Santorum "appalled" at JFK church/state comments

[jefferson_dem]

Santorum "appalled" at JFK church/state comments

Former Sen. Rick Santorum, who appears likely to enter the race for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, said in Massachusetts Tuesday that he is "frankly appalled'' that John F. Kennedy supported the separation of church and state when he was a presidential candidate in 1960.

Kennedy, who had been facing questions because of his Catholic faith, said at the time, "I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute.''

Santorum, a fellow Catholic, cast that statement as "radical," the Boston Globe reports, adding that it did "great damage."

"We're seeing how Catholic politicians, following the first Catholic president, have followed his lead, and have divorced faith not just from the public square, but from their own decision-making process,'' said Santorum.

Santorum was speaking to a Catholic group when he made the comments, which were reportedly met with "nods and applause."

<SNIP>

"I feel we need someone who is a strong, principled conservative who believes not in government mandates, not in government control of the health care system, but in a patient-centered approach to health care,'' Santorum said, according to the Globe.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20043553-503544.html?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

[derby378]

1. Well, boo-hoo for him...

We've already had one Herr Decider in the White House, thank you very much.

[IntravenousDemilo]

2. Wow, that was over 50 years ago and he's just mentioning it now?

Ricky's a bit slow on the uptake, looks like.

[MikeE]

3. What do you expect...

from someone whose name is synonymous with: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santorum_(sexual_neologism)

[Frustratedlady]

4. Did someone take separation of church/state out of the Constitution and I missed it?

These people wear me out.

[polmaven]

30. Oh c'mon !!

Who needs pesky little outdated memos like the Constitution anymore? Things like that just get in the way!


Now, please tell me this - :sarcasm: - was not really necessary.

[MichiganVote]

5. Oh bullshit, most Catholics still revere Kennedy,

[JuniperLea]

8. Yep...

I still have my grandma's picture of JFK... it hung in her house as long as I can remember.

[MichiganVote]

9. There you go. Where I grew up Kennedy was akin to Obama for Bi racial or African American voters

[JuniperLea]

11. Exactly!

Most people I know who had the JFK photo hung it next to their MLK photo. I'm looking for an MLK now... I feel the need for a matching set. I've entertained the thought of framing one of the pictures of Joan Baez with MLK too.

[CherokeeDem]

6. I am....

appalled at Santorum....

[HockeyMom]

7. Ricky, you don't want a Catholic Theoracy in the USA

I say that as someone who is old enough to remember JFK, spent 12 years in catholic school, and could tell many a story of the escapades of the priests back then.

Keep religion OUT of the GOVERNMENT.

[PurityOfEssence]

38. Oh yes, he does...

NEVER underestimate the theocratic urges of the truly whacked.

[Hardrada]

10. Ted Kennedy of blessed memory once asked if Santorum

was Latin for "asshole." I thought that was good.

[Frustratedlady]

13. Love it! n/t

[amb123]

12. PATRIOTS support Church/State Separation.

TRAITORS do not.

:mad:

[prairierose]

15. Exactly and this is how we need to respond to this kind of insanity...thank you..n/t

[cui bono]

14. This from a guy who brought a fetus home to kiss and cuddle it with his small children.

This guy is loony tunes.

[dionysus]

18. *dead fetus

[cui bono]

22. Yes! Dead. ty for the clarification I forgot in trying to keep everything in the subject line. n/

t ;)

[demigoddess]

16. Maybe the stupid idiot should remember that in those days

a lot of the people of the United States thought the world would come to an end if a Catholic got elected to any public office, especially president. I personally, in 1960, at the age of 12 sat in a church and listened to the pastor go on for two hours about 'If John F Kennedy gets elected the Pope will run the country"" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they believed this crap (PML) in those days, a leftover from England who will not let a catholic or anyone married to a catholic in the line of succession to the Throne. Gee, what a great example to follow. (would love to put this in caps)

[tanyev]

25. What you said. I am appalled at the ignorance displayed by Santorum's JFK church state comments.

[Tiggeroshii]

17. YEAH! HOW DARE JFK SAY THAT? WE SHOULD IMPEACH HIM!

What's that? He's not president anymore? Wait, he's not even ALIVE anymore? WHAAAAA?! :shrug:

[otohara]

19. Everyday It Gets More Outrageous

birthers and now trashing President Kennedy.

