On This Week, Rick Santorum told George Stephanopoulos that John F. Kennedy's 1960 speech on the separation between church and state made him want to throw up.
In the particular statement Rick referred to, JFK said, "I believe in an America where separation of church and state is absolute..." Not surprisingly, extreme elements of the left-wing media are spinning Rick's statements to make him sound like a fundamentalist bigot, who wants to transform the United States into a Christian theocracy.
I found an article in the Huffington Post with the inflammatory headline, "Santorum: Separation of Church and State 'Makes Me Want To Throw Up.' In a another article, with a similarly twisted title, the author quotes Ibraham Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic relations as saying, "It seems (candidates like Rick Santorum) are not really opposed to the separation of church and state--as long as it's their church." This is a little odd, considering Hooper once said, "I wouldn't want to create the impression that I wouldn't like the government of the United States to be Islamic sometime in the future..."
It seems as though the left-wing media will stop at nothing to smear anyone who opposes them. The truth is irrelevant. Only political victory counts. Personally, I care more about the truth than partisan politics.
Rick Santorum's political enemies are doing everything they can to discredit him. Since he is a man of integrity, they have to lie to make him look bad. After hearing or reading Rick's full comments, no clear thinking person could ever say the former senator was speaking against the separation of church and state. What Rick actually told Stephanopoulos was,
"I don't believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute. The idea that the church can have no influence or no involvement in the operation of the state is absolutely antithetical to the objectives and vision of our country. This is the First Amendment. The First Amendment says the free excercise of religion. That means bringing everybody, people of faith and no faith, into the public square."
Clearly, Rick does believe in the separation of church and state; he just doesn't agree that this separation is absolute. This is hardly a controversial idea, since sessions of congress open with prayer, the military has chaplains, and important religious figures like Billy Graham and the Dalai Lama have visited our nation's presidents.
Separation of church and state has never been absolute, nor ought it be. Religious movements have been a powerful influence in our nation for good, without dictating government policy in a theocratic way. English Separatists, the Pilgrims, came to the shores of Plymouth Rock to practice their faith freely, without government oppression. Quakers led the movement to abolish slavery. One of this nation's greatest heroes, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was a Baptist minister who led an explicitly religious fight for civil rights.
The very notions of liberty and the cry for independence from Great Britain originated in the pulpits of Reformed churches. The English journalist G.K. Chesterton wrote, "The United States is the only nation in the world that is founded on a creed. That creed is set forth with dogmatic and even theological lucidity in the Declaration of Independence." He was referring to the familiar words,
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness...
As Rick would point out, although our highest law is the Constitution, the Constitution without the Declaration is like peanut-butter without jelly. The rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are endowed by our Creator God. Rick Santorum stands up for these rights, while opposing the new "rights" that government has given: abortion and entitlements, now including government-mandated healthcare.
That is why the left hates him, lies about him, and tries to crush him with their propaganda machine. He stands for everything they hate, while standing against everything their hero, Barack Obama, stands for. Well, to borrow a line from Herman Cain, "How's that workin' out for ya?"
If you want higher gas prices, higher unemployment, higher taxes, a weaker military, and more government, I suppose you'll vote for Barack Obama. But if you're like me, you'll vote for Rick Santorum because he sticks up for the rights of the unborn, he sticks up for religious liberty, and he isn't running for "pastor-in-chief." These are all things this pastor finds encouraging.
And he is not just a strong social conservative, but has a solid economic plan to help the United States prosper once again.
He stands in sharp contrast to our current President. If you're sick of Barack Obama's hope and change, please support Rick Santorum with your vote in your state's primary or caucus. Get the word out among your friends that Rick Santorum can win the GOP nomination, and beat Barack Obama. If we support Rick, we might get our country back in November.
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