We'd love to see former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum go all the way to capturing the Republican presidential nomination. Just think, Santorum, a single-issue candidate fixated on his anti-gay message, would turn off so many voters that President Barack Obama would easily win re-election.
But we can dream, can't we?
Santorum kept his barebones campaign alive with a virtual tie in the Iowa caucuses, losing to Mitt Romney by a mere eight votes. (In fact, for a time, Santorum was on top in the three-way contest with Romney and Texas Congressman Ron Paul.) The caucuses �" in which a small Midwestern, mostly white state has an outsized role in presidential politics �" made clear that Santorum is the favorite among social conservatives. But that won't be enough for him to win the nomination and, so far, Santorum has been unable to broaden his appeal. When you run on a single issue �" in his case promoting the traditional family and restricting marriage to one man and one woman �" it gets you only so far.
The predominantly gay Log Cabin Republicans reacted to Santorum's victory Tuesday night, warning that in order to defeat Obama, the party requires a candidate "who can unite and expand the Republican Party." R. Clarke Cooper, the group's executive director, also pointed to Santorum's divisive campaign in Iowa and said more of the same would only hurt him in New Hampshire, which holds its primary next week.
"If using gay and lesbian Americans as a wedge can't score enough political points to win more than 25 percent in Iowa, it certainly won't help the Republican nominee in November," Cooper added.
In the days leading up to the caucuses, Santorum revealed his deep homophobia and vindictiveness by telling NBC's Chuck Todd that if there were to be a federal ban on same-sex marriage, not only could new marriages not be performed, but all existing same-sex marriages would be nullified. As University of Michigan Law School professor Steve Sanders observed, writing on the American Constitutional Society's blog, Santorum is no one's constitutional scholar. "Still, it is stunning when someone who is being taken seriously as a presidential candidate ... literally shrugs at the idea that the federal government might unilaterally void more than 130,000 perfectly legal marriages," Sanders wrote. Santorum's position would completely unravel families, which is ironic given that he's campaigning as the ultimate pro-family candidate. Oh, that's right, he's only pro-family for his kind of family.
As a presidential candidate, he has exhibited a wholly self-centered view of the world. He would like America to go back to an era that has long since passed. For example, he views diversity negatively and believes everyone should think and behave one way �" as he defines it. "We need to celebrate common values and have a president that lays out those common values," he said last weekend. There's nothing wrong with common values, but that shouldn't come at the expense of diversity, which is one of the country's great strengths.
Even though he nearly won the caucuses, the other social conservative candidates were at the bottom of the list. Texas Governor Rick Perry finished fifth. Last place finisher Michele Bachmann, a Minnesota congresswoman, dropped out of the race Wednesday morning.
Santorum's momentum will be short-lived because it's not sustainable. Like Mick Huckabee four years ago, but without the folksy charm and easy laugh, Santorum is vying for those social conservative votes. The problem for him �" as it was for Huckabee �" is that there just aren't enough of them.