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ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL -- Rick Santorum accused President Barack Obama of not enforcing the country's obscenity laws and said Friday that as chief executive he would crack down on illegal pornography.
Santorum found himself answering pornography questions during a stop at an Italian restaurant here after the discovery of a statement posted in his campaign website in which he asserts that "America is suffering a pandemic of harm from pornography." Recent reporting has shed light on the letter in which the former Pennsylvania senator vowed to "vigorously enforce" all the country's obscenity laws, though he said the statement was posted three weeks ago.
"We actually respond to questions that we get into our campaign when they say 'What are you going to do about these issues?' And when we respond we post them up on our website. And the response is, ‘we'll enforce the law,’" said Santorum.
"I don’t know what the hubbub about that is," he said. "We have a president who is not enforcing the law, and we will."
The candidate best known for espousing family values argues on his website that pornography causes changes in the brain to both children and adults, and contributes to violence against women, prostitution and sex trafficking.
"The Obama administration has turned a blind eye to those who wish to preserve our culture from the scourge of pornography," he wrote.
Santorum's campaign has been sidetracked throughout the primary by eyebrow raising statements on social issues that many Republican voters feel pale in comparison to the importance of the economy. In Illinois, a state where polls show Santorum mounting a close challenge to Mitt Romney, he again found himself answering questions about a social issue that is unlikely to play a role in the 2012 election.
The other problem for the candidate running the most serious challenge to Romney is the fact that again he is not eligible for all the delegates up for grabs in Illinois during Tuesday's primary.
Santorum only filed for 44 of the 54 at stake. It is the same issue his campaign had in Ohio where they went into Super Tuesday knowing they could not win all the Buckeye State's delegates.
Santorum today said his ineligibility for a handful of delegates can be attributed to the grassroots, underdog nature of his campaign.
Months ago, when it was time to file to get on the ballot in many states, Santorum maintained, "We didn’t have a big campaign, a big superstructure, we didn’t have big offices in Boston," he said, a shot at Romney, whose campaign headquarters are in the Massachusetts capital. "We didn’t have millions of dollars to organize this, we had grassroots people."
The GOP hopeful has a tall task ahead of him in the Land of Lincoln, a state where he's being considerably outspent and he cannot rely on a strongly conservative base of voters like the ones who put him over the top in Mississippi and Alabama.
"They like the guy who is scrappy," Santorum said of Republican primary voters. "They like the guy who is trying to overcome the machine. Folks here in Chicago know all about the machine and what it means to fight that machine. It's hard but it's possible."
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Santorum needs to get laid.
I think he gets laid - - regularly. Look how man kids he has.
I agree-and he sahould strart by enforicng them on ultra sound vaginal insertions mandated bythe state of Virgina that will be sent through internet deviceson the wab. We could also work on banning porn talk about "using aspirin as a birth control device" and jail his corporate sponsor who preaches such nonsense..
We could also Ban Callisat Gringich on "open marrage" violations. We coiuld bust certain Repulican Congressmen for misadvetising their marital status while appearing bare chested. We could bust Nikki Hartley the governor of south Carlina for the affairs with staffers on the grounds that they aren't morallly uplifitng. Ditto for David Vitter and Sen John Esign of Nevada.
Yes there's lots of porn out there.
We could make it simple by just banning the republcan party all toegher.
Rick trying to squelch pornography and obscenity and making sure women don't have access to birth control are all earth shaking concerns of the American electorate and I am sure that if he wins the Republican nomination we're all going to realize that things such as the economy, energy, national defense, etc.. need to be put on the back burner until he makes sure our moral compasses are in sync with his.
Uhh...and how exactly does he plan to "enforce" "obscenity" laws? Will he have big brother watching us in our home and bedroom when we view pornography and raid our homes? And what will be the punishment/consequence of it? Jail time? Good idea! Let's overcrowd the jails with those who smoke weed and watch porn, and let the pedophile priests stay in their churches. Let's quietly sweep under the rug that which is most convenient, after all, religious indoctrination and brainwashing is all that matters, and we'll just keep denying all the sexual assaults. Very smart.
