the complaint. Santorum hailed the ruling as a victory against what he termed "baseless and politically motivated charges". Santorum told reporters that "[n]o one's children — and especially not small, school-age children — should be used as pawns in the 'politics of personal destruction.'" In the 2006 senate campaign, the polictics at that time allowed for Santorum's campaign to portray the Santorum family having two homes a family values-based issue, and ran television commercials with Santorum's son saying "My dad's opponents have criticized him for moving us to Washington so we could be with him more."

In September 2006, the Pennsylvania Department of Education agreed to pay the district $55,000 to settle the dispute over money withheld from the district to pay for the children of U.S. Senator Rick Santorum to attend a cyber charter school."

Nice racket...he rents out his home in Pennsylvania, moves to Virginia, and then has his kids' tuition for distance learning while living in Virginia paid for my the folks in the Penn Hills district.

And this man is fit to judge someone else's religious faith?

Maybe Senator Sanitorium needs to take care of his own house first before throwing stones at others'?

www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=11174

"The Prospect decided to heed Santorum's advice by taking “an honest look at the family budget” -- his family budget. What we found is that Santorum's exurban lifestyle is financed in ways that aren't available to the average voter back home in Pennsylvania -- namely a political action committee that lists payments for such unorthodox items as dozens of trips to the Starbucks in Leesburg, a number of stops at fast-food joints, and purchases at Target, Wal-Mart, and a Giant supermarket in northern Virginia. Although a Santorum aide defends those charges as legitimate political costs, good-government experts say the expenditures are at best unconventional, and at worst a possible violation of Senate rules, and the purchases appear to be unorthodox when compared with other senators' filings. Santorum's PAC -- a “leadership PAC,” whose purpose is to dispense money to other Republican candidates -- used just 18.1 percent of its money to that end over a recent five-year period, a lower number than other leadership PACs of top senators from both parties."

Rather strange for a man who sets himself up as the judge of another's faith to have such lapses in his own judgment, don't you think? But then Senator Sanitorium knows what the Bible says regarding judging.

Matthew 7:1-5

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

The good Senator obviously is inviting us to use the same kind of scrutiny in examining his walk with Jesus that he uses in judging Obama's walk.

"Why do you hate Rick Santorum to the degree that you would post one diatribe after another against this man?"

Isn't that what Christian politics has become these days, Reaganite? I mean, look at Dreher's blog. Unsubstantiated rumors about John Edwards "alleged affair" and oblique references to Obama's religious faith have become standard fare over there. And then there is McGinty, who has decided to parrot that ignorant GOP fluffer Michele Malkin.

Thus is the direction Beliefnet has taken since being bought out by Rupert "Temptation Island" Murdoch. Beliefnet has become a 24/7 outlet for Obama bashing.

Rick Sanitorium, like so many conservative Christians, has chosen to judge the religious faith (or lack thereof) of other people. He has placed himself in a position of moral authority over those he judges.

If you are going to do that, you had best not have any faults of your own that can come to the surface. Sanitorium clearly has questionable ethics of his own to worry about.

But of course he also has drooling apologists who turn a blind eye to his inequity but are quite willing to harp on the perceived wrongs others commit.

This is the Christianity you represent, Reaganite. Judgmental, hypocritical, and completely sold out to the GOP. What is it about the GOP that made you decide to sell out Jesus for some tax breaks?

By the way, Reaganite...which Sanitorium should we believe? The one who criticizes the religious faith of Obama, or the one who said this earlier this year?

www.newsmax.com/insidecover/Santorum:_McCain_Presiden/2008/01/14/64277.html

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Santorum: McCain Presidency Very Dangerous

Monday, January 14, 2008 4:48 PM

By: Newmax Staff

Former Senator and leading conservative Rick Santorum says a John McCain presidency would be “very, very dangerous for Republicans.”

Santorum — who was defeated in 2006 after two terms as a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania — was sharply critical of fellow Republican McCain in an interview that aired last week on syndicated talk radio host Mark Levin’s show.

Responding to Levin’s observation that McCain is trying to recast himself as more conservative now that he is seeking the GOP presidential nomination, Santorum said:

“It’s amazing to hear what John McCain is trying to convince the voters he is all about. The bottom line is, I served 12 years with him, six years in the Senate as one of the leaders of the Senate, trying to put together the conservative agenda, and almost at every turn, on domestic policy, John McCain was not only against us, but leading the charge on the other side.”

