In recent months, I've begun many a meeting by telling people how much I love and appreciate Rick Santorum. This usually elicits hard laughs and perplexed looks as people realize I'm not joking.
The fact is, I'm an unlikely woman to love and appreciate Rick. For one, I'm a committed left-leaning women's advocate. I also was Hillary Clinton's Legislative Director in the United States Senate when Rick was Senator Santorum of Pennsylvania, railing regularly against women as part of his effort to ban late-term abortions. And I know we have differences on the role of women in our society.
But here is why I love Rick Santorum and why I paid close attention to his presidential bid, which he finally abandoned this week. Throughout his career in politics, Rick Santorum has never stopped talking about children and families. His understanding of the challenges many low-income American families face comes from first-hand experience, hiring onto his office staff women once on welfare who were struggling to support their children.
So these have never been side issues to him or a campaign ploy to win over women voters. They are central to his core beliefs and to his vision for a strong economy.
While there may not be much that he and I could agree on if we sat down to talk about how society should best support children and families, we would certainly agree that our political leaders need to do more to support families as the backbone of our economy and that we need to have real conversations about finding the best ways to educate and support all of America's children.
To be sure, these smart conversations are happening. Just yesterday, my friend and colleague, Jodie Levin Epstein, wrote a thoughtful piece about the role of marriage in alleviating poverty in response to Ron Haskin's alternative view on the same subject. But I don't think we will hear much about the role of marriage in alleviating poverty when the Republican's probably nominee, Mitt Romney, takes the debate stage across from President Obama later this year.
Look at the track record: Last November, Voices for America's Children, in partnership with the Child and Family Policy Center, analyzed the content of the first ten Republican presidential debates and found that children's issues--including education, health care, and child poverty--made up only 1 percent of the discussions. That report expressed disappointment, but also hope, that moderators would steer the conversation toward children's issues in later debates. An updated analysis, however, showed that nothing changed as the debates continued and the field of candidates narrowed.
Our country is about to face a crisis when it comes to supporting our children and, frankly, I'd like to hear a real open, live debate about the issues in the months before the November elections. Our children are getting poorer--in fact, children are poorer than any other age group in America. Our family structure is breaking down--last year, more than half of all births to women under age 30 were to single parents. And our government is disinvesting in children at every level cutting funds for public education and social supports.
More evidence came this week in a new report from the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University. It found that total state funding for pre-K programs in 2010-2011 decreased nearly $60 million nationwide, the second-straight year of declining support.
Rick Santorum and I might not agree on what to do about that, but he would have made sure that we knew there's a problem and we need to keep talking about how to solve it. He may be out of the presidential race, but I hope his passion for the debate does not go away.
Follow Ann O'Leary on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@Ann_Oleary
Is anyone listening out there?
is already 100% more than they're worth.
Here is my list why I won't miss Rick Santorum, who hated
just about everyone and everything about America, including:
The poor
The needy
The disengranchised
The unskilled
The schooled
Muslims
Latinos
Puerto Ricans
Women
Condoms
The French
Anyone who speaks French
Contraceptives
Union members
Bargaining rights
Democrats
Libertarians
Buddaists
Islamists
Abortionists
West coasters
Mexicans
East coasters
Alternative energy
Atheists
Teachers
NYT Reporters
Agnostics
Iranians
Evolutionists
Astronomers
Physicists
Planned parenthood
Biologists
Scientists
Blacks
Black Presidents, especially if a Harvard graduate
Mathmeticians
Firemen
Policemen
Futurists
The Media (a conspiratorial Left wing monopoly)
Diversity
Stem cell researchers
Environmentalists
Gays
Lesbians
Asians
Geologists
Genealogists
Archeologists
Unmarried people
Medicare
Medicaid
Minorities
Public school children
Africans
Social Security
Food Stamps
Meals on Wheels
Colleges, because they produces snobs
Universities, same above
Pell Grants
Universal Health
State funded education
Federal funded education
Voters without 3 dozen pieces of ID
Acquifers still untainted with the GOP stamp of OIL SPILL
Clean beaches
Oil-free marshes
Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) efforts
Any language that competes with English
Any religion that competes with Christianity
Any government that separates church and state
Anyone who doesn't like Control Freaks
Miss him all you want. As for me, RIP, Rick
Santorum, Mr. Hate.
And that is the problem with Santorum; you don't likely meet his definition and therefore don't deserve his approval.
There is so much left-wing intolerance bordering on totalitarianism here at Huff-Po and elsewhere masquerading as some deluded political correctness. You also see it in Hillary Rosens' comments on CNN. I guess she forgot she wasn't in her living room or at the local yoga studio.
Not sure what the answer is. There was a time when the two parties thought they were in the same country defending the same basic system and showing a modicum of respect for each other. No longer.
Romney will surprise people if he gets in, just as Obama has. People run to the right but govern closer to the center - if they expect to survive.
Maybe the answer is to stop judging. Stop name-calling. Stop fear-mongering. Stop disrespecting the Commander in Chief. Call out the disrespectful. When your representative shouts 'You lie!' at your President, object. Then maybe you can expect a 'modicum of respect' from others.
The so-called attack on Ann Romney's motherhood has commanded more attention and disapproval in the last 2 days than the constant blatant racist attacks on the First Family have in the last four years. Why is that?
Please don't not throw around accusations of totalitarianism because that can be thrown right back at you.