Rick Santorum Compares Medicaid, Food Stamps, Other Social Welfare Programs To Fascism (VIDEO)

Riding high off his strong showing in the Iowa caucus, GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum took some time in his closing speech to compare social welfare programs to fascism.

The former Pennsylvania senator drew upon his grandfather's experience during Benito Mussolini's tenure in Italy (video starts at the 50-second mark) and linked Medicaid, food stamps and other U.S. initiatives to the authoritarianism experienced by his relative back in the 1920s.

"One wants to talk about raising taxes on people who have been successful and redistributing money, increasing dependency in this country, promoting more Medicaid and food stamps and all sorts of social welfare programs and passing Obamacare to provide even more government subsidies. More and more dependency, more and more government -- exactly what my grandfather left in 1925," Santorum said.

Two weeks earlier, Santorum made similar comments, noting that Obama's Affordable Care Act could be the "death knell" for America. He referenced the same story about his grandfather, citing worries that the United States could become the same "kind of country" as fascist Italy.

At that point in mid-December, Santorum was struggling to draw crowds, speaking to some audiences in the range of 20 people. But his late surge in Iowa came through when it counted.

In the closest caucus ever, Santorum fell a mere eight votes shy of Mitt Romney on Tuesday. He vowed that his strong performance signals "game on" for the race to securing the party's 2012 nomination.

Comments

[Pastori Balele]

12:29 PM on 02/27/2012

All Democrats are praying Santorum wins the GOP nomination. Santorum is fake pope trying to win GOP nomination by infusing Catholicism as best political voodoo to rule this country. I know GOPers are have strange way of thinking - dumb. What will people of other faiths see Santorum – a Catholic radical similar to Moslem radical or Jihadian? You may remember Santorum, in Iowa, called us Blacks and poor people as food stamp suckers. I cannot trust this fake pope any more. I hope Catholicism these days doesn’t teach parishners to denigrate poor people as useless. Santorum should know people now have low opinion on religion including Catholicism. I am asking people of all faith to reject Santorum at the polls. Please join me to vote for President Obama in November.

[JohnBryansFontaine]

10:55 AM on 02/27/2012

Fascism (pronounced /ˈfæʃɪzəm/) is a radical and authoritarian nationalist political ideology.[1][2][3][4] Fascists seek to organize a nation according to corporatist perspectives, values, and systems, including the political system and the economy.[5][6] Fascism was originally founded by Italian national syndicalists in World War I who combined extreme right-wing political views along with collectivism.[7][8][9] Scholars generally consider fascism to be on the far right.[10][11][12][13][14][15]

http://www.sources.com/SSR/Docs/SSRW-Fascism.htm

[bigcypress]

04:37 PM on 01/14/2012

from Dictionary.com...

Fascism: a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

This is in NO WAY similar to the neo-con platform.

[Jay Baumann]

01:31 PM on 01/14/2012

yet the VAST majority, and i mean VAST; majority of republican voters are older (retirement benefits, medicare, social security etc) folks, pro military (veteran's benefits, massive % of GDP spent), or religious (giving to the church and charity)

So tell me, who's redistributing wealth, the old war vet voting republican going to church... OR the 20 something college student who works 2 jobs to pay for over priced education?

funny how the younger generation stands up for the rights that an old war vet once fought for, only to turn around and call them a commie for using those rights to demonstrate for no other reason that the old war vet DESERVES HIS SOCIAL SECURITY.
what happened to this country? im glad there are still some people who disagree with big media empires like fox news.

[Mariel]

11:16 AM on 01/14/2012

Santorum may share some of Ron Paul's mistaken thinking on who will take care of the ill and disabled when Medicaid and Medicare are abolished or downsized. Ron Paul amazingly, in an early debate, said that the "churches" could take care of the sick people. Do you have adequate church-based charities in your community to do this, or even start to do it?

Santorum seems to agree that having these government programs for the sick and disabled stunts the growth of the recipients, who should be encouraged to work, or should have saved up enough before they got sick to have a nest egg in times of trouble.

It's one reason I oppose removing Social Security from gov't control, because happy-go-lucky young people may NOT save unless they have to. If the gov't enforces this saving, the nest egg is there when they need it in later years.

This all worked pretty well (Social Security) for a number of years, but now it's under unwarranted threat, even facing the raiding of SS investment funds to supply the general fund.

I have been thinking about a Santorum vote but with these viewpoints I will have to switch. Probably to Gingrich who has a more realistic knowledge of how things work. Santorum's world is a beautiful dream, me ants for Heaven, not for here.

[Jay Baumann]

01:34 PM on 01/14/2012

before i die, i just want to ask any republican running for president or any prominent fox news based pundit
"isn't giving to the church and charity redistributing wealth? so jesus was a socialist?"

and watch their heads explode
"is giving ok? how will i spin this for votes???"

[carnegie]

08:39 PM on 01/13/2012

Good gosh, he's an idiot.

[heathflax]

12:14 PM on 01/09/2012

Maybe American "abusive" elements--which these days, seems to be much or most of the wealthy or otherwise politically powerful--never suffered, or never "sufficiently" suffered-- the reality checks and decency-reminders of things much of the rest of the industrialized from time to time has encountered? --things like, social strata UPHEAVAL and change after calamities (World wars, revolutions like the 1790s French one with its hundreds of executions of the powerful). Weren't USA Wealthy elements mostly unharmed or even increased by World War II.
Except for brief things like a decade or two of post-world-war taxes on the very rich, so high that tax-complaining sentiment today probably would never believe it--Ninety % rate for the wealthiest--who in those days hardly complained.

