Rick Santorum In Iowa Ahead Of 2012: 'Schools Indoctrinate Our Children'

During a stop in Iowa on Thursday, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said that "schools indoctrinate our children," the Des Moines Register reports.

“You wonder why young people can vote and flock for a guy like Barack Obama and say, if you look at the surveys, that socialism is better than capitalism -- well, that’s because they don’t understand America,” he explained, according to the Register. “I said ‘indoctrination’ and I meant it," he said.

Santorum argued that the country's education system is leaving students with an insufficient grasp of history. His remarks come with the widely-anticipated Ames Straw poll -- a table-setter event for next year's Iowa caucuses -- less than two weeks away.

"I think it would be great to finish in the top half," Santorum said ahead of the straw poll, Iowa-based station KTIV reports. "I think that would surprise a lot of people." According to the local outlet, the GOP contender predicted he could defeat Obama in a general election match-up should he win the Republican presidential nomination.

Santorum is out with a new web ad touting his presence on the trail in the Hawkeye State.

"They all claim to have what it takes to lead America, but one of them is now on an epic trip that will prove beyond doubt he possesses the courage, fortitude and remarkable patience it will take to be president," says a narrator in the spot. "Twenty-five hundred miles in nineteen days with seven kids in two minivans and one thousand three hundred sixty-two 'are we there yets?'" It's the Santorum Iowa family tour, now starting week two."

The White House hopeful's campaign website describes the ad as "Santorum’s Political Version of Family Vacation."

WATCH:

Comments

[wayne the pain]

10:16 PM on 08/10/2011

I assume that Mr. Santorum attended Private schools. If he is an example of the liberal arts education of a private school I hope to god our public schools indoctrinate our kids against homophobic, sexist fanatics like him!

[NikkiDove]

03:48 AM on 08/09/2011

Yes, children could possibly be indoctrinated in school but I know of a place where they ARE being indoctrinated. Church. I don't think Mr. Santorum is to keen on speaking about that type of indoctrination. But I have never heard of a kid being beaten up or killed because his school told his classmates being gay is wrong. Now I know that most churches would never advocate violence however teenagers have been known to take things too far.

So the real danger here is not schools, but religious institutions that seek, by there very nature, to indoctrinate the young.

[WarrenPease]

11:01 PM on 08/08/2011

Do schools indoctrinate children? Possibly. Children become socialized at school (no, not socialism).

Mr. Santorum and his wife brought the body of their 20-week mature fetus home and had their living children cuddle the body and sing lullabies in its ear. Mr. Santorum is free to do this sort of thing, however, I am not sure whether he should be talking about the indoctrination of children.

http://msgboard.snopes.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=96;t=000875;p=0

[Gregj]

04:55 PM on 08/08/2011

When you do not believe in science,history or the theories of economists I am sure it looks like indoctrination. But to most people its called education. And I thank God for it.I think indoctrination involves things that are not science ,history or truth but is rather faith or belief . Teaching those things as real is indoctrination. And you sir are always busy indoctrinating on homosexuality on marriage on adoption not teaching of science but rather of faith. You fail to see this difference.

[broui]

10:11 AM on 08/08/2011

Some years ago, I had a student who kept going on and on gushing that he loved George Bush and that George Bush was the greatest President ever.

I told him that while anyone in my class was free to express an opinion, they had to back it up with supporting evidence. I asked him WHY he thought George Bush was the greatest.

All he could do was say he was "awesome" or "cool". I told him that wasn't evidence but that it was nice that he liked him. When he was ready to present evidence, he could have the floor, but until then, he could keep his opinion to himself because there were others who thought he might be the worst ever and I suspect they could support that.

A week later, his father was on Shawn Hannity's radio show talking about me and they were going on and on about my "indoctrinating" his son.

Nonsense. All the kid had to do was support his argument.

That's what we do in education.

[toocoolfoschool1234]

09:36 PM on 08/07/2011

I think schools are mainly interested in:
1. Not getting sued
2. Keeping minors off the street for 6 hours a day
3. Teaching

Indoctrination? haha no.

[WarrenPease]

11:07 PM on 08/08/2011

I know a teacher, you could say, very well. She's mainly interested in teaching, however, has to spend 30% of her time and energy on class control and discipline, 15% of her time on documentation, 15% on parents (that's part of not getting sued) and the rest on education.

[toocoolfoschool1234]

12:19 AM on 08/09/2011

I would like to teach but I don't think I could handle teaching kids or teens.

[William David Smith]

08:35 PM on 08/07/2011

He really does believe he is important doesn't he? And where did he learn anything about public schools?

[Forester]

08:16 PM on 08/07/2011

This guy is real sketchy.

[Kye154]

08:13 PM on 08/07/2011

All people have to do is look at either Kansas or more recently Texas to see this about indocrination, (or more accurately propaganda). The Texas school board is deep into introducing stuff that is aligns itstelf with Right-wing Christian beleifs, like whitewashing the history books, and divine intervention in science books, and are definitely have a bias against anything that can be interpreted by them as pro-Islamic. Then they pretend slavery never happened. When Kansas backed the divine intervention theory, their school ratings dropped from 15th to 50th practically overnight. After that embarrassment, Kansas finally withdrew teaching the divine intervention theory, although manyof the religious zealots are unhappy about that.

[1776Freedom]

11:13 AM on 08/10/2011

It is truly sad when people attempt to spew ignorance...hey Kye154, anybody can easily search for the State Education Rankings and easily see that Kansas did not drop from 15th to 50th. In fact, Kansas ranks approximately 5 points higher on average in all categories when compared to the National Average. You really might consider doing just a little more research before you leave anymore comments.

[texfly]

07:32 PM on 08/07/2011

Our children are indoctrinated before they get to school and the anti-intellectual drum beats continue as they matriculate.

[toocoolfoschool1234]

07:29 PM on 08/07/2011

Sorry, but I was not indoctrinated with anything while in school. The ms media and Politicians like Santorum are where all the "indoctrination" is coming from. Indoctrination to make people more and more dumbed down, childish and confused everyday.

[pottedferne]

07:28 PM on 08/07/2011

I do not ever recall any teacher expressing a political viewpoint and I finished an MS in 2002. Where is he getting this?

[amleth]

07:51 PM on 08/07/2011

He obviously has no inkling of the proceedings in a school.

He is projecting what he does or would do as an educator and believing others would do the same.

[Charles Allen]

08:19 PM on 08/07/2011

For this particular bland of Republican, the *absence* of their particular form of bigotry and hatred being instilled IS indoctrination.

[pottedferne]

08:31 PM on 08/07/2011

ahh......fanned.

[Pup99]

07:09 PM on 08/07/2011

I'm pretty sure Santorum has earned his Google fame.

[Karelh]

06:51 PM on 08/07/2011

Who needs enemies when we do such a fine job of ripping ourselves apart. Taliban & Al Quida have already won, they don't need to do anything more, we're well down the path of ripping ourselves apart and ripping apart the fabric of this country. All our time and energy now is spent spewing hatred amongst ourselves. There is no more compromise, it's either all or none. And sorry to say, most of the negativity comes from the right. You are either with us or against us.

I'm curious what the right would do if all the Democrats just stepped down and gave them the full reigns of government. It would then be a nice one part system...I wonder who they would hate then?

[deweydecimal]

05:55 PM on 08/07/2011

Little Ricky sure has a propensity for spreading his froth around.