COMMENTARY | ABC News reports on race day for the Daytona 500 that Rick Santorum joked about the car he sponsored for the biggest NASCAR race of the year. The number 26 car will be driven by Tony Raines and will start in the 21st row out of 22.
Santorum’s advice to the driver, via ABC? “I’m hoping that for the first, you know, maybe 300, 400 miles, he’s sitting way, way back, letting all the other folks crash and burn, and then sneak up at the end and win this thing.”
The analogy was not lost on political observers. That’s exactly what Santorum’s campaign has done as he vaulted to the front to challenge Mitt Romney. He didn’t get much notice until Santorum won the Iowa caucus Jan. 3.
Now he’s hoping the front-runner wrecks his own campaign. That may happen in a fractured Republican field. Santorum has fought back against notions he is liberal, even as he makes controversial statements about the separation of church and state.
CBS News states Santorum claims the separation of church and state is not absolute in America. He referred to a speech President John F. Kennedy gave in 1960 in which Santorum believed Kennedy was “going to impose our values on you” as religious people.
Kennedy was a Catholic, just like Santorum. Yet it seems as if the current presidential candidate is trying to paint the picture that Kennedy was a radical for stating government is above religion.
I beg to differ completely with Santorum’s stance. The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
The freedom of religion is a two-way street. Not only can Americans adhere to any religious tenets they feel are appropriate, but government officials cannot advocate for one religion over another. The amendment isn’t about freedom of religion, but also freedom from religion.
How much of Santorum’s faith will be in the White House is disturbing. I don’t remember President Barack Obama bringing up his religious faith once he got to the Oval Office. Santorum might be talking about his faith in regards to political stances now, but if he is elected he had better tone done the religious rhetoric before his policies are sued for being unconstitutional and too intrusive on the American people.
The way Santorum keeps talking, his campaign will suffer a debilitating accident long before the final laps in June when the primary season is finished.