Yes, maybe the reason for our (U.S.A.) being probably the biggest exception to the overall industrialized-world rule these days to still see us to maybe still some humane extent "all in this together--is that our Privileged ones are still too unscathed to have much ability to care. Letting or encouraging society overall to decay, and not finding that of much concern, so long as they are on top. What a hollow victory, if any, that must be.

And yet, "how to reach them?", them, made up of so many so intoxicated (or otherwise oblivious) by power, wealth,--in some cases sadly possibly by fear?-- that, as the saying goes, to them "all crying seems like laughing."

[mikeystp69]

07:49 PM on 01/08/2012

to the people complaining about "lazy people who don't want to work but just want welfare and foodstamps, etc", do you know anything about how those programs work? do you think a person can just walk into the welfare office and say "give me welfare and food stamps now." and they're like "oh, ok, no problem. and how long do you want to receive it?" then they're handed money and food stamps right then and there? a person has to apply and QUALIFY in order to receive benefits. sure, they could lie and cheat and abuse the system and i'm sure some do. i'm also sure there's alot of lying, cheating and abuse in corporate america by the wealthy as well. at least the welfare/food stamp agency tries to weed out the corruption and punish the bad people. so because some idiots scam the system, NOBODY should be helped no matter their situation? i'm not religious but i'm WAY more compassionate than some who say they follow everything their bible/god/jesus commands.

[geostone1]

02:19 PM on 01/08/2012

Cuckoo for cocoa puffs!!!! Instead of focusing on welfare reform, why not try a more novel approach. Why not focus on wiping out "career" politicians. Serve three terms, then go home and live like the other 99% does. We the 99% get : no free health care, no full salary for life & 50% to surviving spouse for life, no independent retirement benefits, no exemption on unpaid tax bills and no free perks of any kind. Any way, welfare is socialist by nature of spreading the wealth, not fascist; but a "corrupt government" & the middle class is fascist by nature; everybody but me. Or by another statement: not in my backyard. Hitler believed he was superior to everybody else and he was a true fascist. is Rick Santorum another Hitler? America used to stand for something great, now its more about class warfare, than anything. None of these politicians are sane, I wonder what kind of medication they are on?

[damdelion12]

12:05 PM on 01/08/2012

Government has grown out of control in a cancerous manner. A good start would be to eliminate food stamps, Medicaid, & welfare for all those collecting but who are on these programs through their own choosing without an honest economic need...

[sensiblethoughts4u]

10:38 PM on 01/08/2012

What's gotten out of control is the Congress voting themselves free health care, raises every year, and lifelong pensions after serving only 5 years. We need not only term limits, but also they also need to pay more toward their health care and pensions. Since they are so out of touch with the average American citizen, it would do them some good to serve some community service so they can understand better how people live.

[onyxwolf]

03:25 PM on 01/06/2012

Rick Santorum IS a Fascist. He is constantly bagging on Legalizing MJ and LGBT rights because it is against HIS version of the American moral code. When asked about getting involved with states LEGALIZING gay marriage, he said that he would and that, "Our country is based on a moral enterprise. Gay marriage is wrong. As Abraham Lincoln said, states do not have the right to do wrong. And so there are folks, here who said states can do this and I won’t get involved in that.

I will get involved in that because the states, as a president I will get involved because the states don’t have a right to undermine the basic fundamental values that hold this country together. America is an ideal. It’s not just a constitution, it is an ideal. It’s a set of morals and principles that were established in that declaration, and states don’t have the right, just like they didn’t have the right to do slavery."

Yet fails to say why gay marriage is wrong... Yes he literally compares allowing LGBT more liberty and equality to the ULTIMATE LACK OF LIBERTY-- SLAVERY!?!?! Seriously somebody explain the logic here! Oh is it because "Gay marriage is wrong"? According to who Ricky? According to who...How dare you bring up Abe's name in this!

[CalEsquireNYC]

01:29 PM on 01/06/2012

Santorum is a disgrace to Christianity. Tell me where in the Bible did Jesus put conditions on helping the poor, sick or oppressed? The Conservative Christian movement is far, far, far away from the essence of Jesus. These people use RELIGION to justify cuts in social programs! It's time the political left take on these so called "Conservative Christians." Many of us progressives are extremely religious and correctly follow Jesus' CRYSTAL CLEAR message to assist those in need without conditions. Look in the mirror, Rick, and ask yourself: am I doing Jesus' work by cutting social programs? The horror -- the HORRER -- of his views comes to light.

[speedy evans]

08:43 AM on 01/05/2012

a woman of welfare & foodstamps & got medicad produce the man siting in the white house right now

[FelixVJohnson]

01:07 AM on 01/05/2012

Did someone at some in sensitive hospital forget to tell him about "Penny Medical". Also If you aren't employed and have no means of paying for treatment the hospital will file the form and get reimbursed by medicaid.

[FTR 1940]

11:39 PM on 01/04/2012

To Rick Santorum, Republican Presidential candidate and Catholic,
I remember when Abortion and Birth control devices and condoms were illegal, thanks to the Catholic Church which wants mucho customers and $$$.
The rich girls who got Knocked up took a trip to a country were Abortion was legal and got a safe, medical procedure to terminate her pregnancy. While poor girls had to risk their lives going to get a " back ally" illegal abortion or do it themselves!
That is not fair and hypocritical and that is why I hate Republicans, because they are hypocrites who want to pass unnecessary laws that hurt people!
I am a recovering Catholic; it took years to figure out that their lies and evil doing was all about making $$$!

[sensiblethoughts4u]

10:45 PM on 01/08/2012

It appears all it was about was raising money for the "church" and sexual abuse. Obviously the money was the most important; otherwise the sexual abuse wouldn't have been hidden, overlooked, or excused all these years. I'm including the recent Penn State case in this. Then throw in sex producing a lot of children without regard for how to educate or pay for them.