What Santorum Gets That Romney Doesn't
If you haven't already, take twenty minutes and watch Santorum deliver his celebratory speech in Iowa.
He's halfway through his speech before he mentions Obama. In the meantime he's articulated the dignity of work and the founding principles. He's described the Democrats as the party intent on increasing dependency, and the Republicans as insensitive to the working man. It's evident he's not just about "defeating Obama." He's trying to explain and persuade.
Rick Santorum understands it isn't enough to win the White House. Barack Obama isn't the enemy, his ideology is. We have to discredit progressivism, as it so richly deserves, and persuade Americans that happiness is achieved by having done something well something one ought to have done. There are at least as many obligations in liberty as there are rights. Without a return to the Founding Virtues, it doesn't really matter who wins. The nation is lost.
Does Romney get that? The coercion and dependency built into his as yet unrepudiated Romneycare would suggest not.
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Jul '11
Re: What Santorum Gets That Romney Doesn't
Amen brother, or sister as the case may be. Romney is a managerial progressive with some conservative leanings. He views situations like puzzles needing to be solved and when a scenario might scream out for a person to jump up and say,"Give me liberty or give me death", he'll appoint a committee instead.
Dec '11
Re: What Santorum Gets That Romney Doesn't
Yeah,
We need some conservative populism for awhile. We need the plausible case and messenger that conservative policies are in fact going to result in meaningful blue collar jobs in this country. I think we are in an age where less-bad is no longer acceptable.
Dec '10
Re: What Santorum Gets That Romney Doesn't
It's "Amen, sister," Doc. You "get it" too.
Dec '10
Re: What Santorum Gets That Romney Doesn't
Guruforhire: Yeah,
We need some conservative populism for awhile. We need the plausible case and messenger that conservative policies are in fact going to result in meaningful blue collar jobs in this country. I think we are in an age where less-bad is no longer acceptable. · Jan 6 at 4:45am
It gives me no joy to agree with you. We're in a terrible spot. If Romney wins the nomination, I hope someone can convince him of the urgency. Right now, it seems as if he'd be satisfied to beat Obama.
Dec '11
Re: What Santorum Gets That Romney Doesn't
For me its kind of a man issue. There is such a thing as meaningful 'man' work, and its dirty, tough, and dangerous. But mining is on everybodies craplist, the oil rigs are leaving, steel smelting is essentially gone, tool and die work is being automated, construction is on the outs right now. Essentially all the jobs leaving are traditional male dominated industries and are being replaced with.... retail....
What is chasing away these jobs isnt just the unions and their failures to accept that the world is different, its the endless regulations, the political shenanigans that go on with the NLRB, and just good old plain liberal condescension that there is such a thing as a job not good enough, and our men whose primary selling attirbute being their body and doing things are just left out in teh cold, while politicians break society to ride the next new wave of the future and when we need something grubby like stainless steel and a turkey, well that stuff will somehow happen. I am still pissed that Palin (and I am not a palin fan at all) got raked over the coals for doing an interview with food getting made.
Dec '11
Re: What Santorum Gets That Romney Doesn't
Does anybody seriously believe that a lumberjack is going to become an IT technician? Really? This kind of cavaliere hand waving about retraining is the problem we have.
That isnt to say we dont have real problems. Nearly none of the young men that my cousin interviews to work in a machine shop can use standard measuring tools or do math enough to actually measure a part.
My dad was a shop teacher, and when he started teaching a person could buy a shotgun on the bus, repair it in the school shop and sell it on the busride home for a profit. Now we get the skills to barely make a letter basket.
I am in full rant mode bear with me. Yes we need retraining, and yes we need to fix our schools, but as long the jobs arent good enough, and we arent willing to let our rough men be rough men doing the things rough men do because of our cloistered and vapid suburban existences well we are boned.
Edited on Jan 6 at 5:44amJul '10
Re: What Santorum Gets That Romney Doesn't
I can't agree with this enough. There are legitimate reasons why manufacturing jobs have left the United States: regulations, unions... But to say my friends who were laid off at the Gerdau steel mill are suddenly going into IT or HR training is ridiculous.
One of the reasons that the United States manufacturing needs to stay in the United States through deregulation is that some men are simply unable or unwilling to maintain employment at a desk job. Do we really want to be a nation of pencil pushers?
One of the largely unspoken issues about Chinese products is their quality creep. Business investors and their consultants recommend shipping operations overseas where regulations are few and labor is cheap. But what happens over time is the quality of the product diminishes. Then the manufacturing company has to set up shop in China, hire consultants, etc. to make sure the product quality does not diminish over time. Over time, the "cheap factory" in China starts become much more expensive.
Edited on Jan 6 at 7:38amDec '10
Re: What Santorum Gets That Romney Doesn't
It's a man thing for me too! ;-) Liberalism poisons everything, including gender distinctions (see same-sex marriage), charity (coerced), the dignity of work, family, and human life itself. Rick Santorum seems to understand there's virtually no separation between the character, morals, and principles of society and its politics.
