Conservative goals and fears outlined in multi-million dollar grassroots movement
Failed Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has launched a new website called Patriot Voices, which is designed to "mobilize one million conservatives around this country who are committed to promoting faith, family, freedom and opportunity." Aside from the unspoken implication that anyone who disagrees with Santorum isn't a patriot, the website claims that his followers believe in several principles.
"We stand for the defeat of Barack Obama and those who support his radical agenda." Republicans are angry at the president for the agenda progressives wish he had. In truth, President Obama has failed to live up to the promise many who voted for him expected. Detainees still rot away in Guantanamo, drones are killing more suspected terrorists than ever and he signed a bill allowing the government to arrest anyone and detain them without habeas corpus. The reality is that, aside from a few pro-LGBT policies, this president has largely continued the policies of President Bush.
"We stand for healthy families and a healthy economy." Republicans have opposed every attempt to reform health care in this country — at least, since it became a Democratic agenda piece. Enormous chunks of "Obamacare" were actually proposed by the Republicans back during Hillary Clinton's attempt to push universal health care. Meanwhile, they've fought to push women's rights back fifty years.
"We stand for freedom and its defenders." Republican congressmen have consistently been pushing through cuts to serviceman benefits like health care and proper armor, while continuing to magnify the deficit by feeding the military-industrial complex. The website specifically mentions the missile defense shield, a Cold War relic that has never worked and may actually amplify nuclear threats to the U.S. while failing to guard against potential terrorist attacks like suitcase nukes.
"We stand for the repeal of Obamacare and other government dependency programs that infringe on our freedoms, including religious freedom." Obamacare — those few provisions that have avoided being blocked by Republican intractability — has allowed millions of Americans to afford health insurance when they couldn't before. Meanwhile, Republicans across the country are fighting an imaginary Islamic threat while simultaneously trying to impose a fundamentalist Christian doctrine through radical legislation.
"We will always stand up for the most vulnerable among us — the unborn, the disabled, the elderly and the poor." This statement is so laughable that it's a joke. Republicans in every state have slashed public services to the bone. Welfare benefits are in the process of being eliminated completely. Only the unborn are protected through Draconian anti-abortion, but as soon as people are born, the Republicans stop caring.
Santorum's "grassroots" community — funded by millions of dollars unleashed through the Citizens United decision — is an example of Republican hypocrisy. Its so-called compassionate conservatism is a radical agenda designed to promote the elite few at the cost of everyone else. It's time to take our country back.
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