It's just rhetoric H-I-M. It's filler material so he doesn't have to explain in detail how he would solve the real problems that Americans are facing. For which he has neither a clue nor a solution for.
Don't--You're on target. Ricky's solution to the economic problem is to reinstate those policies which contributed to the 2007 recession. His solution in foreign affairs is to attack Iran--because we really need another war right now.
...And the GOP Clown Car continues its erratic journey down the road of uncertainity to certain doom. Newtie, Mittens and St. Rick will continue to bloody each other up for the next few months, providing entertainment for all of us here on the Obama Side.
Must...Buy...More...Popcorn!!
Good luck to you GOP CLOWNS!!!
Maybe just a recent rumor....but I heard there is a growing shortage of popcorn, and the corn speculators on Wall Street are starting to go crazy. If we didn't have such a continual clown show, there would probably be a glut but now we are already in a shortage.
I'll do my bit for the economy; hoard more popcorn for the general and drive the prices up for the corn farmers. After all I live in a rural area, and I am sure my agricultural neighbors will love it. Peanuts will be next.
Yes, GobigO, you have a valid point there. While the molestations by the priests are not pornography, they are none the less crimes, which should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Priest do not have automated amnesty. What they did to vulnerable youths is akin to murder.
I think we should enforce obscenity and rape laws against the catholic church. Have not heard Ricky say anything about that now have we. I think the catholic church should lose it tax exempt status. I do not want to pay for the priests raping little boys.
I don't believe in religion..they are all man made. But I have a particular loathing for the Catholic church. Over the centuries they have killed more people than just about any other religion. But what I truly find entertaining about the Catholic church is the trial of Galileo. Galileo was at odds with the Catholic scholars of his day. Galileo embraced the works of Copernicus, who said the the earth revolved around the sun and not the other way around as was the doctrine of Catholic scholars. After all, (as the Catholic scholars observed) any fool could clearly see that sun passed from east to west across our sky. The blasphemy of Galileo's position earned him a conviction and house arrest for the remainder of his life. It wasn't until the 1990's (almost 30 years after we had put a man on the moon) they the Catholic church (while not admitting they were wrong) said maybe they had been a little hasty with Galileo. Priceless!
There's nothing like bringing the two greatest evils on this planet together at the same time to insure that the human race takes another giant step backwards from evolving.
Religion and politics.
de opresso,
The last time we mixed politics and religion so closely, we were burning witches at the stake in Salem, Massachusettes.
Read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials
This is precisely why all sane Americans should shun the Religious Right crazies.
Religion is the bane of human existence.
GobigO- so it may be the bane of human existence, but I will defend to death the rights of those who believe to continue to do so unmolested, to refer to Voltaire and George Wshington, who also adopted this maxim. We need to keep our diversity unless we want to lose our freedoms. Think about it.
The catholic church has committed crimes against humanity for thousands years. The catholic church is a business, a very old business. How in this day and age does the catholic church get away with raping children? Imagine what we do not know about priests, imagine what went on when the church pretty much ruled the world. Shutter to think about it. Child rape in the church is not new, in fact I bet there is less of it now than there was in the 1600's. Lets ask Pope Ricky.
When you hear guys like Santorium talk about upholding the Constitution...please remind him that the purpose of our foundering fathers (incredibly smart men) was a distinct separation of church and state. Santorium is simply pandering to a special interest group for votes. Not a good back drop for a position (President) that is supposed to represent ALL Americans.
I still cannot believe JFK's very astute remarks about upholding the constitutional separation of church and state wanted to make Santorum barf. Oh never mind, I am beyond disbelief at this point.
You know the pope was complicit in the cover up of child rape.
Much like the Trial of Galileo..they have a history of glossing over their problems.
Go--In 2002, Santorum blamed the child abuse in the Boston archdiocese on the "liberal" atmosphere of that archdiocese. When child abuse surfaced in conservative archdioceses such as Philadelphia, he somehow quieted down and hasn't addressed the issue of late.
Another good point, Old Vet.
Santorum is much more interested in ensuring you can't watch certain things on the internet than he is in ensuring you have access to health care. Beware the American Taliban.
