Santorum: The working class is greedy

[scoopmeister]

http://www.pnionline.com/dnblog/attytood/archives/002502.html

Interviewer: The book by Thomas Frank, What's the Matter with Kansas?, says that many people vote against their own economic interests when they vote for Republicans on the basis of social issues.

Santorum: That's just the kind derogatory, elitist pablum that you get when people don't realize that there's a lot of people who don't put their treasure in this world and look for something more than just "how much more money I can make." They understand that life is more than a bank account. That's the postmodern view of the world, which is it's all about me; it's all about how much I can get now for me. There are a lot of people who worry about, not just their economic well being, but they worry about their kids, they worry about the culture their children are going to be raised in, they worry about the pervasive incivility that we see in this country. They worry about national security issues. They worry about a lot more things than just me and how much money I'm making. It's certainly important, and I would say that's one of the factors people should consider. But there are a lot of folks who have not bought into the Greenwich Village view of the world.

Thank God for Kansas.

[Dances with Cats]

1. It is the same syndrome in Alabama

These wingnuts will vote themselves out of a job so they can recite a prayer at a High School football game.

[Conker]

2. Doing so is very common in the south.

They keep voting for a party that won't help them.They're only digging themselves into a deeper hole.

[ladjf]

3. All over the South, it's the same. The Republicans are stealing

from the people who helped elect them. Even the Civil was was fought but lower income White Southerners to protect the rich people's slave ownership. That's still a puzzle to me. (I'm a 70 year old person from Mississippi.)

[Dances with Cats]

5. it is a puzzle...

to me as well. 46 from Bama....

[nickyt]

9. Welcome to DU, Dances!

[Dances with Cats]

26. Oh thank you

thankyouvurmuch *best Elvis Presley voice*

[pretzel4gore]

20. is it possible the southeners know bush is fake, but hate the usa so much

they grab at anything that they think undermine it: maybe they don't even realize it, but they knowingly keep pushing US society further and further, as if they want the entire thing to just collapse (even if it cost them, they don't care)
btw it's the same with the rw cubans. They see any normalization of relations with cuba as an insult, or something, and are constantly fukking around, either in public or in secret (it matters not what the us gov. wants, or the majority of people, witness the elan case!)
notice both these communities routinely commit a kind of treason, though they dress it up with all sorts of bs, as if they define logic, common sense etc....

[ladjf]

35. No. I don't believe your theory is the case. The South was

originally an almost totally agrarian society with most of the poorer people doing a bulk of the manual labor. They were not afforded educational opportunities. They were drawn to religion, acquiring much of the moralistic dogma that characterizes religious fundamentalism. The Republican Party, particularly after the civil rights legislation of the sixties was able to tap into the winning combination of racism and religious zeal to convince Americans that the Republicans represented their ideals, conveniently referred to as "family values" and that the Democrats were liberals who wanted to destroy their way of life. (Very similar rhetoric was used by Hitler. And it's no accident that the strategy of the Republican Party after WWII was heavily influenced by Nazis who were hired to shape policy and propaganda.)

But, as I read and hear the daily news about the economy in my area (Atlanta), I can't help but believe that many of those with the W stickers on the back windows of their cars are beginning to realize that BushCo has not only failed to make good on any promises for the middle and lower income Americans, he and his cronies are largely responsible for the economic collapse among the lower income citizens
while the rich are getting richer.

[QC]

37. What on earth are you basing this on?

Honestly, this has to be one of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen posted on this site--and the competition for that title is very steep indeed.

[ikojo]

29. No puzzle....working class people vote against

their own class interests because Americans don't think of class. Most Americans are of the opinion that they too will be rich one day, so they don't want to soak the rich of today.

To Santorum...if he thinks working class people are greedy, what does he call people like the Walton family?

[catmother]

4. people are worrying because they are in debt and don't know

when their job will be outsourced to india or china.

[elehhhhna]

6. He LIES to steal state homeschooling money then talks this crap?

Where's that lightening bolt?

[BrklynLiberal]

11. Right! It should burn H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-E into his forehead!

[geniph]

7. Santorum, you useless piece of shit!

"they don't put their treasure in this world...they worry about their kids"

You clueless fuck. Does he truly not realize that those selfsame people being sold a bill of goods by unethical, amoral bastards can't get health care for those kids because of sick policies instituted by heartless assholes like him? Does he not realize some of those kids go to schools that have 40-year-old textbooks and leaking roofs because the RULING class is greedy? Does he not realize that we have very nearly the highest infant mortality in the industrialized world, because we have for-profit healthcare that doesn't provide free prenatal care?

Sick. Sick. I wish Santorum, just for one day, had to live the life of a single parent of three kids with no skills and two minimum-wage jobs trying desperately to piece together enough social services and assistance to even keep his kids fed. Fuckhead.

[BL611]

8. Santorum's book is the best political book of the year

My library finally got it in, I can't wait til this semester of schools over so I can finally have a respite from damn liberal academia bogging me down with Rawls and Popper ( I suppose doing my Master's thesis on the convergence of liberalism and populism doesn't help- but those damn professors must have brainwashed me into the topic!!), and I can get down with some real political philosophy. I have been luckily enough to take a few peeks inside, and ya just can't beat "I'm not saying ALL liberals hate their family, I mean. of course most do, but not all" (That was para phrasing slightly, but you would be shocked at how close it is to the actual quote)

[gratuitous]

10. Really, Mr. Santorum?

And what treasure were you and your wife seeking when you sued for over half a million dollars? You can't serve God and money, or so I've heard.

