Santorum Says America Needs a Richie Cunningham: A Weak Pushover?

Rick Santorum is a nice man. He has the attributes of all that is valuable in a husband and father. I applaud him for this. In a recent interview, he compared himself to Richie Cunningham, the character in the TV show, Happy Days that was popular in the 1980s. In the show, Richie Cunningham, is a character with wholesome values. He is the stellar student, son, great friend and always prone to do the right thing. Like him, Santorum is a family man who likes to attend church. Moreover, Santorum has a vision of what he would like for America to “go back to” and that is a more akin to his style of Catholicism. However, the more we get to know Santorum, the more we realize that he places his concept of the ideal family on America. Additionally, Santorum has a higher regard for the Declaration of Independence than the Constitution, and that is indeed troubling.

For example, Santorum cites the Declaration of Independence as though it is the law of the Land. It is not. The Declaration of Independence is the document that gave a separation from England after the colonies tried to establish themselves in the new America. Yes it did call for the foundation of God and the belief that this tenet helped to be the blueprint for a “free land.” But it did not establish our Rights as a nation. It did not establish the guide of what was expected as Citizens in the new world. The Declaration of Independence, gave us the freedom to begin to set the laws of the land that were later established in the Bill of Rights. Yet, Santorum never gives value to the Constitution and the Rights that it provides for us, or the value of the great Nation that it has managed to help us build. And although the Declaration of Independence declares that all men are created equal, that is hardly what Santorum advocates for us.

Much like Richie Cunningham, who was by all means a push-over, Santorum is not necessarily a strong leader but rather a people pleaser looking to be liked rather than thinking for a nation and lead others to a reasonable solution. Santorum likes to set his own standard of what should be an ideal of manner of when women should use contraceptives, for example. Santorum sees the use of contraceptives as a “license” to behave badly. Not only is this an antiquated version of women, it is rather disrespectful and judgmental.

While Santorum lives his private life in his own four walls of his moral values, he must understand that America is diverse, and what is established within his own family as normal, is not necessarily normal for all. For example, in his stand on immigration, he would not give consideration to the young who were brought to the U.S. without their understanding of what is considered “illegal” present. Instead, Santorum states that he would not support any type of Immigration Reform that would recognize the contributions these young people have given to American and instead would deport all of these young workers. This is certainly not a humane concept as it would affect many families who have U.S. Citizens and “undocumented” relatives. And it is certainly not a Catholic belief, that is to separate families. His view would no doubt, separate families, affect children, leave U.S. minor children without parents, or even cause an entire family to leave the U.S. A country that they may have a right to be in, but because of uncomfortable settings created by this type of rhetoric, they chose to leave rather than live under the constant threat of answering: “Are you really an American Citizen?” And who can really answer that these days, when the current administration seeks to deport Latino U.S. Citizens.

Moreover, these family values that Santorum talks about, are they just his standard of what a family should be or better yet, that they should “appear” to look like a certain manner with which he would agree. What would an American family look like to Santorum? Would his version of family think it important to keep that family unified in the U.S? Better yet, as Richie Cunningham, would he seek to keep families together even if they were not the ideal family according to his definition of family?

Recent polls show that Santorum is concerned about the middle class and has less interest in the poor. In fact, his policies do not show any type of relief or solutions giving rise to elevate the poor into the middle class. Newt Gingrich, on the other hand, has bold solutions. As both men are Catholic, it seems that Gingrich has a better grasp of the Catholic principles in community interaction. For example, Newt Gingrich, states that young people should work. In fact, he advocated for introducing jobs as an after school activity. The young would in turn learn about responsibility, work ethic, and understand wages earned. Moreover, Gingrich calls for poor families to learn the “correct” use of English to help move them into the mainstream for better job opportunities. Santorum, on the other hand, offers no solutions in this area.

As ethnic minorities fall into the poor sector more, Gingrich is vocal and confident when he states his solutions because he has been active in these communities for the past decade. In comparison, Santorum, has yet to state what his solutions would be for the poor. To add insult to injury, Santorum’s harsh stand on Immigration Reform that would affect many poor families who are Catholics, numerous, and Latino, leads one to believe that Santorum does not have a good grasp of what it is like to be a poor Latino Catholic in the U.S.

At a time when the Republican party has become confused, are we not looking for a leader who doesn’t invade our lives and our privacy with his own moral views. Isn’t this what we are experiencing with the Obama administration and their mandate regarding contraceptives? If Santorum cannot understand the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution which includes protecting our privacy, let us really ask ourselves this: does America really want a pushover to lead us for four years?