Santorum: Founders Were Right to Prevent Black People from Voting

[Shankapotomus]

Yea right. Somehow in their infinite wisdom, which the rest of us mortals can't understand, the Floundering Fathers had a good reason for denying basic human rights and the right to vote to African Americans and Women. That makes sense in some incarnation of reality.

[randys1]

1. REmember folks, this is the way ALL republican/teaparty males think

or 99% of them, and about 90% of so called libertarians...

HATE HATE HATE is what they understand...

[Shankapotomus]

3. African Americans and Women are denied the vote

because they are "not qualified" and somehow the White, Slave owners are qualified to govern???

Santorum's argument and comparison doesn't even make sense. Somehow Women and African Americans voting could jeopardize democracy but slave owning and denying basic human and voting rights doesn't? Holy effed up??!!

[merrily]

10. Now, now.

Calling it thinking is far too generous. And I don't think it's fair to discriminate by gender, either. I would bet quite a few Tea Party gals are bigots as well.

[randys1]

13. Good one, on both accounts

[BigL]

35. This is a load of crap

No they don't and your comment is phenomenally ignorant. The racist right wing nut-jobs are just really loud, despite being pretty small in numbers. Most republicans are quite enjoyable people, as are democrats, libertarians, communists, na- well, not them.

Violence begets violence, my friend.

[stonecutter357]

46. .

[shenmue]

2. This idiot...

Sigh. What happened to the great state of Pennsylvania?

[maddiemom]

47. Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Alabama in between---as has been said.

[arcane1]

4. Kicking for later revulsion

[Shankapotomus]

5. +1

Have a barf bag handy...or two.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. I wish most heartily that he would STFU. n/t

[Shankapotomus]

7. He'd be wise to heed your advice

It only hurts his cause. But we all know he's not wise. He's just going to keep on squawking.

[merrily]

17. I think he (and his donors) have figured out he will never be the

Republican nominee, let alone President. So, now he can speak his mind.

No, wait. Not mind. Speak his heart. No wait. That's not right, either.

I give up.

[Diclotican]

8. Shankapotomus

Shankapotomus

At least they are open by it now - after Barack Obama got elected they really get out from their hiding parts where they had been since the 1960s - and is now undoing a lot of the progress the US have made posible is now on the decline - that be womens right to themself deside if they want children or not - or black to wote....

Horrible it is - and I fear the consequenses of it all

Diclotican

[Shankapotomus]

11. I think it's power + silliness, really

It's not silly for those impacted by their obstructionism and bad policies but they really are the joke of most of the world. They can only fall into the role of trouble makers.

Most know they, as a group, are wrong.

[Diclotican]

20. Shankapotomus

Shankapotomus

They might be seen as the joke of the world - but they policies -and their will to turn the country upside down are no joke... They bloody hell believe what they are doing, and if they are not taken seriously they will turn your country into a nightmare for so many groups - woman, gay and lesbian people - minorities in general - everyone who are not "cut out" to their liking would live in peril and danger for their life if they got what they really wanted...

Even though I'm not in directly in danger - I'm not gay - member of a rather "conservative" Church - white as long as the linage goes back in time - but still I'm scared about the madness I have witnesses in the US since 2000 - a madness who have just been worse and worse as time are going - and your better tame them serious - as they will do horrible damage to your country - we in Europe have had our part of madness over the last millennium - and is maybe Little more sawy when it come to smell the odor of a bad lakmus test...

Diclotican

[Shankapotomus]

23. If anything goes really bad

the European lefty governments will help us Lefties here, right? We lefties have to stick together.

I think the conservative factions world wide are more aggressive because they are losing the debate and their influence and control at every level of society will die out if they don't act. But they are losing control even among their own ranks and that's why I don't think they will ever come close to winning. They will just die a slow death at their own hands. We're not going backwards as a planet. We can't start rejecting things like science, as they wish we would, this late in the game. They won't be allowed another war. Bush and Iraq ruined that option for them.

[Diclotican]

29. Shankapotomus

Shankapotomus

We can allways hope the lefty governments is able or willing to help your leftist over there in US - we better stick togheter - or get hanged in the end....