Santorum cited the campaign finance reform bill sponsored by McCain, the McCain-Feingold Act, which limits campaign contributions and has been called by some an “incumbent protection act.”

Santorum called the act “an affront to personal freedom and liberty in this country, and what we’ve seen as a result of this misguided attempt to placate the New York Times and to help his stature within that community … is that special interests have absolutely taken over the political process, and individual candidates, unless you’re a billionaire, and parties have very little voice in the process.

“It’s a shame, but he was obviously out front on that.”

The former Senator also criticized McCain for voting against the Bush Tax cuts — he was one of only two Republicans to do so.

“The reduction in [tax] rates and lowering the rates on capital gains and dividends … did so much to get this economy up and going. [But] we would have had a much bigger tax cut if it were not for John McCain.”
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Now, set aside for a moment that only someone who is completely brain dead would think that our economy is "up and going" thanks to the economic policies of the last eight years. Should we trust Sanitorium when he says that a McCain presidency would be detrimental to our nation?

Reaganite is right. The posts on this blog are way more vicious than anything Mr. Santorum said. They remind me of writings I see on bathroom walls.

As for Beliefnet becoming a place for Obama-bashing I disagree. There are certainly critical words for Mr. Obama, but if any group is bashed on Beliefnet it is "the Christian Right." Just look at some of the posts above. The "Christian Right" has become a pejorative, its poster children are Jerry, James and Pat. These 3 have garnered a lot of attention for their judgemental words and their interpretation of Scripture as it relates to politics.

But JJ&P do not speak for me (a conservative Christian) and they don't speak for many others as well. Its very easy to take the extreme things said by these 3 and paste them like a label on all conservative religious people

Reaganite asks: "Why do you hate Rick Santorum to the degree that you would post one diatribe after another against this man? Why? What has he done to you personally?"

Hate? No, I don't hate Sanitorium. Not at all. I love the man, and wish nothing but a long and happy life for him, and continued success in the private sector. However, I hate the actions of the man as a member of Congress.

You know, love the sinner, hate the sin.

ds0490 is too generous.

I'll come right out and say it: I, personally, hate Rick Santorum with the flaming force of a thousand suns. If he was drowning, I wouldn't throw him a line. If he was being eaten alive by cannibals, I'd toss them some ketchup.

He is a blight on the political landscape, and a horrible human being - everything he says is tainted by a pathetic understanding of the bible as read through the lens of the Project for the New American Century and therefore should be ignored.

Hell is too good for people like Santorum.

"Santorum, known for overtly connecting his fath [sic] to his politics ..."

Actually, Mr. Santorum is much more widely known for his "loving" comparison of committed gay relationships to "man-on-dog sex".

And you think he has a modicum of believability?

Ah well, better to have a man like Santorum think Obama's faith "phony" than to have a nonsensical/assholish 'faith' like Santorum's.

""Why do you hate Rick Santorum to the degree that you would post one diatribe after another against this man?"

Why? What has he done to you personally?

He has personally borne false witness against me. Hateful man.

"As for Beliefnet becoming a place for Obama-bashing I disagree."

You are entitled to disagree, but you are - DEMONSTRABLY wrong.

"The "Christian Right" has become a pejorative, its poster children are Jerry, James and Pat."

Then you just might want to place the blame squarely where it belongs - on those "poster children". They are the cause of much of what has gone wrong with the so-called, self-described "Christian" right. It is clearly their fault that the term itself has become a pejorative.

"These 3 have garnered a lot of attention for their judgemental words and their interpretation of Scripture as it relates to politics."

Bingo! So you do understand why the negative reactions then?

"But JJ&P do not speak for me (a conservative Christian) and they don't speak for many others as well."

But they say they do speak for you. It's up to you to either prove them wrong or shut them up. They aren't doing you any favours.

"Its very easy to take the extreme things said by these 3 and paste them like a label on all conservative religious people."

Thanks for at least admitting what they say is extreme. Not sure why you are suprised when people react to their extremes. (Equally not sure why Mr. Waldman lends him/them any credence.) Be that as it may, they presume to speak for the "Christian" and the conservative "right". And the likes of Waldman use them (you should pardon the expression) 'religiously' as their source. Often, and without question. So, we, otoh, question, and you just hate the fact that we do question their 'authority'.