[Deja Q]

12. And the wealthy class is NOT? Santorum, here are some facts:

Folks in IT, engineering, manufacturing, graphic design, any design, you-name-it are losing their jobs (and I had no idea $38k/yr was too much, especially compared to average CEO pay - which unlike worker pay has gone from 40x to over 400x over the last 20 years!) thanks to offshoring, the effects of which are also damaging our economy. (though IT programmers, justifiably, get $65-100k/yr)

I'm too fatigued to spell it all out, but you can take your spin and shove it. Along with your followers, who won't be so happy to follow once they get the treatment the rest of us had.

[bahrbearian]

13. How would he know, has he ever really worked?

[calzone]

14. sometimes a vacuum is just a vacuum

To me, Santorum's answer is completely unconnected to the question, not one word of it has anything to do with the question. He not only dodged the query, he completely ignored it. Sorta like asking a pizzeria owner why 9 out of 10 of his Pizzas have ground glass in them and him answering "Here at Guidos, we strive to provide our customers with the tastiest, cheesiest pies in the industry".

[Just Me]

16. Zactly!!! Welcome to DU, btw!

:hi: Bright people are soooo appreciated in this discussion forum! :hi:

[calzone]

28. Thank you, nice to be here....n/t

[Just Me]

15. Ummm, was he intentionally being mental on that, or is he just an idiot?

DOH!!!:P Dumb question!!! :rofl:

[afdip]

17. this is the same santorum who's wife won 350K in a lawsuit against

her chiropracter. no, he's not greedy.

[Sparkly]

18. the "Greenwich Village view of the world?"

What the Hell is THAT code for? :eyes:

[Johnny Noshoes]

24. I don't know for sure what

butt munch Ricky meant but one view FROM Greenwich Village looking downtown on 6th avenue has a great big hole in the sky where the Towers stood. These pigs loved NY for about five minutes a few years ago - short changed us on the money they promised - used the tragedy and death to get their damn immoral nasty ass friggin war. Hey Rick SCREW YOU.

[smirkymonkey]

32. I don't even know and I live in Greenwich Village.

We're all exactly the same, you know.

[madrchsod]

19. oh well this piece of shit won`t be around much longer

the more he says the worse it is for him....

[CTyankee]

22. I can't wait for him to be voted out of Dodge

I will dance on his political grave!

[NanceGreggs]

21. He obviously doesn't know his own party members very well...

... but he sure knows a lot about Democrats, to whit:

"They understand that life is more than a bank account. There are a lot of people who worry about, not just their economic well being, but they worry about their kids, the culture their children are going to be raised in, the pervasive incivility that we see in this country, and national security issues." (condensed quote)

[sofa king]

23. How's that $3100 pay raise treating you, Dick?

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/11/18/national/w204415S49.DTL

(11-18) 20:44 PST WASHINGTON, (AP) --

The Republican-controlled Congress helped itself to a $3,100 pay raise on Friday, then postponed work on bills to curb spending on social programs and cut taxes in favor of a two-week vacation.

[KittyWampus]

25. Santorum Has A Valid Point Democrats And Lefties Are Too Blind To See

people really ARE more interested in their Family then in money.

Thus the stupidity of making the PRIMARY argument that people should vote Democrat for economic reasons.

The Primary Argument should be "Vote Democrat For Family Values".

As Wes Clark said it's the Democrats who honestly value families and fight for them.

[Cats Against Frist]

27. It costs like $4,000/mo to rent a 2-bedroom in the West Villiage

I'm sure that Santorum would find himself in his own affluent company.

To some extent, he's exactly right, but the fact that HE is the one saying it makes him exactly a hypocrite and an asshole.

I also don't understand why postmodernism and The Villiage take a hit -- I'm worried, too, Ricky, but the last thing I'm worried about is what's going on in hip/gentrified NYC neighborhoods and in philosophy and English departments. Besides I don't think there's anything that's ever been uttered that's more postmodern than:

"We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality – judiciously, as you will – we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors -- and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."

All the "postmodernists" that I know, shit bricks into their fucking lattes, when they read that.

Santorum is a tool. And almost a has-been. I can't wait.

[yankeedem]

30. Santorum is speaking truth

He is speaking truth about many in the "heartland" working class- they don't care about money or jobs, they only care about social issues. Thomas Frank talks about it in his book, also. Santorum wouldn't be in the Senate if this wasn't true.

I have seen this phenomena all over America- the only thing I can think of that causes this is that most people pretty much assume they are screwed and are never going to have any money or security, so they vote to a "higher calling", in other words, to screw the poor, or minorities, or women, or gays, or if possible, all of them.

Santorum is telling us how the right wing got into power. I don't know how to change this perception in working class America, I hope the DNC does. I will say one thing, the answer isn't "give more tax breaks to corporations so we can be just like the Repugs".

[upi402]

31. running out of pants, always on fire, liar liar

[The Whiskey Priest]

33. That is the old Sh*t the Rich Tell The Working Class

While the rich are scheming like hell to get all of it.

[OnionPatch]

34. Wow, that's about the most

hypocritical thing I've read in a long time. I shouldn't be surprised considering the source.

The funny thing is that almost everyone I know who is a Republican, is a Republican because of their finances. It's almost always about tax cuts and making sure they can get cheap toys from Wal Mart, Target, and the local mall, etc. Most of them are in hock up to their eyeballs in their efforts to appear well-to-do. And the worst is that most of them are Christians. One of them I know has a Jesus fish on her SUV right above her vanity licence plate that reads I LV CSH. All she talks about is her portfolio. :eyes:

[LittleClarkie]

36. Yeah, it's all about what I can get now... things like food and shelter...

Heat. You know, greedy things like that. Shame on me.

Moron.