Rick Santorum on Libertarians

Now that Bachmann, Cain, Perry and Gingrich have had their day in the sun, it's Rick Santorum's turn.

Here are the Republican Flavor Of The Month's quotes on the concept of government leaving people alone.  This is from an excellent rant in Reason magazine:

In a Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon in Harrisburg last summer, Santorum declared, "I am not a libertarian, and I fight very strongly against libertarian influence within the Republican Party and the conservative movement."


In that regard, Santorum has a pretty impressive record. By voting for the No Child Left Behind Act, he helped give President Obama the power to micromanage the nation's schools from Washington; and by supporting a prescription drug entitlement for Medicare, he helped saddle the taxpayers with a $16 trillion unfunded liability.

Well, at least his votes are consistent with his beliefs. 

"This idea that people should be left alone, be able to do whatever they want to do," Santorum complained to NPR in 2006, "that we shouldn't get involved in the bedroom, we shouldn't get involved in cultural issues ... that is not how traditional conservatives view the world."

Getting involved in everybody's beds, bongs, bullets and babies would take a HUGE fat honkin' government, wouldn't it?  Yes it would. 

Santorum voted for the 2005 "bridge to nowhere" highway bill, has backed an expanded national service program, and his compassionate conservatism has the Bono seal of approval: "On our issues, he has been a defender of the most vulnerable." Rick Santorum: He's from the government, and he's here to help.


Santorum's 2012 campaign platform even includes a pledge to "re-direct funds within HHS, so it can create public/private partnerships ... for the purpose of strengthening marriages, families, and fatherhood."

Anyone who thinks that giving the Department of Health And Human Services another dime?  That person is not a Libertarian.  That person is an Obama wannabe.  Rick Santorum doesn't want to turn the car around.  He just wants to drive it and stop at different restaurants than the Democrats. 

But his words and his beliefs are consistent.  That counts for a lot.