The U.S. government currently spends over $1B a year to stop drugs from coming into this country. And as we all know you can buy drugs on virtually any street corner in America. How much would Rick spend to try and stop porn? How much success do you think he'd have? How about we try and solve real problems like the debt, jobs and economic growth!
It's easier to talk about porn, even if it makes many in the fundamentalist, evangelical Christian audience squirm--because they watch more of it than the average American. (See http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16680-porn-in-the-usa-conservatives-are-biggest-consumers.html).
Again. If he is so darned interested in making sure there is no porn on the internet, why didn't he go after Limbaugh for espousing the idea a young woman should post her sexual activities exactly there.
I am not anti religion per se, just thoroughly fed up with the hypocrisy that goes with it. I am not sure if there is more and more of it? Or if, in this electronic age, just more and more of it is being exposed? All I know is stench keeps getting worse and worse.
Santorum plans to rid America of pornography in order to prevent a collapse of society ... which makes perfect sense if you are worried about millions of people going blind and developing hairy palms.
Like I've said...the elections need to be canceled until they can come up with someone that has half a brain. There isn't one candidate in the running worth the time of day. This country is in so much trouble it's not at all funny anymore and our constitution is being shredded day after day and no one seems to care. This country needs an enema of epic proportions. Hello! Militias! Anyone home!?
SteveMW, you give the first shot. I'll not be first for the blame if a coupe d'etat doesn't succeed.
Porn is a billion dollar business, and I don't think its the homeless man in the back alley watching it.
Any bets on whether Santorum is a wanker?
He has a bunch of kids....
But he probably pulls his pud between kids. There are seven years between his sixth and seventh child and his last child was born in 2008.
I'd bet, but I don't have $10,000 laying around to get into the GOP games.
On his website, Santorum said "My passion for protecting and preserving freedom is a gift that comes to me from my grandfather, an immigrant who brought my father to this country and whose well-weathered hands mined coal in Southwestern Pennsylvania until he was 72."
He's passion about protecting and preserving freedom. Ohhh Really? I hadn't notice.
Santorum is passionate about protecting and preserving his freedom and the freedom of other religious extremists to impose their hateful cult on the rest of the country. He is also going to allow Americans the freedom of submitting to his theocracy in the extremely unlikely event he is elected to the presidency.
He personifies the American Taliban. He wants the government in our bedrooms and our TV rooms, but not anywhere near a health care facility. Strange for a fellow who espouses small government.
It's not going to end well for him. Anyone in their right mine isn't going to stand for that.
He's talks like a Dictator. Not doubt he would run the country much in the same way.
Wants women to stay home. While the men go out and work.
Let Freedom Ring
Succinctly put, Sailcat.
After a little time we'll discover something about Santorum.
It will hopefully be on the scale of the Elliott Spitzer fiasco. I can't wait.
I bet we discover Rick spells his name with a silent "P".
It will hopefully be on the scale of the Elliott Spitzer fiasco. I can't wait
PTNY - I don't think "Little" Ricky has it in him. Probably the best you could do is catch him masterbating to the Lords Prayer...
I was just shocked...shocked...to discover that if you rearrange the letters in Santorum you end up with Taliban.
Oh really?
Love to know what the thinks it does to woman when they watch porn. We all know some women do. lol
But that would make him think of equal rights for women, and he just gets a queasy stomach when he thinks about that . . .
Typical Washington Establishment politician...promise everyone everything, then follow the Elites dictates. Too bad the media turned you folks off on Ron Paul. He is different..doesn't lie.
But mr grover & santorum is lucky to have the rushbo. He is sooo clever with the obsenity laws. Spent three hours apologizing to georgetown sandra. But he pronounced her last name like the f-word that rhymes with puck. Clever man. 40 sponsors quit that day though.
All the posts boil down to one thing, Santorum is an idiot. I would love to see him one on one in a national debate with our President. If we are lucky he wins the nomination and this comes true. Comedian fodder for years to come people. Santorum 2012!
Why on earth is this moron so obsessed with sex? He's terrifying.
the most obscene thing i can think of is that this puke is still continuing to make news. please crawl back into your bible and leave the rest of us the h@ll alone!