I hope Obama is not a hypocrite (Christian). We don't need another bible thumper in the White House.

As a registered Republican for 54 years (first vote was for Dwight D. Eisenhower '52 – straight ticket of course) and having spent the past 50 years not only as an active member of the Republican Party in Arkansas but serving as Chairman of both the Benton County Republican Party and the Pulaski County Republican Party (Arkansas’ largest County) as well as many other positions of responsibility, I cannot find the words to adequately describe my embarrassment these past 8 years and my contempt for members of My Party like Rick Santorum and I have voiced my utter contempt by voting my very first straight Democratic ticket year before last and plan to repeat that aberration again in November. After the tsunami hits November 4th, hopefully we will be able to do a complete house cleaning from top to bottom within the Republican Party.

Mr. Santorum does not speak for Christianity nor does the Republican Party. He does have the right to speak for himself and his own beliefs. However, he does not have the right to have those ideas taken seriously simply because he utters them.

Mr. Santorum also tends to confuse Christianity with authoritarianism. That conflation is not terribly compelling to most human beings with a healthy sense of self and others.

Were I Mr. Santorum I would stick to speaking for what he actually knows about - his own beliefs and his political agenda. But, then Mr. Santorum has not demonstrated a lot of good sense politically or religiously for quite some time. There's a reason the people of Pennsylvania dumped him.

I find it amusing that many of the conservative "Christians" will have you believing (erroneously I might add), that Islam and Muslims' ultimate goal is to take over the world by force and shove the religion down everyone's throat. Yet many of the conservative Christians are doing JUST THAT, and say they are justified in doing so by protecting their religion. Jesus would probably not be too happy with the way they are behaving, because tolerance and "loving thy brother" were some of the things he espoused. Santorum and his ilk should be thrown back into the Crusades where they belong.

Judge not, lest ye be judged. Heard of that Rick ole boy?

Like "T", Rick Santorum is a hypocrite with control issues.

I hope Rick Santorum runs for president in 2012!!

http://www.spreadingsantorum.com

This isn't strange, anyone who is already elitist will of course think anything else they follow must be right.

I've known several pastors and supposed Christians who think the faith the follow is the only way to get to heaven.

Santorum (see moron) just today said that the Quran was written in Islamic.

So does that mean the bible was written in Christian?

How did anyone vote for this retard?

Now if you think hes surprised at his own mistake, wait till he sees zeitgeist and finds out that his christian religion was plagiarized from the Egyptians.

Richard: Your whole first paragraph is ad hom. You are attacking the man rather than the man's argument. Try to keep on point.

Concerning your second paragraph, yes, I have read the Bible. Numerous times. Nothing can so efficiently destroy the belief in Christianity quite as well as reading the Bible in proper context. By proper context, I mean with a firm grasp on the knowledge and history of the periods encompassed within the Bible, knowledge of Hebrew (both the language, traditions and culture), Greek and Latin. After you take the time to learn that, spend another year or so researching the history of the Catholic Church. "But I am not Catholic!" Doesn't matter, whatever Christian sect you identify with, it evolved out of Catholicism. After you have done all that, Research some more. Research Krishna and find out just how similar his story is to that of Jesus and yet he was hundreds of years before him. Research Horus, the Egyptian equivalent of Jesus that pre-dates him by over 2,000 years. Research Buddha, 500 years before Jesus, whose mythology is the same.

That is the problem with all you theists. I don't care WHAT religion you are; Christian, Muslim, Jewish... You are all so divisive. Your religion serves only to separate man from one another rather than unify. Most of you NEVER research your so called beliefs. You simply carry on with what you have been indoctrinated with without EVER asking the question, "Why do I believe what I believe?"

rICHARD i AGREE WITH YOU. EVERYTHING PRESIDENT BUSH SAID MEANT HE WAS STUPID BUT EVERYONE OVERLOOKS ALL THE GAFFS THAT OBAMA DOES.DAVID YOU TALK LIKE EVERY PERSON OTHER THAN YOU IS UNINFORMED. YOU MUST UNDERSTAND WHAT THE WORD FAITH MEANS.THAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH THE PEOPLE YOU LABEL "THEISTS". THAT IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT. BELIEVING AND FEELING THE LOVE OF CHRIST IN YOUR HEART. MAYBE YOU SHOULD SEEK THAT.