Rick Santorum Compares ‘Social Welfare Programs’ Like Medicaid To Fascism In Iowa Speech

[muriel_volestrangler]

This is one time I'd like the Pope to step in and shout some sense into this idiot:

Rick Santorum delivered what sounded like a victory speech in Iowa last night, where he fell just eight votes short of victory to Mitt Romney. During his remarks, the former Pennsylvania senator said his grandfather’s decision to flee Mussolini’s Italy inspired him to enter the race and fight against President Obama’s reliance on government. The reference has become a staple of Santorum’s stump speeches, but on Wednesday morning, he went a step further, directly linking “social welfare programs” — the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and food stamps — to the fascism his grandfather left behind:

SANTORUM: (My grandfather) came after having fought in World War I because Mussolini has been in power now for three years and had has figured out that Fascism was something that would crush his spirit and his freedom….And we have two parties that are out talking about how they’re going to solve those problems. One wants to talk about raising taxes on people who have been successful and redistributing money, increasing dependency in this country, promoting more Medicaid and food stamps and all sorts of social welfare programs and passing Obamacare to provide even more government subsidies. More and more dependency, more and more government — exactly what my grandfather left in 1925.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/01/04/397233/rick-santorum-compares-social-welfare-programs-like-medicaid-to-fascism-in-iowa-speech/

[jberryhill]

1. I thought Obamacare started with Romney, not Mussolini

The things you learn from GOP candidates...

[msongs]

2. did he mention the hitler-youth pope yet? hmm nt

[TwilightGardener]

3. Feeding poor people and allowing them to get medical treatment = Fascism?

[Proud Liberal Dem]

4. I've repeatedly tried hard

but failed miserably to find the connection between people being allowed access to medical treatment and Fascism. Is he suggesting that Canada, Great Britain, or any other Western European country that has "socialized medicine" is Fascist? Really? Oh wait a minute. I thought that those countries were supposed to be "Socialist" (which is also bad). Frankly, I'm hopelessly confused by it all.

[TwilightGardener]

7. Maybe they've just squeezed all the juice they could out of socialism, this is their new

Luntz-approved nonsensical talking point. Or Ricky doesn't understand what fascism is. Could be that, too.

[provis99]

5. so social welfare is like crushing the working class?

The stupid, it burns....

[Evasporque]

6. Most of America equates santorum with a frothy mixture of lube and feces.....nt