The conservative movements - specially the extreme conservative movements have been loosing power for the last 100 year or so - but sadly enough they seen to have getting a form of renessance now, specially after the "election" of mr Bush the extreme rights of the conservative movements all around the world have cranked up their ways of doing business - and a lot of the progress we "liberals" have made posible for the last 100-150 year is sudently in jepardy - becouse the conservative movements are on the rise again - and is claiming all sort of reasons to cut in rights and benefits for the common pepole... But have no interest in doing mutch sacrifice themself to the betterment of the world...

They might end up on the garbage dump of history in the end - but good know mutch damage they can do in the meantime - to the progress we have made posible just the last 150 years - labor laws - labor rights - fair sallaries - the fact that women have the right to desiede what they want to do with their body - and how they want to dress for that matter... Most of what is seen as a progressive way of living is now in danger if the extremist of the right is getting their way....

War is posible not an option for them anymore - at least not in the same way as Iraq was it - but you should not be to sure about it - as the conservatives in the US allways have been rather smart in making a war posible - in one way or another if they shoose to do so... Before Bush got into office no one belived the US to do that stupid move like it did - when it against most of her allies started a war in Iraq - who have ended up in the "Nuclear mess" we collectively is in now - as most of the Middle east now is in turmoil with no end in sight - and where the extremist is seen to have the upper hand - and is paid handsomely by Saudi-Arabia to do their dirty work - and as I understand it - Saudi-Arabia is one of the closest allies the US have in that area of the world...

[Shankapotomus]

33. I think they are only making gains

because they are willing to be extreme at the price of their legitimacy out of desperation. The key is to keep them out of power, of course, long enough that all their predictions of doom fall flat and their movement becomes thoroughly disgraced in the eyes of the world as nothing they claim comes to fruition.

With women's rights coming to the forefront, it gives Hillary Clinton strong momentum in 2016. That would at least be another four years of a democratic presidency if she wins and her win, after they have mightily protested the eight years of the Obama administration, might be the message that finally knocks the wind out of their sails.

And I also question the sticking power and loyalty of their constituents to conservative ideology, which is often very much religion based. People learn and mature and eventually start to question and outgrow and challenge patriarchal ideas because they are so constricting on their own followers. They are naturally oppressive and people don't like being oppressed or accused of oppression. It's an intellectually limiting and, ultimately, self-defeating ideology.

[Gothmog]

9. Ricky really wishes that someone would listen to him

Santorum is so stupid that it is sad. He makes statements like the above in hopes that someone will pay attention to him. It is really sad.

[merrily]

12. No, what is really sad--and humiliating--is that this pustule on the ass

of humanity was elected Senator and has twice been in contention for the Republican nomination for POTUS. True, he didn't get far, but he did get funding and votes. All of that is a disgrace. I'm embarrassed for this country.

[maddiemom]

48. Lil' Ricky always seems to have no lack of financial backing. Who? Probably

Richard Mellon Scaife, for one. Others...?

[merrily]

49. No clue.

[Skittles]

14. he'd be fine with them not being able to vote now

gawd he is DISGUSTING

[merrily]

15. Your thread title is misleading. Santorum said that the Founders

were right to limit voting.

The Founders excluded from voting all women, all non-whites, notably, First Nations and African Americans, and all people who did not own land AND have the cash for a poll tax.

That left only about 3% of the inhabitants of the colonies who were eligible to vote. So, Santorum's comments were not limited to African Americans by any means.

Of course, Santorum did refer to shared values, not to gender or race. So, he was probably referring to his own values. I doubt he would approve of mine. For one thing, I am proud to live in the first US state to recognize same gender marriage and I don't believe that Rick Santorum's particular interpretation of the Bible (or my own) should become secular law.

So, exclude this, Rick.

[Shankapotomus]

16. Just a note

The title is not mine. I agree they should have used a better title.

[merrily]

18. My apologies for seeming to attribute it to you. Poor wording on my part.

[merrily]

19. PS. I also forgot to commend you for "Flounders."

They were not all they're cracked up to be, by any means. People tend to get angry when I criticize them, though.

[Rhiannon12866]

21. Thanks for posting this, heard this today and wasn't sure I heard it right...

[freshman22]

22. F**k you Rick

Thats why he lost so big.I went to Vietnam twice.Put in 5 years in the us navy.Now you don't want me to vote.I have more right than you.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

24. I've heard Republicans claim apartment dwellers shouldn't vote...

They claim they aren't really "residents" because they don't OWN property in the district and are just transients with no real stake in the districts they are in so why should they have a vote to raise taxes they don't even pay?