Dec '10
Re: What Santorum Gets That Romney Doesn't
Guru and Michael, I'm guessing you're fans of Mike Rowe (Dirty Jobs). Have you got a post in you?
Dec '11
Re: What Santorum Gets That Romney Doesn't
Micheal Rowe gave a fabulous talk at TED awhile ago I will dig it up and give it its own post.
Re: What Santorum Gets That Romney Doesn't
Santorum also thinks the Tea Party is the enemy.
I can't live with that.
Mar '11
Re: What Santorum Gets That Romney Doesn't
Do we really want to be a nation of pencil pushers?
As long the jobs arent good enough, and we arent willing to let our rough men be rough men doing the things rough men do because of our cloistered and vapid suburban existences well we are boned.
Indeed.
Apr '11
Re: What Santorum Gets That Romney Doesn't
Michael Tee
I can't agree with this enough. There are legitimate reasons why manufacturing jobs have left the United States: regulations, unions... But to say my friends who were laid off at the Gerdau steel mill are suddenly going into IT or HR training is ridiculous.
We agree about regulations, and it's good to hear you support (in words cut for space) the real advantages that American factories have over those in other countries (although the fairness and predictability of the American legal and judicial system needs a shout out there, too). American manufacturing workers are some of the world's most productive (some stats suggest America is #1 here, others merely near the top).
That said, there are strong economic arguments against having a national industrial policy. The manufacturing tax exemption is about as positive a form of that as one could have, but it is still an example of the old progressive deceit. Santorum's deregulation platform, shared with most of the field, but more vigorously focused on by Santorum, is, of course, a strong positive, and is a reform that Santorum has a long record of advocating.
Jun '10
Re: What Santorum Gets That Romney Doesn't
Tommy De Seno: Santorum also thinks the Tea Party is the enemy.
I can't live with that. · Jan 6 at 12:34pm
According to CNN's Iowa Caucus Entrance poll, of the 64% (of all Iowa Republican Caucus voters) that consider themselves "Tea Party Sympathizers," 29% voted for Santorum, 19% for Romney, and 19% for Ron Paul. Someone forgot to tell the Tea Party in Iowa that Santorum is their "enemy." I think Santorum's differences (with libertarians) are real, but it's more a matter of emphasis. Can restoring freedom be a group project, or is it just for rugged individuals going it alone?
Jun '10
Re: What Santorum Gets That Romney Doesn't
The problem we have is that it's hard to be a conservative. The maintenance of virtue requires insight, discipline and personal responsibility. The progressive approach offers the promise of an easier road based on the abolition of personal responsibility. False liberty can be seductive because it provides a license for vice. This election will test the body politic to see whether we can maintain our republic based on its virtues, or whether we've already veered onto the path to perdition. In a sense the election is not about Santorum, or Romney, or even Obama. It's about us, We the People.
Aug '11
Re: What Santorum Gets That Romney Doesn't
It's like the grasshopper and the ant. We can't all be grasshoppers, but it sure beats the hell out of being an ant.
Re: What Santorum Gets That Romney Doesn't
While I agree with this post, I think a significant number of people want just the opposite from a candidate.
Re: What Santorum Gets That Romney Doesn't
etoiledunord
Tommy De Seno: Santorum also thinks the Tea Party is the enemy.
I can't live with that. · Jan 6 at 12:34pm
According to CNN's Iowa Caucus Entrance poll, of the 64% (of all Iowa Republican Caucus voters) that consider themselves "Tea Party Sympathizers," 29% voted for Santorum, 19% for Romney, and 19% for Ron Paul. Someone forgot to tell the Tea Party in Iowa that Santorum is their "enemy." I think Santorum's differences (with libertarians) are real, but it's more a matter of emphasis. Can restoring freedom be a group project, or is it just for rugged individuals going it alone? · Jan 6 at 1:15pm
I suppose they did miss the video where Santorum says the whole Tea Party message is all wong and he aims to correct it.
But if he gets nominated, you can bet the Democrats will play it over and over.
Jun '11
Re: What Santorum Gets That Romney Doesn't
guruforhire has it right (lost my "quote). There's plenty of work in truly skilled trades. If he were truly passionate about it, I would have no trouble with my son becoming a master machinist, electrician, welder, etc. But you can't be a knucklehead and become much more than a journeyman.
I laugh when I read that IT retraining is somehow the answer...we can't find enough people to run CNC machines, but we're going to crank out geeks?. While we might find a few diamonds -- you'd be surprised how many master tradesmen have the knack for tech -- the vast majority would be capable of no more than "hackery". In other words, the kind of work that gets sent to India, Romania, etc.
Jun '11
Re: What Santorum Gets That Romney Doesn't
Doh, stupid double posts...
Edited on Jan 6 at 3:17pm