Are they having a contest - This week in "maybe" Crazy GOP Candidates contest.

[Mimosa]

20. What a fool.

JFK's statement stands for the ages, and reflects the Constitutional point of view from a man who was only 100 times more intelligent than santorum.

[fishwax]

21. what. an. idiot.

:eyes:

[Brother Buzz]

23. You just keep thinking, Butch. That's what you're good at.

:rofl:

[Zynx]

24. Any Catholic with any sense of history would know why JFK said that.

It wasn't that long ago that Catholics were a despised minority. They would have been on the losing end of a state that acted according to the majority's religion.

[blueclown]

26. This guy seriously has a chance at the Republican presidential nomination?

Wow..

[GatesofPunk]

32. It's the Republican nomination....

Of course he has a chance. All they do is nominate theocratic corporate fascists.

[S_E_Fudd]

27. Morons like these need to go back to high school...

And re-learn basic civics...

[yellowcanine]

28. Well good because I find Ricky Santorum to be appalling most of the time.

So I am happy to know that he finds something appalling which I thought was noble. It means my judgment is still sharp at 60 years.

[rasputin1952]

29. Let's see, he was born 10May1958, so he would have been about...

1.5 years old at the time when JFK gave his view on the seperation of church and state. Either Satrum iwas far more developed than most year and a half children, of, sometime later in life he decided to look up JFK's reasoning on the speech and clarification of the "situation" that was facing him.

Historically, the United States has looked at Catholicism with an eye toward the power of the church in many aspects of life. Generally speaking, the Protestant majority wondered if a high level official would be more beholding to the Consatituion than the Pope. The GOP reasoning at the time was that JFK would follow the Poes edicts forsaking the Constitution in favor of whatever Rome dictated. Kennedy did an excellent job in rebutting the GOP and it helped to propel him to the WH.

There was not any occasion when JFK accepted the Pope's edicts for the nation, (of course, I can't speak of his personal feelings on anything from Rome, but only the closest to him would know that anyway). JFK kept everything pertaining to the nation within the confines fo the Constitution publicly. His religious affiliation was secondary in any decision he made, as it should have been.

Santorum, on the other hand is a practicing Roman Cathoilic that would have raised the hackles of the GOP in those years...apparently, he would take the edicts of Rome as the direct Word of God, through the Pope, which, of course would make the words of Rome trump the Constitution. Even the GOP would go ballistic if they realized what Santorum was actually saying and would apparently do if he was elected to office again., much less the presidency.

All things considered, Santorum can not have know about the situation at the time, why JFK spoke what he did, when he did, and to top it all off, if the Pope sent out a Papal Bull demanding that everyone other than a Roman Cathloic, were a heritic and should be put the sword...Santorum would hack away with said sword, destroying people in a bloodbath.

Rick Santorum...Idiot King of the GOP.

[GatesofPunk]

31. JFK is...

Appalled at Santorum's existence.

[JustAnotherGen]

33. This is the best he’s got?

Picking on a dead guy? Really! That’s the best he can do? Freaking loser! :rofl:

[tomg]

34. That is completely hilarious.

Maybe he and Newt "I love my country so much I was a serial adulterer, but its okay because now I'm Catholic and all those other marriages were not real" Gingrich can run as a team.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

35. Is he trying to re-fight

the 1960 Presidential Election? :shrug: Seems that the American public then was not quite as "appalled" at Kennedy's
comments.
:wtf:

In regards to his comments about health-care, I actually agree with him about us needing to have a patient-centered approach to health care in this country. It's too bad that he fails to notice that, at least until recently, private insurance bureaucrats have had virtually free reign and control over the US health care system and have been the ones getting in between patients and their doctors. Despite the fevered delusions of the Republicans and teabaggers, until we have an actual single payer system in this country, the government will NOT control the health care system but, thanks to President Obama and the Democrats, at least it can now step and regulate the system better and curb some of the abuses of the private insurance companies.

[theothersnippywshrub]

36. Hide your dogs. n/t

[AtomicKitten]

39. lol

[madinmaryland]

37. madinmaryland IS appalled at Santorum's man-on-dog comments.