Next up, how women shouldn't be allowed to vote because they have hormone issues that makes them care too much about,....THEM.

[Personal Damon]

25. This guy finished second in the 2012 Republican presidential nomination process

[Shankapotomus]

27. Welcome, PD

Happy to have a Canuck on board.

[Personal Damon]

31. Thank you

But I hate Vancouver's hockey team!!!

[tclambert]

26. More frothy fecal material spewing from Rick Santorum.

And he's hawking a book that he supposedly wrote?

[SummerSnow]

28. Translation:

"If the black people weren't allowed to vote, then Obama would not have been President, damn"

[Thinkingabout]

30. Maybe we should stop all Italians from voting.

Or maybe we should stop all named Santorum, namely Rick.

[Shankapotomus]

36. Being Italian and a registered Democrat

your second idea works better for me.

[Thinkingabout]

39. It was said to show Santorum how stupid he sounds, but it was really placed against Santorum.

I really don't like being negative against any race and dislike people like Santorum who wants to dismiss another citizen.

[Shankapotomus]

41. No worries

I didn't take it that way at all and agree with the spirit of your post.

[yuiyoshida]

32. This is not a WTF MOMENT....

ITS A Royal WTF moment.

[Shankapotomus]

37. Isn't it?

And Santorum takes the crown. It's surreal what we're hearing from Republicans lately.

[BigL]

34. Did anyone actually watch the video?

I mean, I think Santorum is a self-righteous manchild, but he never said that this was right and did not endorse the decision that our early leaders made.

[Shankapotomus]

38. He fully implied

that such discrimination could actually benefit the nation.

[BigL]

40. Or

He could have been implying that individuals that owned land were likely more educated than those that did not. Or perhaps he was referring to the individuals eligible to vote having more of a vested interest in them making an informed decision.
I'm just saying, we should actually use our heads (we're supposed to be the smart ones!) before just blindly getting angry and trashing all republicans.

[Shankapotomus]

43. You're going to have to clarify

that statement. Since the only individuals in colonial America who were allowed to hold land and pursue higher education could only be white and male, it's still racist and discriminatory talk.

And then to excuse it by saying in effect "Well, the Floundering Fathers were only protecting the vote from the people they made sure were powerless and uneducated" is the height of blindness.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

44. Did you miss the word "perhaps"?

I have no love for Santorum, but don't put words in his mouth he didn't say. It does not help your case.

[Shankapotomus]

45. No words were put in his mouth

But the words he did use give me no choice but to conclude he is trying to argue there is some benefit to some people being denied the vote and while others have it. And again, don't forget, Santorum is accepting by omission that white slave owners were in some way more qualified to vote over Women and African Americans. If he's not suggesting that he needs to clarify what he means because it's no leap to wonder if he thinks the Floundering Fathers were valid in denying others the right to vote based on circumstances they created. That's the key point here to take into account: White, male landowners created the circumstances where Women and African Americans were powerless, landless and undereducated. Missing that shows tremendous disconnect. No words are being put in Santorum's mouth. He is suggesting all this by direct inference and giving me very little room to conclude anything else.

"Maybe they were wrong and maybe they weren't"? No, Rick. There is no maybe here. They were wrong. Period.

"Were we ready for an election when the United States was formed to have everybody in the United States vote? Well, our founders didn't think so...They limited the people who could vote..." That's because they also limited the power and access to freedom and rights some of those people could have, Rick. Are you stupid?

And again, to speak of qualifications for voting while those allowed to vote were the ones setting the rules that gave less rights to others is totally offensive. What about the voting qualifications and intelligence of white males who deny people basic human rights? That is the issue here. A policy that would lead to no less than a Civil War and thousands of dead Americans. So whose voting rights really threatened America?

Who were white males going to save the nation from by limiting the access of Women and African Americans to vote? They were already electing slave owners to government themselves. A policy that would lead to no less than a Civil War and thousands of dead Americans. So whose voting rights really threatened America?

[Amonester]

42. They lived in a Century that is far over, you Piece Of SantoRum.

And also, they were no gods, only human, and thus, flawed by nature.

Nobody was, is, or will be perfect, not even you, Piece Of SantoRum.